The Witchlands has been my favorite currently ongoing series for years and Witchshadow did not disappoint. This book provided answers to many questions raised throughout the other books and left me with a lot of new ones and I cannot wait to see how it all wraps up in the next and final book.

This series gets more complex with each book. The politics between nations, the story of the Paladins, and each of the individual character arcs are all so layered and complicated that I know I'm going to be thinking about them and theorizing right up until the next book comes out. Iseult's arc was particularly amazing which was to be expected since this is her book.

In addition, I feel that this is the darkest book in the series. The characters experience major failures and unfortunate consequences throughout and there were many points while reading that I had no idea how they would be able to turn things around. That being said this book never loses hope mainly because of its focus on family and friendship (Threadfamilies). This is a major theme throughout the entire series but I felt they were the strongest in Witchshadow as each POV focuses on building and strengthening the relationship between various characters (Safi and Iseult, Iseult and her mother, Safi and the Hell-Bards, Vivia and Vaness, Stix and Ryber...just to name a few) and these bonds are what help each character overcome the darkness they face.

Overall, Susan Dennard continues to blow me away with The Witchlands and I cannot wait to do another reread of the series in anticipation of the conclusion.

P.S. If you're planning on reading this series (or are currently reading it for the first time) do not forget to read the novella Sightwitch (best read before Bloodwitch) because A LOT of it comes into play in Witchshadow!

I’d nearly forgotten how epic and complex Susan Dennard makes her books (thank the gods for recaps), but I didn’t forget how immersive, thoughtful, and intricate her writing and world-building are. Like all of her books, WITCHSHADOW command focus and attention. Because once you’re involved, there’s no going back. The story and its characters will suck you into a world you will want to understand.

The story takes place in two different, albeit close, time periods. It made for some great moments, but part of me wishes it was all told in a consecutive timeline rather than bouncing back and forth.

Iseult is the main character this time around, and I definitely enjoyed her story the most. She has so much thrown at her, goes through such a dark, harrowing arc, learns more than a few uncomfortable truths, but still perseveres. She is wonderful and I want to see where her story goes next.

Safi is as fiery and clever as ever, and I loved seeing her face her circumstances with power and cleverness. She is a force to be reckoned with by the end.

Aeduan has an interesting arc as well, though I would have liked to see him spend more time with Iseult.

Stix, Vaness, and Vivia also have their own adventures, and I was really happy with the way Vivia’s character grew and what she learned.

The book moves at a good clip and is packed with action of all kinds. It seems to take you around the world and explores old and new facets of Dennard’s complex magic system. It is really immersive at some points, but I found I hit a small snag.

There is so much going on, so many names, and body-swapping and in a few cases, it was hard to fully understanding what was happening or why. There is a lot of remember, and sometimes it takes away from the big reveals when I’m not entirely sure what I need to remember about them. This is especially true with the Paladin arc, which I do love, but there are too many things going on that I forget how it’s all connected.

All this said, I do think the series is worth picking up. It is utterly unique and intricate and a master class in world building. Dennard has an incredible voice, memorable characters, and tells a beautiful story of friendship and inner strength.

This is for readers who enjoy challenging, dense reads with lots of attention to detail. It really is special, and while this one was a high mountain to climb, I will be reading the finale to see what happens next!

Great googly moogly, this book read like Dennard threw her story into a blender, hit pulverize then she strained it, and put it back together again. There are entirely too many characters at this point to keep up the constant backing and forthing along with the dancing time frame. It made for a messy, WTF read which often devolves into "why should I care" moments.

Vivia, Vaness, Stix, Ryber and Kahina's sidetracking drags down the pacing. Merik receives a two page chapter. Two pages! Gee, thanks for remembering he's a major character.

The other tiresome problem involves Iseult's frequent moments of falling back into her mantra of "I'm stupid, I'm wrong, I'm woe-is-me." Seriously, we're still dealing with this major level of self-doubt four books in? It's damned tedious. Is Dennard trying to make Iseult, one of the most powerful witches ever, relatable to younger readers? Guess what...the tactic fails and stalls the action.

At this point if number five isn't the final book, I'm waiting until this is finished. Enough already.