Gorgeous photo by @asipofcozy
Hey, fairies! How are you doing today? Are you ready for our next section of Witches Steeped in Gold?
Before we get into today’s section, we have a semi-secret readalong giveaway to tell you about!
For taking part in our readalong, you have the chance to win your next FairyLoot box for FREE! This giveaway isn’t announced anywhere else as we want to thank YOU guys for taking part! To be in with a chance of winning, please read the rules below:
- Take a photo of our edition of Witches Steeped in Gold
- Include a hashtag #FairyLootWitchesGold (very important)
- Do all of this by the 8th July!
- Mention down below in your comment today that you have entered and include your Instagram handle (also super important!)
So, with that all that being said, let’s jump on in!
Please be warned, the following section will include spoilers for Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart from chapters 23 to 31. Please only read on if you’ve finished this section!
-!SPOILERS!-
Ok, so we’re straight back into the action following the death of Light Keeper (still not over that tbh). Wanting to comfort members of the Nameless, Jazmyne and Kirdan travel to a cloth shop in the city where many are gathered. Jazmyne tells them that they must prepare for change and that she will kill the doyenne and take her place. Woah! So, has Jazmyne finally accepted the role she must adopt?
Jazmyne and Anya then travel to meet Vea, Jazmyne’s sister’s ex, who also happens to be a pirate queen (yes, you heard that right). But much to their frustration, Vea turns down Jazmyne’s offer to help her kill the Doyenne in revenge for the death of Jazmyne’s sister as according to the eye-catching and flirtatious Roje (already love him), she’s dying of grief.
While at the taproom, the Jade Guild attack with witch fire. Anya and Jazmyne manage to escape but they know more attacks are planned.
Meanwhile, Ira tries to remove the glyphs branded behind her ears by the Doyenne as an attempt at control by contacting her ancestors using a deleterious doll. Pain overwhelms her before she is caught by the guards who call the Doyenne to Ira’s bohio to rebrand her. The Doyenne reprimands Ira for not heeding her earlier warnings and mentions punishing another Obeah for what she’s done. I don’t know about you, but the question on my mind is: who is the Doyenne threatening to hurt to get to Ira? Because it better not be Delyse.
In order to quell the concern following the second Jade Guild attack, the Doyenne sends Jazmyne away in her place to tour Aiyca and restore faith in her as a ruler (it may be too late for that, Doyenne). Jazmyne wants to see Ira before she leaves in order to discuss a pact between them, but Kirdan tells her she’s in a deep fever sleep after the Doyenne branded her with new glyphs and that he will send word when she awakes.
On her first stop of her tour of Aiyca, Jazmyne is approached by the pirate queen’s second hand, Roje who tells she and Anya that he’s been keeping an eye on them and making sure they’re safe. Who else is loving this kind side to Roje?
Meanwhile, during training, Ira ends up releasing her power and revealing her hidden identity as the true heir of Aiyca. Delyse and Sham tell her they’ve known she was the true heir all along (what??) and how most of the Shield are part of the Jade Guild (what what??) but Ira doesn’t want to be the figurehead of a campaign where they will fight for her rather than with her. On returning to her bohio, she is cornered by Kirdan and in an exchange fraught with tension, he tells her he hasn’t yet seen the real Ira. Using his magic, he then teleports her away.
Following a meal with Roje, Jazmyne meets with Kirdan who has brought Ira along for them to talk. On travelling to a safe space, they reach a crossroads and find their way blocked. Kirdan works to remove the blockage, but while searching for any nearby attackers, Ira and Jazmyne are attacked by a death omen bull.
Working together, Ira gives Jazmyne her blood to drink so she can overthrow the beast but overwhelmed with fear, Jazmyne freezes. To get away, they both climb up a tree along with the prowlers on the front of their carriage. When the beast charges, they fight back until a flash of white light bursts from the locket Kirdan gifted to Jazmyne and the beast disappears. Exhausted, Ira passes out just as Kirdan arrives back. He carries her to the carriage where Jazmyne watches him attend her and notices the way he looks at her.
And that’s it for day three’s section! What did you think? We covered so much! Ira and Jazmyne working together. The tension between Roje and Jazmyne as well as Kirdan and Ira. And what about that last chapter and that gifted locket? Do you think that will have a bigger part to play?
