I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this well written story which was different from what i would normally read. The characters were very interesting and well developed. I did find the bullying and the aunts abuse rather dark and disturbing, which of course is the point..... it didn't sit well with me even though it is part of the story-line.

As i have said, this was enjoyable but it didn't blow me away. It kept me interested but it was also a book i could put down and come back too.

Even though i have only rated four stars, I would recommend this book and i would buy the next part to find out what happens.

Anna has spent her life knowing that magic is wrong and that she must resist it's pull. Asking no questions, just trusting her Aunt and doing as she's told. But eventually, she learns that there is a lot more to the world of magic than she could imagine. It is also even more dangerous than she has ever been told.

I felt so bad for Anna, growing up with such a strict aunt who very rarely shows her any kind of affection at all. I grew more and more horrified at her treatment. They actually have such a complicated relationship as more and more of the past is revealed. Even Selene, who seems to care, doesn't really do much to help her.

The Binders sounded pretty terrifying to me, more like a cult than a coven of witches. Despite all their power they squabble like kids and none of them seem to like each other. Imagine having magic but not being allowed to use it unless absolutely necessary!

But it's not all doom and gloom. There's a mysteriously hidden magical shop, full of vintage clothes and old photos which let you feel a person's strongest memories. Magical makeup, with foundation that gets rid of spots and mascara that grows you new eyelashes. I could definitely use the anti-blush blusher! There are lots of different magical languages to learn and a magical library with a life of it's own, deep underneath London's British Library.

The book was a little slow-moving at first until it suddenly got VERY interesting. The ending was extremely high energy and action packed, I didn't want to put it down. It was so good but it did leave me wanting more. There are a few things which are not really explained and which I would have liked to understand. I am wondering if there will be a sequel, there is definitely scope for one to continue on the story.

4.5*

Threadneedle is a magical debut by Cari Thomas. It talks about a girl who is raised by very strict and emotionless aunt, a girl who discovers that spells and magic are not a sin when she’s 16. A girl with dreams which she didn’t know she had.

The story is painful when we read about the punishments that Anna goes through, her life with her aunt... and the story is joyful when we read about her freedom with her own coven of witches, their parties and spells.

The plot is a mix of a harsh life and magic. Anna wants to know more about her parents’ death, she’s not sure if she wants to bind her magic and not use it ever again. She finds an escape in the world of witches... but would it be enough to make the right choice?

As it’s a YA story, there’s a typical high school drama, with rumours and bullying. Although I liked that the bully gets what they deserve.

Lots of twists and secrets revealed throughout the book.

Very engaging, enjoyable read. I definitely recommend it to everyone!

I would really love to see the book as a Netflix tv series, I think it’d fit perfectly.

***

Thank you Harper Voyager for an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Anna’s father murdered her mother and killed himself, it was her aunt who took her in. Aunt is a witch, a Binder. Anna is being raised to become a Binder, taught that magic is a curse, a temptation that must be rejected and knotted into submission. Soon Anna will reach the age where her magical ability is bound; can she overcome her own misgivings about the Binding, and learn to accept her fate?
Threadneedle is the first book in a series by debut author, Cari Thomas. I’m not 100% sure whether it’s supposed to be aimed at the adult or young adult market, but either way, this older adult absolutely adored it. It’s difficult to discuss without giving spoilers away, so I’m not going to even try, but all the usual requisite components are there – characterisation, world-building, etc – alongside excellent writing and a lot of heart.
For a first-time author to come out with something of this quality is incredible. It’s definitely worth five stars, but I’d give higher rating if it were mathematically possible. Wow! Best book of the year so far.
I received an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A wonderful and intriguing new book. It hooked me in and wouldn’t let me go at all.
It’s very interesting the way it plays around ideas of morality and power. When does power become too much. How do you become corrupted by it.

Completely fascinating especially when you realise the story behind the main plot and all those delicious twists and turns.

A novel of magic and witches, of an underground city of secrets. There's fantasy threads, gothic overtones and a lot of soulsearching with the novel as the characters weave around the fantastical world the author has created.

"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."

If there's one niggle, it read more like YA than a novel for adults but it was still special and a great debut!

