Threadneedle: The magical SUNDAY TIMES bestselling debut novel

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La trama está llena de secretos y giros, con los cuales la autora nos mantiene intrigad@s, y hace que llegue un punto en que no podamos parar de leer debido a las revelaciones que se hacen y lo que va aconteciendo. Por otra parte, lo novedoso del sistema de magia también es algo muy atrayente, puesto que vamos a ir descubriendo cómo funciona esta sociedad mágica, los distintos clanes que existen y cómo hacen magia cada uno de ellos. De igual manera, el argumento de la novela se centra tanto en el pasado de Anna, como en su historia familiar, que quizás no es como se la han contado, y en los conflictos de las brujas y las diversas formas de magia. I also loved that each chapter began with passages from the Book of the Binders, as it really added to the overall atmosphere of the book. Aunt is very unhappy to find out that these two will be starting at Anna’s school and warns Anna about letting them influence her and constantly reminds her to stay true to their beliefs and on the path of the binders. Aunt is a binder, this is a witch who believes magic is dangerous and that it is a sin to even want to use it and has had her magic bound away. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Cari Thomas' writing is effortless and smooth. Thomas' prose are lovely and for that made this reading experience so much better. I also couldn't put this book down when I was reading it. So that just goes to show you how lost I got within this story. Thomas was able to transport me to her version of London through her writing so that I felt like I was actually there whilst I was reading. I don’t know why, but I thought this was adult fantasy when it was overtly YA from the off. That meant some teen drama and behaviour I wasn’t expecting and I don’t know if it was just that change to my expectations that brought this read down a bit. I wasn’t always keen on Anna’s grudging companions through the story although some did grow on me. I am left with a few questions and I certainly have theories as well. The ending mostly answers the mysteries surrounding Anna but there are some that are left (intentionally) vague. I cannot wait to read the next book, it’s now one of my most anticipated reads. Admito que este libro se me hizo mucho más juvenil de lo que esperaba, y quería, leer. Lo que se sumó a un ritmo lento, que hubiera estado bien si algún personaje me interesara o el mundo en sí, pero al final yo seguí hasta las últimas por el chisme, quería saber la verdad del pasado de Anna (copuchenta se nace).

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This uneven pacing is unfortunate, mostly because it delays the best parts of Threadneedle. In the latter half of her novel, Thomas offers us surprising twists and an elegant magic system. It is a breath of fresh air when Anna learns that the knot magic of the Binders is only one magical “language” and that there are infinitely more, all descended from an original seven: planetary, elemental, botanical, verbal, magic, symbolic, emotional. The reader is liberated alongside Anna when the book veers away from the stultifying environments of Aunt’s house and high school into the secret supernatural side of London. The plot begins to hum when a spell cast by the coven spirals into a dark and inescapable force. And, when Anna truly begins investigating the mystery of her parents’ death and the possibility that her own magic is cursed, she becomes someone I could actually root for. There’s no cliffhanger ending as the crux of this part of the story does get cleared up but I just can’t wait for the unfolding of the drama that forms Anna’s curse and emotional upheaval of that love that is assuredly going to create a hell lot of problems. Bueno... ha sido todo un viaje esta lectura: lo empecé con muchísimas ganas, y aunque sí me estaba interesando, y me enganchaba, también sentía que le estaba costando bastante a la historia arrancar, que la introducción se alargaba más, y más. Es verdad que hay mucho que contar acerca del funcionamiento de la magia, de la vida de Anna, su pasado y su relación con su tía, y el resto de personajes... pero es que no es hasta mucho después, pasada la mitad de la novela, cuando al fin empieza a desvelarse algo de todo el misterio y al fin avanza la trama realmente.

This is a well written character driven YA tale. MC Anna has been taught to fear and loathe her magical talent by her repressive and cruelly disapproving aunt. She's approaching the day when a ceremony will bind her magic forever, when she meets exuberant and irrepressible young students Effie and Attis. They're soon off having adventures and exploring their magic and testing boundaries.The bonds we have with family and friends and how these can be tied to fear and sacrifice are explored in this book. It’s not always clear whether someone is acting selfishly or in another person’s best interests. There are opposing truths at play, which complicates things even further. Then there was Rowan, who I absolutely adored, except for the fact that so much time was spent body shaming her. If someone else wasn’t bullying her about her weight, Rowan was pointing it out herself. She was so much more interesting to me than whatever the scales say about her. Also, her mother is an absolute delight and I need to spend so much more time with her!

