“Magic is the first sin. It must be bound.”

Anna is an orphan, she is a witch with no magic, she is a nobody.

Raised by her aunt in London since her parents’ death when she was just 3 months old, Anna leads a monotonous life of school, homework, chores and learning to control her magic. Not that she has much magic to control, but Anna has been raised in the shadow of the Binders, a coven who believe magic is a sin and who will bind Anna’s magic when she turns 16. Until then, Anna must not draw attention to herself or the world of magic, she must shrink and she must be invisible. Only when her magic is bound will she be safe…or so the Binders would lead her to believe.

Threadneedle begins around Anna’s 15th birthday, when Anna and her Aunt receive a surprise visit from a family friend (and witch) Selene, her daughter Effie and friend Attis. Anna has idolised Selene since her childhood but I imagine even she did not anticipate this birthday visit to change her life so significantly. Selene, Effie and Attis are the complete opposite of the Binders, using magic freely and unreservedly: they open up a whole new world to the reluctant Anna and even convince her to create a coven with them, discovering new witches right under their noses. However, as Anna practices magic more, a peculiar symbol seems to haunt her; the symbol of the eye – the symbol of a curse.

The majority of Threadneedle takes place within Anna’s home and school. Anna’s life as a nobody at school is turned on its head with Effie’s arrival and she finds that, along with friends, comes the drama of a typical teenage girl. Bullying and body-shaming are key topics here and sort of edged the book into the YA category in my opinion.

Anna as a character is portrayed as an entirely ordinary teenager, if a little meek. Her aunt, in juxtaposition, is controlling and dominating, although she always expresses that this is necessary to protect Anna and comes from a place of love. Aunt is rarely referred to by her name and has an abusive hold over Anna, punishing her with magic if she so much as shows a flicker of emotion. The reader witnesses Anna’s emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her Aunt, with Cari Thomas even beginning each chapter with one of the Binders’ tenets, signifying the brainwashing nature of the coven.
Anna doesn’t remain meek for long though: fuelled by her intrigue of magic and the mystery behind her parent’s death, Anna soon starts pushing the boundaries that she has lived within for so long. Will she succeed and manage to discover the magical world that surrounds her? Or will her magic be knotted before she gets the chance?

Despite being set in present-day London, Thomas really does introduce an entirely new world of magic with different magical languages, different covens and the constant threat of The Hunters. I found the mixture of darkness and realism incredible. I also loved the fact that the magic and non-magic worlds run side by side in Thomas’ world but I am very conscious that any magical book written post-Harry Potter is obviously going to have comparisons made. However, Anna does not have the safety of Hogwarts or a doting headmaster to fall back on. There are no teachers providing an education in magic, she must find her magic on her own. No this is a far cry from Harry Potter; Threadneedle is more like a bubbling mixture of Charmed, with a ladle full of Mean Girls and a teaspoon of The Craft for good measure.

The sheer amount of world building by Cari Thomas means that the first few chapters of Threadneedle can feel quite slow but the novel soon settles into place. Thomas also has almost a rhythmic quality to her narrative, with fast-paced writing in dramatic spots before slowing right down again to represent Anna’s isolation. The final chapters were so captivating, with several mysteries that had been steadily growing finally coming to a head: I couldn’t read this fast enough.

Threadneedle is the first in the Language of Magic series by Cari Thomas and it is one hell of a debut! From prophecies and poison to bullies and love triangles; magical libraries, witch hunters and more plot twists than you can imagine, this book has it all. Thomas’ writing is so clever that towards the end of the book even the reader doesn’t know who to believe any more!

Thank you to HarperCollins, and NetGalley for the opportunity to discover this new world. The hype around this book is going to be crazy and it is completely deserved.

I have read a lot of books about witches over the past twelve months, so when I heard about this, I was always going to request it! The story follows Anna who is being brought up by her aunt, herself the member of a sect of witches known as Binders, who believe that magic is a sin and should be bound. When Anna meets witch Effie she finds herself torn being wanting to practice magic and going against her aunt's wishes. At the same time, in the wider world rumours are starting that the Hunters are coming. Is history about to repeat itself? I found this a bit slow to start, but that may have had more to do with me rather than the writing. Once I had immersed myself in the world of Threadneedle I found it hard to put down. I see that this is listed as Book One in the Language of Magic. I don't know how many books are planned, but I will certainly be picking up Book Two. One thing I did think, which I notice other reviewers have picked up on, is that it felt more like a YA read than adult fantasy. This is probably down to the school setting, themes of bullying, wanting to be accepted etc. All in all a good read.

