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A review by beckys_books
Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
4.0
Time for another backlist review and this time it’s Greek mythology in a modern setting. Threads That Bind follows Io, a descendant of the Fates. Io, alongside her two sisters have the ability to see and mould the threads of fate, threads that attach people to the people/objects/places they love. Io’s ability is to cut threads, even threads of life that keep people tethered to the human world, something that ensures she remains an outsider in society, a pariah, someone to fear. She is someone carrying a lot of trauma, from both her fate given powers to more mundane problems, her parents died at a young age, meaning she was raised by her two older sisters, one of which was emotionally abusive. Through the story we see her struggling internally, with guilt, self-confidence as well as other issues, and I enjoyed seeing her progress, grow into someone who learns to accept their gifts, instead of running from them.
In Io’s world there are humans, and then there are other-born, those gifted with the powers of the Greek Gods, but no one mortal is able to fully grasp the God’s power, so they are shared out, usually among siblings. The one’s we spend the most time learning about are the Moira-born, Io and her sisters gifts. I enjoyed how the author brings these powers to life, her writing style makes them incredibly visual, and I enjoyed how she showed that we can be tied to everything from our parents, to our favourite coffee shop. We do get an insight into some other powers such as Hypnos, Phobos, & the Muses, some of which played a larger role than others, and I hope we get a deeper dive into others in the next book. Other-born in general are seen as lesser, instead of being revered for their abilities, they are reviled for them, left to waste away in the silt’s, unless the humans find their powers useful that is. I really enjoyed how Hatzopoulou blended the Greek mythology with a more modern world. It did take me a minute to get my bearings, there was a lot of information to take in at the start, but once we get into the story, the mystery, I found it incredibly hard to put down.
The mystery itself was expertly woven through the plot. Hatzopoulou knows how to keep her readers on their toes, dropping little hints, making you look one way while someone creeps up from the other side. It’s full of twists and turns, ensuring you can never know who to trust. Alongside this we have another sub-plot that focuses on Io and her sisters Thais & Ava. We know from fairly early on that Thais just upped and left them one day, but the question of why, and where she is now takes longer to answer. Hatzopoulou did a brilliant job of showing the complicated relationships only siblings can have. How you can both hate someone and love them at the same time. She shows how far you will go to protect the people you love, even when they hurt you, but also how, once broken, those bonds aren’t always so easy to reform
I enjoyed the romance in this. Reading it was fated, I was a little worried that it would move too fast for me, but it was wondrously slow burn. Hatzopoulou really allows Io the chance to delve into the whole idea of a fated romance, whether it’s fair, especially when one people is aware of it and the other is not. When Io first meets Edei she is instantly intrigued, and attracted, but she puts so much weight on choice, and not taking that away from someone, that it takes an absolute age before anything remotely romantic happens between the two of them. There’s a hint of misunderstanding, not the bad kind, but I just loved seeing these two interact with each other, seeing them slowly falling in love, neither wanting to mention it for their own reasons. It was sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.
The ending. OMG. I had guesses as to who was behind the wraiths, but I have never been so sad to be right before. Hatzopoulou weaves all her threads together expertly to create an ending that had me on the edge of my seat, one that hit me right in the feels and took my breath away. I’m absolutely going to get my hands on book two asap and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.
In Io’s world there are humans, and then there are other-born, those gifted with the powers of the Greek Gods, but no one mortal is able to fully grasp the God’s power, so they are shared out, usually among siblings. The one’s we spend the most time learning about are the Moira-born, Io and her sisters gifts. I enjoyed how the author brings these powers to life, her writing style makes them incredibly visual, and I enjoyed how she showed that we can be tied to everything from our parents, to our favourite coffee shop. We do get an insight into some other powers such as Hypnos, Phobos, & the Muses, some of which played a larger role than others, and I hope we get a deeper dive into others in the next book. Other-born in general are seen as lesser, instead of being revered for their abilities, they are reviled for them, left to waste away in the silt’s, unless the humans find their powers useful that is. I really enjoyed how Hatzopoulou blended the Greek mythology with a more modern world. It did take me a minute to get my bearings, there was a lot of information to take in at the start, but once we get into the story, the mystery, I found it incredibly hard to put down.
The mystery itself was expertly woven through the plot. Hatzopoulou knows how to keep her readers on their toes, dropping little hints, making you look one way while someone creeps up from the other side. It’s full of twists and turns, ensuring you can never know who to trust. Alongside this we have another sub-plot that focuses on Io and her sisters Thais & Ava. We know from fairly early on that Thais just upped and left them one day, but the question of why, and where she is now takes longer to answer. Hatzopoulou did a brilliant job of showing the complicated relationships only siblings can have. How you can both hate someone and love them at the same time. She shows how far you will go to protect the people you love, even when they hurt you, but also how, once broken, those bonds aren’t always so easy to reform
I enjoyed the romance in this. Reading it was fated, I was a little worried that it would move too fast for me, but it was wondrously slow burn. Hatzopoulou really allows Io the chance to delve into the whole idea of a fated romance, whether it’s fair, especially when one people is aware of it and the other is not. When Io first meets Edei she is instantly intrigued, and attracted, but she puts so much weight on choice, and not taking that away from someone, that it takes an absolute age before anything remotely romantic happens between the two of them. There’s a hint of misunderstanding, not the bad kind, but I just loved seeing these two interact with each other, seeing them slowly falling in love, neither wanting to mention it for their own reasons. It was sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.
The ending. OMG. I had guesses as to who was behind the wraiths, but I have never been so sad to be right before. Hatzopoulou weaves all her threads together expertly to create an ending that had me on the edge of my seat, one that hit me right in the feels and took my breath away. I’m absolutely going to get my hands on book two asap and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.