Thank you again to HarperCollins for an e-copy of this book.

To be completely honest, I am struggling to sum up what was this story all about. Yes, get ready for another of my unpopular opinion. Anna has magic, but her aunt forbids her to use it. Instead, she keeps teaching her the dangers and the darkness of using magic. In the meantime, six faceless women are mysteriously hanged outside Westminster in London. Then, Anna meets Effie and Attis, who have joined her school, and she starts experimenting with the limits of her magic on a road to discovering more about herself and her past.

I think, this was the first time a book actually triggered me. Let me take a step back. This book starts with very dark tones, with the description of Anna’s relationship with her manipulative aunt. It’s clear that it’s an abusive relationship, physically and verbally, and her aunt uses magic to punish Anna. She takes every single opportunity to demonstrate how useless and worthless Anna is, the danger of magic and love. However, there were some dynamics and dialogues between the two of them (I’m not talking about the magic stuff, of course) that had many similarities with my personal life experience. This is not in any way the writer’s fault, but every time there were parts with Anna and her aunt, the whole reading experience became distressing for me.

I considered giving up reading this book. Then, the story suddenly changed the narrative and I decided to give it another chance. The problem is that, in the beginning of this story, the writer sets an atmosphere that was supposed to be for an adult reader. Then, it goes into the high school life of Anna, with its dramas, with scenes that reminded me of The Craft, but more juvenile, and this book suddenly becomes a YA fantasy book and boring.

I honestly wouldn’t have picked up a book about the high school life of a sixteen-year-old girl, as it clearly does not resonate with me. The whole school coven and Anna’s high school life drag on and on, with few occasional magic-related events, with this mysterious murder of the six faceless women still in background, literally going nowhere. It became an alternation of distressing and boring moments, adult fantasy and young adult fantasy genre.

The 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.

The last 15% is where all is revealed, with very weird supernatural stuff that brings back the book to the adult fantasy genre and I am still here wondering about those faceless women and their purpose. It has an open ending, as I guess things will continue in book two, but I won’t be reading it. And for the sake of honesty, I admit I skimmed throughout the end, if I missed something I apologise. I am still super grateful to the publisher for this opportunity, but unfortunately, this was not for me.

Think Harry Potter meets A Discovery of Witches and you have Threadneedle. I thought that this was aimed at an adult audience but can see it appealing more to a YA audience given that the main characters are all still in school. Threadneedle is a long book but then so are the latter Harry Potters so perhaps it is an book that transcends the generations.

Anna loves with her aunt since the tragic demise of her parents and whilst she is aware that she is a witch, her aunt is a binder and thinks that magic is something to be repressed. Anna spends time with her Aunt Selene and her daughter Effie and is not so convinced. Throw in a few more witches within her school, all living under the radar and the teenagers seek to explore their powers, who is telling the truth and the mystery of the six identical women found hanged in Big Ben and you have a fast paced magical mystery set in modern day London.

I understand that this is the first book of a planned trilogy so await with interest the next book. Thank you to Net Galley for a free copy in return for an unbiased review

"Within the boroughs of London, nestled among its streets, hides another city filled with magic" This strapline hooked me in to reading this book as did the beautiful cover, as I thought it sounded very like the wonderful Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and couldn't wait to step through a door into this other London.
However I found it very misleading as what I found between the pages is a childrens book, set in a school with 5 unlikely and unlikeable misfits who all happen to be witches, dealing with bullying by casting spells and forming a gang they call a coven.
It reads like Malory Towers meets the Famous Five meets Harry Potter with a couple of slightly more adult themes thrown in now and again to make it seem a little more adult.
Not for me at all, I am not the target reader for this kind of book.

Ever since Anna can remember, her aunt has warned her of the dangers of magic. She has 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 aunt’s care. It’s why she has been protected from the magical world and, in one year’s time, what little magic she has will be bound. She will join her aunt alongside the other Binders who believe magic is a sin not to be used, but denied. Only one more year and she will be free of the curse of magic, her aunt’s teachings and the disappointment of the little she is capable of.

Nothing – and no one – could change her mind before then. Could it?

