Truthwitch

First in the "Witchlands" series by Susan Dennard, this is a fantasy world where witches--many different kinds of them--are common but still feared. Safiya was born to a noble family but she is a truthwitch--she knows when people are lying--and this makes her a hot political commodity. She escapes the stultifying life of nobility and becomes an apprentice in a small coastal town far away, where she meets Iseult, a threadwitch who can see the ties that bind people together. Iseult is also an escapee from a repressive life; in her case it was/is as a gypsy outcast who previously lived with her small community in a walled enclave. Now both young women (late teens) are just living their lives, with Safi plotting adventures that frequently get them in trouble, and Iseult usually figuring out a way to get them out. But this time, they mistakenly try to rob the wrong person and now a mercenary bloodwitch is after them. They escape in different directions but eventually come back together as they flee--first by ship and then on land--those who would capture or kill them.
Settings are vividly described and the idea of multiple types of witches is developed well. The story is fast paced and there is some resolution although it is obvious that sequels will follow as "larger forces" are clearly in play. I actually found most of the other characters more interesting than Safiya, who seems to be mainly a reckless, headstrong, and mostly self-centered young woman who seldom thinks of potential consequences and does not truly seem remorseful afterwards. She claims devotion to her thread sister (a term that readers are left to figure out) Iseult, and cares for her teachers, and yet plunges from one disastrous situation to the next. The romantic involvement with windwitch and prince of another kingdom, Merik, is predictable and takes up a bit too much space for my taste. We are reading this for next month's SF-fantasy book group and I will be curious to hear what my fellow readers have to say. Review is available from Kirkus, and it was well reviewed in the library sources, Booklist and School Library Journal.
Dennard has written several other fantasy series, some of which are online and free to registered readers. She has a historically based romantic series about zombies, the "Strange and Deadly" series. Might dip back in when the next installment of "Witchlands" surfaces, just to see if Safi grows up a bit.