This is a wonderfully engaging tale of magic and mystery. It is a little more YA than I was expecting, although there are a few slightly grown up themes. This is certainly an engrossing story that readers of many ages will find themselves disappearing in to.

Oh dear, I'm afraid this book really wasn't for me. I've read a few YA novels recently and really enjoyed them, but, to me, this just felt like a children's book without wider appeal. I tried starting it a couple of times without success, and, being so lengthy as well, put me off confusing with it.
However I'm sure the author will find an audience who really love it and are keen to continue with the series.

Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book

Threadneedle is one of my most hyped books of the year, and reading it in 2 sittings is both the best and worse decision I could have made . Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperVoyager for wishing me an advanced eARC in exchange for an honest review

Plot summary:
Anna has always been told magic is a sin, and as she gets older the fear grows. It was magic that killed her parents, and living with her aunt under the tutelage of the Binders she learns the only phrase she needs.

Magic is the first sin.

She has one year of freedom before she is free of this curse, her aunt’s teachings and the small amount of magic she has will be locked away. But something is coming and change her mind before then…

Review:
Plot and World Building – This was a beautifully imagined and immersive world. Within moments I was dragged into the secret magical world within London and the struggles of Anna in her current life. The dangers, lore and plot were beautifully interwoven and kept me gripped until I reached the last page. The ending left me absolutely bereft- I was in a reading slump for a week and I was desperate to read more.

The world building was refreshing- it’s so different from other kinds of novels within this genre and it makes it stand out that much more. The depth that went into the history and lore behind magic and some elements of the plot were really truly well done.

Overall pacing of the story was really quite varied and it worked well for the plot.

Character wise- Anna is a truly wonderful showing of how character development can be done well. Her initial start to what she became was a sight to behold and I loved her.

There are a lot of side characters within this story and quite frankly every single one was written to perfection. The interactions between characters was also masterfully done throughout.

Generally I loved every character in this, and they were all beautiful individuals with fantastic development and depth.

Final Thoughts:
A beautifully written piece of magical escapism fantasy that will leave you desperate for a sequel.

Threadneedle has a very specific vibe, its dark witchiness exaggerated by being played out alongside the drama and high emotions of a secondary school. It weaves together a number of plots strands, balancing the bully/revenge plot of the school with Anna's learning about magic, family secrets and who she can trust and the growing friendships and rivalries within the coven, including hints at a wider set of dangers that I expect to come into play in the sequels. In places it gets quite dark, both with unexpected magical consequences and in the way that Anna is treated, both in the present and in flashbacks, by her Aunt.

There's some fantastic atmosphere and imagery throughout, though it took me a little while to sink into the world of the book as you're thrown in without a lot of explanation. Anna's internal conflicts and the complicated relationships she had with magic, her Aunt and Effie were in many ways the driving force of the book, but they felt true to her as a character, never like she was wavering for the sake of plot convenience or to drag things out. I liked that all the relationships in the book were complicated and messy. Some of the school-related plot felt a bit over-the-top and too much of a "mean popular girls" cliche, at least during the set up stage, but the fallout of it was still gripping, and satisfyingly dark.

'Threadneedle’ is a hard book to categorise. Part urban fantasy, part young adult contemporary, and part a dark and harrowing tale of abuse, its not an easy book to read. At nearly 600 pages, it’s a complex book, and Thomas has packed it full of great ideas and creativity – but unfortunately, they didn’t mesh well for me, and I found the darker elements hugely affected by enjoyment of the story. I’m sure many readers will love this, but it wasn’t for me.

All her life, Anna has been warned of the dangers of magic. Magic killed her parents when she was just a baby, leaving her to be raised by her aunt – a member of a strict order known as the Binders, who believe magic is a sin to be locked away. Anna only has one year left before her magic will be bound. However, Anna’s carefully planned life is thrown into turmoil when her mum’s old friend Selene returns to town, bringing her daughter Effie – a rebellious New Yorker due to spend her last two years attending Anna’s strict school – and Effie’s mysterious friend Attis. With Effie and Attis throwing the school social order into disarray, Anna finds herself rethinking truths she’s believed all her life – and whether she really wants her magic to be bound after all.

