#Prince Merik

[tealeavesand-roses]

Status: read Rating: 4.5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟✨

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (The Witchlands, #1) 🗡️👁️📜🫴🏻🧵 It's a travesty that I was unaware of this series until recently. I just finished the first book, and I'm hooked—wow. Dennard's world-building in the Witchland Series is intricate, beautiful, and, above all, magical.

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard is the first book in the Witchlands series. It is a story about two unregistered witches, Safiyah, a truthwitch, and Iseult, a threadwitch, who are on the run from various opposers, such as empires and mercenaries. Both Safi and Iseult must navigate a tense and scary political landscape. Along the way, they encounter allies and foes, including Prince Merik, a windwitch, and the bloodwitch Aeduen.

To give a little backstory, I had begun rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender, and as with every rewatch of Avatar, my heart swooned for Zutara. Listen, the first season came out when I was 13; I fell hard for Zuko and never looked back. I also immediately questioned why he and Katara didn't end up together once the series concluded, as their chemistry and scenes were *chef's kiss* 🤌🏼. Moving on, I wanted to know if any books/series exuded similar ATLA attributes/were identical in any way. I ended up finding A Clockwork Reader's BookTube video that recommended books for fans of the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. Thus, I was introduced to the Witchlands series. 🌬️ Side note, I love that A Clockwork Reader is a shameless fan of Zutara like myself, and she mentioned how she got a chance to chat with the author, Susan Dennard, and apparently, two characters in the series were inspired by the dynamic between Katara and Zuko, which of course piqued my interest even more.

⭐️⭐️SLIGHT SPOILER⭐️⭐️

Overall, I loved this book! I haven't read a YA fantasy in a while, but it's such a good read. I'm starting book two next week; I'm swamped with homework, so I need to put that first 🙃 Also, um, I'm sorry, the phrase Aeduan said to Iseult in her native tongue quite literally tugged at my heartstrings and nearly brought me to my knees. Like-are you kidding me?! I gasped when she divulged what the phrase meant, like...that's something heartmates say to each other, not a girl you swore you'd kill the next time you'd cross paths. Lmao. They've had such minimal interactions, but I'm obsessed with them.

[bphguyen]

w i n d w i t c h 🌀 . and the final #witchlands portrait! ik cloak‘s a (B)Aeduan thing but Merik‘s description in the 2nd book was too fun to pass on!! . who‘s been your fave in the series? 

Merik belongs to @stdennard

[dark-giver]

If Safi and Merik end up together..... 👀

And if we remember that Aeduan is the son of the Raider King .... 👀

We will find out that our girls have found their prince. Both... 👀👀👀

[thevoidwell]

I know that Ryber and Evrane act like Iseult's humor is impossible to understand in Truthwitch, but her joke about the crying baby in Noden's Gift was actually hilarious

[nipuni]

Merik Nihar, Windwitch and prince of Nubrevna, from Witchlands by @stdennard 😊

[virginiagreene]

I'm doing cartoon pet portraits! Most of my artwork lately has been more digital/painterly, and I've missed drawing silly animals. I used to draw pets as gifts for people all the time, ever since I was a little kid, and I especially enjoyed capturing something about their personality. Featured here are Moo the yelling cat, Pickles and Sam the cat brothers, Griff and Pan, the other "cat" brothers, Merik the mountain climber and my own little prince Galikat. I'm taking 5 orders for these right now--get in touch via email (virginiagreeneillustration-at-gmail-dot-com) if you want one for yourself or to give one as a gift! (Please use email instead of DMs!) These are 4"x6"ish, ink and marker with a touch of colored pencil, and come signed. $75, and shipping is included if under $10. All I need from you is a good picture of your critter and something about their personality! All these examples are mammals, but y'all know I'd LOVE to do a bird or reptile. <3 Thanks for following my work and I hope you enjoy these characters! #petportraits #funforme #bigillubreak #pets #cartoonpets #someoneaskmeforabird #penandink #markers #cute #silly #havingagoodtime https://www.instagram.com/p/CejrwruOKJ0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[safifonhasstrel]

recently finding out that people compare z*tara and baeseult, and don't get it. i can't be the only one who doesn't see their vibes being the same at all. aeduan and iz are children of an oppressed ethnic group who find their way back to their roots and make a family of their own. the other ship is a guy stalking and harassing the victims of his family's imperialistic empire. the math is not mathing

Oh yeah, apparently Iseult and Aeduan are inspired by zuko and Katara but I've never seen the similarity between these characters. Maybe I don't see any similarities because I have never shipped zutara but the only similarity I can see is that zuko and Aeduan are both huntingdon someone. Zuko is hunting aang and Aeduan is hunting safi. Both can be grumpy but that's it. I can't see any similarities between Iseult and katara. They couldn't be more different. Actually, I'm my opposite merik has more in common with zuko than Aeduan. You know, the Prince thing, having a shitty father, a rivalry with his sister, the burn scar. But that's just me and everyone is allowed to interpret a book the way they want. If some people want to draw similarities between zutara and baeseult, fine. I don't see it but fine. You do you.

