First, I want to say a huge thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC of Witches Steeped in Gold to review before it’s book birthday on April 20th. I also want to make clear that I am not an own voices reviewer and you should definitely seek out own voices reviews on Goodreads or other avenues for this book!
Witches Steeped in Gold is a YA fantasy series inspired by Jamaican culture. The premise of the book follows two rival witches, one in line to inherit a throne of sorts, and one a prisoner. The story is told through the perspective of each witch, with alternating chapters, and as the story progresses the two character’s lives begin to intertwine as they both search to create a better future.
I was very excited to read this book because it had been highly anticipated throughout the Bookstagram community and the cover was gorgeous! I was slightly nervous going into reading it after just coming out of a reading slump though and this might have affected my feelings toward the book. I enjoyed the authors writing style, and there were a couple of really great morally grey characters, and some twists that I really enjoyed, but over all I had trouble finding an attachment to the characters.
The first half of the book had a lot of world building and if that is something that you enjoy then you will love it, but if you have trouble with world building and are coming out of a slump you might find it a bit slow. Part 2 really begins to speed up though, but by the time all the action and twists happen I realized I never made a connection to the characters relationships. I enjoyed reading about each character, but I never really felt attached to any one character, or any relationship between the characters.
About 80% of the way through this all changed though! A lot of intense things happen and I started making attachments and connections quickly, but the book was almost done. This is why I am pretty sure the next book will be amazing. It might have taken me a while to connect with the characters, but now that I am, I definitely need to know what will happen next! The twists demand it!
Favorite Quotes from Witches Steeped in Gold
“However difficult it has become to avoid, friendship is a noose I can’t afford.”
“Unlike storms, trouble doesn’t give signs like rain, so we must always be ready for it.”
“Deities are like the dead; not seeing them doesn’t mean they’re not walking among us.”
Witches Steeped in Gold is Perfect for Fans of:
Furyborn –
Daughter of Smoke and Bone –
An Ember in the Ashes –
What not to look for with Witches Steeped in Gold:
One thing that I had trouble with during this book was the lack of character dialogue. I personally love to read books with a lot of dialogue. I find them faster and easier to binge and to dive into. The characters are mostly solitary and inside their own heads, which gives you a lot of detail about the world you are reading, but personally made it more difficult to binge read…which is what I had been looking for when I started reading. (This does change the last 15%-20% of the book though.)
Content Warning:
Murder, violence, gore and oppression.
