I have a lot of mixed feelings about this one.
First, the characters. I was totally all about Jazmyne. I just liked how strategically she thought while Iraya came off as rush in and think later. I did like that Iraya was ballsy and ready to fight whenever she could. Really wanted Jazmyne to finish better than she did as a character.
There was a ton of action towards the end, but most the book came off as info dumps. I think this was just due to all the world building and magic that was really different than anything I ever read before and Smart was trying to crush all that in there and still keep the story moving along.
The action scenes were really great and I admire how the women just jumped into the middle of it, especially Iraya.
The setting was so lush and well thought out. I swear I could feel the humidity fluffing out my hair. haha
Overall, enjoyed the uniqueness of the story.

I was SO excited for this book and REALLY wanted to like it. But, I just didn't. I feel like there were so many unexplained details: the tribes, the magic system, the political system, that the author just didn't give the reader enough description to understand. It's like hopping into a 3 hour sci-fi film with no context or preface. Even without the needed detail, this book is over 500 pages, but not really saying anything. I feel like I could have skimmed or skipped chapters without missing anything. It also moved at a sloth's pace.

I really wanted to like this book, but the characters just fell flat. As a result, I had a hard time getting invested in the action.

I honestly was not a big fan of this one. I tried a few times to get into it and just couldn't do it. I ended up marking it as DNF might come back to it eventually but I just was not as captivated by it as I have been by other YA fantasies in the past. Marked as 3 stars because I might come back to it and feel it is unfair to give 1 or 2 stars since I did not fully finish the book.

I really loved the robust worldbuilding of this novel. It was unlike any other fantasy novel I've read. There is no exposition, it simply throws you into the deep end of a new world, with a new magic system, culture, and vocabulary and trusts that readers are capable of doing the work. It can be a tough read in that sense but if you stick with it, the experience is well worth it. I found both of the main characters, Iraya and Jazmyne, compelling as well. Iraya is the lost princess of a defeated empire and Jazmyne is the heir to the current empire. They form an unlikely alliance, and although at times I questioned whether their decisions were too convenient, it did create a lot of tension as I was constantly wondering when one was going to betray the other.

This fantasy world, loosely inspired by Jamaican lore, is beautiful and scary. The story of two competing witches allying to assassinate their leader is a promising premise. The story is very heavy on world building, however - to the point of confusion at times. The many political intricacies of the plot are also occasionally hard to follow. An interesting series starter for dedicated high fantasy readers.

I really wanted to like this book,--witches? pirates? black girl magic? revenge? hell yes!--but it suffered from poor writing that eclipsed what could otherwise have been an interesting, original story. The prose was so heavy-handed that, while beautiful in many places, it was difficult to read. There were so, SO many extraneous phrases that sounded gorgeous but didn't add anything to the sentences--after 15 or so pages, it gets rather tedious.

Pair that with a dragging central plotline and the fact that the dual POVs were so similar that I had trouble telling them apart, and you end up with a book that had a lot of potential....and just didn't pull it off. Which is a shame, because the cultural and magical elements of the worldbuilding were intriguing enough to keep me reading when I would normally have given up within four or five chapters.

I am desperately hoping that the next book in the series addresses some of the major execution issues of this debut, because there really is a story here that I want to engage with and enjoy!

What a gorgeous book, both inside and out. This book is a stunning debut, packed with witches, strong female characters, and beautiful Jamaican lore. If this isn't on your to be read list, it should be!

Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance. Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power. Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain - except the lengths they will go to win this game.

CW: Violence, murder, sacrifice, sexual assault (past, assault, blood, oppression, death.

Both of the main characters are incredibly strong, powerful females who take no shit. I really enjoyed both characters and their perspectives, they were tonally different and both girls had strong motivations. Jazmyne and Ira both have complicated pasts, and interesting relationships throughout the book. I liked that they represent two separate viewpoints, and have a common enemy. I enjoyed seeing how their perspectives came together, I think their interactions were great. There is light romance in this that will definitely be fleshed out more in book two. And I think the side characters were great.

The plot of this book was interesting, very character driven. With Jaz and Ira coming together against a mutual enemy. I think the backstories for the characters and the history of the world do sucha good job at setting the stage for the story. The world building was incredibly gorgeous, the island setting of Aiyca felt very rich and vivd. The Jamaican lore was beautiful, and learning about the island and the people on it was really fun.