The book’s actual blurb only talks about magic, but the majority of this book is a young adult contemporary about Anna’s life at school. Magic is a secret from the wider world, so Anna’s chief concerns are staying under the radar of the school bullies, getting the grades she needs for medical school – and keeping her magic hidden. I read plenty of young adult contemporary, so I didn’t mind being thrown into one, but it wasn’t what I expected when I picked up the book. Anna’s school is reminiscent of every TV show boarding school, with clear social cliques and a constant mean undercurrent. Anna has survived so far by being Nobody – not reacting to the bullies, and generally remaining so quiet and anonymous she’s not seen as important enough to even tease. The way Effie’s arrival affects this is one of the best parts of the book – its great to see Anna come out of her shell, and the eclectic group of friends she makes are fun to read about. However, they fall just a little too far on the side of a TV show caricature to be believable. One in particular is a passionate Christian, very devout and studious – but this is written in a very two-dimensional way, and her character changes so much throughout the book it almost creates whiplash.

Anna is actually an excellent character. She’s lived a horrendous life, and is terrified of magic – and stepping a toe out of line – but she’s actually a passionate, smart girl who cares a lot about others and has a surprisingly intuitive grasp of new concepts. She also loves music, and it’s the scenes where she plays the piano that her character really shines through. Anna struggles to trust anyone else, and she’s been taught to be quiet and passive – reverting to this automatically in times of stress – but the way she develops through the novel as she’s given a bit of freedom is amazing to read about. Her character arc is a shining light and a reason why, despite my reservations, I’d still recommend this novel to many people.

One of the underlying themes of the novel is love, and its many iterations. Anna has always been told that love, along with magic, was responsible for the death of her parents, and told to avoid it at all costs. Her relationship with her aunt is twisted and abusive, but Anna still loves her – her aunt is her only surviving family, and she claims everything she does is for Anna’s protection. Anna, at sixteen, is also starting to explore romance – and this again is very well written. With little frame of reference. she doesn’t fully understand her own feelings – but Thomas writes them in such a way that the reader gets hints before Anna even knows herself. Finally, there’s platonic love, with Anna making friends for the first time in her life. Her friendships aren’t all healthy, but the way she discovers and explores boundaries and standing up for herself within them is great to read.

I feel it’s very important that readers going into this book know about the abusive content. Anna experiences mental, emotional, and physical abuse, her aunt keeping her under complete control. Anna also experiences abuse from the other Binders – mostly emotional, but some physical as well. This is incredibly harrowing to read. I usually enjoy darker stories, but something about this one got under my skin. Books about abuse are essential – its important for people to be aware of its impacts, and to give survivors space to explore their experiences – but the abuse here is stark and insidious with the way it impacts every aspect of Anna’s life, and could potentially be very triggering. It also makes it very hard to definitively classify this as a young adult or adult book. The school aspects are exceptionally young adult, but many teenagers will likely find the abuse scenes very difficult to process.

The magic system is very creative. I won’t give too much detail to avoid spoilers, but the scenes of the characters discovering magic and experimenting with spells and potions are another highlight. Some of the magic can feel too easy, but Anna herself struggles, another facet which allows the reader to connect to her. Anna’s aunt’s magic is also very interesting – very different to the other magic seen in the book, and possibly deserving of another book all on its own. I will say that the magic aspects can feel very told rather than shown, with information sometimes thrown at the reader rather than unfolding organically, but in a book with so much else packed in there possibly wasn’t space to impart it in any other way,

Overall, I personally feel like this book tries to do too much and loses some of its impact. I also feel it suffers from the blurb not really summing up the book’s content, leading to a surprise which can alienate readers. With adequate warning of the darker content, this is a book that plenty will enjoy – the creativity is undeniable, and Anna’s character arc is excellent – but unfortunately, it wasn’t for me. Recommended for fans of book young adult and adult fiction who enjoy creative magic systems, coming of age stories, and stories full of darker elements.

