First of all, I know that this was an excerpt and did not hold all the great aspects of the storyline. That being said, I was not impressed, NOTHING really happened? Shouldn’t the reason for the except be to get the reader so invested that they cannot wait to buy the book? I feel like this Novella could just be added to a book to make it better but alone it is not that great.
I couldn’t connect with the characters and if this was a full-length book, I do believe that at this point in the book I would have put it down and declared it a DNF. There were many times I started reading the book and could not get into the story because the pacing was so slow and there was little action. There was more action in the Blurb than the entire book! (at least that is how it felt!)
The biggest downfall was trying to keep everything sorted in this short. There are just too many POV changes and flipping around from now to the past. I was confused for most of the book.
Perhaps the second half cleared all that up and really took off. Who knows? I do not know if I will find out or if I will even read the rest later on. Since I only have half the story and half the perspective, I am going to give it 2.5 stars or half a review. I will round it up to a three on Goodreads/Media outlets because it was not a terrible book and I do not know how much better it could be and do not was to dissuade others from reading it.

Really excited for this one and I will absolutely be buying it when the novel is released. Unfortunately, the format of Sightwitch was really difficult to read on an ebook, and I found it very difficult to follow, either because the layout hasn't quite worked for the ARC or in an ebook format. I didn't end up finishing for this exact reason, but from the excerpt that I read, I found the characters were intriguing, similar enough to Safi and Iseult but not too similar, and I can see the plot heading in an interesting direction. From what I've read, it's shaping up to be a 5 star book, but it is a bit early to tell.

Susan Dennard has written a mildly intriguing YA fantasy for teeanagers.

Seeing the events leading up to the events in Truthwitch is as complex and imaginative as the series itself. The voices of the characters stood out to me, in their loves, hates, desires, fears....

I confess that I have not read the other books of the saga, but this book, if you intend to read others, is a reading accessible to all, because you just have read the plots of the other books, and not have read them in entirely.

I can not give a high evaluation to this book for the simple fact that it was more an explanatory book, a book that tells the story of the Sightwitches, how they are created, and focuses in particular on some of them, with POV and illustrations. At this book I wanted to give three stars, because despite being a prequel, it does not contain all that adventure that I thought had, I had much higher expectations for this book. But I decided to give four stars because Susan Dennard is a phenomenal author. Her writing is flowing, sweet to read, and then she is a fantastic teacher when it comes to writing. I love the way she gives me new ideas on how to plot my stories, the suggestions she gives about how to write a first draft, etc. You can find everything on her web site, and in every newsletter she adds a new suggestion. PHENOMENAL.

However, returning to Sightwitch, if you are curious to find out more about the witch world of Susan Dennard, you should read it. Her protagonists are all Badass, she is able to bring out the best of them. There is not a character in this book that you will get tired of, because everyone has their own story, and everyone manages to bring out the best in themselves.

Welcome back to the Witchlands! I've always been drawn to this series. Its magical elements and intense story lines are things only an amazing author can think up. This story showed another side of the Witchlands, with some old and new characters. It was a great short read and I can't wait to see what will come next from Susan Dennard.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

<b>💕 I would like to announce that I love Ryber</b>. I really liked her in Truthwitch, but since Sightwitch is her story I got more of a glimpse inside her before the events of the other books. I’m just going to say it: I love Ryber, she really managed to worm her way into my heart pretty quickly because I could relate to her so much. She’s always trying to follow the rules and is never disobeying unlike her best friend and Threadsister Tanzi – Ryber’s entire character Arc is about learning that rules are made up and sometimes not meant to be followed, she realizes that it’s thinking about the box that is important. Generally, Ryber also struggles with being without the Sight and not called to serve her goddess, which understandably leaves her feeling unsure and anxious. I really felt for her the entire time, because she tries so hard to be a good Sightwitch and loves learning everything she can. Ryber is dedicated, focused and smart and I was rooting for her so much! I felt her despair when everyone else was gone and when she had to go into the mountain alone, it made me feel very close to her. I JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH OKAY? ♥ Another thing I loved was her love for her best friend Tanzi, who she wanted to save!

<b>💕 Reading Sightwitch made me really like Kullen</b>. I liked Kullen in the Witchlands books, but this book made me love him so much more. It increased my enjoyment of him a lot, which I count as a great accomplishment of Sightwitch. If I were to reread the other books, I would probably love him much more too, which makes me both excited and nervous of what is to come for him! I loved that in Sightwitch we got to see him more in-depth and discover much more about his background story. Furthermore, I liked seeing Ryber’s and his earliest interactions, they were very interesting to watch and I loved the enemies-to-lovers vibe they gave off!