Anna has been bought up by her aunt to fear her magic. Her entire life has been spent in preparation for the day when her "binding" will take place. But when a family friend and her daughter re-enter Anna's life, Anna begins to wonder if binding is the answer after all.
Selene is an old friend of Anna's mother and through Selene, her daughter, Effie and her best-friend Attis, Anna is swept into the magical world full of potions, spells and witches who don't try to hide their gifts.
Effie and Attis join the same school that Anna is at and through them, Anna begins to be noticed after a lifetime of hiding in plain sight.
I thoroughly enjoyed the friendships that the author captured so well as well as the usual apprehensions of being a teenager. There are some fantastic characters here from both the magical and "normal" worlds
I am thrilled that this is a series and I cannot wait to read the next.

Very, highly recommended.

A spellbinding tale of magic and spells and all that goes with it. Anna is a witch who lives with her aunt who is also a witch but has been bound by the binders. Believe me you do not want to meet THEM in a hurry It has a great cast of characters which you can love or hate or both. It is downright creepy, magical and humorous. It contains everything a witch lover would like and so much more. I look forward to the 2nd in the series.

This was a different genre of book for me. I hadn’t realised it was YA until I started, nor did I realise it is the first of a series.
It is a fantasy about witches and magic. Anna lives with her Aunt who is a witch and also a Binder. Anna is expected to follow in her footsteps, until things take an unexpected turn, with the influence of Effie and Attis along with Rowan and Manda The characters are believable and the portrayal of teenage girls at school with all their bullying, humiliating practices is perfect. London with its other hidden world of magic is enticing. The only downside for me was that I found the story a bit slow to get going, and I thought it could have been a bit shorter. However I did enjoy it and was thrilled to have received an ARC copy as I might otherwise have missed this book. My thanks to Cari Thomas and Harper Collins and NetGalley.

A thrilling and enthralling tale of modern-day witches and magic

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

Six women, all eerily similar in looks, are found hanging from the shattered windows of Big Ben, with a seventh noose empty. They become known as the Faceless Women. No one knows who they are or what they were doing in the clock tower at midnight.

Since her parents' tragic deaths when she was a baby, teenager Anna Everdell has lived with her Aunt Vivienne in a cold, spartan, rigidly ordered London house. Its pots of tightly closed rosebuds never open, conveying the joylessness contained within. Vivienne is a Binder, a member of a much-feared group of the magical community who seek to keep magic secret and suppressed. Vivienne's magic is powerful but kept buried deep within her, all her emotions and impulses controlled, tied up in intricate threads and knots she weaves with different coloured cords. Strict, intransigent, and abusive, Vivienne uses her Binder magic to hurt and punish Anna in cruel, horrible ways under the guise of 'discipline' and 'protection'. Determined that Anna will become a Binder like herself, Vivienne trains her niece and keeps her on a narrow path, but Anna's magic appears weak and threadbare, constantly failing her. Anna can only express herself through her love of music and piano playing and through her embroidery – the stitches serving as notes of the songs and desires to which she dare not give voice.

On Anna's sixteenth birthday, the vibrant, glamorous Selene, a friend of Vivienne and Anna's late mother, returns from New York to London with her rebellious teenage daughter, Effie, and their mysterious young male friend, Attis. All three - practise magic freely in a way Anna is forbidden to do, opening a whole new world and outlook. When Effie and Attis join Anna as sixth form pupils at her school, the teenager's life inexorably begins to change. Gradually, Effie's defiant nature helps release Anna's subdued spirit, enabling her slowly to begin resisting her aunt's sadistic constraints. She finds friends among other unpopular, secretly magic pupils at school, discovers how to unlock her true potential, and begins questioning everything she has always been told. Is she truly destined to be a Binder? How did her parents really die? What secrets is her aunt keeping that she will stop at nothing to prevent Anna from finding out?