I am at least 50+ years older than the intended reader here, and I did find the first few chapters very difficult. There was a lot of scene setting and it was rather ‘ knotty’ at first, but after I had put the book down for a week, when I rejoined the book, I became absolutely enthralled by the story, it was literally magical.
Anna is a teenage witch, with apparently no talent for magic. She lives with her overbearing Aunt, who is a Binder, one whose job is to protect themselves by locking magical talent away. Aunt is scary and cruel, but the only family Anna has. When Selene, an old friend of Anna’s late mother and a person hated by her aunt turns up with her daughter Effie in tow, there is much playfulness, radiance and happiness shared in this brief encounter. When Anna learns that Effie and Attis, a boy who is lodging with Selene and Effie, are all going to attend the same school, life becomes very interesting for Anna. Effie doesn’t believe that magic should be repressed and kept quiet, and constantly does magic in open view of the school pupils, gets her own back on bullies, and encourages Anna to be braver and to celebrate her witchcraft.
I felt so sorry for poor Anna, the way she was so controlled by her aunt was very disturbing, child abuse and cruelty on a wide scale. I was so delighted when the worm turned! I loved the irrepressible spirit and energy of Effie, Attis was an unknown element until the concluding chapters, when there were so many twists and turns, I never saw any of them!
This book will be compared to Harry Potter, but this is in a league of its own. It is perfectly aimed at the teenage/ Young Adult market, and will speak to them. Nightclubs, dangerous substances to be inhaled and lying so much to adults, these modern and rebellious teens couldn’t be further from the Harry Potter stories, but they will resonate with this intended age group and their harassed parents!
I believe this novel is the first in a series, and I will definitely keep my eyes open for requesting. I gave this to my daughter to read, she teaches this particular age group for English and I believe this would be appreciated upon any bookcase in a school as a recommended read.
Thanks to Harper Collins UK, and Netgalley for my ARC, in return for my honest review. A 5 star rating of course!!

Anna has been warned of the dangers of magic her whole life.  Her aunt has told her how magic was responsible for the deaths of her parents, how it is a sin, uncontrollable and something to be feared. That's why Anna will join her aunt and the binders, and have her powers bound.  Ann has been preparing for her binding since she was a child, how could anything (or anyone) possibly change her mind?

I've had this sitting in my NetGalley account for quite some time, but kept putting off reading because I didn't feel I was in the mood for a magic type book.  Within a few chapters I was utterly absorbed though, I can't believe I had such a good book sitting there unread for so long!

One of the things I loved about this book was that it's set in the world as we know it.  Thomas takes the London we know and gives us an expanded version of it.  My personal favourite is the idea of a giant magical library sitting under the British Library, unknown to everyone!

Anna was very likeable as a protagonist, it was wonderful seeing her learning about her powers and becoming a stronger version of herself.  I could empathise with her struggles, how she was torn between her aunt and her friends, not knowing the right path.  The supporting characters are strong and well developed.  I mistrusted nearly all of them from the start of the book, genuinely not knowing what would be the best outcome for Anna. 

The plot is rich and detailed, and really does give us an insight into Anna's life.  We see high school and the bullying and gossiping that can go on in great depth.  I was rooting for Anna and Rowan, and really wanted Darcey to get her comeuppance.  I thought Thomas handled that scenario well, I don't want to say what happens as I don't want to give away spoilers, but suffice to say that it isn't the simple tale of bullies being made to see the error of their ways. 

There are sinister undertones running throughout the book, and it's clear that the crescendo will be explosive.  I had suspicions about some of the reveals, but not all of them.  The best bit is there is a definite opportunity for a sequel - I'll be waiting with baited breath.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an arc in exchange for an honest review

Myth: 3.5/5

I really did end up enjoying all the characters and story. I’ll absolutely read the next book in the series. I think overall it was just a little slow of a start for me. It didn’t really start to pick up until halfway through the book. To be totally fair, the slow, dreary start is a mirror of the main character, Anna’s development, so it was a fantastic device when you look back from the end.

Magic: 4/5

By the end of this book I loved the magic system and magical premise setup. It was beautifully done. The magical twists you didn’t see coming, and a lot left in the last few chapters about the witch and hunter communities.

Even in the beginning parts of this book, the glimpses into magic through the newly formed coven were some of the most exciting. And I was really into the juxtaposition between Anna’s rigid experience with the Binder sect and all of her other magical explorations.