Anna knows there is nothing fairy tale about the binders magic. No wands, no capes just knots and although brought up to shun here magical powers Anna at sixteen begins to question her life, her powers, and the death of her parents that no-one wants to talk about. The author takes us into a world that is as thrilling, dangerous and perilous as any crime novel, because crimes have been committed in the name of magic, the people who have had the powers have abused them and there is an evident web of deceit and personal interest in their actions. Anna’s position is precarious, pitted not only between her aunt and her aunt/friend, but also the binders who are ready to knot her at a moment notice and take away her magic forever. The protagonists in the story are 16 yr olds and the school they belong to is like any other high school, with its own share of bullying and body-shaming and mean-girls that feel acutely authentic. Anna’s life as an orphan cared for by her aunt is nothing sort of a miracle. The abuse she has to endure in the name of magical binding is terrifying and the story unfolds in such a way that the reader is given no clue if at all the paranoid aunt has some basis for her beliefs. As new friends Effie and Attis show Anna what she is missing in her life, Anna becomes emboldened to change from NOBODY to SOMEBODY. But nothing prepares her for the magical discovery and the journey she has to bear for the truth of her parent’s death and the curse that is hanging over her head.Su tía siempre ha advertido a Anna de los peligros de la magia, cómo envenena todo, y las consecuencias fatales que acarrea usarla. Por eso, Anna está impaciente por que se lleve a cabo la ceremonia que confine sus poderes... hasta que conoce a Effie y Attis, quienes le muestran el lado divertido y fantástico de esta que ella desconocía, sin embargo, a medida que se adentra en ese oscuro mundo, comienza a preguntarse si tal vez su tía no tendría razón al advertirle de esos peligros.

Con respecto a los personajes de Rowan, Manda y Attis, he de decir que la primera es una chica parlanchina y con sobrepeso que pondrá el toque divertido a esta historia. Manda, en cambio, vive un poco como Anna, intentando ser perfecta. Por último, qué puedo deciros de Attis. Es un donjuán, pero también trata de ayudar a los demás y no podemos evitar preguntarnos qué es. Ahora, uno de los numerosos aciertos, tanto con la trama como con los personajes, es que os lo cuestionaréis todo porque, ¿acaso son lo que parecen? No hubo grandes giros ni sorprensas en las personalidades de los personajes y eso fue lo que no me terminó de convencer. Todos los personajes caían en estereotipos o si eran algo más complejos como la tía de Anna o Selene, al final eran... lo que parecían ser, no había profundidad mayor en sus construcciones o motivaciones. Y la autora tuvo casi 600 páginas para darnos algo un poco más elaborado. Lo mismo con Effie, me cargó, no la soporté, pero creí que podría haber algo interesante en ella y para el final me tuve que creer una relación de amistad con Anna que nunca pude ver. De hecho, toda la amistad en el libro, exceptuando Attis y Rowan, se veía como esa amistad de adolescencia que se produce por la cercanía y cierta idea de un beneficio mutuo, no por los sentimientos reales entre los involucrados. All in all, I am pleased with this book and I can't wait to read book 2! I'd totally recommend this book to anyone who's looking for a teenage coming-of-age story with a dash of witches and magic. The fantastical world created by the story is superb. The stitching, the potions, the plants, the coven… every idea was creatively constructed. Using threads and knots for magic was an innovative experience to read. I did enjoy this book. The thought that went into the world building, and the manner in which magic worked was well dThe only problem is that I actually thought that as YA, this book is projecting a very negative image of sex, which (thank gosh I am not a mother) I would never want my daughter to read. I also thought from the very beginning that the relationship between Anna and Selene, her aunt’s friend, was quite ambiguous. It seemed sometimes sapphic, and not “mother/guardian” and daughter, so I’m not even sure if this is what the writer wanted to achieve. I loved the authenticity in this book, the way be created a world that combines aspects that connect with reality but turned it into a new and exciting adventure. I've read a lot of books where the magical world is different than our own so this was a nice change of pace. I loved how the book focussed on a group of high school girls and how realistically portrayed these characters were. They open her eyes to a London she never knew existed. A shop that sells memories. A secret library where the librarian feeds off words. A club where revellers lose themselves in a haze of spells. It has been such a long time since I read a really good witchy book and I have to be honest guys, this one blew my mind!