“Magic is the first sin; we must bear it silently.”

Threadneedle starts off slowly, almost boring, too boring, providing an insight into the monotony of Anna’s life with her aunt, full of rules, regulations, learning tenets from the Book of the Binders. Order and control, sewing away, and sealing up feelings and independent thought. Emotions knotted. A puppet strung by cords, controlled at her aunt’s whim. A “nobody” at school, better hidden alone than involved with friends.
“Weakness in feeling; strength in control.”

But, what comes to fruition, and a change of pace in the story, is these acts are just a cover up, a plot, a long term twisted plan to hide, and try and break, a family secret. What appears as a choice encounter, soon turns into Anna’s discovery and awakening of her true self, her powers and strength as a person, as a witch. Her family’s secret laid bare, and her choice of how to handle it.

Themes of abuse, bullying, manipulation, and coercive behaviour feature heavily throughout, with a mix of teen love, friendships, and troubles at school.

There is an overarching story touched upon throughout about the 7, a group of witches, whom are exposed to the “cowens,” the normal people, which creates fear amongst the witching community groups, but it is not really fully addressed. The book ends with a mock newspaper article, and a sub paragraph on the awakening of the 7. Is there a book two on the horizon to delve a little deeper into whom the 7 are, and what this all means?

I think I made a mistake choosing this book. It says it's adult fiction but reads more like YA. That's not a problem though and I was willing to give it a go. It started well and I did get caught up in the lives of Anna and her Aunt. When Selene, Effie and Attis arrived on the scene, it seemed things were going to take an interesting turn. However, it then seemed to become a school story, with bitchy teenagers and a headmaster who was something of a joke. I'm afraid I gave up at this point as I was no longer entranced by the story.

Now that's not to say there is something wrong with it - just that it isn't right for me. From looking at other reviews, I can see many people love it. Maybe I'll dip into it again, in which case, maybe I'll revise my opinion. But for the moment, I'm going to put it aside.

I wish the writer good luck with it.

This was a great read, although it took me a little while to find my pace with it. The characters are well-realised and the tension between Anna's two lives - her cruel, stifling shadow existence with her aunt and the warmth and danger of her new coven - is kept up beautifully right until the end, with enough doubts over which side is right to keep the reader guessing. I enjoyed the high school drama element too, reminding me of the late 80s film film, 'Heathers'. I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Cari Thomas creates a magical world here that grows and grows as you read, and has the potential to grow still further. She gives us a truly frightening villain - Aunt is part of a magical/anti-magical cult that believes in chaining magic. That's the only way to be safe. Aunt is scary and conflicted and cruel, but Anna loves her. Anna is an orphan, in a bleak world, surviving school by becoming invisible, surviving at home with Aunt by being absolutely compliant. And she has no magic. Effie and Attis burst into her life and change things - utterly, gloriously and terrifyingly.

There is a fantastic world here, that we get to explore with Anna as she starts to try to find a way to be herself.

I am so excited that this is the first of four books. I really recommend it. It's a magical world that I found more exciting than J K Rowling. There's cosiness and sexiness and downright nastiness. Definitely recommended.

Literally thrown in at the deep end from the start; , knotting, binding and witchcraft! I was bemused for a while but once passed the first couple of chapters I got into the swing of the story. Anna not knowing her history and confused as to her capabilities, the mysterious Effie and the enigmatic Attis pitted against the might of the bullying at the private school. The three eventually form their own coven with two other witches in an to attempt to put an end to the constant intimidation of Darcey and her friends! Intriguing, very different and well told though I did feel the fairy stories were irrelevant to the story. As to the conclusion, well I am keeping fingers crossed for a sequel!

I love books about magic, it would seem most of us do with the success of Harry Potter. This book really does not disappoint. I loved the characters, the author weaves each individual story so well. The story is set in modern day London rather than a totally fantasy world and there are some very Harry Potter like parallels with the two worlds of magic and non magic living side by side. That is where the similarity ends. It is a book for young adults and my young adult years are well behind me and I loved it. The central character is torn between magic, love and loyalty - it is well written and thoroughly enjoyable.

I adored this book! My teenage years are well behind me, and I wouldn't ordinarily read a YA book but the synopsis intrigued me. Everyone is familiar with the awkwardness of being a teenager, combining this with trying to hide your magical abilities and gradual uncertainty about who to trust meant I couldn't put the book down. I haven't read Harry Potter but have seen one or two of the films, and I would consider this a more grownup, less earnest and less clear-cut take on teen magic.

My thanks to Cari Thomas, Harper Voyager and Net Galley for the ARC of THREADNEEDLE. This novel is labelled general adult but I think it will appeal more to young adult readers. I was expecting a more mature story, but that's not to say it's not well-written. I didn't finish it because it's not to my taste but I think better labelling may garner even more excellent reviews.

I doubt I am the reader that this book was aimed at, being elderly and male and not used to reading YA novels, but I was captivated by Anna's story which jolted me out of my usual detached attitude to a novel. I really felt for her as she was held in thrall to her aunt by bonds of magic and indeed love. It's a thoroughly satifying novel even if the denoument is a little obvious. I shall certainly read the sequel

What an utter treat this was! There is a particular joy for bookworms, especially life long bookworms, when they find a new book that instantly feels as familiar as a favourite pair of pyjamas and yet is all new, waiting to be discovered. An instant classic, which becomes part of the lexicon of books that make up you as a reader. Threadneedle is that kind of discovery, a dash of Diana Wynne Jones, a hint of A Little Princess, a soupcon of school stories, and a darkness that's all it's own. I loved it, as enthralled as those under spell in the book.

