#Threads That Bind

[more-than-ideas]

threads that bind

[wingsofhcpe]

anyway if yall want something greek-mythology inspired to read, please pick up Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou. It's a post-apocalyptic fantasy romance (soulmates!) with lots of queerness in it, inspired by various mythologies but centered around greek mythology, with a greek-coded protag & cultural elements strewn across, and written by an actual greek woman who lives in Greece. It's also the first book I see by a greek author to be written & published in English/abroad first, and to go semi-popular on western reading circles.

we need more like this. please support her.

[evilios]

Threads That Bind was my first introduction to Kika Hatzopoulou's writing, and a pleasant one. It's a refreshing novelty among mythology-inspired books as it features an otherwise untouched by them genre: a fantasy crime novel.

Hatzopoulou's writing is dynamic and flavorful, she's very talented at creating action sequences and fast-paced, intense interactions. Her text is heavily inspired by different concepts of cultural and mythological landscapes of Greece, Ancient and modern: the main heroine, Io, is a descendant of a long line of Fates-born capable of seeing and cutting threads of one's life and all the things dear to the person. Alongside her equally powerful sisters, Thais and Ava, she's in the middle of all the action, uncovering the mystery of a spree of suspicious murders.

Io is a deeply sympathetic character that's easy to relate to due to her social standing and the deep personal, familial crises she is going through: grief and loss, growing apart with the family, finding your point in life, hoping for one day when things might get better. She's simply well-written and interesting to follow.

If you enjoy a fun and dynamic narrative built around the concepts of predetermined fate, destiny and justice, sisterhood and family, otherness, and free will, then I'd heavily recommend this book.

No major plot spoilers, some things I want to specifically point out:

Personally, I adore how many solid female characters Kika introduces. The majority of the reoccurring cast are women and they're all utterly brilliant. I am deeply in love with Bianca and I adore Rosa with my whole heart. There's a dangerous sapphic character who does not die and is in a relationship with another woman. There's a transwoman (who is I believe in a relationship) whose queerness is not obtusely focused on but rather treated as it should be: as a normal thing. You do not learn she's trans until one mention of past deadnaming (no name mentioned) appears. There's a hint that the main character might be bisexual. There's a nonbinary character relevant to the plot. There are multiple secondary characters using different pronouns. Queerness is treated by Kika as a usual everyday thing and it's very refreshing to see.

Kika sets the action in a city that resembles Athens: it has an Acropolis where elites live, the slums, the poorer areas and the more immigrant-populated areas. No real geographical location is ever marked but by some small cues you can figure out that the fictional city and its surrounding areas are heavily inspired by Greece with proximity to Egypt, Slavic territories, and Near East.

Main character's love interest (this book has a soulmate story as a background but it's not annoying/in your face) is coded to be what would equate to real world Egyptian, based on cultural codes. A lot of characters are heavily diverse, Kika uses a lot of names that sound Greek, Italian, Russian, and Arabic. It's a very modern Mediterranean-coded story.

I ADORE the attention Kika gives to her side characters. There's a character named Chimdi who is passionate about sculpture, and her mini-story is actually deeply impactful on how you perceive the Muses. The Muses are the only "other-born" who go by the names of the original Nine Muses and it's treated as a "marketing move" — there are so many analysis points the author makes and I just adore it.

Instead of having divine descendants follow individual Gods (who might or might not be mentioned), Kika makes the divine "other-born" descend from groups of divinities only: three Fates equate three sisters, countless oneiroi equate to multitudes of oneiroi-born, Muses equate to the rare event of nine girls being born in a family, and so on. It's fun how she puts it together.

This book very openly and directly hates cops and I love it for that. Kika overall comments a lot on social injustice, immigration laws, mistreatment of ostracized native population vs. ostracized immigrant population, xenophobia, and other matters of social segregation. Corrupt government and people just getting by are the background of her story.

There's one element at the very end that I'm a little worried about because I do not like this trope, but with Kika's gentle and careful approach to her own cultural narratives, I have faith it will be encountered properly in the sequel, Hearts That Cut.

There are a lot of topics she touches upon, and I do heavily recommend this book.