<b>💕 I loved that we had Dysi as a story within the story</b>! I had almost forgotten that Sightwitch would also contain another story besides Ryber’s, which just excited me more! Eridysi Gochienka is a famous Sightwitch, who lived thousands of years before the events of Truthwitch and now we get an insight in her life as well. I didn’t except to get so invested in her story, but I did and couldn’t wonder what would happen next. I loved that we got to see the struggles of the Paladins and the origin of so many things through her eyes, it directly connected to Ryber’s story! You could see the parallels and clues, which just made Sightwitch more perfect. Everything resonating definitely made the story come alive! I began to love Dysi as well as Ryber and I was really rooting for her. Generally, I was immersed in her story, her sorrow and her happiness. Having her tell her story was amazing!

<b>💕 Many new clues and information about the Witchlands make me want to go into theories</b>. The problem is that I’m not that good at them and that Susan is always one step ahead of me. On the bright side this reinforces how well she manages to connect all her characters and their backgrounds and then hide it from us. I need to do an entire reread of the Witchlands books, because I’m sure that I missed all the little details, clues and easter eggs. I absolutely love that there is so much depth to the books and that they keep surprising me and blowing my mind! I won’t go into spoilers here about what clues and new information emerged in Sightwitch, but we did learn a LOT more about the history of the Witchlands. I’m especially talking about the Paladins and Dysi’s story. Generally I loves seeing the Sightwitches and learning about their rules and the convent! The new setting really grew on me and contained lots of clues. I’m definitely counting The Rook (who is a bird) as a clue and I want to mention him here because he was a lovely animal companion!

<b>💕 Of course the book was perfectly crafted and broke my heart</b>. Like I mentioned before, Susan Dennard is amazing at connecting everything in her universe and that was the same with Sightwitch. Apart from the clues, both stories told had a connection that showed at several times in the book! The plot was a bit slower at first to get us accustomed to the convent and I liked that because Ryber’s despair as everyone else was called into the mountain build up and felt very raw. But quickly the story took off and left me breathless and mindblown like usual. Of course Sightwitch also wrecked my heart because Ryber is going through a lot and it’s tough to watch when you’re connecting to her so much. Especially towards the end I was getting emotional and one scene where her despair reaches its climax really got me tearing up, because whyyyy?

<b>💕 Amazing Illustrations (+ documents)</b>! They really added something to the book and were so much fun! Together text and illustrations made for a compelling story that will sweep you in and not let you go! All the documents, pictures and other additions made me grasp the story even more and helped visualize. They were also very nice to look at and made for a pleasant experience reading the book!

<b>IN CONCLUSION</b>: <i>Sightwitch</i> was an <b>amazing addition to the Witchlands books</b>, which hopefully manages to hold me over until book 3 arrives next year. This novella definitely is a <b>must read for the fans of the Witchlands</b>, because it’s amazing full of hidden clues and easter eggs that you don’t want to miss! I cannot even explain how much I loved seeing the characters journey, the illustrations and revisit this world! Sightwitch is shorter, since it’s a novella, but manages to wrap every up perfectly, which makes the story <b>a joy to read from start to finish</b>.

My Goodness. This excerpt made me Pre Order this book. I need more!
Such a well written series. Susan Dennard has outdone herself ;)

When I first heard about this book I was very intrigued so when this preview excerpt was uploaded to netgalley, I had to try my chances to get to see it. I'm so glad I did because I loved it and can't wait to read the full thing.

I was given a preview excerpt of this book and I liked the idea of it, the diary format made it seem different from the previous two Witchlands books. The pictures were interesting and it was interesting to learn more facts about the sightwitches and more. This being said I felt it was a little flat and jarring. It took me a little while to get interested in Tanzi and Ry's story which jumped back but their entries jumped back and forth timewise and although I got the relevance of why I found it annoying, especially as the fist time I didn't realise for a bit then had to go back and read part of it again. The other entries in there were also annoying and although they may be good I was already invested in the story we had been offered about Tanzi and Ryber already and had to force myself not to skip over those parts.

I'm still interested in this book but I'm probably in no kind of hurry to read it right now, I also feel like if I was to buy it I would make sure to get a hard copy instead of digital.

I love this series so much! It is so fascinating! This is a quick little prequel that just adds to the story. I enjoyed it very much and to me it was so magically written. It had a high fantasy feel for such a short, YA book. This only takes a few hours to read but is a great book to get readers through the wait for the next book!

My quick and simple overall: magical and fascinating!

This was a great start to the book, it made me really excited to get the full book at some point and read the whole book.

Going in, you should know that Sightwitch is a little different from the other books in the Witchlands series. In fact, I like to think of it as an actual artifact from that world. In Windwitch, Merik visits Kullen's apartment:

Merik's attention snagged on one spine now, a familiar title he'd seen Kullen reading on the Jana only hours before his death.

The True Tale of the Twelve Palladins

Merik's breath caught. He yanked it off the table in a rasp of leather, a puff of dust. He peeled back the cover. . .