Overall: 3.5/5

An intriguing story of young witches in London. Anna is just trying to do the best she can with decisions that are probably way too big for her and which she rarely has all the information. Don’t worry, as our heroine, she grows into critically thinking about what she’s been told and seeking out the truth even when she knows it will hurt.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this new exciting novel

oh my word this has everything in it...magic, spells, witches, golems, covens, school, bullying you name it, its in the book

this is an exciting new author and book that will grip you right to the end..be warned its a long one but so worth the read right to the finish line...i hope theres a second book, i feel this could be a series, i live in hope

no spoilers from me but if you love magic and mystery and a bit of gore this is the one for you

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Ever since Anna can remember, her aunt has warned her of the dangers of magic. She taught her to fear how it twists and knots and turns into something dark and deadly. It was, after all, magic that killed her parents and left her in her aunts care. It's why she has been protected from the magic world and, in one years time, what little magic she has will be bound. She will join her aunt along with the other Binders who believe magic is a sin not to be used but denied.

Anna has grown up waiting on the day she can be bound by the Binders, Anna is sixteen and she's spent years keeping out of everyone's way. She's from a family of witches from the Binders sect who believe all magic is evil. Anna's aunt is determined to get Anna's magic bound. But when Anna gets the chance to join a coven, she cannot resist. The plotline is interesting with the mystery of the faceless women, Anna's parents deaths and the girl witches that befriend Anna. This story has me guessing to the end. The pace was slow in places but the ending made up for it all.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HarperCollinsUK #HarperFiction and the author #CariThomas for my ARC of #Threadneedlein exchange for an honest review.

A really dark magical thriller which teeters on the edge of YA. It starts with a very puritanical vibe, lots of repression and a very strict, abusive relationship between Anna and her aunt. Then as more characters are introduced it becomes very much a high school drama with bullying and gossip being the main themes. Obviously magic runs throughout and there are many interesting ideas that I'd like to see explored more deeply.
I really enjoyed this, especially the mystery surrounding Anna's parents, and her budding friendships with Effie, Manda and Rowen but there were some frustrations too. I'm looking forward to seeing where the author takes the next book, I think there's great potential.

I went into this book with very few expectations beyond 'I expect there will be sewing involved in this somehow' and in some ways, I think that may have been the best option because I had no preconceived notions about the kind of book I would be getting.
I found myself really feeling for Anna, our main character, in her incredibly sheltered (and with a content warning for child abuse) upbringing. You definitely feel the contrast between Anna's world at the beginning of the book and the vibrancy of the world she gets to experience later on.
I also thought that the different magics explored throughout this story were very exciting and I can definitely see my younger self getting excited about working out which magic I was most aligned with and so such. I think the knot magic spoke to me the most, partly because it was the magic described the most but also because I've always been a bit crafty! I'll be interested to see if later books explore other magics in more detail.
I have to say I definitely wasn't expecting this to feel quite so much like a teen horror movie - not that there's anything inherently wrong with that - and the introduction of a group of pals who just want to do witchcraft was a pleasant surprise. It's been a while since I read a book with a good teen coven and I thought that the dynamics between these characters were good.
I don't know how much I can claim to be an authority, but I personally didn't find the 'voice' of these teenagers to be particularly believable. In a few instances, I can see why they might have a more archaic turn of phrase but there were times when the dialogue felt a tad forced. It's not a deal-breaker for the book but it is something that stopped me fully immersing myself in the story.
The thing that definitely made me enjoy this book less was the inclusion of magic that dealt with free will (or the removal of free will). This is in part a personal preference thing but I do think that any setting that explores the magic that can impact another person's free will cannot do so without explicitly talking about consent - particularly in a setting involving teenagers. For me personally, the aspects of this book that did include dubious consent felt like they were there to demonstrate 'this is really bad isn't it' which for me doesn't quite hit the mark. Personally, I would rather there be a ridiculously plot convenient 'but this won't work for sexual assault because magical reasons' or have the whole book be about that because it's such a huge topic to have as a mere additional plot point. Again, I'll be interested to see if that's explored in future books because I think it could be interesting - provided content warnings are supplied for those who need them.
Overall I think there are really strong elements to this book. As far as stories of teen witches go I think this is a good offering, I just think there are a few too many ideas swirling around that didn't - at least for me - coalesce. I'll be interested to hear thoughts on later books in the series to see which ideas get carried forward.