Now that we’re more than halfway through, what’s been your favourite thing about the book so far? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! And remember to join in with the readalong giveaway too (details at the top of this post).
I can’t wait to read more of this epic book with you tomorrow!
Love,
Tash
I fell behind yesterday thanks to a crazy day at work but I’m caught up now! Totally here for Kirdan. (Oh and I just added the hash tag to my picture on Insta, I’m @thebooksnek)
I definitely think the locket is going to play a bigger part of the book! i’m just not sure where exactly, i still have to think that through ? this part was quite interesting, and the tension between Ira and Kirdan oof i LOVE it. I honestly can’t believe we’re already halfway through! I was a little behind before but now i caught up ? I definitely enjoy all the characters and the aspect of the gold and pirates being included!!
Also I had a question about the giveaway, since tomorrow is the last daw of the photo challenge where we’re posting a picture of the book, can we include the hashtag on that post? Or should we make a separate post?
My instagram handle is @emaanreads btw! I would love to make some new friends if anyone want to! see you tomorrow, amazing readalong so far ❤️❤️❤️
So far I’ve loved the journey that both of the girls have taken and the whole Magic system is so unique! Kirdan tho!!! I can’t wait to read more! I entered on Instagram (@reading_with_cynthia)
I finished today’s part… The story make a really advance, don’t you think so ? I still don’t trust the doyenne, but I’m not really confident with a ‘good’ ending between Ira and Jazmyne. And if I too really like this pirate boy, I’m not sure about his power in this story.
I clearly hoped that Ira could do magic with her Voodoo dool but why does the Doyenne could take it back! Things will be more complicated with this, right ? And Jazmyne, Anya and Kirdan don’t know…
We’ll see about the possible war after, surely :'(
So far, I love the hope the people have in this rebellion, from the prison to inside the Cuartell!
(I join the giveaway! Instagram is @alicelibrarian o/)
There is so much going on in this book and I am hooked. I’ve got so many feelings for this book – I’m anxiously waiting to see what’s going to come next.
I entered into the readalong giveaway @readwithkirstyn on instagram 🙂
I knew the locket was special! I reckon its one of the trove they’re trying to find, though I’ve just remembered that Kazon gave it to Jaz and not her Mama, so am a bit confuzzeled about that… Kazon CLEARLY put the beast there to try and kill Jaz, which I’m hoping she’s realising. I feel like Ira and Jaz over time will forge quite a bond – Iraya did willingly give up her blood after all which is a BIG thing. Although Jaz says she never uses the compulsion, but she did when she sent that message to Iraya when they first met so???
I really like the pirate faction. I hope the Queen doesn’t die – I thin it might be something more sinsiter. If the legends ARE true (which they obvs are) then maybe Jaz’s sister gave her one of the items, but it’s kind of poisoning her? After all its been 2 years – you would have thought if she was going to die of grief it would have been before now. Raje also said she didn’t send her, implying that somebody else did… Kazon, perhaps?
This section was stunning. I did miss having some of the Anasai bits, but the other parts were more than enough to make up for it. I’m loving all of the political parts finally coming together, getting Jazmyne and Ira to cooperate. Still not sure how that will end. I am absolutely adoring Roje and Kirdan. Can’t wait to see what happens next! That locket is definitely a big player if I read that Anasai bit correctly.
That locked Jazmyn has is most definitely one of the magical artefacts, but why did Kirdan have it in the first place and why did he give it to Jazmyn?
And I’m itching to see more of Ira’s power!! Please give us more! And finally some action with our two heroines together!
Forgot to leave my instagram handle for the contest! @hbmslittlelibrary
Ok, how freaking cool was the voodoo doll scene? Creeped the hell out of me!!! The more I read of this book the more I am loving it cannot wait to see how everything wraps up, there is so much going on.
Photo to come! Hopefully tomorrow, possibly the day after!
Anyway, so I am still decently invested in this book, but does anyone else feel like there’s just a bit too much plot happening at once? Like there are so many subplots and every time I’m like “okay so this is the core plot” something happens to change my mind and think something else is the main storyline. Hopefully it all comes together at the end in a way that makes me get it in retrospect lol.
