Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
This book feels like it might have been AI generated. The plot was disjointed and confusing…a lot of the time I felt like I was missing something. Characters had no substance. The premise of this book has potential: Nerisse is trying to find her father, who went missing, and upon returning to her fathers estate has visions from past family members that seek to help her break the curse on a haunted/cursed tapestry. It doesn’t look like this book was proof-read at all, but would love to see the author go through it with a fine-tooth comb (herself, preferably, and without the alleged use of AI.) Severely disappointed and had to DNF.

Unfortunately I couldn't finish this book. It was poorly edited. Paragraphs were repeated. Sentences also were repetitive. I was completely lost as to what was going on because of this and the story wasn't sitting right.
It's a shame because there's a great premise here but it was far too messy.
No character development or plot development. This needs a reread and redraft. Once that's sorted I'll read it because it has promise.

I think the premise of the story could have been fantastic, but like other reviewers said there has been no editing of this book. I couldn’t even make it 20% through the book before giving up. Choppy and sloppy with different versions of the same chapter repeating not once but at least 5 times. Repetition of the same exact phrases used over and over. This is a mess. Please get a professional proofreader and editor to look at this and then maybe I will reread. Even self published novels are better than this one.

ARC from NetGalley
Thank you to the author and publisher.
Publish Date: February 7, 2025

Rating: 1/5 DNF

Plot:
The father of Nerisse, has gone missing. She knows it has something to do with a cursed tapestry and loom, which have been in the family for generations. Through visions from the past, whispers from dead loved ones and the pull of the loom, she will try to break this curse once and for all.

Praise:
- There are small moments of good writing here.
- Beautiful cover

Critiques:
- The book was not edited, if it had been the editor would have noticed issues immediately. I'm not even sure a family member or friend of the author read this.
- Needs better development of characters and environment
- Scenes will jump and cause confusion
- Repetitive including sentences, paragraphs and scenes
- Chapters begin and end in odd places
- Woven, loom, tapestry are used as descriptors a lot ie: “the words wove a different story”
- Adjectives are used to excess

I'll leave my negative comments at that.

Fav Quote:
“Trust was a fragile thing, and once frayed, it seldom wove back together the same way.

Would I recommend it to a friend?
No. I think this is a good idea for a different writer.

Thread of the Forgotten Soul by Ashley Maruzzo struggles to make a lasting impact. The premise of the story, centered around Seraphine’s search for the truth behind her forgotten past, holds promise, but unfortunately, it falls short in execution.

The world-building feels underdeveloped, leaving the reader with more questions than answers about the setting and its magic system. While the book attempts to create a rich and immersive world, it often feels surface-level, lacking depth and detail. The characters, especially Seraphine, are hard to connect with—her motivations and emotions don’t always come across as genuine or compelling.

The pacing is another issue, as the story drags through long stretches of filler and repetitive scenes that don’t push the plot forward. The mystery that drives the plot feels forced at times, and the payoff is underwhelming, leaving the ending feeling flat rather than satisfying.

While Thread of the Forgotten Soul touches on interesting themes like memory and identity, the book ultimately feels lacking in emotional depth and narrative coherence. It’s a slow read that may only appeal to those willing to push through the slower moments for a payoff that doesn’t quite justify the effort.

I refuse to believe this isn’t AI written because of how bad it is, also uses chatgpt layout LMAO…... that’s all I’ll say

This book needs to go through at least one more round of heavy editing. Scenes are repeated multiple times in very confusing ways. It was such a hard read and I do not think most if anyone could really enjoy this book in its current state. I definitely would be interested in rereading this at a later date after it was edited a lot more

Thread of the Forgotten Soul immediately intrigued me with its eerie premise and haunting atmosphere. The story of a protagonist returning to an abandoned family estate, filled with whispers from the past, sounded like the kind of gothic mystery I’d enjoy.

However, by the second chapter, I noticed paragraphs being repeated, which made the reading experience confusing and frustrating. It felt like déjà vu—reading the same passages over and over made it seem like I wasn’t progressing, which took me out of the story. If not for that, I would have continued reading, as the premise had potential.

Ultimately, the repetition pulled me out of the experience, and I decided to DNF. That said, readers who love eerie, slow-burn supernatural stories may still find something to enjoy here.

This book was an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) from NetGalley, and this review is being provided voluntarily. This book was a DNF (Did Not Finish).

Maruzzo's Thread of the Forgotten Soul is spellbinding and dark that is reminiscent of a very twisted retelling of The Miller's Daughter. When Nerisse's father goes missing she must return to the family estate and reckon with an unfinished tapestry - one that tells the story of her family and contains powerful secrets. Finishing the tapestry and uniting these tangled threads are key to understanding the past and finding a future for herself. Nerisse is not alone in this task, aided by a young man and the estate's caretaker as she searches for truth throughout the estate's sprawling grounds.

There is so much here that is promising but overall, this novel would benefit from heavy editing - scenes are frequently repeated in a fashion that is very disjointed and leaves the reader's head spinning. One character disappears from the narrative only to reappear under a different name. The character development is weak. I did enjoy the descriptive prose and was able to puzzle through the disjointed storytelling, though I found myself turning the page only to know how all of this resolves than out of enjoyment. I would certainly be eager to reread this at a later date with additional editing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Thread of the forgotten soul is ultimately a story about breaking free from the chains that bind us and growing from the lessons we learnt. The author focusses on themes of friendship interspersed with betrayal and finding the way forward when all seems lost.

I do feel that it could benefit from a bit of a tighter editing - the storyline and plot premise is intriguing and the characters have a lot of emotional development as the story progresses, but there were chunky areas of text that took me out of the read on occasion. This was more at the start of the novel; thereafter the writing became more descriptive and the imagery quite poetic at times.

The style of writing reminded me of old gothic fairytales, and whereas that is not usually to my taste, I can see how it would be an enjoyable read for those that like this style.

I must note first and foremost that I am writing this review after only reading the first chapter and have not finished the book. Why will become clear.
I was very excited for the concept of the book as I love any form of textile art and do it myself as well. However, this felt like an unedited, honestly unread first draft of a story:
- the different parts of the chapter were completely out of order (and not as a literary device jumping from point to point, but as if they were jumbled up)
- one paragraph started in the middle of a sentence
- in the middle of a chapter came a sentence a la "this concludes chapter 1 and in chapter 2 XY will happen"

Especially everything being all jumbled up made the first chapter hardly readable.