Threadneedle had an almost fairytale feel. Quaint and charming as Anna, an orphan, grapples with her desire to learn real magic rather than the stitchcraft her aunt teaches her. I think this was aimed at a younger audience than I first thought but I loved the writing style and the worldbuilding. Part coming of age drama, part demon battling magical adventure, Threadneedle is one not to miss.

Threadneedle - Cari Thomas

In this stunning book we follow 16 year old Anna on her journey to discover the truth about her parents deaths. She lives with her aunt who warns her of the dangers of magic and all that surrounds it, but Anna believes there is more that she needs to know. When Anna and a group of friends at school build a coven the fun really begins to unfold. The writing style is lovely with magic woven into each chapter, we get a great feel for all the characters and the conclusion was all I was hoping for. A lovely unique story and a belter of a debut, very excited to read future books from Cari Thomas, and the magical library was the cherry on the top of an already heavily iced cake for me, what a treat!

To be honest, I almost DNF'd this book. I kept reading because I was interested to see if any characters appeared that I didn't find entirely intolerable. That didn't happen, but I'm glad I persevered because although this was not the book for me, I can see why others have enjoyed it.

Threadneedle is a novel that doesn't quite know what to make of itself. It's part-adult fiction, part-YA, part-epic fantasy and part-high school drama. It's overlong, and I found myself skipping through a lot of the repetitious flirting banter.

But it also has some real merits. The magic system is cleverly crafted, a kind of mix between 'Harry Potter' and 'City of Bones'. The spell-casting scenes are vividly imagined, drawing on the occult and historical theories of witchcraft. The prose is fluent and self-assured, and it's intelligently plotted: I might not have cared about the characters, but I still enjoyed the twist at the end.

I have no doubt that some readers will love Threadneedle: it just wasn't quite the book for me.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

The author has created a magical world, in this story, the magic seems to keep growing.

Anna’s Aunt, whose both scary and cruel, still Anna loves her. An orphan, Anna’s going through school, being invisible and at home she’s getting through by doing as she’s told.

Then, Effie and Attis appear in her life and suddenly things change. Which is terrifying and wonderful.

The world that we get to see with Anna is fabulous and she starts to find somehow to be herself.

Fabulous Read.

A worthwhile read with engaging and annoying characters coupled to an interesting plot and sub-plots. It was slow to start and I did wonder whether I had made a mistake in choosing to read it but it soon broke through into the light and was then entertaining through to the last word. Am now looking forward to the sequel (there is certainly the potential for one) as Threadneedle is mentioned as the first in a series.

Interestingly, the book is described as Adult. To my mind, it is far more of a Teen & Young Adult tale, particularly as the main focus is a group of teenagers!

Many thanks to Net Galley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.

Fans of HARRY POTTER, here’s another series that is gonna blow your effing mind, make you squeal with joy, and go into raptures with the reading experience.

Enthralling, Enchanting, Delightful, and Spell-Binding!

‘People think stories are harmless but they are the most dangerous weapon mankind has.’

Threadneedle, the first in the series of The Language of Magic is a young adult fantasy story that is an utterly compelling and riveting read. The author Cari Thomas has been exceptional in creating a place with witches amidst the bustling city of London. Now just don’t begin this with the expectation of Harry Potter coz this is definitely a much deeper and in a sense, a back to the root magical world that has been fashioned by the author. There’s no easy spell learning and magical wands for the wizards or witches to learn their skills, Threadneedle has its base on the elements of earth for its witchcraft. In fact, the depth of traditional witchcraft being mentioned in the story is simply amazing.

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.

That magical library! Who wouldn’t want to be a permanent member there? And, of course, there’s Rowan and her mother in a similar vein to Ron and Weasley’s. I sincerely do wish that Rowan could get over the complex about her weight and grow confident in her abilities, half the book is about her being body-shamed, and as a matter of fact, the use of magic to stop the bullying is what causes trouble for Anna and Effie as things spiral out of their control.

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.

J K Rowling did introduce a world of magic that is categorically unparalleled but it is not an adult world. Cari Thomas has her protagonists as young adults but it is a world of magic that can be enjoyed by anyone with a love for fantasy.

Threadneedle is a fantastic series opener and this is surely going into my shelf for keeps and is it too soon to demand book #2?

Highly recommended!!!

This review is published in my blog https://rainnbooks.com/, Goodreads, Amazon India, Facebook, and Twitter.