My book reviews for the Witches Steeped in Gold duology by Ciannon Smart. Please be aware that the review for the second book may contain spoilers for the first book.

The first title in a thrilling, fiery and powerful Caribbean-inspired YA fantasy duology.

Trust no witch . . .

Iraya Adair has spent her life in a cell. Heir of an overthrown and magically-gifted dynasty, she was exiled from her home on the island nation of Aiyca when she was just a child. But every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance.

Jazmyne Cariot grew up dressed in gold, with stolen magic at her fingertips. Daughter of the self-crowned doyenne, her existence is a threat to her mother's rule. But unlike her sister, Jazmyne has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power.

Sworn enemies, the two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down the woman who threatens both their worlds.

But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain - except the lengths Iraya and Jazmyne will go to win this game.

Two witches. One motive. And a very untrustworthy alliance.

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Witches Steeped in Gold Book Review

Witches Steeped in Gold is a book about identity. Finding it, losing it, the pressure of it, and reshaping it into what you want and need. With a cast of all black characters, Smart has created an incredible fantasy world inspired by Jamaican folklore with a unique magical system. The two main characters are both unsure of the heritage and position they were born to and while they both want what is best for their people they end up on two completely different paths. When I started Witches Steeped in Gold I thought this was going to go a certain way, and even despite listening to Smart on a panel at the Cymera Book Festival very clearly say that it doesn’t go the way you’d expect I was still really surprised by how things went. I was warned beforehand and I still didn’t see it coming!

There are a huge amount of important and complicated issues covered in this novel and Smart does so smoothly through the use of alternating narratives. Witches Steeped in Gold isn’t a book that could have been told by just one narrative, in my opinion, it was essential to have both Iraya and Jazmyne’s perspectives every step of the way. It made the whole story that much more personal rather than this becoming another tale of the victim or the oppressor. As the saying goes, there are always two sides to every story which is exactly the case for Witches Steeped in Gold.

The hotly anticipated finale to the epic, fierce and magnetically addictive Caribbean-inspired Witches Steeped in Gold duology.

Bow down witches . . .

Enemy witches Iraya and Jazmyne have each achieved their darkest desires. For the former, the doyenne who killed her family is dead. For the latter, the crown has been won. For both, their treacherous alliance is over - until a hidden evil rises from their last adversary's ashes, forcing them to join forces once more to defend Aiyca and their respective orders.

Laying claim to the island of Iraya's birth right and the bloody crown Jazmyne wears, this mysterious assailant is rearing monsters in the name of war. A war neither Iraya or Jazmyne are prepared to fight. New alliances must be forged to protect Aiyca and once again the two witches must work together to defeat an enemy who threatens both their worlds. Who will be the one sitting on top of the throne in the end - Iraya, Jazmyne, or another?

Two witches. One motive. And everything to fight for.

This book was provided for free by NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

Content Warnings:

Empress Crowned in Red Book Review

Empress Crowned in Red starts off from where the first book left off – I think. It felt very abrupt and there was hardly any padding to ease the reader back into the flow of things. I’m not a fan of authors rehashing the entire story of the last book just to resettle readers, however, if you’re going to string the story along so closely a little reminder of the immediate events that happened in a book I read a year ago would be much appreciated. I will say that it definitely made me feel as unsettled as Iraya did, so if that was the intent then it worked perfectly.

It took me a while to get settled into Empress Crowed in Red; about fifty percent of the book to be exact. This book is a huge tome, and normally I’m all for massive books. That’s just more story and that’s usually not a bad thing. The first half of this book felt like it dragged on, and while I won’t say it was unnecessary, it just personally didn’t work for me. Then after that halfway mark everything started to piece together as if Smart had just been playing with us, setting the stage for the finale of her duology. The first half of Empress Crowned in Red is basically one big tease and then Smart drops the curtain.

Smart introduces a lot of new elements in this book, and it mixes things up nicely. I expected book two to still be Iraya vs. Jazmyne and while that rivalry is still present, there is more happening. It was a relief to see that Smart has grown her world even more. While Iraya and Jazmyne’s rivalry is interesting, I felt like book one covered that, and I wasn’t sure how another book of them duking it out was going to work. Adding a mystery assailant and monsters provided Smart with the chance to delve deeper into so many parts of her already fantastic world-building and let me tell you, it only gets better in Empress Crowned in Red.

As expected this sequel is the battle for Aiyca and the throne, and some things happened as I expected and were perhaps a little predictable. This book is all about the journey though and how all the characters get where they do. It’s their journeys and their developments throughout the book that I never expected, and that’s one of the brilliant parts of Smart’s writing. She keeps you on your toes throughout the book. You know that X is going to happen, but how it happens? Guess again.

The physical battle for Aiyca is very well-paced. Unlike battles in other books where they end abruptly in one or two chapters, Smart takes her time. As a result, it actually feels like a battle with stages. At one point at the start of the battle, Iraya’s narration changes slightly to echo traditional oral storytelling. She talks about how the residents of the Island saw what was happening, and how they told the story of it happening later on. It’s a nice change of pace and has the effect of highlighting the enormity of the moment. Whatever happens, what they’re doing is still so momentous that stories are told about it.

Characters and relationships develop much more in Empress Crowned in Red. In the previous book, there were a lot of new relationships being forged, and this time around those relationships are beginning to solidify and grow. Trust is built even if it takes time in some cases. The way characters and relationships developed was fabulous and realistic, and I loved the way Smart wrote dialogue between her characters. Whether they’re friends, enemies or lovers, the way she has with words is just perfection. Iraya is the queen of banter and sass and some of her lines are amazing.

There was one character that developed in a way that I did not find believable at all. I kept waiting for there to be an additional explanation for what happened because the change in them felt very sudden and quite false. Other characters seem to develop very naturally, and this one just felt out of place which is odd for Smart’s writing as all the other character’s journeys were very smooth, and believable. There were some signs of what happened, it just didn’t seem like a natural progression to me.

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