***Review posted on The Eater of Books! blog***

Sightwitch by Susan Dennard
Book 0.5 of the Witchlands series
Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: February 13, 2018
Rating: 5 stars
Source: Review copy from the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

Set a year before Truthwitch, Sightwitch follows Ryber Fortiza, the last Sightwitch Sister as she treks deep underground to rescue her missing best friend. While there, she encounters a young Nubrevnan named Kullen Ikray, who has no memory of who he is or how he wound up inside the mountain. As the two journey ever deeper in search of answers, and as they brave one close call after another, a tentative friendship forms between them—one that might one day grow into something more.

Sightwitch is told through Ryber’s journal entries and her sketches, as well as through supplementary materials (such as other journals, pieces of songs, clippings from history books, flashbacks, etc.). Though meant as a companion novella, this story serves as a set up to Bloodwitch as well as an expansion of the world.

What I Liked:

I have a thing about novellas - I don't tend to read them. Novellas are often a little too short, and overpriced, and don't actually add much to the overarching story, the characters, or the series in general. However. When I saw the details of Sightwitch - that it would be a 200+ novella, that it would be published in hardcover, that there would be illustrations - I knew I would be reading this novella. This is basically an almost-novel, given the number of pages, and the fullness of the story. If you're like me and generally avoid novellas, break your rule for once and check out this one!

Sightwitch is an intriguing and heart-stopping addition to the Witchlands series, and it'll leave you wanting to both reread the previous books, and pine for the third book.

This novella is set a year before Truthwitch, and it tells the story of how Ryber became the last Sightwich Sister, and how she met Kullen. All of her Sightwitch Sisters had gone deep underground in the mountain, and she must find them because despite their disappearance being something indicated by the goddess Sirmaya, Ryber knows something is very wrong. She goes into the mountain to find her Sisters, and encounters much more than she ever expected.

Books written in journal-style are typically hit-or-miss for me, but this one was definitely a hit. It's Ryber's diary, and it has entries from Ryber, as well as clippings from textbooks, maps, illustrations, and also entries from Tanzi (Ryber's Threadsister), and Eridysi Gochienka, a famous Sightwitch who lived a thousand years before Ryber. There are ripped pages from essays, the rules of the Sightwitches, and Nubrevnan messages. Everything adds up and makes sense as the story goes on, so this will seem random to someone reading my review, but everything is important to the story.

I liked that there were different POVs, despite the story being told from Ryber's journal. We also see entries from Tanzi in the past, and from Eridysi (a thousand years ago). Both sets of POV are very important to the story, even if they may not seem so at first. Especially Eridysi's - we get so much insight into the lives of Sightwitches, a thousand years before Truthwitch is set. There is a lot of information that expands the world of the Witchlands, by exposing the past of the Sightwitches.

Ryber is the last Sightwitch, and the only one that has yet to be Summoned. But she breaks the rules and goes after her Sightwitch Sisters who were all Summoned into the mountain - but never returned (like they were supposed to, one day after being Summoned). It is in the mountain that she meets Kullen, part of the Nubrevnan crew who washed up nearby in a ship. Kullen has no idea who he is or how he got inside the mountain. Strange, no? It'll make sense by the end of the novella.

I loved Kullen and Ryber's first encounter. Ryber is instantly on her guard and ready for blood, and Kullen is a giant teddy bear who isn't at all dangerous (not that Ryber knew that at first). She doesn't like him at first and doesn't warm up to him, but she can't leave him, no matter how badly she wants to find her Sightwitch Sisters above all else. Though these two meet about halfway into the story, it felt like their relationship started to flesh out really well, from this early point.

I really appreciated the expansion of the Witchlands, the history of the Sightwitchs, the amount of character development and character background we get to see from both Ryber and Kullen. It's amazing how this story is told in journal format and yet it is just as full and complete as a "regular" novel in chapters. Dennard did an excellent job with putting together the story.

All credit to Rhys Davies, the artist of the illustrations in Sightwitch. The illustrations were lovely, and added a different depth to the story. I especially loved the ones of Ryber and Tanzi. There are many different illustrations sprinkled throughout the novella, and they were an added bonus.

While this novella may not be "required reading" for the series, it is a welcome addition and a really great story. I have no complaints. This novella felt very complete and even though it takes place before Truthwitch, I could almost feel it building up the series, which continues with Bloodwitch. I am very ready for book three and hope it and book four comes quicker than expected!

What I Did Not Like:

No complaints whatsoever! This was great fiction and a really good stepping stone.

Would I Recommend It:

I recommend the series in general, which started off really well (Truthwitch) and soldiered on (Windwitch) and has gotten even more intriguing (Sightwitch). Sightwitch might actually be my favorite installment of the series, perhaps because it is such a simple story, yet it is so complicated in the grand scheme of the series. A novella is never "necessary" to understand the rest of the series, but in some cases (like this one!), it is definitely better to read the novella! I definitely recommend it!

