Beautiful photo by @etherealbooknook
Hey Fairy Friends!
Welcome to day 2 of our Readalong for Witches Steeped in Gold! I hope you had a well-earned break and are feeling rested after yesterday’s chapters. What a ride we had!
Are you ready for part 2? Let’s do it!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart, from chapters 13 to 22. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
As soon as we dive back into the book, we learn that as well as being interested in Ira, Kirdan also seems to like Jazmyne too (hm, what kind of game are you playing dude?) but Jazmyne also finds out that Kirdan doesn’t get along with her number one, Anya, which could prove problematic if Jazmyne becomes Doyenne.
After this rather heated discussion, they attend the witches council meeting where, much to their horror, the council vote to go ahead with the Yielding after all as retaliation for the Jade Guild attack. Wanting to test the Doyenne by mentioning her sister who died in a previous Yielding, Jazmyne tries to reason with her mother but after enraging her further, Jazmyne resigns herself to the fact that the Doyenne must die and she must replace her, even if she doesn’t feel ready.
Cut to Ira who, in order to become a Shield of the Doyenne, is sent to a place called the Cuartel to train. It’s there she meets her trainer and fellow Shield, Delyse (#newfavouritecharacteralert) who helps her to understand and use her magic as well as introducing her to the other Shields. But Ira’s fear of exposure overwhelms her almost as much as her magic. During her lessons, Ira nearly breaks her naevus and manages to set fire to a bush, though thankfully she is saved by the rain. She’s officially introduced to Sham (another new favourite character) but grows even more concerned that the other Shields will learn of both her history and her destiny.
Once alone, Ira escapes the Cuartel and finds the graveyard of her ancestors near the Doyenne’s palace. Channelling their power, she practices her magic further until she’s discovered by Kirdan who escorts her back to the Cuartel, though Ira makes sure to catch his eye by swinging her hips back and forth (who else is loving this flirty side of Ira?!).
At the Yielding Assembly, the Doyenne announces the pickneys selected for the Yielding. In the middle of the assembly, another attempt is made on the her life, but she wears so much gold she manages to prevent her attacker’s from killing her (I’m guessing gold is a very important substance in this world, which makes sense given the title of the book)!
Afterwards, Jazmyne, Kirdan and Anya talk about the failed assassination and their concerns over rumours of the Doyenne’s power. Jazmyne surmises that the people of Aiyca won’t believe the Doyenne could be assassinated by regular Obeah but that they may believe it’s possible if the Lost Empress, aka Ira, was the assassin. Ohh, does this mean what I think it means? Are Jazmyne and Ira finally going to work together?!
Following the assembly, we learn Light Keeper is dead. The Doyenne planned on torturing the Nameless who’d tried to kill her and Light Keeper gave herself up to protect the Nameless agenda and the others involved. (Nope, not me crying because Light Keeper was one of my faves. Who’s with me?)
Still in shock (same here), Jazmyne sends word to her late sister’s friend and ex—who also happens to be a badass pirate with a history of being the bad guy. But as Jazmyne mentions at the end of the chapter, what even constitutes as ‘good’ anymore?
The final chapter of this section ends with the meeting of the two main characters—what we’ve been waiting for people! But the conversation ends up being rather ominous with Ira warning Jazmyne of Kirdan’s likely betrayal.
I don’t know about you, but I’m here for the ‘us women got to stick together’ vibes. However, why do I get the feeling there’s going to be a lot more betrayal on all sides before this book is out?
And so we leave it there for day 2 of our readalong! What are your thoughts so far? We’ve seen plot twists, assassination attempts, watched Ira begin to understand her magic and met very exciting characters. What do you think will happen next? Let me know down in the comments below, and I can’t wait to read more with you tomorrow!
Love,
Tash
!PIRATE! !EX!
wowowowow can’t wait to meet them !!!
i am feeling less confused than yesterday, but i REALLY want to know more about how the gold conduits work ?
i also just learned this is maybe the first in a series?? which totally changed my expectations for how the story might end ?
will we reach political stability??? now i’m not so sure…
oh glad to hear it maggie! 🙂 and yes definitely intrigued by the gold conduits too! excited it’s the first in a series too! 🙂
Wow so this was more enjoyable than the first day. Now that I know the world a bit better I was hooked! I can just feel so much more betrayal to come and I’m here for it!
yesss! so here for all the betrayal too (and so glad I’m not alone in this) 🙂
Oh wow, so many rapid unexpected developments compared to the set up in the first section! And I’m loving the way the magic is being revealed, but some only hinted at…what is the full story with the use of gold? It feels like the women are all battling not just their enemies but their own fears and doubts too, they are having to pull in a lot of strength…great characters!
agreed! such strong characters! do you have a favourite so far? 🙂
The Doyenne looks like she really will be had to kill, even with all the power Ira is trying to learn…
I Still agree with the fact that if Jazmyne want to stop using sacrifice, she can’t sacrifice Ira to gain the throne while killing the Doyenne. I’m sure we’ll soon met with pirates and the Jade Guild (will Kaleisha forgive ? will she even be alive ???!)
This book is still hard to read for me (I’m used to read in english but fuuuuh thrice the time with this book for the same amount of pages), but with action it’s a little mode fluent.
