Threads That Bind

This book is amazing and scratched the itch that Percy Jackson left for Greek mythology and then some. The characters are so well-rounded and interesting. I love characters that you both love and hate at the same time and this book has many. The story is riveting and completely immerses you in this stunning masterpiece of a world. I am so excited to see more of the world and spend time with Io and Edei, as well as the other side characters. I especially need to know what happens in book 2 because that cliff-hanger will be the end of me! I am in awe of writers because this is a work of art and more people should be talking about it! Such a perfect balance of plot and characters that just made me giggle with glee when I finished it. Perfection from start to finish!

A young adult Murder mystery fantasy set in an ominous, murky city where gang leaders have the power.We follow Io who is one of 3 sisters who has the powers of a weaver, cutter, and drawer, these powers mean they can see the life threads of people, Io Is a cutter and can see the life threads and cut them which she uses to do investigation work helping people by cutting their threads from things that harm them such as addiction, or following the thread to find what they’re hiding.Io was hired to help find out about a cheating partner which unfortunately went awry and instead introduced Io an impossibly strange person whose Life-thread was cut yet was still alive, starting the beginning of a reign of murders throughout Alante, the city- which Io was then hired to investigate who was behind them and why, alongside her new friends under the protection of Bianca, the powerful mob queen.The city was a gorgeous , mysterious and dark atmosphere that would suffer from downpour and floods, this world building deeply reminded me of the video game Dishonored and somewhat like Assassins creed- look up images of dishonored and that’s exactly how I personally picture this world.The magic was incredible I found it to be unique and complex system of magic where our characters are descend from Greek mythology gods which gives them different powers.Whilst I did really love the way the magic worked in this world and reading about Io’s powers I found most the other magic to be really confusing without us having much time to actually digest how they worked.We received a pretty confusing info dump explaining the different magic depending on which god they were descendants of, then we had muses with their own magic and then we had furies who were different from the horae/moira/Phobos born and it felt like i didn’t actually know why they were different, by the time we met a new character with different powers I don’t think many would be able remember from the beginning info dump.Other than Io most the characters were a bit simple, they all had different personalities c ambitions and reactions but I didn’t feel like they had much depth to stand out. They were still enjoyable to read about and weren’t obnoxious or irritating with their actions in an unrealistic and fictional way.The plot was engaging and filled with twists that kept my hooked but at times it Felt like putting together a jigsaw puzzle but you don’t know the picture of until the end, causing you to feel confused throughout most the book until the ending and then you managed to see the picture as a whole and how it connects, I guess that’s how the mystery part is but it’s hard to follow along when you are confused and basically reacting to most the twists and turns with “wait… what??.”Overall I really enjoyed the book and the ending left on quite an explosion to the story that I’m eager to read the second book and see what’s up.I’d recommend for a light, fun and quick read.

I’m always on the hunt for a good Greek mythology retelling, which can be very hard to find but Threads That Bind and Kika Hatzopoulou absolutely delivered! The cover alone should convince you to read this book!!This book incorporation of Greek mythology, politics, underground gangs, and an apocalyptic city atmosphere. Beautifully written

This was a fun read that suprised me throughout. I love the characters, the different mythologies that were mentioned. I was convinced this would just centre around greek mythology so seeing others pop up was a lovely addition. I was also convinced this book was a standalone but after that ending.... definitely not 🤭😂

4.25 starsYA Urban Fantasy Murder Mystery is the best way to describe this novel.The 1st third to half of the book is quite slow as there is a lot of world building going on but the 2nd half really speeds up and keeps you hooked.A lot of the characters features are based on Greek Mythology with the fates and various gods. There is also a little bit of Egyptian mythology relating to people from another city/ region. It is based in a post apocalyptic world after the moon split in 3 and messed with the tides and weather which destroyed cities and nations. The author gives fantastic descriptions of the world and the characters that you can picture yourself there with them as they run over rooftops and between buildings to avoid the tides.Some of the descriptions and explanations are unfortunately repetitive but it makes sense with how important it is and is easy to skip over if it bothers you but it was a good reminder of something that is relevant to the situation.I love the way they author subtly mentions that characters are LGBT+. It is not by giving them labels but by mentions how Ava likes the pretty girls and how Rosa was picked on when they were kids by other kids using her deadname in rhymes and characters introducing themselves by name and their pronouns. She has a really good way of describing characters are of different genders and races without is seeming forced.Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Children's Publisher for an advanced copy of this novel.

I absolutely adored this book. I'm a huge greek mythology fan and this book really scratched the itch. I enjoyed reading about the muses as well as the "lost gods". There was enough world-building to picture the book in your mind while you read but not so much that it overshadowed the plot. This book has such a unique magic system and I was pleasantly surprised to see political friction and rebellions throughout the book. This book also had an element of family drama in it that escalated tensions. There were multiple villains throughout the book that led me to feel like I was reading a who dunnit?. I love solving crimes along with the main character it truly makes me feel like I'm involved in the story. The family drama between the sisters was also well written, they all showed emotions that I personally felt were accurately portrayed. I already pre-ordered book 2.