[wondereads]

December Reading Wrap-Up

The Villain Edit by Laurie Devore (★★★★☆)

I saw this author speak at Yallfest, hence why I decided to branch out quite a bit from my typical choices. The Villain Edit is a contemporary romance about a failed romance author who goes on a Bachelor-esque show to drum up sales for her backlist. She has a one night stand the day before production starts, who turns out to be a producer on the show. As much as this has the premise of a romance novel, I would consider it a contemporary novel with a strong side of romance. The focus is by and large on the development of the main character, Jac, as she struggles with her personal issues and starts to crack under the spotlight. I did enjoy the romance—even though the "love triangle" has a completely obvious end, Devore does some fun things with it—but I would have been perfectly content if Jac ended up alone, as long as she came to terms with herself.

Jac is a decidedly 'unlikeable' character, in both the show and the book, but she's highly entertaining to read about, and I felt a lot of empathy for her. She makes so many bad decisions and is unfailingly rude, but she rarely felt grating, even if I was banging my head against my steering wheel as I listened to the audiobook. There were some moments that felt a little misogynistic to me, but I think it was just playing into the dehumanizing aspects of reality tv. Even though this book is outside of my comfort zone, I had a great time with it, and it did a good job maintaining tension throughout.

Harrow the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (★★★★★)

I am always blown away by how Tamsyn Muir constructs such intricate plots. I've read Harrow before, but I was still astonished by how neatly everything came together, each mystery playing into the others (I also have a crap memory so I forgot a lot of the book). Of the three Locked Tomb protagonists, Harrow is definitely my favorite. She's not 'funny' like Gideon or Nona, but she's snarky in her own way, and I have a soft spot for overachievers. She's also ridiculously competent and dedicated, and it's incredibly satisfying to see her always take it further than anyone thinks she will (soup).

Since I wasn't panicking about what the actual fuck was going on like the first time I read this, I got to slow down and take in more of the side relationships a bit more. Augustine and Mercy are both hilarious characters in their own right, and it's only multiplied when they're put together. I am an Ianthe hater (this would all be over if it wasn't for her), but she's just as compelling a character as everyone else. And then there's Jod. Fuck Jod. Anyway, on a technical level, Muir's writing is just breathtaking, with serious, flowery descriptions cut with hard-hitting, simplistic statements, occasionally lightened by humor that would be out of place in any other story. What an amazing book.

More books under the cut

Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (★★★★★)

It took me a while to decide to give Nona five stars. Not because it isn't a spectacular book, it is, but because I experienced so much emotional turmoil while reading it that I wanted to withhold a perfect rating out of spite. Paul?? You can't put Paul in a novel and expect me to reward you for it. And yet it's all so good there's no other option. I'm actually quite furious with myself that it took so long to catch on to what was happening. I've still got absolutely no clue how necromancy works, but it was very interesting to learn its origins, only recorded through Ye Olde Twitch.

I was very excited to see the return of a fan-favorite character. I was a bit worried she Came Back Wrong. She probably did a little, but for the most part it just seems like her own, genuine decision to behave in this way in some semblance of a quarter-life-crisis. The first half of the book is rife with amazing new relationships, though I am hesitant to describe it as found family as it only lasts around 300 pages before quickly becoming lost family (that's not a spoiler, Muir would never let anyone be happy). In terms of the worldbuilding, beyond the origin story, it was so interesting to see what life is like outside of the Nine Houses, and there are many new mysteries introduced. I think the thing I most want to know more about is what the hell is going on with the Resurrection Beasts. I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I wait news of Alecto eagerly.

For She Is Wrath by Emily Varga (★★★☆☆.5)

This started off as a very strong book. The story revolves around Dani, who used to be the daughter of an esteemed swordsmith before she was framed for the murder of a warlord and sent to prison. She is able to break out of said prison with the help of another young girl who just so happens to have a secret stash of magic. Dani puts this magic to use to disguise herself in order to infiltrate the royal court and take revenge on all who ruined her life—especially her former paramour, Prince Mazin..