I really like the magic scenes in this book though, if I’m perfectly honest, I kind of wish a book about witches had more magic scenes. Still, the setting is great and Ciannon’s use of language is just gorgeous, so I am happy to trust where the narrative takes me for now. And now Jazmyne and Ira are cooperating (or will be soon), I think it might be time for the book to get more focused. At this stage I have no idea what the climax will be!
i’m somewhat surprised by how many characters are making their first appearances so far into the book. I hope we get SO much more of Vea, but i’m not so sure about all of the boys being put forth as possible romances (or so it seems to me.)
as i said yesterday, i really had to readjust my expectations when i found out there was more coming after the end of this book! i now understand why the pacing didn’t really feel like a standalone… heheh
I definitely don’t think we will reach political stability in this book, and in fact i’m not even sure anything will happen to the doyenne. i predict the ending will go one of two ways, in the extreme: either she’ll be gone and Jazmyne will be forced into leadership, or we’ll be stuck with the doyenne for some more adversarial plot action.
p.s. as soon as Ira sang the song i was like “THE LOCKET!!!!!!!!” fascinated because i think it came from Kirdan?? must read more…
Loving this readalong! Entered the giveaway as bookish_westie.
So, now there are pirates? Why are there pirates? I don’t know but I feel like pirates are rarely a bad choice. Yay pirates!
But my favorite part of these chapters was Ira finding out that everyone around her already knew who she was and is part of the resistance already. And she was trying to be soooo sly!
My IG handle is sonata_ix and I’ll be posting a photo within the next few days!
Oh wow, this book is really leaving me breathless! Both girls are really embracing their own strength and power, but still struggling against their own fears and the fight around them…not sure I will be able to wait till tomorrow for the next section! I will be posting for the Readalong over at @XennMix on Insta!
the sign of a good book when you can’t put it down! 🙂
I kind of like Roje, I hope he won’t turn out to be another villain!
I’m glad Ira was revealed, I think she’ll have better time with having friends and allies, even though she resists. It was also cool to see her work together with Jazmyne.
Still not sure if we should trust Kirdan or not.
I think that locket is one of the four magical objects they mentioned in the poem!
Quite invested now in the story, can’t wait to continue.
I’d like to enter the giveaway, posted already on IG, my handle is: @serenity87hu
me too! I really like Roje! And yes, couldn’t agree more on Ira! I just want everyone to get along haha 🙂
I fell behind yesterday, but I’ll try to catch up today. It’s definitely a rollercoaster of emotions and I can’t predict the ending, though I’m hoping both girls will rule together. Maybe as two doyennes? Anyway, the writing style is just so different from anything I’ve read so far and I’m loving it! Oh, and my photo is up and my insta is @books_and_cozies ?
so happy to hear you’re loving it Marija! and definitely agree with you on the rollercoaster of emotions 🙂
I really want to learn more about that locket and its power! I think my favorite part so far is just the worldbuilding in general because it’s so vivid and the magic system is unique too. I posted a picture for the photo challenge and just added the hashtag…I hope that’s okay? My handle is @athena_book_goddess ??♀️
yes the worldbuilding is so well done and love the magic too! 🙂
The favourite part for me is the world building. I really like the concept!
Also joining the giveaway. My instagram handle is @The_B00kish_elf
Entered @penguinograce
Think I’m going to love Jaz and Iras friendship!
Just posted my photo! It’s on my Instagram @hannahsreading ! Cannot wait to get into this book?? X
Joining the giveaway, my handle is @reemareads .
FINALLY i am getting to grips with everyone ? and enjoying where the story is going.
Posted my photo! My name there is @brinreadsbooks!
I just want to join the giveaway. My instagram handle is @nothingtosayjustread ☺️ I’m kinda lost in writing but the cover of this edition is stunning !
I entered on my IG @the_ya_assassin ?
WHY DOES IRA KEEP MAKING RECKLESS DECISIONS?!?!?! She had 10 years to prepare! Also she doesn’t want to rule? I know before the take over she wasn’t interested but I thought she was now. I guess it’s just revenge…. @beaubookish
I have entered
I just want to join the giveaway. My instagram handle is @nothingtosayjustread ☺️ I’m kinda lost in writing but the cover of this edition is stunning !
Been super quiet on here bc I’ve been struggling to keep up! Posted a tiny review and entry at @kissesbetweenchapters tho, sorry for always being late to the party!
I’ve entered in the giveaway, my Instagram handle is @robinlea1218. I entered on the 7th just had a bit of a delay in mentioning it in the comments, I hope I am still okay ?
Also this story is getting so good I cannot wait to read more!