The pacing of this book was not my favourite. We started off a little slow, and slowly picked up the pace over time. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing by any means, though I did personally have a tricky time getting stuck into this. But when the pace picked up it, boy did it never stop! I could not put down this book once I hit the final third! The ending was absolutely everything, and I am so ready for book two already!!

Overall I think this book was a wonderful read, and one I really enjoyed and recommend. If you loved other reads like An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir, Furyborn by Clare Legrand, or A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown, you should check this book out!

I want to start out by saying that Witches Steeped in Gold was my most-anticipated book release of 2021! I was so, so excited to get my hands on it and dive into this story. For this reason, I will say that part of the way I experienced Witches Steeped in Gold is my fault. And I say fault because I went in with very high expectations.

I also went into this book with expectations for how the story would go and how the characters should be, which–looking back–I knew I shouldn't have done. I try to avoid doing this whenever possible, but I'm only human. All that aside, here are my thoughts on my most-anticipated release of the year:

I think the pacing in Witches Steeped in Gold is what I struggled with the most. And also, I guess the way the plot developed (which ties back into the pacing probably). Things moved a little bit too slow for my tastes. That being said, I also realized that this is the first book in a series and that the scene had to be set. I will definitely be reading the sequel because I did enjoy the world a lot and things definitely picked up (in my opinion) near the end of Witched Steeped in Gold.

The characters also didn't feel as fleshed out as they could be to me, and I struggled with rooting for any of them in particular. Again, though, this is the first book in the series and the characters were being introduced. I'm sure I will get to know them better in the sequel. All in all, I did like Witches Steeped in Gold, and all of the struggles I faced with it, I definitely found reasons for. I really like Ciannon Smart and look forward to all of the books she will write!

Witches Steeped in Gold was a lush fantasy about duty versus desire, and loyalty. I would absolutely recommend this title for the classroom.

As a Barbarian i was all excited to see a fantasy novel including obeah and a world that was all similar to the Caribbean. I can't say I am disappointed i read it I just wish the world building wasn't so confusing. I felt lost in parts and had to re-read to try to get a better understanding, this made reading way more tedious than I would have liked. As for the characters I was annoyed i couldn't fully route for either of them but I appreciate the author making everyone so complex and realistic. This book is definitely well written and though not the easiest read worth it in the end. Would give it a solid 3.5 stars

One of my most anticipated books of the year!

Firstly, the cover art is stunning. So beautiful. I love the color scheme and the two main characters. I feel the cover encapsulates the novel perfectly.

Secondly, the narrative itself was good. It is a good debut novel, as well as the first in a new series, that put a lot of groundwork into the world-building and magic system. It was a slow read, with beautiful language and great vocabulary (as an educator I appreciated that the reader was never talked down upon, and for YA, it is a plus). On the other hand, I wish there was a bit more character development. The main characters were dynamic based on the plot; however, there could have been more. I hope this carries out in the remainder of the series since the groundwork is laid out. This also goes for the relationships (platonic or not); moreover, I wish there were long moments with these characters building their relationships. There seemed to be tons of very short scenes that gave flashes of relationships, but were not fully hashed out.

Overall, I am intrigued to see what comes next in the series!

Wow did this disappoint me. I expected so much from this book and it completely fell flat. I understand this was probably a set up for more in the series, but the first 50% was very boring and nothing plot wise happened.

The dual POV in this was frustrating. The characters are supposed to be extremely different yet they sound exactly the same and it was confusing sometimes as to which POV I was reading from.

I’m curious what Ciannon Smart will write next that is not in this series because I will not be picking up the next book in this series.

I tried so hard to finish this book but DNF at 63%. I never DNF but this book dragged in a way that I really struggled with. Jamaican inspired fantasy with magic? This is catnip for me! But unfortunately, it was extremely boring. Nothing happened and the plot listed in the backcover doesn't actually start to happen until over 60%. My newborn mom brain needs fast paced action and this is a slow build that I just can't get on board with.

Now my big struggle with rating is that someone else could absolutely adore this book. And many people do. What I don't want my review to be used for is for white people to say "oh well I won't understand this" or "the language is too hard". Those are excuses built out of bias and should be stopped immediately. If you like fantasy that is dense, with lots of worldbuilding and information, please try this. Because it might be the perfect book for you.

