Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

Good world building in this one, and an interesting premise. It felt a little choppy at times and I wasn't totally drawn in by the characters but still enjoyed it!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Unravel is definitely an interesting read!
Many Thanks to NetGalley and Sword and Silk Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overview:
Marguerite is deaf and knows her uncle doesn’t like her. True she’s in line for the throne but he is adamant she is too deaf to rule.
Her uncle declares war on magic and this leads Marguerite to hide her self- now she needs to hide the fact she is a witch- and with witch trials being public this is becoming harder and harder to do.

Review:
Plot- it was fine. I enjoyed the story as some escapism but it is definitely not something that’s Genre defying or anything new in the fantasy space. I will say I didn’t really feel invested in any of the characters or the story as it went on (I did debate a rare DNF but marched on).
The one thing that makes this stand out, and the massive reason I tried so hard to carry on is the Deaf representation.
Now- I’m a massive believer of reading outside your comfort zone, reading outside what is your normal and your background to be more inclusive and understand the world and other people better- so seeing disability rep in a fantasy book I was heavily invested in reading this. I also really enjoy that this is an own voices book.

Pacing wise, the story started slow for me and honestly it was a struggle to stay engaged.

World building- this side was really the highlight- it was beautifully done.

Characters- Generally neither loved or hated any singular character (Except the uncle who can rot).
I will however say the romance side of this story was very cute.

Final Thoughts,
Not the best book I have read all year, not the worst. Good Disability fantasy rep though but honestly it’s not something I would probably re-read.

Thanks to the publisher and Net Galley for a copy of this book.

I was very surprised with the plot and I enjoyed very much reading about Marguerite experience as a deaf witchy individual. I could see the writer’s passion with the disability at hand and let the challenges the protagonist had to go through in order to get herself in a position to fight the regime she was under.
This story was beautifully constructed and I enjoyed it very much.

This fast-paced adventure will have you hooked right from the beginning. Marguerite is a deaf princess who must use her magic to save the kingdom from her evil Uncle. I couldn’t put this one down! Hoping the author will give us a second book soon!!

ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review. This in no way changes my rating or review.

3 ADVENTUROUS STARS

Three Minute Thoughts:
Unravel was interesting! I loved that it was a fantasy novel with deaf rep, however I found that I was never fully invested in the story, and I didn’t particularly connect with the characters. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the book. The romance was adorable, and there were also a few humourous sections that I enjoyed, plus the nod to the classic ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ song was wonderful! Overall, I’m glad I read this, but I wouldn’t reread.

The Extended, Long, and Very-Probably-Messy Review:
Hmm. I’m not sure how to feel about Unravel. On one hand, I’m glad we finally have a fantasy book with deaf rep (OwnVoices too), but on the other hand I just couldn’t fully get into this story. I didn’t click with the writing style and I considered DNF-ing the book at one stage, and while I’m glad I continued, I’m still a little underwhelmed by this novel overall.

The characters were interesting but I just didn’t really connect with them, though I loved Tys’ humour, and the romance overall. There were also some wonderful side characters, but I still wasn’t fully invested in anyone, which disappointed me.

“Our lips carry on a dialogue of longing and loss, sweetness and sorrow, in a language only we two could understand.”
(This quote may not be in the published version of this novel, it was copied from the advanced reader’s copy.)

The world and magic system was interesting, but not especially unique, though I did love the different kinds of magic and the way that our MC wove her magic into sewing. The little passages at the start of each chapter that talked about different stitches etc. were also super cute, I really liked them!

And I have to mention the little ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ retelling, because I loved that little easter egg!! It was so clever and fun to read, and I definitely think the author has massive potential and talent.

Overall, this wasn’t my favourite book, but it wasn’t my least favourite either! I’m glad I read it, though I doubt I’ll ever reread. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC copy provided in exchange for an honest review :).

At its core this is a pretty straightforward plot, but the author weaves in fascinating details, embellishes the story, and manages to create a wholly fascinating tale. I've never read about a magic system such as this one: there are witches who can weave spells into textiles, manipulate metals to hold enchantments, or knot spells into rope, and others blessed with Sight who can see the Otherlight, a glow of magic that emanates from magic wielders. The author even threw in a detail explaining why there aren't as many men blessed with magic: magic is lost or suppressed when an individual kills, considering the fact that men are tasked with duties such as hunting or battle, killing in some shape or form is inevitable resulting in losing their magical abilities.

Unravel rests on classic tropes of the banished true heir to the throne; evil uncle; unassuming heroine, non-specific European setting; and while there's nothing wrong with this exactly, I do think extra care then needs to be taken to explore these in an original way, or they can risk coming across as clichéd. Unfortunately I found Marguerite quite a passive protagonist. It can be hard with young female protagonists in repressive/oppressive situations such as hers to shine, due to the confines of the plot, but I did think she gets buffeted around by others an awful lot, and never really came into her own as a main character.

