Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Threads That Bind

I quite liked this. It was a good twist in being Greek inspired without including any of the traditional pantheon and rather focusing on the fates and the muses and such. The magic was interesting, the post-apocalyptic setting was interesting and the book did a good job addressing the questions of fate and how much we let ourselves be guided by a fate versus free will. I appreciate books with a class divide where we don't just get everyone rich giving out alms but rather a truer look at making ends meet and gang territorial control.

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lbelow's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense

5.0

An excellent book. Rich in magic and a plot full of twists in a world it feels like you can live and breathe. I can't wait for the next book!

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kell_xavi's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense fast-paced

4.0

Exciting, original, fantastic debut novel set in a coastal fantasy city where human descendants of Greek deities—otherborn—can wield unique powers, but are marginalized in their society. The setting is a complex web of gang-ruled territory, a police initiative to use otherborn as soldiers, and suspicious deaths by women who are nor quite alive.

Io is a winning character who half-willingly pairs up with Edei to investigate, and ends up in a good deal of trouble with a lot of buried things rising up to haunt her, her family, and the city of Elante.

A few places closer to the beginning come across as contrived and confused,where Io doesn’t investigate things it seems she would want to, or where her anxiety didn’t move naturally, or in how she thinks and speaks. And it ends on a blasted cliffhanger! But otherwise, this is a wonderful book, and I look forward to the sequel.

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azrah786's review against another edition

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4.5

[This review can also be found on my BLOG]

**I was provided with a digital copy through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

CW: violence, blood, injury, murder, gore, body horror, death, animal death, death of parent, emotional abuse, bullying, xenophobia, grief, abandonment, panic attacks, genocide, police brutality, infidelity, classism
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If you know me then you know that I love anything along the line of a retelling and Threads That Bind is right up there with This Poison Heart for being a super clever and unique YA reimaging of Greek Mythology/Lore in a modern setting

The book centres on a girl who along with her 2 older sisters is a descendant of the 3 Fates. In this universe those who are descendants of deities harness some of their powers. Io our protagonist is able to see the threads of fate that span between people and the things that they love, as do her sisters, but her unique ability is that she is able to cut these threads.

Io uses her powers to work as a private investigator (honestly how cool is that?!!) and one day on a job she stumbles upon a woman who is walking around alive with her life thread cut, something which shouldn’t be possible..
This pulls Io into a wider mystery where she is made to work alongside Edei, the right hand man of the mob queen of the city who just so happens to be the person on the other side of her soulmate thread that she has been avoiding for years.

I absolutely loved this book and sped through it in 24 hours.

I was blown away by pretty much everything about the worldbuilding, from the gritty dystopian backdrop of the city and the various political tensions and underground gangs that pieced it together to the multifaceted magic/power side of things. It was fascinating that this whole deity element wasn’t just limited to Greek mythology but rather branched out to include other cultures and locations as well. Every new detail and addition just absorbed me more and more and there was some pretty great social commentary on class systems and identity there too.

The characters and their relationships were also a massive highlight. When books have complex and well written family dynamics you can expect me to be well and fully engaged and Hatzopoulou explored the relationships between the sisters at the heart of this story and how it shaped each of them, especially Io, so well! The romance also was so so sweet!! I find the soulmate trope can often feel cliché but the connection between Io and Edei felt so wholesome and right!

The leading mystery plot really keeps you guessing and on your toes and though there are some predictable bits it is all pieced together so well, particularly with how the various secrets and threads of history were unfolded. And following that ending I am itching to get my hands on the sequel!!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars

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mandaleigh's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

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

4.5

I received an advance reader copy of this book from Bookish First!

Threads That Bind follows Io Ora, the youngest of three sisters descended from the Fates, who can see the threads that connect people to the things they love. Io specifically is a cutter, the sister who can sever ties to other people, places and things, and yes, life itself. She's a private investigator "in the business of breaking hearts" when she witnesses a murder committed by someone with a severed life thread (which should be impossible). She investigates the murder alongside the second in command for the most powerful gang in the city, Edei, which is complicated itself because the two of them are connected by a Fate Thread (soulmates!) but Edei doesn't know. As they uncover the mystery, they're led to Io's oldest sister and her paramour, who's their main suspect.

The book is fast paced and integrates mythology and mystery seamlessly! (I promise that's not a thread pun!) You get a little bit of everything in this book; a little dystopia, myth, murder mystery, romance. I really felt like I was guessing until the very end. I believe it's being marketed as a young adult read, but don't let that steer you away form it. The world building is rich and interesting, and the characters are diverse and memorable. It also ends on a cliffhanger, so I'm definitely looking forward to the next one!

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