This is a great book with which to start a new trilogy. I love the mystical aspects of the thread. Very original idea. Also the girl from the wrong side of the tracks didn’t feel too taboo so,I was able to enjoy that aspect too. Their shenanigans were delightful to read about. I think they had fun and the author allowed me to figure that out on my own. Can’t wait to,finish this series

A country on the edge of revolution and a seamstress able to cast charms into clothing make for an unlikely combination but it works rather well. Some of the plot points are predictable but an imaginative and dense fantasy world.

<i>*This book was given to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review*</i>

Love all the seamstress magic books that have come out lately. This was a fun installment, albeit cookie cutter. Easy recommend for my students.

For some reason, the cover of this book made me think that it would be a fairy tale retelling, perhaps the Brave Little Tailor, but it's nothing like that at all! Instead, it's an impressively original fantasy more inspired by the French Revolution than by any fairy stories.

Main character Sophie, who is not in fact a teen/YA but rather a dressmaker and shop owner in her early 20s, is a sympathetic character caught between the warring impulses to lie low and accept the status quo, or to involve herself in rebellion against injustices. A more typical heroine in the fantasy genre would jump on the rebel bandwagon a lot faster than Sophie, whose very livelihood relies on the patronage of the ruling and upper classes, and its actually nice to see this kind of waffling, as it seems emotionally realistic. Sophie's not stupid; she just doesn't want to think about the full implications of rocking VS not rocking the boat. She just wants to keep her head down and make pretty dresses... with magic charms. This is a fantasy with a cute magic system, after all, and Sophie's dresses can imbue their wearers with qualities pertaining good luck... or to bad. It's kind of hard for Sophie to keep her head down when different factions want to use her magic charms for their own disparate reasons. And there's romance too!

I really liked this book. The world-building, plot, and tie-ins with real-world oppression were carefully rendered and thoroughly engaging. I was turning pages at a clip, and biting my nails during the suspenseful bits! My only quibbles were, A) although the characters are all adults, it did seem like a YA book at times; and B) Sophie's trust in her brother Kristos, of whom readers are meant to be suspicious pretty early on, seems over the top. I said earlier that Sophie's not stupid, but when it comes to Kristos, that assessment is arguable. I wish the author had given him more depth from the start, which would have made their particular brother-sister dynamic more understandable; and C) the romance is sweet, but often seems to cross classes in ways that don't mesh with the rigid social structure presented at the start. The romance is of course one of the methods by which the rigidity is transgressed, but it was odd that so many other upper-crusty folks besides Sophie and her man were so immediately blasé about it.

I look forward to the next book -- I already bought a copy!

Torn creates an interesting intersection of fairy tale, historical revolution, and romance to tell the story of a seamstress who finds herself in the middle of a deadly plot hellbent on upending a kingdom. The plot devices read similar to a fairy tale, with a comically evil villain, a hasty like-to-love timeline, and an ancient form of magic that’s not questioned by those who witness it.

Combined with the very real conversations on politics and the merits of democracy, Torn becomes a fairy tale brought into the modern day. Instead of a poor young girl at the mercy of a wicked stepmother, we get a strong, independent businesswoman who unexpectedly finds herself amidst the nobility, thanks to her admirable skills. Instead of a wicked witch or an all powerful wizard, we get a two-faced revolutionary leader who loses his way by the end of the novel. There are no dragons or demons or evil forces at play, but the workings of a run of the mill revolution. Revolution significantly rewrites the nobility of fairy tales. Gone are the beloved Kings and Queens, replaced by scared nobility who don’t know how to work with people they formerly thought of as faceless lemmings.

At its heart, Torn is an examination of the politics of revolution and the path of unrest as it grows from conversations in a cafe to a bloody revolt against the nobility. There are heavy Les Miserables undertones as we see the leaders grow more restless with each conflict. At the beginning, every gathering is filled with smart political conversations. We see the common folk discussing politics in squares, in bars, and in dark corners. We see the nobility crowding around pamphlets, discussing political ideology and the future of their privileged state. We see a younger generation of nobility beginning to understand how terrible their system of government is against the common man. The conversations are fascinating and add an intellectual air to the book.

I was most interested in the magical aspect of this world. The magic remains mysterious, never getting fully explained. It takes on a fairy tale stance in that people commonly accept it and never question how a seamstress is able to conjure charms from a hidden light source only she can see. There are a number of interesting magical revelations throughout, and I hope Miller goes further into the history and mechanics in the next book.