An intriguing, absorbing, and exciting tale, Threadneedle immediately draws the reader into Anna's life, evoking an extraordinary world in which starkly contrasting elements of contemporary teenage difficulties and dark fairy tales are sewn together into a seamless whole. Anna herself is a very believable, multi-faceted, and sympathetic POV heroine. Ground down by the years of her aunt's cruelty and obsessive control, she has nonetheless developed a power and goodness that she at first cannot recognise or call upon due to constant psychological and physical abuse and her eroding self-esteem. What makes her especially intriguing and unusual is that she is not a standard heroine. Of the two teenage girls, the fiery and devil-may-care Effie would seem to be the more typical 'rebel' heroine, but the tables are turned here unexpectedly and effectively. Anna's hidden strength and intense inner life render her silent stoicism far more compelling as the plot unfolds, and how she blossoms and comes into her own throughout the story is a joy to read.

As multiple mysteries unravel, realisation dawns that nothing and no one is what they appear to be, creating a riveting and suspenseful page-turner that slowly but surely ratchets up the tension delivers some choice twists along the way. Rival branches of magic are revealed to give the world depicted a convincing breadth and synergy. These range from Rowan, the bullied yet relentlessly cheerful school gossip with hidden depths, to Darcey, the 'cool girl' adversary and tormenter so awful that she makes Harry Potter's Draco Malfoy look benign. The characters are wonderfully drawn, reflecting the novel's outstanding balance of light and dark (even Aunt Vivienne is graced with a hint of complexity beneath her overall monstrousness). As the first in a series, Threadneedle keeps the reader on tenterhooks throughout, caught up in Anna's plight, and the spell of magical realism the author skilfully weaves, creating along the way further questions to be answered in future books.

Highly recommended.

Jo-Anne Blanco / Arwen Evenstar

Elite Group received a copy of the book to review

This is a contemporary with urban magic that I thought was okay. I admit I struggled with the writing style and it was slow to start so I was bored which meant I didn’t really care for the characters much. The magic was good, I enjoyed the witchcraft parts of the book and I liked how the magic worked. The world was okay, it is set in a school for the most part. The school was okay, the school politics and mean girls was expected but well done. Overall the setting and magic were two of my favourite things in this book.

The main character is Anna and I liked her, she wanted different things from life then was expected of her by her aunt. Anna wants to learn real magic. The other characters were okay but some felt over done and I didn’t really believe they were real.

The plot was slow and drawn out. I felt it was too much in places and some plot points I guessed easily. The ending resolves a major issue but there are still a few things to tie up which leave it open for the sequels. I’m not sure if I would read the sequels because I just couldn’t get used to the writing style. Overall I did like parts of this book but the writing didn’t work for me and I just felt it was slow.

Anna is a witch. Fortunately she isn’t a very good one, because magic is dangerous and should be feared. At least that’s what Anna’s Aunt says and that’s why she, like all the others in their Binders coven, will be having her magic bound as soon as she turns of age. The one problem? Anna loves magic; its temptations lure her in. So when fellow witch Effie moves to town it doesn’t take much to convince Anna that they should start a coven all of their own. The more Anna plays with the limits of her magic, the more she starts to question everything she has ever known… What really happened to her parents? What is wrong with her magic? And what does her Aunt keep hidden behind the locked door in their house?

The pacing in this book kept the plot moving at a steady pace, not too slow and not too quick, although a lot seemed to happen all at once in the final chapters. I had actually worked out the main plot twist before it happened (most of it anyway) but that didn’t make it any less shocking when it was finally revealed. In fact it probably added to the suspense and anticipation of the slowly unravelling plot.

The different characters are well defined by their individual characteristics, although they do lean slightly towards stereotypes: the rebellious religious girl, the wild child, the quiet girl with hidden depths, the popular school bully, the chubby girl with a heart of gold. However, this does not detract from the important parts that they each play. As the lone male in the main character cast, Attis stands out a fair bit and plays a particularly important role. This is obvious from the very beginning, yet the truth of this role is not revealed until the final pages of the book. Aunt Vivienne and Selene, so directly opposite in character, are perhaps the most interesting characters in the book. Their personalities, Aunt Vivienne’s especially, are complex and their secrets create more and more mystery and tension as the plot progresses.

This book was a bit fun, a bit serious, and a bit intriguing; together these made the perfect combination for an easy weekend read.

