A review by sohxpie
Witherward by Hannah Mathewson

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Witherward is a fairly enjoyable novel. I can see elements of other fantasy books throughout, they weren't too heavy but it is clear where the inspiration comes from. Luckily the plot is unique enough that it holds up on its own, it doesn't feel like it's copying another story. I would say it's a very slow-paced book. The first 350 pages is pretty much just world building and establishing lore. Nothing pivotal happens until the last 150 pages. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but at times, it was a little frustrating. You have all these hints at what could happen but you have to wait too long for the payoff. If this was an introduction to a longer series, then I can understand it, with this much setup and world building, you would usually assume this would be the case  but it looks like this story will remain a duology for now. There was an interesting range of characters, I think the writing was fairly solid throughout. Though Eliot's role in the story was far too obvious, it could have been a nice red herring but we were constantly reminded of how shifty he was in every interaction he had with Ilsa. I would have much preferred to be caught off-guard with that reveal. Overall, a pretty decent novel that I wouldn't say I loved but I did enjoy reading.