Overall, Torn proves to be a fantasy that goes beyond its fairy tale cover story. Through political discourse and a deep look into both sides of a revolution, we get a smart insight into the many revolutions of our history.

I liked Torn a lot. It was both a mix of entertainment and enough of the elements that I look for in my fantasy books. It did have some elements that made me roll my eyes, but all together was a good fantasy book with interesting elements.

I was so excited to get my hands on this book. So ready to get me some rebellious seamstresses and revolutions and magical garments. Wooooo, bring it on!

And then I got the book, and....slowed down real fast.

It's a really plodding, ponderous book that's dense with politics talk. It required a pretty immediate shift in my expectations, but once I did that, I thought we'd still get along. There was a lot of worldbuilding and a lot of background to the rebellion, which can be interesting if handled well, and I loved the quasi-Regency-era world. Sophie's magic was far more sedate than I would have preferred, the kind of magic that could be mistaken for 'coincidence' because it's not overtly visible. M'kay, still rolling with it.

But it was so sloooooooooow. And I just wasn't feeling Sophie as a main character. I can get behind the concept of a character dragged into things against her intentions, that's find and can make some decent drama, but...maybe not when 33% into the book and you're just starting to maybe even start to get dragged? Her brother was massively more interesting and active and involved, while Sophie was just plugging her ears and making nice with the ruling class. Sophie would have made a great character for a cozy mystery, or maybe a contemplative character-driven novel, but in a revolution-fantasy? Meh.

I hated the way this book handled class, and it's the thing that made me ultimately put the book down. Sophie is positioned in a way to potentially show a lot of conflict. She's one of the few people who makes the system work, so she's largely concerned with keeping the status quo because she's comfortable and any upset the system risks putting her out of work. Now, that's a terrible attitude when people are dying and shit, but as a starting point that she can grow away from, it's got potential. Only she doesn't. She stubbornly clings to that whole 'I got to cozy up to the ruling class' attitude and digs in hard. And then develops a romance with a duke. And, just, I, uh... people are dying? I know the duke is hot, but still?

And maybe she shifts away from that later in the book, but considering the summary paints the revolutionaries as the bad guys, I'm pretty sure it would be more of a 'both sides have some bad to them' thing.

The last thing, which pushed me over the edge, was the way the book tried to flatten all problems onto the same level. Sophie starts talking with her duke friend, and he goes "ah, but woe is the aristocrat, who has all these responsibilities!" Fuck the what, boy?

He literally says that because peers inherit responsibilities to their land and can't just bugger off, that's exactly the same as the poor being deliberately prevented from engaging in business and forced into permanent underclass status.

(Also, shitty peers who don't meet their responsibilities exist and guess who suffers for that because it's not the peer.)

And our lead character? "Aw, uwu, I didn't think of that way, you poor hot man, let me cuddle your sadness away."

Pffffft. No thanks.

I received a free eARC copy of Torn from the publisher, Orbit via Net Galley in exchange for a review. Thank you!

I was very intrigued by the concept of Torn. As a sewing hobbyist myself I loved the idea of weaving magic into beautiful clothes by casting and sewing in charms. I was quickly invested in the world as Rowenna Miller expertly wove her own magic into her writing and cast a spell over me.
Our heroine, Sophie was a pleasure to get to know and spend time with. She is hard working and independent, loyal and caring. From her shop she works as a seamstress selling beautiful clothes and wares imbued with charms that provide the wearer with a little extra luck, protection or a multitude of other positive magical persuasions. Much of her business depends on clientele from the upper crust of society, but her brother and only family, is a laborer who is leading a group fighting for reform to restructure the imbalance of equality between the nobles and the common people. Sophie is caught in the middle, battling divided loyalties between her brother and the plight of the common man and the continued success of her shop she’s worked so hard for and new friendships she’s formed with some of the nobility who not only financially provide for both Sophie and her brother’s livelihood through commissions of Sophie’s work, but who also seem to truly like Sophie as a person and revere her as a valuable artist. She is also challenged to navigate the trials of a forbidden love with a handsome noble, a prospect that becomes more and more dangerous as the flames of rebellion are stoked. As talk of reform threatens to turn to violent rebellion Sophie must find her place in it all and fight to protect all that she has worked for and all those who are dear to her.
I especially loved that this novel featured an adult heroine who works incredibly hard for her family and business. Sophie is a character I can respect and appreciate. She is a strong and independent woman, a good person and despite her talent and hard earned success she doesn’t seem to struggle with who she is. Despite the challenges she faces she is always true to herself and never wavers in her belief of what is right. She’s a good representation of the middle ground that should be considered in the midst of a revolt or revolution. It was refreshing to read of a strong woman character who found ways to affect change in a constructive and more quiet way rather than in the form of a weapon wielding warrior or defiant and sassy rebel. I genuinely liked Sophie. She’s a solid person and a reasonable and rational woman. She was level headed amidst dangerous circumstances that forced her to be heroic and brave and took her out of her comfort zone or expectations. I appreciated that she wasn’t a heroine who repeatedly act on reckless or wild decisions that usually result in dangerous and harmful scenarios. I also appreciated the balance between the perspectives of the common people and the nobles and that most people in both groups genuinely seem to want what would be best for the greater good.
Torn was a joy to read and I look forward to the continuation of this story.
(I was also impressed with the editing of the eARC, it seemed to have fewer errors than most that I have read.)

