Witches Steeped in Gold
- Downloads：6139
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-05-26 07:19:22
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ciannon Smart
- ISBN：B08M48FXGB
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
This Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut about two enemy witches who must enter into a deadly alliance to take down a common enemy has the twisted cat-and-mouse of Killing Eve with the richly imagined fantasy world of Furyborn and Ember in the Ashes。
Divided by their order。 United by their vengeance。
Iraya has spent her life in a cell， but every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance。
Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter， but unlike her sister before her， she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power。
Sworn enemies， these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat。 But power is intoxicating， revenge is a bloody pursuit， and nothing is certain - except the lengths they will go to win this game。
Divided by their order。 United by their vengeance。
Iraya has spent her life in a cell， but every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance。
Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter， but unlike her sister before her， she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power。
Sworn enemies， these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat。 But power is intoxicating， revenge is a bloody pursuit， and nothing is certain - except the lengths they will go to win this game。
Reviews
Amanda
，
Very solid first novel！ The magic system is unique， and I love the way she utilized patois in her conversations with the characters， kept the Jamaican influence fresh。 The characters were unique as well！ Will definitely be picking up the sequel when it is released！
Kylie
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Something about this book was just。。。。eh。 It was okay， the characters were ok， the plot line was ok。 It felt kinda all over the place and it's government confused me。 Something about this book was just。。。。eh。 It was okay， the characters were ok， the plot line was ok。 It felt kinda all over the place and it's government confused me。 。。。more
Felicia
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What was an exciting premise got lost in confusing dual narration。 I felt like there wasn't enough of a difference between Jazmyne and Iraya and I found myself getting confused with who was speaking。 There was also a lot of world building that I struggled to follow， I wish there were more appendixes to define some of the words that I didn't understand。 What was an exciting premise got lost in confusing dual narration。 I felt like there wasn't enough of a difference between Jazmyne and Iraya and I found myself getting confused with who was speaking。 There was also a lot of world building that I struggled to follow， I wish there were more appendixes to define some of the words that I didn't understand。 。。。more
KJ Workman
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A unique read for sure。 It took me a bit to follow everything that was going on but once I had that sorted I soared through the book。 I'm very curious how the story will continue。 A unique read for sure。 It took me a bit to follow everything that was going on but once I had that sorted I soared through the book。 I'm very curious how the story will continue。 。。。more
Lila
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This one is DENSE。 It's not something you can rush through， despite being packed with action。 It's bloodthirsty and gruesome， and paying attention is vital in order to understand the many twists within。 I found myself a bit confused at times -- the character development is a bit clunky and overzealous， hence the 3。75 stars -- but I overall loved this and am eager for book two。 The worldbuilding is wonderful and not overexplained。 You really just have to melt yourself into this one and hang on fo This one is DENSE。 It's not something you can rush through， despite being packed with action。 It's bloodthirsty and gruesome， and paying attention is vital in order to understand the many twists within。 I found myself a bit confused at times -- the character development is a bit clunky and overzealous， hence the 3。75 stars -- but I overall loved this and am eager for book two。 The worldbuilding is wonderful and not overexplained。 You really just have to melt yourself into this one and hang on for the ride。 。。。more
Impossiblegame
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If not read will be a sorry！https://puzzle-jigsaw。com If not read will be a sorry！https://puzzle-jigsaw。com 。。。more
Cheryl
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I can't slog through this anymore， dnf @ 40%。Lack lustre and non existent world building combines with an overworked narrative that rambles on and on without actually describing anything， but simply drowns out the weak plot in unnecessary metaphors and similes and the over abuse of a thesaurus。 Characters that are indistinguishable from one another， overly dense hierarchies and a writing style that continually tries to "hide" in order to impose tension and mystery， but succeeds only in confusing I can't slog through this anymore， dnf @ 40%。Lack lustre and non existent world building combines with an overworked narrative that rambles on and on without actually describing anything， but simply drowns out the weak plot in unnecessary metaphors and similes and the over abuse of a thesaurus。 Characters that are indistinguishable from one another， overly dense hierarchies and a writing style that continually tries to "hide" in order to impose tension and mystery， but succeeds only in confusing the reader。 。。。more