I did not finish this book. The idea is very interesting, but the writing was uneven and I wasn't invested enough after the first 5 chapters to untangle the plot.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

I liked it but at the same time gosh this took a while to get through.

1. The world building was interesting, but there was so much to take in at the very beginning. The world and its conflict needed a lot of attention to know who was who and who hated who and who wanted revenge on whom. I also felt like there were lots of important aspects that were overlooked despite being quite pivotal to the plot, like The Yielding. I did not understand its purpose until about halfway through. It kept being mentioned, but we never really got to see it happen on page.

2. I really liked the characters. Usually when it comes to dual-POVs I have a favourite, but this time around I was pretty intrigued by both sides. Jazmyne the “meek ” and Iraya the “reckless” are really how I’d describe them. Other characters weren’t as fleshed out as I’d hoped and I was hoping for so much more from them. But then the ending came around and there was a complete 180 character change and I was seriously confused.

3. So this was a revenge story on multiple fronts and what can I say other than TRUST NO ONE. People were pulling alliances and betrayals left, right and center. It was good because it kept me engaged in trying to figure out who was on whose side…and what they were after.

4. I found the pacing off. It wasn’t smooth and there were some time jumps that skip over possibly exciting events which was disappointing. Instead we got a lot of repetitive secret meetings and talks. This is supposed to be a long book about witches! Give me more witchy action!

5. The magic system was cool but still needed more flesh to it too. Again it took me a while to understand how it works, and I still might be unclear about some stuff, but it does have potential. I like that it was forged from gold and how if created different power dynamics for different users. Very interesting.

6. Speaking of power, the politics were messyyy which is always my favourite thing. We have people seeking power, running from power, betraying power and its just a big mess. The race to become ruler is not simple. It crumbles relationships and leaves people in the dust (read sacrifices). And as I said this is a revenge story on many fronts and phew, ultimate power plays a big part in this. I liked that there is clear no good side or bad side. Each side has oppressed the other. Each has a hero that is villain to the other. And working together honestly seems like such a far fetch idea. I enjoyed the questions it made me ponder.

7. So it’s slow, lots of repetitive secret meetings and too many unknowns made the story drag in the beginning and middle. The third act though? Great. I wish we had gotten more of that. Things got 10x messier and I look forward to seeing what happens next.

8. The “romance” if you could call it that was not it for me. There were no interactions for the characters to truly find chemistry, they just started looking at each other at some point I guess. There are two potential romances…and well neither seem to be it for me. Who knows about later.

Witches Steeped in Gold is a phenomenally fast-paced YA witch fantasy with a creative magic system and Jamaican culture woven throughout. Only the first in a duology sure to have readers screaming for the sequel by the last page, it is shocking this is only Ciannon Smart's debut. Two enemy witches must come together in a deadly alliance to take down a mutual threat. The plot is a slow-building one that really builds the story until ramping up the action and really hitting readers hard. The Jamaican culture and folklore present makes the story so much more rich and authentic. If you're looking for a truly original YA witch novel, this is the one to check out. Witches Steeped in Gold is not to be missed!

This feels like being dropped into an entirely different world. I love witch stories, and this is a totally different version than all of those I've read before. Excellent.

Witches Steeped in Gold was one of my most anticipated reads this year. I was enchanted by the book from the beginning of this gorgeous debut.

My favorite parts of this book were the world-building, the character development, the Jamaican folklore influence, and the writing. The writing was incredible. The story did feel very high-stakes and I was invested in the mysteries and plot twists. I loved getting to know these characters. It was such a wonderful book, and I really did truly enjoy it.

The one problem with this book was the length. Some long books don't feel long. This one did. I think it could have been cut in half and would have been an easier read. But the world building was impeccably done.

First of all can we just take a few moments to enjoy the beauty that is the cover of this book!? Absolutely stunning I love it!!

I love a good powerful story full of witches, enemies, and struggles for power and this book fit the bill. I enjoyed how two very different enemies had to put their differences aside and work together go against a mutual threat. Would they be able to put their differences aside and be able to work together? Would they be able to defeat their common threat?

An enjoyable read with interesting characters.