Different copy. He exhaled - hard. This addition had a torn first page; the one on the Jana had been smooth.

And when you peel back the jacket on Sightwitch:



*gasp* And the first page tells us that "Sightwitch diaries have a way of changing, depending on who reads them." So while most of the book is Ryber's journal, we also have pieces of Erydice's, a Sightwitch who lived a thousand years earlier. The magic (or perhaps the goddess if you ask a Sightwitch) tells us everything we need to know, even though it's more than Ryber intended to tell. Within those journals are maps and sketches and other bits that Ryber collected that help tell the story.



My only real criticism is that I wish I could tell which parts Ryber added, like with whatever the Witchlands equivalent of tape or paperclips would be at the corners to give more of a scrapbook feel. I feel like the pages are too clean, though there instances where Ryber's made notes in the margins, which I love.



As readers we learn the history of the Witchlands along with Ryber and her friend Tanzi, including the origins of their magic and the story behind the construction of the underground city in Windwitch. I found those stories just as fascinating as Ryber and Erydice's own. It's so compelling, I read it more or less in one sitting. (It was a snow day, so I did have to pause for some kid-related trips to the kitchen.)



Sightwitch is set a year before Truthwitch, so it is technically a prequel, but I agree with the decision to call it book 2.5. Learning the world's mythology is so much more meaningful when you're already invested. I also think it would be frustrating to go from this story to Truthwitch where Ryber and Kullen play such small parts in the story. And I have so many theories about where the series is headed now that I know what the endgame is. At least, I think I do. I even have a (very spoilery) idea about the title of book four.



I've just been fascinated by the entire Witchlands series. I'm happy that I read Windwitch and Sightwitch together though, because I feel like there's so much going on in all of these books. If you want to refresh your memory but don't have time for a reread, Susan Dennard has done these really fun gif recaps of both of the previous books, Truthwitch and Windwitch. Even if you don't need a refresher, I highly recommend them.

4.5 stars

I loved the first few books and I'm very excited to read this installment.

If you are a fan of the Witchlands stories, then you will love this novella. The preview excerpt format did not show pictures very well on my kindlefire or as a pdf on my computer. That made it a little difficult to follow, however, I believe that will be resoled in the completed edition! Thank you Netgalley for this edition.

Great preview, excited to read the full book on release day. I didn't post a review on amazon as it wasn't a complete book but thank you for allowing me to read this preview. Just as good as the other two books in the series so far.

This is to all my fans of Susan, and yes normally I go with the formal last name for authors, but when you've talked on Twitter, get her newsletters, and watch all the insta videos somewhere along the way one of my favorite authors turned into Susan.
The last few months got all topsy-turvey with the release date for Sightwitch and because of that, there was a huuuge outpouring of support for those of who love the Witchlands series. This made me lucky enough to receive the preview of Sightwitch.
Oh. My. Goodness guys. I love it so far. Due to the deadlines for applying to grad school being moved up on me I told myself I wasn't allowed to read it until that was done. For good reason I sat down after work and read it as fast as I could.
This reads so much more as a mystery. Still fast packed, we are able to delve into the character of Ryber who is such an interesting character. She was much more of an enigma in the main books and here I feel as if I know her as closely as I know myself. And she is so lost right now, as am I because the preview of book ends... on a precipice of new information.
Sightwitch brings the readers into an entirely different part of the world of the Witchlands than we even knew existed. Seriously the world building in this series is ridiculous, as much to say that I'm still craving to know more, and how can there me more? But Susan has thousands of years of history packed into this series.
As always the writing is phenomenally gripping, but this time Susan brings us into the world through journal entries. And guys, the emotions claw straight at your heart. I love close up third person, but I am always so much more immersed in the feelings and the drama and the mystery when it's first person. And Susan does it beautifully. It's so wonderful to see how deep of a talent pool she has an an author.
I will say that this book was made to be in print. Not that I didn't love being able to have it early and on my phone, because I almost started crying when I got approved, but because this tale is written like a journal and nothing but an honest to goodness book will do the trick. So please, go get it.
My pre-ordered book came tonight! And I can tell you that as soon as I get this post up I'm going to be diving into the book. As all other fans of Susan Dennard should.

Thanks to Susan, Netgalley, and TorTeen for a free preview in exchange for an honest review.

I love the Withlands stories, and have been waiting for this book for quite a while. The preview excerpt format was a little wonky on my kindle, so it was a little difficult to follow, however, I anticipate it to be better once I have the completed version or physical copy in my hand.

So far the story is very intriguing and makes you really curious about what is going wrong with the sightwitches. Even though the format is unique, like the first two books the POV changes are still there via different documents that are included. Ryber's character has so much more depth already, and it's exciting to see where she came from.

I am really enjoying the continued world building that this book offers! I can't wait to get my hands on my own copy so I can finish it! A full review will be posted on my goodreads & blog as soon as I finish the full book.