Wow, that was good.Like... Not going to lie, I just requested this book on Netgalley because well, THAT COVER! But also because I saw Greek mythology in the synopsis and I was like sign me up!Well, this was, hands down, one of the most enjoyable, unique and refreshing YA fantasy books I've read in sooo long and I'd strongly recommend it to you if you're looking for a fantasy to hook you in.The magic system is 100% the highlight of this book!The whole worldbuilding behind it, that these other-borns come from the long lines of the ancient Greek gods, and so each one, depending on the line they come from, have a special unique set of powers was so intriguing.So like, they came flip a switch and, instead of seeing the real world, they see these threads/strings, in Io's case, and they can touch and manipulate them and whatnot, like that's such a cool concept.I loved how every line has a unique power that has a different interpretation, like how the sleep god's line can see these violin strings like thingies, and by playing them they can bring you to sleep, etc.I also very much enjoyed our cast of characters.Io was a stubborn bada** who works as a superpowered private investigator, and her power is that she's able to see the threads of people, but her specialty is that she can actually cut said threads, which is very cool.I enjoyed her character arc, especially once she got over her gaslighter b word of a sister and actually started standing up for herself.Edei, our love interest, was a very intriguing character to say the least. We don't get too much about him, but just enough to see how compassionate, kind and caring he is, and he can also whoop your behind if you tried to come for Io, which is the cherry on top.The side characters were fun, sometimes likeable, and added just enough to the plot for me to not complain about how one dimensional they were, minus Bianca and Io's big sister whose name I've already forgotten.I particularly liked how, while we had a romance subplot, that's what it was, a subplot.This is a YA fantasy with a side plot of romance that never felt overwhelming like in those fantasy romance novels that are everywhere now.I very much appreciated how small of a role it played in the book while also being just enough for us to ship Edei and Io.The mystery element was quite interesting and kept me hooked throughout the story, which I appreciated.It was fun, mysterious, and I personally couldn't figure out the culprit until the very end, when Io figured it out herself lol.But! The reveal was in fact shocking, and then the whole final battle type situation was ridiculously good, and has me looking forward to the next installment in this series.Strongly, strongly recommended!

I originally posted this as an update on GoodReads at p. 144:<em>Wow! For every 4-5 books I push into the DNF pile, there’s one which provides redemption and my love for reading! This is one of those! Only wished the 2nd in the installment was already released. Looks like February 2024 is a big release date in the publishing industry, and it’s going to be a busy busy reading month for me too! Christmas in February. Yea!</em>My sentiment hasn’t changed one bit-even after finishing it a week or so later!As always, there’s positive and negative material and circumstances that I found in my journey of reading this sensational novel.There’s your typical tropes, and if you can’t handle those, then Fantasy is probably not your genre, anymore than this particular novel would be.It’s what the author does with the age old tropes, putting a new narrative, a twist, a spin on these, thatl ultimately makes a difference.This noteworthy author brings these together with a fresh perspective and high level of energy, while creating a new excitement within the experience. For me, Hatzopoulou conclusively accomplishes this!One point of contentious negativity-A LOT of repetitive explanations within the first book already. We’re not talking about a series with this being a 2nd, 3rd, etc., installment, where the reader may need a gentle nudge to remind them of previous experiences, plots, events. To me, this is just wasted space, unnecessary content that adds fillers and fluff to the page numbers. Additionally, it presents as a substantial distraction This is problematic to me-one of my top pet peeves. Find away around it, or leave it out in entirely. Isn’t this what alpha/beta readers, agents, publishers, are for??In my many years of reading, I’ve noticed one of the common monstrous struggles all writers seem to contend with is tying the end together, wrapping up the pieces that may still be opened, providing a segue into the next installment.Nine times out of ten, there’s usually some mystery to be resolved, or at least worked on so the plot, and usually sub-plots, don’t suddenly fall by the wayside, appearing slipped or forgotten. This one is no different.At one point, I had to go back quite a few chapters to get my brain wrapped around what was happening. I can’t even state that I felt comfortable moving forward, or even that I felt I had a firm grasp of what Kika was trying to accomplish.Not sure how I feel about the ending. The way it’s written, leads one to believe there’s going to be a tremendous amount to unpack in the next installment to the series. At least 3, or more, loose "threads" that were left unraveled. (pun intended)There’s no such thing as the "Perfect" novel, and I’ve learned through my many years of reading, that I’m setting myself up for failure if I go into any book with that approach. And although I did have to backtrack a couple of times, some of those times could easily be placed upon myself. Distractions, lack of concentration, unfocused, etc.I still ended up giving this 4 stars. It’s closer to a 4.5.-5, but as we all know, there’s nothing other than a full number scale review possible. I really wanted to go with the 5, but it missed a few marks I personally use, when giving out a 5. Looking forward to book 2, but approaching realistically knowing I will probably need to reread this one beforehand. And one that I will need to devote a distraction-free zone, including only reading this one book at the time, but I can resolutely say my outlook and anticipation is one of a high magnitude!

El libro llevo en perfecto estado. Una historia muy divertida y un mundo muy interesante. Tiene de todo para que te enganches desde el primer momento: un misterios, magia, asesinados,...La única pega? Lo compré sin pensar que hubiera una continuación y ahora tengo que esperar...

I need June to come faster, I need to figure out what happens with Io and Bianca, I need to figure out what ava and thais are going to do! I need to figure out if edei finds everyone, I need to learn what the gang are doing! I just need to learn everything. please June, come faster. 5/5 Amazon/Goodreads/Fable.