Anna is a witch with no magic. No matter, if she had magic it would be bound during her sixteenth year when she joined her aunt as A Binder, a group of witches whose mission is to protect themselves by locking magic away, haunted by The Hunters, a shadowy group responsible for witch trials throughout history. It's a joyless, painful existence, with all emotion as tightly bound as magic, especially love. Anna has been in training all her life, hiding away from everyone and everything. Her one brightness is Selene, an old friend of her dead mother's whose occasional visits bring much needed joy, and so she's delighted when Selene mentions she is moving back to London. But the delight turns to dread when she meets Selene's daughter, Effie, and boarder Attis and learns they will be coming to her school. Because Anna spends her life pretending magic doesn't exist and that she barely exists whilst larger than life Effie and Attis use magic in plain view and command attention. Despite herself Anna is drawn to them both, and emboldened starts to investigate what really happened to her mother, and to ask, is her magic nonexistent, suppressed or cursed?

Meanwhile London is buzzing about six mysterious deaths and soon rumours of witchcraft start to circulate, fanned by an an academic Institute. Are the Hunters just a myth like Effie and Selene claim or is a force more powerful than them all waiting to rise?

Threadneedle is the first in a series and I for one will be at the front of the queue for the sequel. This was a tense, shadowy delight of a novel. Highly recommended.

This is a story about magic set in today's world.
For me it seemed to be a cross between Twilight and Harry Potter. Lots of descriptions of the witches magic demonstrations and much less story.
The similarities to the first Twilight book, (the one I have read) seemed clear as the witches live alongside normal humans without anyone noticing.
As the book reached the end, a little more of the story was revealed, showing what had changed in the past to affect the present but this was a very small percentage of the book.
The main character was difficult for me to like, she seemed rather weak and while developing and strengthening her magic skills, she was apparently unable to deal with being locked into her room.
I'm afraid this was not for me.

Wow! This is just beautiful. Some YA books are harder for those that have long left their YA days behind them to read - the things teenagers care about are often not as important to us older folk. But Threadneedle manages to evoke the absolute piquancy of being young and bound by rules you feel trapped by, or having no rules at all and self destructing.
I loved the magical realism, the idea of magic branches having a language, and by the end of the book, was absolutely sure I will be auto-buying the next, because I need to find out what happens!
(one note, and I'll try to make it as spoiler free as possible - why is it posited that the girls cannot both love the same person? Polyamory is a thing!)

Threadneedle is about a teenage witch named Anna, who has been raised by her aunt to detest and fear her own magic. She has spent her life repressing it, preparing herself for having it cut off entirely by a group called The Binders in order to protect herself from its dangers. But when Selene, an enchanting family friend who flaunts and thrives on magic, comes to visit with her daughter Effie, and Effie’s best friend Attis, everything that Anna has been taught begins to blur. Anna is swept into a world of magical libraries, potions, spells and witches who proudly wreak havoc. And it quickly becomes unclear who she should believe when it comes to her magic.

This book is intimidatingly long but not remotely slow. There’s a lot of character building, scene setting and high-school drama thrown in amongst the magic and the mystery, but it all ties together perfectly. The hugely varied, fascinating cast of characters, and the entertaining mix of romance, angst and dark magic kept me hooked throughout.

I loved a lot about this book, but my favourite thing was that it made me feel completely unsettled the entire way through. With frequent mentions of the dangers of magic, Effie’s recklessness and Anna’s Aunt’s paranoia, it felt like something could go wrong any second. I was constantly grappling with my concerns of who to trust and what could go wrong, and it left me feeling unnerved and completely enthralled- not to mention in love with the vibrant cast and entertained by their high-school revenge plots.

As someone who has only recently discovered the genre of Witchy YA, this book has only made me more desperate for a sequel and, honestly, anything else about magic that I can get my hands on.

DNF - unfortunately this wasn't for me. It is an interesting idea and could be a great book for older children or teenagers though.
I didn't really get a sense of place and found the characters stereotypical especially in the high school scenes.

An interesting twist on the usual magical themes. Anna is 15, lives in London with her aunt who has brought her up since her parents died. It’s an unusual upbringing as both Anna and her aunt are witches but not the usual spell casting type. Aunt is a Binder, who believes that magic is bad and must be bound. Anna is being trained to knot it all up, literally and inside herself, stifling her magic. She believes what her aunt tells her but starts to doubt this. Because she’s different she is picked on at school, adding to her miserable and austere life. This begins to change when Effie is enrolled at the same school. She is the daughter of an acquaintance of her aunt, the total opposite of Anna.

This is an unusual take on witchcraft, showing the darker side of magic, and that magic has consequences that can’t always be controlled. A case of be careful what you wish for. It felt slow to start but picked up pace, and as the story unfolded it became more darker with very unexpected twists. I will definitely look out for this authors work again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An unusual story that kept me gripped to the end!

I was unsure about this book, but thought I'd take a chance and expand my reading horizons. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would now pick up anything I see by Cari Thomas.