In a land and time not too distant from our own Western European late 17th Century, first-generation immigrant Sophie is at last achieving her dream and pulling herself out of poverty. She’s managed to get a license to operate her dressmaking shop and even hire a couple of assistants. It’s enough to not only support her but to help her brother, Kristos, a day laborer who also has a dream: achieving fair working conditions for his comrades. But Sophie is no ordinary seamstress: she has a flair for design, and she’s inherited her mother’s magical gifts. For special projects for special patrons, she stitches in spells of love, of protection, of luck. Her upward mobility blinds her to the nativism and bigotry that give rise to endemic social and economic injustice. Just as Sophie gets her big break, creating spell-stitched garments for the aristocracy, the workers’ revolution begins to heat up. Initially nonviolent, the protests become increasingly confrontational -- and deadly -- under the direction of a mysterious leader, an academic who himself has foreign roots and who has an agenda of his own…and a use for Sophie’s special talents.

Sophie is an interesting character, and we see her changing world through the lens of her own frantic attempts at head-in-the-sand neutrality. In times of upheaval, those who have scratched together a little are even more desperate to hold on to it than those who have nothing. It would be easy to portray the workers’ movement as ill-conceived and naïve, playing into the hands of an unscrupulous, power-hungry manipulator. Certainly, from Sophie’s vantage, the revolution lurches from one fulminating disaster to another, and if the leaders would just go home and let her continue in her business-as-usual, that would be fine with her. In some ways, the noble ladies who include her in their salons are more politically astute, and more aware of how unstable their society has become. For this very reason, telling the story from Sophie’s viewpoint highlights the hypocrisies on all sides, for she is both an innocent victim caught in the cross-fire and complicit in the maintenance of an oppressive regime. Yet if bloody upheaval comes at too great a cost, what is a better path forward? Our world has yet to figure that out. Perhaps, as this series unfolds, Sophie’s world will.

The verdict: Surprisingly deep socially aware fantasy, plus a very cool magical system.

The usual disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book, but no one bribed me to say anything about it.

Interesting fantasy about a young independent woman of humble means named Sophie who runs her own business as a special sort of seamstress: she can actually weave strands of magic into the clothing she makes, to protect their wearers or even bring them luck. When revolution breaks out, Sophie is put in the difficult spot of either supporting her aristocratic friends and patrons, or joining with her peers to overthrow the kingdom. Sophie has to reach deep inside herself and find the courage to stand for what she truly believes in and protect the ones she cares for.

Enjoyed this first book in the series. Worth the read and looking forward to the second book.l to see how Sophie progresses in her skills and to see how the kingdom regroups.

Premise: Sophie has worked hard to carve out a life for herself. Combining her hereditary skill in casting good luck charms with long training in sewing has eventually led to a somewhat successful shop of her own. Just when it seems that her work will be noticed by a higher class of customer, a group pushing for governmental reforms risks starting a riot that could engulf the city, and her own brother is leading the way.


None of the themes dealt with in this book were groundbreaking or unique, but I don't know that I've ever read a fantasy novel that addresses them directly, and I really appreciated that.

I really enjoyed the nuance and tension in this book. Everyone is complicated. No one knows everything or understands everything. It features a populist uprising in which neither the royalty nor the commoners are fully in the right.

Even though I was sometimes frustrated by her action or inaction, Sophie feeling pulled in many directions felt right. I think the author nailed what she set out to do: present a picture of someone who is neutral in a conflict and explore why. I loved the minor acknowledgment that, like many historical revolutions and movements, these groups claiming to speak for the people and help the common folk aren't proposing reforming laws and customs that disadvantage women.

I liked Sophie's awkwardness about being a second-generation immigrant, with no real ties to her family's home. She's consciously choosing to downplay her heritage to make her business more successful, although she feels conflicted about it. The romance subplot was well-handled and worked better than I would have expected at the start.