[melanielocke]

📚 do you have any book recs with a MC who doesn't have a love interest or doesn't end up with the traditional, expected love interest? idc if it's sci-fi, fantasy, realistic fiction, w/ever... also love your blog <3

Most books I read do have romance in them but I have some you might be interested in

No romance:

Vespertine - Margaret Rogerson

This is about a nun with powers connected to ghosts who teams up with an ancient semi evil spirit to stop someone who is creating an army of ghost posessed soldiers. Artemisia generally dislikes being around people and has no love interest, but she does have an interesting bond with the revenant, the spirit she works with.

Not a lot of romance

Witchlands series - Susan Dennard

While most characters in this book do have a love interest, they spend most of the books apart from each other or not really doing anything with romance. The series is set on a continent with three empires and some more countries/territories that used to be at war and are now nearing the end of a twenty year truce. It starts out focusing on Safi, a truthwitch with the power to tell truth from lie. Together with her best friend and Threadwitch Iseult she has to flee when an emperor wants to marry Safi. They are aided by Merik, a Windwitch and prince of a kingdom that's starving and trapped between the empires and hunted by Aeduan, a Bloodwitch who can smell people's blood from across the continent. The series gets a lot more complicated over time with secret histories, magic, etc. I just reread them all in one go (except book 5 which is coming out in a year or so) and I would recommend reading them all after each other as the plot might become too complicated to understand if you forget too much.

Romance that is not as expected

Iron Widow - Xiran Jay Zhao

This book reimagines several characters from Chinese history in a sci-fi dystopian Chinese inspired setting. In this land, a pair of male/female pilots pilot vessels that fight against aliens that try to kill people and a lot of times this ends with the female pilot dying. Zetian wants to take revenge when her sister dies after volunteering to pilot and volunteers herself. She ends up going to battle alongside the male pilot who killed her sister and ends up killing him in the process. This earns her the title "Iron Widow" and she gets paired with the strongest male pilot the land has to offer.

[thebitchlands]

A new witchlands au but make it monty python and the holy grail

Vivia is King Arthur (and Merik is the main reason Camelot is a silly place.) She's been sent on a quest to find the Holy Hagfish, queen of all hagfishes.

Her chosen knights are:

Sir Vaness (Sir Bedivere) who has the braincell and is an intelligent woman of science. She knows flamehawks float and weigh the same as witches

Sir Lizl (Sir Lancelot) a brave knight who takes no shit and has no time to rescue foolish princes (Leopold)

Sir Safi (Sir Galahad) the fun loving knight who definitely did not have to be dragged away from a tower of partying minstrels (the hell bards)

Sir Stix (Sir Robin) likes to avoid conflict after a watching a weird man jump out a window when she confronted him.

These brave knights first must find a wise monk (Evrane) who takes them to a magic well to find their answers about the Holy Hagfish. They are unfortunately attacked by a vicious child (Owl) but manage to escape her wrath when they release a mountain bat (Blueberry) who carries her off.

Their quest unfortunately fails when two detectives (Ryber and Iseult) tie them to a string of foolish crimes across the continent.

[gilded-moon]

Me: So at the beginning of truthwitch Safi and Iseult are both 18 right and Safi is nineteen by book 3

My best friend: Yes

Me: How old are Merik and Aeduan

Her: Merik is 21 and Aeduan is twenty... where is this going

Me: Well Safi is dating Merik and he’s three or four years older than her. He can also legally drink but Safi can’t. He’s also a prince too

Her: That’s funny but why is this important

Me: Aeduan is two years older than Iseult and it’s canon that everyone except Iseult, Owl, Leopold, and Evrane think he’s an evil mercenary

Her: ... holy shit you’re right.

Me: And it’s also canon that Mathew and Habim know nothing about what happened to either girl and that the both of them are in relationships and one has a daughter now

Her: Oh my god. That’s amazing

Me: Which means that at some point we’re going to get protective dads one, getting mad about their daughters’ boyfriends being older than them, two getting mad about being grandparents (they love Owl but seriously Iseult) and three the awkward parent meeting and parent talk

Her: I love it. I need Mathew and Habim chasing Merik and Aeduan down the street yelling at them for dating younger women while everyone else laughs

Me: We all do

[kissingagrumpygiant]

every pov switch to merik should be titled "the prince's not so good terrible horribly awful day that has lasted the past three weeks"

[thevoidwell]

The witchlands characters and opinion of Merik

Safi - a real bitch (affectionate)

Iseult - a real bitch (derogatory)