The storyline had a really good premise, but the execution of the story wasn't up to par sadly.

This book was given to me as an arc by netgalley. My review is 100% honest and my own thoughts and opinions on the book.

I really enjoy the story. The way the author writes the female main character to be a head strong, magic weaving, deaf princess. She has hair combs that have been placed under a magic spell to allow her to hear. The kingdom is under war and her grandfather who is king ends up dead to the hands of his brother. The brother wants to take his place because they're identical twins and no one will be none the wiser. She then goes on the run to hide from her uncle.

This magical book takes a silent approach to magic literally when most of the magic weavers have the same level of hearing loss. All magic is worked as woven threads into garments. Personally as a sower and an embroiderer, this definitely is an interesting way to do magic.

The author's to write this fantasy story is amazing. The characters are so relatable and realistic with a touch of fantasy and magic. This book was like a historical Harry Potter retelling and was done amazingly.

This book is full of mistrust, trust building, magic, tragedy, betrayal, love, bonding, war, war enemies becoming friends , and secrets being unraveled.

Amelia Loken’s tale is threaded with magic and adventure, intrigue and romance. While the plot wasn’t full of surprising twists, the characters had such depth to them, and were both broken and relatable. Marguerite was lovely—the quintessential main character, discovering her truth and her strength. The story was compelling, the writing was beautiful, and I really enjoyed it.
This is a book I would be happy to have my daughters read.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ebook version of this title in exchange for my honest review!

Sorry this is so late!
This was a very interesting read. Our main character, Marguerite, is deaf and having the MC with a disability is not something that you read about very often so it was a nice surprise. Having this disability does not stop her in anyway though. It was well thought out and written, felt like the author had done some research on being deaf but I am not an expert so cannot comment on it really.

There was plenty of twists and turns in this book, I found myself flying through it. It was well paced and kept me entertained. The worldbuilding, I'm not sure how to say, it was really well done. I could picture everything that was happening, the language was very descriptive. Loved it.

Unraveled by Amelia Loken is a clever take on the hero novel. I loved how the main character Marguerite embraced her disability. Even when times were hard she kept her head held high and persevered. I have never seen a deaf character in a book before and it was refreshing to see the representation. I like how she used both aids, hair pins, and sign language to communicate.

The enjoyed the magic system in the book. It was unique and I have never read anything like it before. Marguerite embraced her magic letting it be an aid to her and the people she cared most about. It was interesting seeing the different types of magic put to use and how both men and women could use magic.

Her Uncle is the perfect villain. He is easily one of the evilest characters I have ever read about. Some of the things he did to Marguerite and others are hard to read about. I enjoyed his fall from grace.

One of the few flaws I had with the book is that parts of it were a little slow to get through.

Marguerite is a witch in hiding, and a possible heir to the throne, which her scheming uncle has stolen. With the help of allies and her own strong will and determination, Marguerite must return from exile and challenge his corrupt rule.

Unravel rests on classic tropes of the banished true heir to the throne; evil uncle; unassuming heroine, non-specific European setting; and while there's nothing wrong with this exactly, I do think extra care then needs to be taken to explore these in an original way, or they can risk coming across as clichéd. Unfortunately I found Marguerite quite a passive protagonist. It can be hard with young female protagonists in repressive/oppressive situations such as hers to shine, due to the confines of the plot, but I did think she gets buffeted around by others an awful lot, and never really came into her own as a main character. Marguerite experiences torture and imprisonment, but I felt there was little or no exploration of the trauma she would doubtless live with after such terrible experiences. For this reason these scenes then came across as written for shock value/gratuitous. There is a lot of potential in the world of Unravel, but for me personally it didn't reach those heights.

I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of Unravel. These opinions are my own.

Princess Marguerite is third in line for the throne, one of the many reasons her uncle Reichard hates her. She's also Deaf, which he thinks makes her unable to rule.

If he knew about her magic, illegal in the kingdom, she would be in grave danger.

But when her uncle sentences a witch and her young son to death, Marguerite saves the boy with the help of Tys, a boy who may be more than he seems.

Soon, Marguerite is entangled in a web of courtly intrigue with more than just her life on the line.

I really enjoyed many aspects of this book. Marguerite is a likeable heroine, if a little naive. The world building was interesting, even if the magic ban seemed to no longer be a concern for the middle section of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, there was a part around 60% through that was very heavy on body horror. If I'm going to be completely honest, that grossed me out a lot and I couldn't stop thinking about it for days.

Additionally, I haven't seen any review talk about this book's relationship to the Romani community. As the fantasy world is based on Europe, I find it highly likely that the fictional Mirvray group is a stand-in for Romani people.

"They look like the Mirvray folk that seasonally traverse Valonia, in loose clothing and more jewelry than most folks are wont to wear."