Arlene
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3。5I have to think on this one some more。 All the table turning， the magic， the bonds。。。 The world building， the richness of story。
Kate
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The cover is beautiful and it’s what drove me to buy it， as well as the promise of an alliance between two witches from opposing sides for the good of their country。 It sounded like an interesting and promising fantasy novel。However， the description was misleading and I found myself wondering where this “alliance” was。 It was basically two characters backstabbing each other with pointless political moves all the way through。 There seemed to be too much going on and the pacing of the writing was The cover is beautiful and it’s what drove me to buy it， as well as the promise of an alliance between two witches from opposing sides for the good of their country。 It sounded like an interesting and promising fantasy novel。However， the description was misleading and I found myself wondering where this “alliance” was。 It was basically two characters backstabbing each other with pointless political moves all the way through。 There seemed to be too much going on and the pacing of the writing was an issue too as the action only occurred a little after the 50% mark， if I hadn’t persisted to finished the story I probably would have DNFed it there。 Some of the plot twists were interesting and Roje and Anya provided a little bit of comic relief for Jazmyne’s weak character。 If Iraya hadn’t been so sullen and aggressive through the book， maybe she would have balanced Jazmyne’s character a bit more。 I found the magic system interesting， but it maybe needed a bit more explaining than it got。Also， it could have been more interesting if the book had included a map of their country， and maybe a glossary for some of the words used in the story。 Maybe the second novel will be a bit more faster paced， develop the characters to be more sympathetic and expand story a bit more。 。。。more
Vijayanti Chotkan
，
Though it requires your full attention （as someone who reads English as second language）， the story itself is worth the effort！
bri！
，
hm it was very slow but the ending was amazing and iraya is my love forever
Kate Young
，
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 （3。5 stars）
Frank Chillura （OhYouRead）
，
I have been dying to read Witches Steeped in Gold since I saw the cover last year。 My book club decided to choose it for our May 2021 pick。 So I was super excited to devour it。I am a sucker for a book about witches， no matter the magic system。 And this one was really intricately thought out。 I love that the magic they used was tied to Gold and the length of their hair。 How interesting is that？！ I don’t know if I’ve read a book like it。 My other favorite part was how stunning the world building I have been dying to read Witches Steeped in Gold since I saw the cover last year。 My book club decided to choose it for our May 2021 pick。 So I was super excited to devour it。I am a sucker for a book about witches， no matter the magic system。 And this one was really intricately thought out。 I love that the magic they used was tied to Gold and the length of their hair。 How interesting is that？！ I don’t know if I’ve read a book like it。 My other favorite part was how stunning the world building was。 I know that some of it is based on Caribbean folklore， but working off of that really made for a complex and amazing world！Now for the negative。。。。。。。。。。。 I listened to the audio。 That isn’t that bad part。 😂 I got about 4 hours in and had to start from the beginning， because I was SO LOST！！！ I had no idea what was going on。 After I started again， it made so much more sense， but I wish I’d had time or patience enough to read the entire book again， because the rest of the book was the same as the beginning。 I know what happened， but I feel like another read through would help me to really understand。 😭 Ain’t nobody got time for that。Also， the characters were not my fave。 I liked Iraya， but Jazmyne was a little unlikeable。 I think they would have been better as love interests。 It would have made for a better story。 。。。more
Laura
，
3。5It took me a few chapters to get into the story， but I'm glad I did。 It subverted my expectations for the story， which is always a plus in my book。 （I can't really say how without spoiling the entire plot。） And it left me eager for the next installment。 3。5It took me a few chapters to get into the story， but I'm glad I did。 It subverted my expectations for the story， which is always a plus in my book。 （I can't really say how without spoiling the entire plot。） And it left me eager for the next installment。 。。。more
Joey （theboywho_reads）