Rating:

5 stars. Truthwitch was really good, but I think I like Sightwitch the most, of the three books in the series (well, two books and novella). It's definitely worthy of its hardcover status and I really appreciated the length and the illustrations. Susan Dennard, Rhys Davies, and the team at Tor have done an excellent job with this novella!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Sightwitch occurs a year before Truthwitch, and is about Ryber, who is Kullen’s girlfriend. Ryber is part of the Sightwitches, a group of people who had mysterious disappeared. Ryber is not a typical Sightwitch in that she hasn’t been picked by the Goddess yet.

One of the issues that I had that really took away from my reading experience was the formatting of the e-arc. The book is told in a diary format with illustrations, and the way it was formatted made it difficult to read because the illustrations would appear in the middle of a paragraph and break up the text in a confusing way.

Overall, I found myself bored throughout the book. Ryber had the potential to be an interesting character, but by the end I didn’t really care what happened to her. She did grow over the course of the story, and there was a brief mention of Merik, but I didn’t love the story overall. The story ended on a cliffhanger, and I will likely read the next book to see what happens, but it wouldn’t be an instant buy for me.

5 out of 5 stars

What a ride! Honestly, I think this is the best book in the Witchland series to date. Susan has really outdone herself. I was not able to put it down, do any of my chores or pay attention to anything around me until I finished it.

Sightwitch is a story of two women, separated by a thousand years, working towards the same goal – to save the Witchlands. Ry (Ryber), is a young apprentice at The Convent of Sightwitch Sisters, desperate to find her place and be Summoned to the goddess. Dysi (Eridysi) is a full Sightwitch Sister who is trying to save the world through her inventions. Sightwitch is a novel about finding your path, about discovering who you are, your threads, loves and fears. It is a novel about friendship, love and loss. Honestly, it is Susan’s best writing. The dichotomy of the two very different women, working towards the same goal allows Susan to explore the innate human need to belong, to love and to be useful. This book is a like a missing piece of the puzzle, it gives the readers a much clearer picture for the Witchlands, the history and the magical system.

I absolutely adored this book! If you are looking for an incredible read, strong female characters, a story about self-discovery, love and are looking to understand the Witchlands more – you need to read this book. I would also recommend this book to anyone who liked Sabriel by Gath Nix, who is a fan of Hayao Miyazaki & of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I was a winner of an e-galley of Sightwitch.

I loved the POVs in the book especially Ryber’s. She was strong, smart, and loving. It was interesting and fun learning about the Sightwitch Sisters. Plus the history, rules, and rhymes does not go on for pages to the point where you are bored or forgot what you just read. Their history flows naturally into the story.

As the story progressed my pulse gradually quickened. After each diary entry I became more and more engrossed into the story and the disappearance of the Sisters.

Sightwitch made me sad, hopeful, it gave me goosebumps, and all I want to know is what is going to happen to Ryber and her Sisters. I also liked seeing the beginning of Ryber and Kullen’s relationship. I loved how they went from wary strangers to two people trying to survive together to something a little more.

The illustrations and little notes enhanced my reading experience.

I enjoyed Sightwitch a lot and cannot wait for Bloodwitch.

This novella is a new adventure that helps you understand some of the characters from Truthwitch - specifically Kullen and Ryber’s relationship. It also helps to set up events in the next book in the series - Bloodwitch. I’m eager to see how it all adds to the lore since this book was rich in detail and mythology.

The story is epistolary and features journal entries as well as important documents related to the beliefs of the sisterhood of Sightwitches. The sketches also add richness to the detail and I found it interesting to see how the visual compared to the one in my head. The story is mostly an account of how Ryber tries to save her friend and her fellow sisters who have been mysteriously taken. She also meets Kullen in the underground caverns, and it was wonderful to understand where their friendship originates because it is only touched on in Truthwitch. Ryber is suspicious of Kullen at first, so they have a great antagonistic relationship that develops beautifully. For such a short story, their trust and reliance on each other came about believably.

Ryber is a great protagonist too - flawed, yet full of potential and growth that she achieves over the course of the story. I loved that she is such a stickler for rules and can be very particular about how things are done - it’s a lovable flaw that I identify with. It’s a great character development for her too - to learn how to adapt and accept change. Kullen was already a lovable character just from getting to know him in Truthwitch, so it was great to get another chance to see him in this book.

If you’ve read the series so far, Sightwitch is a great addition to the world of the Witchlands and gives a much deeper understanding of the magic and the difference among the people there. Ryber had such a small role in the first book and I’m glad that we finally get to know her and understand how she fits into the main story. Sightwitch also sets up some interesting questions about how the rest of the series will go.