Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Threads That Bind

The I guess you’d call it “magic system” is cool, there are “other-born” people who are descendants of the Greek Fates (gods) who have special powers. Io and her sisters are Moira-born, descendants of Moirae the goddess of Fate, and can see/manipulate threads that tie every person to the things/people/places they love.

I found the world building beyond the descriptions of the other-born powers to be a little confusing or incomplete. I didn’t really get a sense for time period and there was no map or great description of the city this story takes place in. There were other cities or countries(?) that were mentioned, but it was had to understand how they all related in the larger world. And as there are some political things going on, it would’ve been helpful to understand that context. I think that’s the main struggle I had with this book.

It’s not necessarily slow to start, but I didn’t really get fully engaged in the story until the second half. It did have a strong ending and I will likely listen to the sequel.

I did do combination audio and physical. The audio was fine - nothing spectacular but not bad.

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ska1224's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

love this book sm the world building. the characters. the narration in the audiobook is some of the best i've heard. lov this sm

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withlivjones's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Such an exciting read! I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book: the worldbuilding, the effortless diversity in the characters and in the ancient religions the worldbuilding draws from, and the relationships between the characters - particularly the complex relationships between the Ora sisters. The romance was very YA, I’m really not a fan of the ‘fated mates’ trope but there were definitely some sweet moments, and I liked the depth to both Io’s and Edei’s characters. The plot twists were fantastic and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes next!

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amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

Io is one of three sisters who descend from the fates. Each sister has the ability to see threads that connect people to love and life. Using her powers Io works as a private detective in the slums of the city of Alante. A case brings her toe to toe with a woman with a frayed life thread. She's thrust into they mystery of these wraiths sent by someone to kill in the name of "justice". Alongside Edei, the boy who is connected to Io by the thread of fate, she must find out who is behind the wraiths before chaos breaks out in the city.

Overall I enjoyed this book. Be forewarned, there is heavy worldbuilding filled with lots of moving parts. It took me a while to get a hang of everything but I found it unique, especially compared with other YA books inspired by Greek mythology. Io is an interesting protagonist who walks the line between good and evil throughout the novel. Themes of justice, retribution, and inequality are discussed in shades of gray, without a straightforward conclusion to what is right.

A couple of nitpicky things that bugged me:

- Bianca, the mob boss has the strict rules of "no guns, no leeches, no paramours" for her gang, which is mentioned multiple times. Yet both Bianca and her subordinate, Edei, both have romantic partners. This is never addressed.
- Everything happens so quickly! The book only takes place over like three or four days. It makes for an exciting reading experience, but I feel like the building relationships, especially between Io and Edei were rushed. I like them together, but it didn't feel like they had earned the romantic payoff yet.

I'm curious enough to follow up with the sequel when it is published. I hope that Io going out into the wider world will open up the story to other mythologies that have been hinted at in the worldbuilding already.

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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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mollieweitzman's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

3.5

I spent so much of this book confused hahaha 🫢 maybe it would’ve been a good audiobook. This would be GREAT for fans of Lore by Alexandra Bracken it really gives me so many of the same vibes but with a greater mystery element. There was just so many words, so much world building and history and so many twists that I don’t even know what happened. But at the same time some of the big reveals were guessable? I want to read the next book because this had a lot of heart and a lot of potential I simply just need it to be explained more throughly 😂 and in less words

ALSO the toxic sister relationship hit wayyyy too close to home omfg

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rexpostfacto's review against another edition

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4.5

I got really mad at the end before I realized it was a series 😆

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