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DNFed at 52%。I don’t know how I stumbled upon another book with a great premise but TERRIBLE execution， but here are 🥴。Ciannon Smart’s ok writing style did not pull me fast enough through this sludge of a book， so slow and not that investing amid the meh characters， watered down and confusing world-building & magic system （there wasn’t even a map of the world， so that was even worse to have to picture it with vague descriptions 💩）， and a non-existent plot from what I read。 The two main character DNFed at 52%。I don’t know how I stumbled upon another book with a great premise but TERRIBLE execution， but here are 🥴。Ciannon Smart’s ok writing style did not pull me fast enough through this sludge of a book， so slow and not that investing amid the meh characters， watered down and confusing world-building & magic system （there wasn’t even a map of the world， so that was even worse to have to picture it with vague descriptions 💩）， and a non-existent plot from what I read。 The two main characters haven’t even had a full conversation， they’re just in their own similar issues 🤦♂️; and that’s another thing I didn’t like: their perspectives were too similar and I sometimes thought I was reading the same person （though， I did prefer Jazmyne’s POV compared to bleh Iraya’s—I know， weird that I say they’re similar but I prefer only one over the two 😂）。 And Ciannon’s excessive use of thesaurus words has me dying 😭✋🏼; ma’am， you can just say that they went to the damn bathroom in a simple way💀。 。。。more
Julie Bergley
，
This book was wonderful。 It follows two witches in a tumultuous time period for the world。 One is the only surviving daughter of a deposed Empress， the other the daughter of the woman who killed the Empress。 Jazmyne wants to depose her mother for becoming what she hated most， and Iraya wants vengeance for her family。 They end up working together to bring down Jaz' mom， but the amount of backstabbing in this book is amazing。 I can't wait to read the sequel！ This book was wonderful。 It follows two witches in a tumultuous time period for the world。 One is the only surviving daughter of a deposed Empress， the other the daughter of the woman who killed the Empress。 Jazmyne wants to depose her mother for becoming what she hated most， and Iraya wants vengeance for her family。 They end up working together to bring down Jaz' mom， but the amount of backstabbing in this book is amazing。 I can't wait to read the sequel！ 。。。more
Breanne Mc Ivor
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Iraya is the lost empress who has spent her life in a cell。 Jazmyne is the doyenne's daughter and heir but she's not sure if she's ready to rule。 Sworn enemies， these two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down a mutual threat in this young adult fantasy debut。My Caribbean heart is so happy to have read this book。 There's obeah， patois， magic， intrigue， betrayal， pirates， romance， a rolling calf and a coming of age for two young women of colour。 The world of this novel is based on Jamaica a Iraya is the lost empress who has spent her life in a cell。 Jazmyne is the doyenne's daughter and heir but she's not sure if she's ready to rule。 Sworn enemies， these two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down a mutual threat in this young adult fantasy debut。My Caribbean heart is so happy to have read this book。 There's obeah， patois， magic， intrigue， betrayal， pirates， romance， a rolling calf and a coming of age for two young women of colour。 The world of this novel is based on Jamaica and you can hear Jamaica in the language， see Jamaica in the characters and feel Jamaica in the world Ciannon has created。 。。。more
Samm | Sassenach the Book Wizard
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3。5/5
Tamar
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I don’t know how to love how to hate， how I wrong how is right （and isn’t it a little like my life especially those last two weeks。 The chars are complicated and have wonderful motivation and the writing is superb。
Piper Winchester
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Powerful African girls！Fantastic world building and gorgeous girls！
Jessica
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I love the attempt to include Jamaica’s folklore in a fantasy novel。 It is fantasy after all。 While reading the novel one question kept on popping up， did the author grow up in Jamaica？ With that said， let me speak on the incorporation of our folklore and our culture。In Jamaica when obeah is mentioned， it brings about trepidation， Obeah is both feared and revered。 I didn’t get anything of that sort in the book， not even when the rolling calf was introduced。 I mean for a Doyenne with all that pow I love the attempt to include Jamaica’s folklore in a fantasy novel。 It is fantasy after all。 While reading the novel one question kept on popping up， did the author grow up in Jamaica？ With that said， let me speak on the incorporation of our folklore and our culture。In Jamaica when obeah is mentioned， it brings about trepidation， Obeah is both feared and revered。 I didn’t get anything of that sort in the book， not even when the rolling calf was introduced。 I mean for a Doyenne with all that power at her fingertips， the author should have tried better to convey how Alumbrar saw her。 The culture of Jamaica is vibrant， noisy， and colourful。 Our food is a colour wheel of flavors that amplifies any event be it a joyful one or one of mourning。 Our patois is not guttural， it is musical but you would not get that from this book。 