Mini-reviews: Windwitch + The Careful Undressing of Love

Windwitch (The Witchlands #2) by Susan Dennard

pub 1/10/17 by Tor Teen
Young Adult - Fantasy
Received ARC from pub

If you read my blog, you know how much I love Susan Dennard which is why I'm nervous to be posting this honest (but thoughtful!) review.  With Truthwitch, she created a truly fascinating world. I was intrigued by its caste of witches and following Safi, Iseult, Merik and Aeduan on their adventures was exciting. But in Windwitch, I felt like the focus of the plot and world was less cohesive and the spark in her characters was missing. I still loved Iseult and Aeduan as they remained the most complex and multi-faceted. I looked forward to all their scenes! (I don't deny that I ship it, 100%.) With Safi and Merik, they felt the most different. Granted, their situations are the most extreme but the changes seemed abrupt since the story picks up soon after Truthwitch. Their paths were so disconnected from everyone and considering the series is touted as being about an epic female friendship, it's a shame we get little evidence of that. I just don't think the multiple perspectives worked out well this time, although I surprisingly liked the addition of Vivia. Overall, the book drifted away from the things that made me love Truthwitch in the first place – building these characters and their relationships and the abilities that come with being a Witch.

Do I recommend? I'm conflicted because I didn't enjoy Windwitch as much as I had hoped but I still remember loving Truthwitch. If this series has been on your radar, I still say check it out and decide for yourself.

The Careful Undressing of Love by Corey Ann Haydu

pub 1/31/17 by Dutton Books
for Young Readers
Young Adult - Contemporary
Borrowed ARC from Alexa

I actually had no idea what this book was about when I started. Corey Ann Haydu is an auto-read author for me and The Careful Undressing of Love proves, yet again, just why that is. It did take me a few chapters to settle in the setting of the story. Haydu changes history a bit and there's a lot to learn about Devonairre Street and the people, particular the girls and woman, who inhabit it. They're cursed and the men they fall in love with die because of it. Lorna Ryder is a Devonairre Street girl who doesn't buy into curse but wants to be apart of the community in spite of it. It's where her friends are and where her memories of her father are, who died in the 2001 Times Square Bombing. But when her best friend's boyfriend dies, the community and those fascinated by them turn the curse into a sort of mania that infects everyone. Suddenly the curse is "absolutely real" and love is truly to be feared. It was strange but also an interesting commentary on grief, love, sexuality and to me, how cults probably start. If anyone but Haydu had written it, I probably would've passed but that's the power of her writing. Her prose is beautiful and lyrical and I enjoy how she consistently makes me think outside the box.

Do I recommend? Yes! I admit I have my reservations about the ending but otherwise, I felt invested in the characters and the story. Super interesting read!