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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
kind of meh. the world is kind of cool but also feels very underdeveloped. everything is very much told and not shown. interesting concept but I did not love the execution.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
A YA steampunk spin on the muses, Furies, and gods. Lots of violence and plot twists.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
The main character was a bit annoying.
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Okay, I need to say something - "Threads That Bind" is That Girl of Greek mythology inspired books.
What I mean is, I was already excited about what I perceived as a really unique, original concept, but I had no idea just how fantastical and complex the world building in this book would become. Not a direct retelling of one singular myth but rather, a contemporary fantasy noir blend of Greek mythos concepts and settings, it's hard Not to love this book because of the thought put into its creation.
Brief summary: "Threads That Bind" is set in a futuristic noir setting called Alante, where there are three moons and people called "other-borns" possess godly power. While our protagonist, private investigator Io Ora, has powers of the Fates, others have powers derived from other familiar mythos (notably, Russian and Egyptian mythology!). During an investigation, Io stumbles across a creature murdering other-borns, prompting a separate investigation that leads her to the local mob boss. It also happens to lead her to her literal soulmate, Edei, who until this point had no idea she existed.
I have so many gushing things to say about this book so I figure I'd break it up into parts, starting with world building: My only (and I mean only!!) complaint is that with an ARC, we don't get a map in the front for me to figure out where the districts are located lol. Other than that, we get bits and pieces of essential world building woven into the text, including references to a "Collapse" where the old gods "disappeared," leaving their demigod progeny behind, and a giant flooding that put a lot of the world underwater. Alante, our main setting, is literally a "Sunken City" where most of the buildings are on stilts, with the poorer parts of the city having walkways high above the water to prevent accidental drowning or being eaten by chimera-esque creatures that lurk in the murky dregs.
The unique way that the "other-born" powers are handled also impressed me; I loved that right away we were introduced to an inter-social structure conflict with the idea of the Kinship Treaty, a very X-Men-Mutant-Registration-Act piece of policy that left other-born members of society exposed and, well, othered. Not to mention that some other-born powers, such as Io's power as a moirae-born, is even more ostracized because of her "cutter" abilities, to cut people's Life threads.
Also, the inclusion of other worldly mythologies was a neat touch and helped enforce the idea that the world of the story was also bigger, in case this becomes a longer series or we get more spin-offs set in the same universe.
Next, let's talk about the characters/soulmate trope in particular: I felt like this is the first book that used that trope as a way to subvert the sort of toxic "you belong to me you are mine" "mates" aspect that certain other YA books and series constantly use in the 2020s. I was thrilled to see Io conflicted about whether or not to cut the fate thread between them because it wasn't something Edei consented to or knew about, and she didn't want to put that pressure on him, even if it could've led to something she longed for. This was also naturally wound into the conversation about fate vs. free will, but it was so wonderfully done and really added to both characters' arcs in the end (but especially Io's) I was so happy to see it in there and how their relationship would/will continue to unfold.
Finally, the thematic concepts: being that our main character, Io, has the power of the fates, I figured that fate vs. free will would come up, but there are so many other important messages and philosophical questions posed in this book embedded specifically within the socio-political world building. Edei and Io have a great conversation about perpetuating violence and "necessary evil," discussion about immigration and how people often ostracize immigrants, the relationship between Io and her sister Thais is a masterclass in (in my opinion!!) identifying emotional abuse, social class structures (especially those between blue collar workers like the Silt and those on the Hill), and many more.
Ultimately, I really think "Threads That Bind" is everything the YA Greek mythology retelling era needed and more. The pacing of this book was tight and I didn't feel like a single moment was wasted. Our main characters are easy to empathize with, lovable, and there were some plot twists even I didn't see coming. There's representation abound! Looking forward to more from Kika Hatzopoulou ASAP.
Okay, I need to say something - "Threads That Bind" is That Girl of Greek mythology inspired books.
What I mean is, I was already excited about what I perceived as a really unique, original concept, but I had no idea just how fantastical and complex the world building in this book would become. Not a direct retelling of one singular myth but rather, a contemporary fantasy noir blend of Greek mythos concepts and settings, it's hard Not to love this book because of the thought put into its creation.
Brief summary: "Threads That Bind" is set in a futuristic noir setting called Alante, where there are three moons and people called "other-borns" possess godly power. While our protagonist, private investigator Io Ora, has powers of the Fates, others have powers derived from other familiar mythos (notably, Russian and Egyptian mythology!). During an investigation, Io stumbles across a creature murdering other-borns, prompting a separate investigation that leads her to the local mob boss. It also happens to lead her to her literal soulmate, Edei, who until this point had no idea she existed.
I have so many gushing things to say about this book so I figure I'd break it up into parts, starting with world building: My only (and I mean only!!) complaint is that with an ARC, we don't get a map in the front for me to figure out where the districts are located lol. Other than that, we get bits and pieces of essential world building woven into the text, including references to a "Collapse" where the old gods "disappeared," leaving their demigod progeny behind, and a giant flooding that put a lot of the world underwater. Alante, our main setting, is literally a "Sunken City" where most of the buildings are on stilts, with the poorer parts of the city having walkways high above the water to prevent accidental drowning or being eaten by chimera-esque creatures that lurk in the murky dregs.
The unique way that the "other-born" powers are handled also impressed me; I loved that right away we were introduced to an inter-social structure conflict with the idea of the Kinship Treaty, a very X-Men-Mutant-Registration-Act piece of policy that left other-born members of society exposed and, well, othered. Not to mention that some other-born powers, such as Io's power as a moirae-born, is even more ostracized because of her "cutter" abilities, to cut people's Life threads.
Also, the inclusion of other worldly mythologies was a neat touch and helped enforce the idea that the world of the story was also bigger, in case this becomes a longer series or we get more spin-offs set in the same universe.
Next, let's talk about the characters/soulmate trope in particular: I felt like this is the first book that used that trope as a way to subvert the sort of toxic "you belong to me you are mine" "mates" aspect that certain other YA books and series constantly use in the 2020s. I was thrilled to see Io conflicted about whether or not to cut the fate thread between them because it wasn't something Edei consented to or knew about, and she didn't want to put that pressure on him, even if it could've led to something she longed for. This was also naturally wound into the conversation about fate vs. free will, but it was so wonderfully done and really added to both characters' arcs in the end (but especially Io's) I was so happy to see it in there and how their relationship would/will continue to unfold.
Finally, the thematic concepts: being that our main character, Io, has the power of the fates, I figured that fate vs. free will would come up, but there are so many other important messages and philosophical questions posed in this book embedded specifically within the socio-political world building. Edei and Io have a great conversation about perpetuating violence and "necessary evil," discussion about immigration and how people often ostracize immigrants, the relationship between Io and her sister Thais is a masterclass in (in my opinion!!) identifying emotional abuse, social class structures (especially those between blue collar workers like the Silt and those on the Hill), and many more.
Ultimately, I really think "Threads That Bind" is everything the YA Greek mythology retelling era needed and more. The pacing of this book was tight and I didn't feel like a single moment was wasted. Our main characters are easy to empathize with, lovable, and there were some plot twists even I didn't see coming. There's representation abound! Looking forward to more from Kika Hatzopoulou ASAP.