Book Review | Threadneedle

Within the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city, filled with magic.

‘Magic and love. Love and magic. They destroy everything in the end …’

Anna’s Aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic. Its twists. Its knots. Its deadly consequences.

Now Anna counts down the days to the ceremony that will bind her magic forever.

Until she meets Effie and Attis.

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.

But as she is swept deeper into this world, Anna begins to wonder if her Aunt was right all along.

Is her magic a gift … or a curse? -Waterstones

Thank you to Harper Voyager for the proof copy of Threadneedle to read and review!

I have heard so many good things about this book online. It has been getting all the hype from reviewers and other booksellers, and I was very excited to read it! I am happy to say that I really enjoyed this novel! I didn’t fall head over heels for it like I had hoped I would, but it was still a very strong 4/5 stars!

I am not entirely sure if this is a YA novel or not? Goodreads categorises it as YA, Waterstones has it as just fantasy, so I don’t know. To me it read like a slightly older YA. The characters are 16, and the author has written some very accessible and accurate teen voices to drive the story. It reminds me of some of Sarah J. Maas’ writing, or The Binding by Bridget Collins, two books who also bridge the fantasy/YA genres.

We follow Anna, who is a witch learning to control her magic. She lives with her emotionally and physically abusive Aunt who has spent her life trying to teach Anna to control and constrain her magic. When Anna meets Effie, her whole world changes. Effie wants to make a coven of witches, she ropes Anna and two other witches into her plans. Anna suddenly discovers a whole other side to magic, the freedom and wonder of being a witch, something her Aunt has never allowed.

This is a very interesting novel. In addition to exploring magic, we also get a moving portrayal of emotional and physical abuse by a family member, and the way Anna deals with it, and how her friends react to it. I really appreciated this element of the novel. It was sensitive and brought another important aspect to the novel.

I really liked the characters in this novel. Anna was a very interesting character, she wished to be invisible to everyone while at school, but would stick up for herself, and ultimately did have a lot of confidence in herself and her beliefs. I felt so pleased for her when she was able to come out of her shell and fully stretch her magic and herself. The group of friends she makes are excellent too, they all have different types of magic which was really fun to learn about!

I think my favourite part of the novel was the magic system itself. Anna and her Aunt control their magic through tying knots in threads, which is a really unique and interesting system! I really enjoyed learning more about this, about tying knots to contain emotions and therefore magic. The author has obviously spent a lot of time figuring out the details of the magic system, and I appreciate the explanations she offered. There are also all types of elemental magic in the book, one of my favourite types of magic. Controlling the weather, creating fire, I love all this magic!

The novel is packed full of twists and turns from page 1. You really can’t trust anyone while you’re reading, there is backstabbing and betrayals everywhere! I was on the edge of my seat reading this novel, I couldn’t take my eyes off it!

Overall I enjoyed this magical novel. It reminds me of Gossip Girl in some ways, Gossip Girl crossed with magic!

Thank you for reading my Book review of Threadneedle! Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Buy from Waterstones here

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