I really liked Dani, the main character, and her pursuit of vengeance is a classic tale, even if this weren't a retelling. The very beginning is a little convenient (really, of all prison cells?), but once Dani is able to start working toward revenge I was hooked. I found the magic system intriguing, the romance had a lot of good tension, and it was incredibly satisfying to see the execution of said revenge. The big issue I had with this book was pacing. I seriously thought this would be the first in a series; it felt like there wasn't nearly enough time to do everything the characters wanted to in just over 400 pages. However, in the last 100 or so pages of this book, so much happens. A character is kidnapped and saved, an ill-advised bargain is made and broken, a big betrayal and a big reunion occur, on top of like seven other plot points. These major plot points, which would usually be given at least a full chapter if not multiple, were being cycled through with only a few pages each, not allowing the reader, or the characters, room to dwell on what was happening. It was so disorienting and unsatisfying that I docked what could have easily been a 4.5/4.75 star read down to 3.5.

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (★★★★★)

I don't really have much new to say about this one; I remembered it pretty well, I just reread it for potential use in my thesis. It was tough to stay focused on the actual reason I was combing through instead of just underlining every time El and Orion were in the same room. I continue to be obsessed with their relationship, even years after the series has ended. My favorite part of this book is probably the Scholomance itself; I love that it is shown to be somewhat sentient, even if it is only to fulfill the parameters of its creation. I honestly wish we could have gotten more of it as a character in its own right, but I know the plot wouldn't work otherwise.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik (★★★★★)

This one was a bit different. Still reading for my thesis, but I honestly forgot a good bit of the story, so there were some twists that surprised me once again. Novik is not subtle about the magical world being an allegory for ours, the fortunate creating problems (pollution, poverty, etc.) for the less so and needing to be forced to do something about it. The only truly fantastical thing about the whole situation is that El truly can single-handedly force them to care, which is quite cathartic to read. While there are a lot of new characters and relationships introduced in this book, and I'm a fan of all of them (particularly El and Liesel), my favorite is El's mom. Her and El play off each other well, and it's interesting to see the woman El constantly brings up in her narration.

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou (★★★★☆.75)

I was not anticipating this book to be so good! Threads That Bind follows Io, who uses her skills as a Fate-born, allowing to see the threads of fate, as a private investigator in the city of Alante. Her latest case leads her to a run-in with an inhumanly strong and half-crazed woman who wields her own cut life thread as a weapon. Investigating the mystery leads Io to criminal gangs, up-and-coming politicians, and her own absent sister, all involved in something dark in the city's past. I think the mystery of this book was very good; I definitely had my suspicions for the ultimate culprit (and there were some red herrings that just felt unnecessary), but the process of Io discovering the truth was highly entertaining and it wasn't completely obvious.

I also loved the magic system! The idea of characters being distantly descended from various mythological figures, giving them appropriate powers, was very interesting, especially since it isn't the typical demigod approach. My favorite part of it is that the powers come in sets of siblings, each one playing a different role. For example, of her three sisters, Io is a Cutter, representing the Fate that cuts the threads of life, which allows her to sacrifice one of her own threads to cut someone else's. The worldbuilding is also one of my favorite tropes, which is that it seems to be Earth but far in the future, after some sort of climate disaster. I hope the rest of the series explains more of the history! Io herself was mostly a likable and easy-to-root-for protagonist. My one gripe with this book was that she felt a little too perfect sometimes, a lot of her mistakes and failings coming from her rough upbringing, not necessarily her personal flaws. Still, I enjoyed reading about her, and I really liked the romance. Her and Edei have a pretty natural progression from allies to friends to lovers that doesn't feel rushed, which is often an issue I have with YA romances these days. There was one thing I was hoping would happen, but I'm holding out for the sequel (the title, Hearts That Cut, bodes well). Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, and I'm looking to get the second one soon!

Wolf Siren by Beth O'Brien (★★★★☆)

Can't say much about this one, it's unreleased and I read it for work, but it balanced an understandable middle grade writing style well with the heavy topics it addresses.