Aeduan - an arrogant royal who needs to stop making everything a crisis

Vivia - a complicated brother who deserves a new start

Stix - a well-intentioned person to be cautious of

Kullen - an incredibly kind and loyal Threadbrother

Ryber - a good person who’s trying his best

Cam - a good person who isn’t perfect and needs help

Vaness - a weak witch and prince who isn’t as good as his sister

Leopold - a rude person, respectable diplomat, and bad dancer

Caden - an absolute fucking nightmare

Lev - somebody to reluctantly respect but not like

Zander - the prince of Nubrevna

Lizl - someone who either wasn’t taught by Evrane or didn’t listen

[bibliophilicwitch]

oh i would love a recommendation!! if you’re still doing this, my favorite books are A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Eragon; and The Name of the Wind. so SF/F with a focus on worldbuilding and character

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Young witches Safiya and Iseult have a habit of finding trouble. After clashing with a powerful Guildmaster and his ruthless Bloodwitch bodyguard, the friends are forced to flee their home.

Safi must avoid capture at all costs as she's a rare Truthwitch, able to discern truth from lies. Many would kill for her magic, so Safi must keep it hidden - lest she be used in the struggle between empires. And Iseult's true powers are hidden even from herself.

In a chance encounter at Court, Safi meets Prince Merik and makes him a reluctant ally. However, his help may not slow down the Bloodwitch now hot on the girls' heels. All Safi and Iseult want is their freedom, but danger lies ahead. With war coming, treaties breaking and a magical contagion sweeping the land, the friends will have to fight emperors and mercenaries alike. For some will stop at nothing to get their hands on a Truthwitch.

This is an excellent character-focused fantasy that doesn't drop the ball on worldbuilding. It also focuses on relationships across the spectrum from familial to platonic to romantic.

[kimwexlers-brownhair]

Merik Hobbit au?

Like I mentioned before, I'm reading LOTR for the first time, and if you think I haven't already imagined Meg as a hobbit, you would be wrong (or maybe a halfling, because Meg has dainty feet. Not that there's anything wrong with a lovely lady hobbit with big hairy feet --far from it! -- but I don't know if that jives with my image of Meg).

ANYWAY.

The dwarf king Erik is a very solemn, moody sort. Not only was his face disfigured from an exploding mine, but the lovely elf maiden he's loved from afar, Lady Christine, has wed the elf prince Raoul.

Embittered, he agrees to join the wizard Daroga's quest to slay the dragon Carlotta, who has been hording dwarven gold. He doesn't care if he comes back alive or not. To Erik's displeasure, coming along on the expedition is some hobbit maid named Meg.

She's an overly inquisitive sort who always gets herself into trouble, but he's surprised at her quick thinking in tough situations.

Yet truly, it's only when she's moved to tears by his original compositions, which he sings by the fire most nights when he thinks everyone else is asleep, that he begins to reconsider her as more than that pesky hobbit girl.

[safifonhasstrel]

Thinking about witchshadow again and how epic it would have been if merik was at Safi’s side when she saved eron. Like that would have had actual emotional value to the reader and we would have come full circle with truthwitch. In TW eron helped safi escape with the help of merik. Imagine if we had gotten safi helping eron escape with meriks help.

Like. Just imagine their conversation.

"I thought you were dead, Prince."

"Not deader than you."

[sobbing-angels]

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, Spoiler free review

Truthwitch is the first installment of Susan’s new series The Witchlands, published in 2016. Truthwitch follows the story of Iseult and Safiya, two friends with witchery in their veins. Safiya, truthwitch and Domna of Cartorra, has always hidden her ability to tell lies from truth fearing for her safety because an ability like that could be a great weapon for any country in the midst of an impending war between all countries.

Her Threadsister, Iseult, is believed to be a Threadwitch from the Nomatsi people. However, she is an outcast to her own people because she could never really perform threadwitchery apart from looking at people’s threads (feelings and emotions).

Iseult and Safi just want to live their own life, but when trouble finds them and powerful people learn of Safi’s witchery the Threadsisters run away with the help of Prince Merik Nihar of Nubrevna with the promise of stablishing trade between Cartorra and Nubrevna.

At the beginning of the book it is a little difficult to get into Dennard’s world because we are thrown right into the action, with all sorts of witchery we never now how they really works and the politics between the three Witchlands’ countries, but after the first 50-60 pages the reading starts to pace up.

The relationship between Safi and Iseult was one of my favourite things in the book because friendship between two girls is so rarely portrayed in fantasy books. We usually have the main heroine and the love interest along with some other friends, but never two girls against the world and that was something refreshing to see.

Dennard focuses on setting the story and the world and at the same time giving us some action without leaving the romance behind. Merik is the perfect prince, even if he starts with a somewhat rough patch, he saves Safi multiple times but we never get the typical arrogant prince that save the day, just a guy that wants to help his own country. With all the adventures they have romance slowly blooms without feeling forced or rushed.

Overall, I liked the book, it’s a very good start for the series and I can’t wait to read the next books.