I'm not sure how I feel about the fact that this is intended to be the first in a series. It definitely stands alone, to the extent that I was startled to read after the end of the text that there will be more.

This is a rare book that I picked up mostly on the strength of the cover. It's lovely, and as a fan of both fantasy and sewing, a good fit for me.

Overall a solid fantasy novel that's enjoyable and worth thinking about.

4 Stars - A Very Good Book

Rowenna Miller does an excellent job portraying the balancing act that her protagonist, Sophie, performs between the haves and the have-nots. Seemingly based on the French Revolution, her story focuses on a young dressmaker who also can cast spells into the clothing that she sews. As a shopkeeper, Sophia deals with the upper class and the aristocracy and employs two other shopgirls; however, her brother, Kristos, is one of the leaders of the growing disenfranchised who wish to overthrow a government that fosters such great inequities as currently exist between the rich and the poor.
Viewed as an artist for her charm skills, Sophia is invited by a member of the aristocracy to join an intellectual and artistic salon. Sophia is intrigued by the intelligent discourse and the artistic works they celebrate. She meets Theodor, who happens to be in line as an heir to the throne. She also learns more about the aristocratic world and why/how they happen to think, making her more convinced than ever to remain neutral.
To force Sophia to utilize her spell-casting skills on behalf of the revolution, the group kidnaps and threatens her brother’s life. She is forced to support a cause that she understands but does not embrace, twisting her gift to cast curses rather than positive spells. As revolutionary talk sparks into violence, Sophia is trapped with Theodor and her salon friends as the palace itself is attacked. She is forced once again to choose between continuing to help the revolutionaries or confessing to her new love and endangering her brother’s life.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story, especially the touch of magic added by the spell-casting through sewing. Miller does a terrific job of making each side in the conflict equally compelling and sympathetic, leading the reader to understand Sophia’s reluctance to take a position. The characters were well written, and the twist at the end is perfectly believable. As the beginning of a trilogy, Torn is a strong entry.

I received an ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I first started reading this book, I hated it. I normally enjoy reading about political issues however this was way too detailed. It delved deep into labour laws, reforms, theory and philosophy, etc and I found myself thinking..I thought this was supposed to be a fantasy book? Where's the fantasy portion? I eventually just skipped over those parts and I stuck with it.
Over halfway through, the book suddenly got better because it started to have an actual story and stopped focusing so much on labour reform. I got caught up in Sophie's story, the obstacles and people she had to face, the romance, and found myself fully committed to finding out how the hell she'd get herself out of the mess she'd managed to get herself into.
I actually ended up enjoying the book and I am looking forward to reading the second one. I'm curious to see where the author is going to take this series.

I was immediately drawn to this book by its synopsis- seamstress who stitches magic into clothing?? That's a new one!

The book was a lot more political that I expected - I guess I was just anticipating a lighthearted fantasy romance. Not to say that this is a negative point- just not what I was personally looking for. The story seemed to drag, and the love between Sophie and Theodor was unconvincing to me. I feel as if a lot more could have been done with such a unique premise, and it fell short somehow.

Thank you to Orbit Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I felt like Torn was an incredibly good idea, and sounded like it would be a wonderful book. But it sort of fell short. It wasn't as magical as the summary suggested, wasn't as enchanting as I hoped it would be. I didn't love it nearly as much as I wanted to.

This sounded like it would be in my wheelhouse, but just wasn't. I hate when I DNF a book from Netgalley, but this just didn't do anything for me. I thought the magical premise was interesting, but story was weighed down too much by politics and a lack of elaborate world building. The male characters were just fantastically unlikable. In retrospect, I didn't get through The Queen of the Tearling either, so maybe that should have been a hint when Torn was compared to that book.

Torn is a great debut, and was enjoyable to read. The story was very character driven, which is nice to see in this genre. I really fell in love the Sophie, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

It’s not often I feel the need to DNF a book. I always feel bad when it happens. This book was just not for me. I was excited by the idea.

TORN is the first book in an enchanting debut fantasy series featuring a seamstress who stitches magic into clothing, and the mounting political uprising that forces her to choose between her family and her ambitions, for fans of The Queen of the Tearling.

Sign me up! A young, entrepreneurial woman who is able to sew charms into the clothes that she makes. I love that idea. I like to sew myself as a matter of fact, and my Christmas presents for friends always include a couple of homemade items. I wanted to see some magic. I wanted descriptions of lovely clothing interlaced with spells and artistry. That was my expectation. However, that is not what this book is about and that may be why I did not respond well to it.