‘Curdle and coil, serpents of spite, How you hiss and rattle, with tongues that bite. Gossip and spoil, rumour fly and infest – Swallow them whole at our behest.’

Imagine a combination of The Craft, AHS Coven, Sabrina, Practical Magic and Charmed, and you’ll have an inkling of what a treat this is. It’s got a little bit of everything - magic, mystery and a little bit of mischief.

Set in modern day London, the story follows Anna Everdell who lives with her controlling and domineering aunt, who believes magic leads to nothing but doom. It’s her aunt’s intention to have Anna’s magic bound in order to prevent public exposure, but when the opportunity to join a coven and explore her magic presents itself, Anna cannot resist. Threadneedle spins a tale of witchcraft amongst the turbulence of high school antics and buried family secrets.

Despite it being a slow starter and taking its time to get me invested, Threadneedle is one of those books that lingered in my mind and I found I was missing its world and characters long after finishing.

The tale of a teenage coven set in high school was gripping and scandalous. We have the classic antics of student rivalries, catty gossip, social outcasts and peer pressure. But mix all of that with a little bit of magic? Well, that’s when the fun and disasters begins!

In a world of casting spells as simple as pouring wine, to getting revenge, to then enchanting magical trinkets like a comb that sorts hair perfectly, and visiting a living library full of books that eat hair and so much more, it was so impressive how lusciously drawn it was. I really enjoyed this world and I’m desperate for more.

The troupe of characters that make up the Coven of the Dark Moon were likeable and all have the potential for decent character development as the series goes forward. There’s the shy and sensible Anna, the daring and defiant Effie, the loud and bubbly Rowan and the quiet and anxious Miranda. It was fun to see the group of girls grow closer, and it feels like it could really progress into a sisterhood. 

And, the romance. Oooooh yes it’s here and it’s very enticing and daunting. I’m afraid we’re all in for a likely sordid and addictive love triangle, and as much as I usually don’t have the patience for them, what Thomas has set up has me very curious on where it’ll lead.

It’s an excellent debut and series starter. It might even be in my favourite reads of 2021. I was thoroughly spellbound by the climax, I didn’t see the ultimate twist coming and I’m really excited for the sequel. It’s clear there’s a lot of history to be uncovered and there’s more magic and covens to discover. Honestly I’m like a kid at Christmas excited for what this series could deliver from a fantastic new voice in YA fantasy. 

Thank you kindly to Harper Voyager and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Although I am not in the intended age-range target for this book, I found it absolutely captivating and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy stories.

I rarely give 5 stars but this beautifully written tale, darker than Harry Potter, which it will no doubt be compared to, deserves every star. As the first book in The Language of Magic series, I eagerly await the follow up.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Great fantasy novel from Cari Thomas, set in modern times but with a twist, not unlike the world of Harry Potter.
Was more YA than I was anticipating but that did not diminish the storyline for me and I would definitely read more from this author in the future!

I wish I'd had this book to give to my teenaged self. It's exactly the kind of intricate and satisfyingly long book that I craved at 16, a whole world that I could lose myself inside with heroines who are just prickly and flawed enough to be girls I wanted to read about. I really enjoyed the world of witchcraft that Thomas has created in Threadneedle, and the characters of Anna, Effie, Rowan, Miranda, and Attis were hugely fun to get to know. I really liked the concept of different languages of magic, and the variety of witches and warlocks that Anna got to know as she stepped outside of her restrictive, abusive home and into a much larger and more wonderful world.

However, I did get a bit tired of the only prominent non-magical characters being more or less ciphers (Darcy the mean popular girl could have come from central casting)- something a bit too familiar from my old YA reads- and I felt that a lot of the important plot was crammed into the last few chapters, leading to a bit of a breathless finish. However, on the whole, it was a satisfying and exciting read and I'm glad to see it's the first in a series.

I have spent the whole of my Sunday in bed finishing Threadneedle and watching the snow fall and it was magical (both the weather and the book). Threadneedle was full of witch covens, mysterious curses and teen drama and I am 100% here for it. The only problem is the I keep on reading all these amazing books and then have to wait a year for sequels (probably not the worst problem to have).