First of all – I adore Delyse! The parts with her are really fun to read. Plot wise I’m still confused on what the bigger game of the Doyenne might be, or who is even a little trustworthy. The first meeting between Jazmyne and Ira dind’t help either. I’m exited about the world and I’m curious to see what kind of pirates we encounter on the next pages.
Ok, I am happy to say I am properly invested in the book now! I have my head around the world and magic and stuff a lot better than I did in section one and the witchy, royal intrigue definitely has me gripped.
I definitely prefer Ira’s chapters so far. I really feel sad for her trying so hard not to make friends or get attached to anyone. Jazmyne’s narrative I find harder to follow and connect with because so much of it is her either witnessing things happening or being told things have occurred off page, rather than her playing an active part in the narrative. Hopefully now she’s taking the helm in contacting this mysterious pirate ex, however, she will have a better window in which to establish herself as a proper protagonist and not just a narrator!
I really enjoyed this section. I loved getting to see Ira come into her own and develop her magic. I feel like there’s a believable balance of natural skill and lack of control and knowledge. I definitely think Jazmyne will be forced to get a reluctant Ira on her side. It’d make sense for her to not trust Jazmyne. I definitely think they’re going to try to use Ira as an almost scapegoat for the murder of the Doyene since it’s not clear how Ira could break her oath. It’s definitely a bit different from what I expected. I wonder if Ira would be as hesitant about sharing her identity without the bargain.
Can’t wait to see what’s next! Definitely excited about the pirate ex character.
so happy to hear you’re enjoying it! and yes, I can’t wait to see what’s next either! 🙂
They finally meet OMG!! Also pirates??? Is there anything this book doesn’t have? Wow. Still feels like a whirlwind every time I go to pick it up. Might have to reread to absorb lol!
I love all the other shield characters, I desperately need more of them! And a pirate ex? Sign me up! And finally, a scene where Ira and Jaz talk (even though they could get better at communication… ), can’t wait to see their relationship grow (hopefully…)!
Yesterday was a rollercoaster! I’m upset that these all powerful witches need to use gold to harness their magic but I guess then there would be no easy way of containing the ‘bad guys’ (just the people the ones in power don’t like) and that does make sense for the story. Still I think that because they’re drawing off their ancestors powers they shouldn’t get burn out or need the gold so much.
I’m a smidge confuzzeled: Iraya wants to kill the Doyenne, and she thinks that she will because of the bargain due to her being the ‘true’ leader of Aiyca … but she doesn’t want to become the Doyenne, right? It’s all just a spite filled revenge. So its no wonder that the bargain stopped her from killing the Doyenne, as there clearly would be a power vacuum.
Until they ascend to their Family Tree, does nobody on the island have magic? Is that why Ira didn’t know how to use her magic, and Jazmyne never really mention hers (but she’s a healer, right)?
I think the Doyenne is actually part warrior race (cant remember what they’re called). The rumour that her eye turned into white – the colour of the other guys – is true, and her father stole her eye so nobody else found out. It also explains her huge amount of power she has, as she’s drawing it from both sides.
Can’t wait to meet the Pirates. I think they’re going to be fab
Oof the Doyenne is an exciting villain. I love how she’s connected to Jazmyne and how her power keeps getting built up through different events. Even if it doesn’t happen in this book, I’m excited for the showdown that’s gonna occur.
omg this book is picking up a bit more, i caught up last night so i’ll quickly post here and then you’ll see me on the next post already ? the little tidbit about the gold and how they have to use it for their magic is all coming together! I get the title “Witches Steeped in Gold” now. and the pirate ex can’t wait to see how that’s going to play out ? overall i’m happy with this section even though it was confusing at first!
I was a bit confused at first but maybe this is because I started reading it after the football and a couple of pints ??
At the end of these chapters I think I’m getting to grips with the magic a bit more. I like how they use conduits with it. I am interested to see what will happen next… I’m expecting everyone to betray each other at some point!
Wow this escalated quickly! I’m glad to see Jazmyne making some hard decisions, even if she still feels unready for the consequences. And on a side note it’s kinda cool to see gold have a purpose that makes it valuable rather than just monetary.
This day was much better for me than day 1! I warmed to both Jazmyne and Ira now, so I’m rooting for both! I did not foresee the Light Keeper’s demonstration and death, it was shocking!
I’m a bit suspicious of Kirdan. The Doyenne is quite an exiting and ruthless villain.
I would spoil things if I said what I think happens next ?. I’m on scedule with reading, but forgot to post…
So I have caught up with day 2 of the readalong (planning on catching up and reading the rest later) and I really loved this section. I’m beginning to get a better understanding of Ira and she is slowly becoming one of my favourite characters. I’m glad that Jazmyne is beginning to come to the conclusion that her mother has to die for the greater good.
Also finally Ira and Jazmyne meet! That meeting was so intense but so fascinating too! I definitely think Ira is right and that Kirdan will probably betray Jazmyne. I cannot wait to read more!
Im so behind on the readalong but im just so confused ???? i keep getting confused about the two main characters and to be honest i have no idea what is going on
Now that I understand the world more I’m starting to get into it. Man are there a lot of perspectives here. Even with only two POVS we’re having to contend with a lot of different groups of people with their own agendas and motivation. It’s much more political than I was expecting!
right?? so here for the politics! 🙂