There was no magic, at least not enough in the part I read. There was no artistry, at least not in the clothing as described. Torn lacked charm. Too much politics and not enough enchantment. It featured quite a few scenes of students fomenting rebellion in dark cafe corners than there was magic sewing needles. How shall I put it … if your favorite scene in Les Miserables was Red and Black, then this book might be for you, but I was promised A Heart Full of Love dammit! Who is to blame for that? The cover blurb writer? Maybe.

The book was not badly written, but it felt like a slog and I could not push myself to finish. Maybe you will like it better. Now excuse me, it’s time for a YouTube Les Miserables spiral.

Song for this book: Red and Black from Les Miserables

A compelling fantasy with strong roots in the labor movement, Torn does an excellent job of building a world with both magical and mundane elements. Though the characters are often at odds, it's easy to understand where each is coming from, and the storyline keeps the reader invested until the end. Recommended for readers of Robin McKinley and Naomi Novik, or fans of more "practical" fantasy.

Orbit is often kind enough to send me review copies of their releases in exchange for impartial and honest reviews. This is often a great deal for me because their track record with books is astoundingly good and it’s very rare that I need to do a negative review for them. However, this is unfortunately one of those times. Today I will be talking about Torn, by Rowenna Miller, a book that had a lot going for it but fell short in an unpleasantly large number of ways. Full disclosure – I only got 50% of the way through the book, so it’s possible it turned it around in the back half – but I was unwilling to give it any more benefit of the doubt.

Torn is the story of Sophie, a dressmaker with the unique skills to weave charms into the clothes she makes. In Miller’s world, shop owners must compete and prove their right to sell things and earn a livelihood. Sophie’s tale revolves around the strain of running her shop, her relationship with her brother Kristos, who is leading a revolution against the aristocrats’ control of businesses, and a love story with a pure/beautiful nobleman who is a part of the evil aristocracy, but innocently didn’t realize what was happening to the poors in the country (I am a little tired of this trope).

Let me start with the good, the book had a lot of cool original ideas that drew me in. Weaving magic into clothes had me on board and I was ready to see clothes that burst into flames, or turned to steel, or made you super hot (so just like what normal nice clothes do, but with more magic). The conflict in the book also captured my attention as an original take on aristocratic oppression. Unfortunately this is about where my list of positives stops.

Where to start with the negatives? To begin with for a book based on magical clothes, there was surprisingly little magic. Most of the spellweaving seemed to be small passive charms that didn’t have clear effects and were a lot less magical than I was hoping. Instead Miller focused more on the dressmaking aspect of Sophie’s job. This was actually ok with me. I was disappointed in the lack of flashy magic, but I appreciate a good story about a tradesperson making nice things. What I do not appreciate is a character spending pages and pages expositing about how amazing they are at their trade instead of actually showing me. Dear lord is there a lot of exposition in this book. I remember clearly a scene in the first 10% where Sophie is thinking in here head about how she is the best tailor around, and lauding herself with complements, when she is in the middle of a conversation with a customer in the shop. How hard would it be to just make the customer comment on the quality of her wares? It achieves the exact same thing but I wouldn’t think Sophie was an egotistical ass.

Speaking of characters, Sophie was not particularly likable but the entire cast is pretty awful. Her brother Kristos started at offputting and by halfway through the book had solidly cemented his status as hateable. Once I got past the initial exposition dump, I didn’t find Sophie too unpleasant – but she just isn’t interesting. Sophie did not feel like the protagonist of this story (though damned if I know who did). She sits at the center of a whirlwind of events, constantly reacting with the tamest and most conservative response possible. She doesn’t enable actions or plots, but just constantly comments on how she thinks clearly bad ideas are probably bad ideas. While I found her an entirely believable character that I related to, sitting on the moral high ground and just saying “no” does not make a compelling read. The only two characters I liked were Sophie’s assistants, which got criminally short page time.

Finally, the story just wasn’t interesting. The pacing felt extremely slow, with parts often feeling a little repetitive. As I alluded to before, the love story is every aristocrat love story I have ever read. Sophie’s constant hedging and refusal to get involved with the story also sucked me out of the book myself. If she doesn’t want to be a part of anything, why would I? Torn had some good ideas, but needed to work on the execution. If you like the characters and the minutiae of trying to keep a store solvent, you genuinely might enjoy this. For me, the books several problems overwhelmed my interest and I ended up putting it down.

Rating: Torn – 3.5/10 (DNF)
-Andrew