Forged by Blood by Ehigbor Okosun (★★★☆☆.25)

This one was a bit of a disappointment. Forged by Blood tells the story of Demi, an Oluso who can wield magic in a land that has forbidden it. She is hired by a lord to kidnap the prince of her kingdom, Jonas, in a deceptive bid to get him a higher position that would hopefully benefit her people. Demi does so with the help of her close friend, Colin, but a wrench in their plans requires them to go on a bit of a journey with the prince. This book isn't really advertised as such, but it's absolutely a romantasy, not a high fantasy. Demi's world is an unsubtle allegory for colonization, the northerners having overthrown the original royal family and oppressing literally everyone else. This is a typical plot, but it's not the unoriginality I have an issue with; it's the fact that the romance kind of neuters the whole metaphor. In an attempt to allow Demi a romantic relationship with Jonas, prince of her oppressors, the story has to take a whole forgiveness-and-collaboration approach to what is basically colonization, and it just misses the mark.

In general, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance in this book. There are a lot of plot gaps that clearly only exist to make room for popular romance scenes, and the romance just wasn't good enough for me to forgive that. I was sort of into it in the beginning, but that was more the concept; the characters don't really have much chemistry. The thing is, I really enjoyed Demi and Jonas as characters (Colin less so, he was clearly only there for love triangle drama). They're both passionate and dedicated, which the romance doesn't really add to. The magic system is also interesting, based on Nigerian mythology, but the book doesn't dwell on it as much as I'd like. Overall, there wasn't really anything egregiously wrong with this book, but it wasn't nearly as good as it could have been.

The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (★★★★★)

Another thesis reread!

Impossible by Lyra Cole (★★★☆☆.75)

This book is an omegaverse about five incredibly damaged people. Indie is an isolated girl with an intense eating disorder who discovers that she is an omega. In this world, omegas and alphas live in relative secret, making the transition difficult for her on top of her psychological struggles. Meanwhile, Hollis, Joshua, Leon, and Risk are four alphas whose pack fell apart in a mysterious, violent 'incident,' leaving them all traumatized. Normally books like this shy away from the impact PTSD and depression can have on someone's life. Impossible doesn't sugarcoat how flashbacks and severe depression fuck with a person's psyche, which I really appreciated. This is first and foremost a romance book, but it still allocates a decent amount of time to discussing the characters' problems and their healing process.

Other than that, there is a loose political undercurrent in the story, things that have far too serious implications for an omegaverse romance duology. Concerning that, I would have appreciated more happening; I was anticipating a bit more conflict coming from that area. The romance itself is pretty good; Indie and Leon by far spend the most time together, so their relationship develops the most naturally. The others feel a bit rushed, but I still like them. The book feels a little vague and directionless, but I enjoyed the characters and romance.

Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey (★★★★☆.5)

My longest read of the year tells the story of Phedre no Dalaunay. In the country of Terre D'Ange, there is one precept valued above all others: love as thou wilt. D'Angelines have a unique desire for beauty that presents itself in art, governance, and, crucially, sex. In the Houses of Night, which worship Namaah, sex is their method of tribute, and Phedre, sold by her mother to Namaah's service, has known all her life what she is meant to do. The only thing out of the ordinary about her is a red mote in her eye, Kushiel's Dart, which marks her as someone who experiences pain and pleasure as one. A noble, Lord Delaunay, takes notice of Phedre and purchases her indenture to then train her in the art of espionage. Her position allow her into places typical spies have no access to, and her skills loosen her clients' tongues. But Terre D'Ange is unstable, and her subterfuge leads her into a conspiracy to take a kingdom.

For a book published in 2001, this book is astonishing pro-LGBTQ and sex-positive. It portrays an understanding and healthy depiction of BDSM, draws a tasteful line between consensual sex work and rape, and boasts multiple characters that are openly queer. It's more politics and arranged marriages that get in the way of relationships than gender. This is also a complex and compelling political fantasy, pulling in court intrigue, diplomatic relations, and pretty good accuracy for medieval Europe (the map is just Europe, Terre D'Ange is France, it's not subtle). Phedre herself is a wonderful protagonist; she is dedicated, headstrong but clever, and knows how to utilize her talents to the best of her abilities. She has multiple entanglements throughout the course of the novel, but there are two main relationships, both of which were wonderful to read. One is a deadly dance, exploring the lines between love and hate, and one is complete devotion as the two go through hell together. Even for a book that discusses sex so openly, there actually aren't many sex scenes and most take up very little space; don't go into this one expecting a ton of smut. My only complaint is that the story does drag at times; it is over 1000 pages. I would read the trigger warnings before picking up this book, but otherwise I highly recommend it if you're looking for an in-depth political fantasy.