The cultural aspect of this book is muted and what led me to further research the author。 I thought that no way somebody who grew up in Jamaica failed so spectacularly to capture the lushness of the land and the vibrancy of the people and alas while the author is of Jamaican heritage， she did not grow up in Jamaica。 I am not holding this against the author though， it’s a handicap so I’m giving her a point for doing her best to capture our culture and folklore in this book。 Now for the plot and the characters。 First of all， there was no gradual uncoiling of the plot。 All of the plot is in the last two hundred pages of the book。 Character development for all three main characters， Jaz reads like a child who is rebelling to get her mother’s attention to the very end。 No little goal of her own， no succession planning just childishness。 At the beginning， she said that she was unsure about wanting to become Doyenne， events unfold to make it seem like she eventually found a reason but in the end we can clearly see that the author kept her flat。 Not even the betrayal of her Zessian friend changed her personality。 No little excitement， growth。 She was giving nothing。 Ira’s POV started out very similar to Jaz in the beginning。 In the middle， the author thought to give her little development by hinting at attraction between her and Kirdian， some more development was added when she came around to play a part in killing the Doyenne and accepting her friends’ assistance in the end。 So a little development but not so much so where we were holding on to the end of seats in anticipation of what she might do next。 The author tried to make it seem as if she had a personality that gave her a bit of edge but she was trusting to the end。 Kirdian - no development。 From the beginning it was obvious that he had ulterior motives and he kept those ulterior motives right through and so it came as no surprise when he revealed that he was double crossing everybody。 The Doyenne we learned of her motives in the end。 Up until the end， it seems as if she was a part of the novel but not really a part of the novel。 Her revelation about her motives for the usurpation of the Adairs puts her in the running for most developed character。 In conclusion， you can start reading from the last 300 pages in the book and will still be able to understand the plot。 If you read the book， you will at first think a lot is going on with all the different groups and the seven parishes and the coven of witches and the Xanthippe and the shield but in the end you will see that nothing is really going on。 The book is like one big filler and I don’t know， maybe this means that we can expect a whole lot more in the second book。 。。。more
Natalie
，
Just under four stars。 The plot was slow and lacking for me which made this frustrating for me to read at times。 It took me a little bit to get into the world building with the different magical specialties as well as different words without any definitions， and no map。 But I enjoyed the characters and the ending was good， I also found a new book boyfriend in Kieran。 I plan to read the next book when it comes out and I’m hoping that the pace picks up and more goes down plot wise。
Melissa Herward
，
No rating
Princess Sydniee
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I have no words。 I am in love with this book。 If I can come up with words that explain what I feel and how much love I can say， I will write another review。
Kristen （belles_bookshelves）
，
RTC
Amber Smith
，
This book was so detailed！ It was easy to follow each POV but you have to pay attention to the world building， the magic was amazing。 There is also a pirate which I love！ There were so many twists and turns too that I didn’t expect。 I will be continuing this series。
Therese
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DNF。 Nah。 I have listen to half of it。 It doesn't vibe with me。 It's not a bad book， I just can't seem to get into it。 So I'm dropping it。。。 DNF。 Nah。 I have listen to half of it。 It doesn't vibe with me。 It's not a bad book， I just can't seem to get into it。 So I'm dropping it。。。 。。。more
Vivian
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DNF。I wanted to like this so badly， because the world and the concept is the kind of thing I love。 Unfortunately， I couldn't get into this at all。 The writing felt inexperienced。 There were tired tropes and unbelievable elements that made it frustrating to read。 DNF。I wanted to like this so badly， because the world and the concept is the kind of thing I love。 Unfortunately， I couldn't get into this at all。 The writing felt inexperienced。 There were tired tropes and unbelievable elements that made it frustrating to read。 。。。more
Thea Nikolic
，
Incredibly rich and interesting world， filled with characters that are wonderfully complex。 Jazmine and Iraya are both strong and have to deal with the choices their ancestors made。 Wonderful magic that is unlike anything else I’ve read recently A few twists I did not see coming in the end I would LOVE to see this adapted as a film or tvshow just to see the visual tapestry that Ciannon Smart created。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Witches Steeped in Gold
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Witches Steeped in Gold&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft