A review by renettereads
Witherward by Hannah Mathewson

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

In this book we meet Ilsa, a Changeling street urchin with in Victorian England who has been taken in by a magician as his assistant. When Ilsa gets taken through a portal to an alternate London called the Witherward, she not only realises there’s more magic in the world than she knew, but she also finds links to all of the other things she’s been searching for since she was orphaned.

The book was really fast-paced and action packed and I enjoyed every second with Ilsa. She’s a feisty cockney character who doesn’t take any prisoners and I really enjoyed the way she handled herself. The rest of the cast were equally intriguing and because of the mysterious nature of the book, everyone behaved in a way that made me suspicious and I loved being kept on my toes. 

There were moments throughout this book where I felt a little confused as Ilsa made her discoveries, but it wasn’t long until she showed her workings and explained how she arrived there, which made it feel a little clearer. I also think the ending was a little rushed and that there were things I wanted to see more resolved than they were, but overall this was fun and I really enjoyed the worldbuilding. 

As the series continues, I’d like to explore the other magical factions. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys the concept of books like A Darker Shade of Magic, but in the slightly less serious style of something like Twin Crowns.
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