Otherworldly by F. T. Lukens (★★★★☆)

This was a cute, lighthearted paranormal romance between a goddess' familiar and a teenager who doesn't believe in magic. Ellery's region of the world has been stuck in an eternal winter for five years, but they might have a chance to save their city (and their family's farm) when they meet Knox, a familiar who's gone rogue for the chance to live his own life for once. The deal is simple: Knox helps Ellery discover why their Goddess has abandoned them, and Ellery helps Knox experience normal teenage things. Lukens has always been quite good at writing these cozy fantasy romances; they use magic tropes well to further the romance. I've previously had issues with them creating a world that 300-page romances just don't have time to explore, but this one was pretty self-contained and I didn't feel unsatisfied at the end.

The romance itself is very cute; Ellery and Knox play off each other well, and the story doesn't feel overly contrived or too rushed. I do think it's a little ridiculous that this one area of the world has been trapped in winter for five years and Ellery still doesn't believe in the supernatural. Oddly, it was the skepticism that broke my immersion. However, once they get past that, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. If you're looking for cute, fantastical romances, F. T. Lukens is a great bet, and I've enjoyed every book from them I've read.

[teartra]

Some of my “hear me out” book characters bc why not

Art Credits

Bianca Rossi: anta_art on ig

Raikama: monafinden on ig

Jiang and Su Daji: Jungshan Chang

Xu Da and Elijah: Picrew BAYDEW’S avatar maker

[couldvebeenus]

The Red Thread, Ann Hood 《君の名は》Your Name, Dir. Makoto Shinkai Red, White and Royal Blue, Dir. Matthew Lopez Smiley, Guillem Clua 《紅線》Red Thread, Dir. Yijun Pan & Anh Vo Threads That Bind, Kika Hatzopoulou

[the-final-sentence]

'Let's bring down the gods.'

Kika Hatzopoulou, from Threads That Bind

[notsopersonalcharlie]

everyone go read Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou. not only is it a beautifully crafted true crime mystery story that includes Greek mythology and the ins and outs of childhood, sisterhood, and found family, but it is also so well written from an LGBTQ perspective because these people just exist. you don’t even find out a character is trans until we’ll over halfway through the book and there is no over explaining just a mention of deadnaming without doing it. i can stress enough the fact that this book drew me in and i can not wait for another one to come out

[mandalorian-chiara]

Gracie Abrams wrote Risk for Io and Edei and I AM RIGHT

(Yes this is your sign to read Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou, I’m looking at you Percy Jackson and AGGTM fans)

[mistwraiths]

5 stars

This was an AMAZING book. I read it when I was extremely sick so unfortunately I didn't write a review but I would 100% recommend it. It's neo-noir and takes descendants of certain gods/monsters/mythological beings certain powers.

It follows the main character who is a descendant of the three fates, so her sisters and her have powers. She's the Cutter, the one who can cut the strings of Fate. I loved how she used her powers as like a private detective. I loved the messy dynamics of sisterhood and family. The discussion of fate and destiny too.

It was so refreshingly unique and just so well done. Can't wait for the sequel.

[the-reel-albacat]

This is what you get when you combine an over dramatic sleep deprived teenager, unnecessarily angry music, and the climax of the third act of an amazing book. (Threads that bind by kika hatzopoulou)

[booktineus]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bec 📖 (@booktineus)

[shxpeshifterr]

Sundays are for fantasy books

[between-the-pages657]

Couple of thoughts on the ending:

BIG leaps in logic to find out who the bad guy was and there were way too many twists and turns to keep up

I thought for sure that Io was going to cut the fate-thread. Imagine the angst!

I JUST WANT EDEI AND IO TO BE HAPPU DAMMIT!

I also love how morally grey everyone is.

[bookishlyvintage]

Threads That Bind, Kika Hatzopoulou [thoughts]

[teartra]

One thing I love the most from Threads that Bind is the fact that Io wears spectacles. Please, more badass female mc with spectacles