Reviews

The Thread That Binds by Cedar McCloud

Only show reviews with written explanations

chasingfireflies05's review

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emotional lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sparklemaia's review against another edition

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5.0

This book BLEW ME AWAY. Self-published books can be kind of a gamble, but this one is so, so, so good. If you have been looking for a book that feels like walking through a curtain strung with amethyst beads and silver bells into a dreamy incense-infused metaphysical bookshop on a rainy fall day with a steaming mug of tea in one hand and a rainbow umbrella in the other, this is the book you have been waiting for.

First: it's queer af, centered around a whole society of people who don't have the concept of a gender binary at all and use agender neopronouns, plus the story is full of lots of endearingly familiar queer themes like chosen family, qprs, trauma & healing, and intergenerational mentorship. The worldbuilding is a goddamn delight, with a magic system and theology so inventive that it caused me to suddenly drop the book several times and shout with joy at my very startled cat (sorry buddy) "ARE YOU SERIOUS, THIS IS SO F*ING GOOD." I mean, most of the story takes place in a MAGICAL LIBRARY where the books themselves have spirits and memories and dreams, there are glowing crystals and trailing plants and vibrant colors and fields of wildflowers and soft floor pillows everywhere, and I just want to live inside of this book, okay? You want sensorial storytelling, this book has got it: scents, sounds, textures, colors, flavors, energy signatures -- the world is rich and vivid and I swear I can actually smell it. The characters are crisply and lovingly rendered (and somehow I relate to almost all of them, but especially former child genius Rhee), with aro/ace & poly rep front and center without being Their Defining Features, as well as positive disability rep and a cast of characters with varying body shapes, ages, and races. This book intentionally and artfully addresses sensitive issues related to trauma and recovery, and at its core is a story of solidarity, hope, and healing. I loved loved loved it, and I implore every library in the world to buy at least one copy.

Also, something very cool is that one of the characters is a cartomancer, and the deck of Oracle cards that character uses to do magic ACTUALLY EXISTS, because the author MADE AN ENTIRE ORACLE DECK to accompany the book. How cool is that? So cool.

moss_and_soup's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was just so so lovely, such a comfort book
While it deals with some heavy topics (childhood trauma, emotional abuse, ...) the overall theme is very hopeful and centered on overcoming and healing with the help of a big found family that the main characters build for themselves
The worldbuilding was also absolutely stunning, the queer representation was so great and wonderful. Having our traditional binary pronouns he & she be neopronouns in this world was such a cool concept. Truly felt like a love letter to books and libraries :)
Sometimes some of the messages were a bit straight-on, and that made the plot a bit predictable at times. I'm pretty sure the author intended that though.

Specifically with Rhee, the emotional manipulation from Mairead was very obvious because all the characters had just bad vibes about em from the very beginning, so because I mistrusted em it was a bit difficult at times to understand why Rhee didn't. Like, I understood why on a rational level, with em having a lot of ambition and anxiety, but I didn't 100% feel with em. On the other hand, emotional abuse is very difficult to understand from an outside perspective and it makes sense that I was like, 'omg don't steal the book what are you doinggggggggg', because I wasn't in the situation myself, and Rhee thinks the same after e gets out of that control Mairead has over em.

Overall I loved it so much and all of the characters were so interesting to read about, I can't wait to read the prequel!

Something I also appreciated was the author very clearly stating CWs in the beginning of the book. There is also a card deck that is getting used as an oracle in the book (similar to Taro) and the cards actually exist and were designed by the author, who also sells them on their website! I only discovered this after already finishing it, but I'd definitely recommend checking them out while reading :)

ens's review

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3.0

Fun premise but not well execute

patchy_at_best's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The most underrated and beautifully written book. I can’t believe it’s not viral. So healing, so magical. A must read for queers, crafters and book lovers. So much found fantasy and cosiness.

breeezzy's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I finished this book over a week ago and I'm still thinking about it. It might be the best book I've ever read. This is written for the queer folx who love story and books. Themes of found families, healing trauma (that is not related to queerness!), nurturing your inner child - all in a non-binary queer society. The characters feel so real, so relatable, like people you want to know in a world you want to live. Truly a magical, incredible book.