I am not Romani and thus am not capable of saying whether or not this is good representation. I will say, though, that there are some moments that echo real-world racism towards Roma.

"I thought my mother was this beautiful, ethereal, exotic... Maybe she really was a greedy, conniving, ambitious witch who used her wiles to bed my father."

While these portrayals are shown to be false in-text and the main character learns and grows, I am not sure how it would feel for an actual Romani person to read this book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. There were some parts though, the body horror especially, that took what could have been a five star book down to a four. If any Romani readers would like to weigh in on their interpretation of the Mirvray, I would love to hear it!

*I received a free copy of this ebook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This book was fantastic! It has such an interesting combination of elements (magic, sewing, embroidery, acrobatics, court intrigue, sign language, witches, mages, war) that don’t seem as if they’d all fit together, but they do. Quite well, actually.

I immediately cared about Marguerite (almost 16 at the beginning) and wanted everything to work out for her. She was intelligent, clever, compassionate, and cared deeply for her country. Despite her many obstacles, she was determined to do what was right and refused to be defeated. Tys (probably 17-19 at the beginning) was very easy to like. He was lighthearted in ways that Marguerite was not and found ways to draw out her laughter, but he was also fiercely committed to what he felt was right. They complemented and strengthened one another. I loved Tys's determination to win her over.

A lot happens in this book (it spans more than a year, if I remember correctly), but it didn't feel long. I'm surprised it took me almost two weeks to read it since I never wanted to put it down, but I suppose I do have other things going on in my life that require my attention. Although I am content with the ending, I feel like there could be room for another book because of some loose threads. If the author decides to write another one, I will absolutely read it. I would love to see more of the characters.

Note: A little swearing, some in French. Torture.

This is a book that I would definitely recommend to people who love YA fantasy. There's some fun characters, world, magic, and romance. However, I don't think it would appeal to people outside that lovers-of-YA-fantasy group.

My full video review with detailed thoughts is at https://youtu.be/u59KqqJaLEw

This is a story about Marguerite, a princess with an evil uncle who is conspiring to steal the kingdom. Thrown into this mix is craft-based magic, sweet soulmates, and strong chosen-one vibes.

I liked how this book helped us understand its magic and politics. It didn't take it too slow, but it didn't shove it all in our face at once either. It helps that Marguerite was learning along with us the details of the magic.

However, where I didn't connect with this book was in the descriptions—particularly in emotional reactions. This book is so fast paced that it doesn't take time to really describe what is happening. It also doesn't take much time to let us feel the emotions of our main character. For this reason, I found it hard to get emotionally attached to her and her story.

Thanks to Sword and Silk Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.

Unravel was a breathtaking breath of fresh air of a novel. The world building was beautifly created as the story progressed. I would defintley reccomend this book to anyone looking for a fast paced, plot driven novel. The obstacles Marguerite faced throughout the novel stacked the odds against her, which she was able to overcome. I have already reccomended this book to a few friends, and will definitley be re reading.

So torn about this one ---

On the one hand, Unravel is a great example of positive representation of deafness and hearing loss for younger YA readers. I can see this story attracting teens fresh out of middle school, effortlessly having them open to new points of view. On her journey, Loken's heroine Marguerite meets people eager to adjust or able to communicate through sign language, as well as those unwilling to accommodate her needs - seems realistic to me. Her magical hearing aids were an interesting touch - and why not? I often see authors limit magical innovation to destructive powers rather than mending ones, so this was a nice change.

On the other hand, this book definitely reads like a debut, with all the plot holes and worldbuilding issues that ensue. While embroidered magic is an innovative concept, by the end of the story I still wasn't sure how the magic systems works. More so, I have no understanding of how the persecution of magic can be so ineffective, when there are plenty of people who can see magic users in this good old fantasy alternative of Europe? (view spoiler)

I also feel that in the end, her hearing disability wasn't a plot point - of course, no one's disability ends up being Chekhov's gun in real life, but the fact joined a multitude of loose strings (pun intended) that left me dissatisfied with the novel overall. The dismal themes of the second half, including torture, genocide, and sexual abuse, were pretty surprising to me, given the young-ish voice of narration. Do I think teens can deal with that though? Certainly.

Unravel can be read as a standalone but was definitely written with the potential to expand into a series.

I want to thank Netgalley, Amelia Loken, and Sword & Silk Books for giving me a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to say that I personally love the witchcraft and witch trials concepts of this book. For context, I love studying witch trials that happened in the history and this book giving me a topic that I’m so interested in is such a big bonus to me. I think the execution of that concept in this book is done pretty well. Even when I read the witch trial scene in the first chapter, it is already interesting to read. I can say that it somehow resembled any actual witch trial in real life. It is also has references to European history and other retellings of stories. This book doesn’t spoon-fed the audience with information, it was scattered all over the book. And me as a reader would evaluate each piece to know what this or that meant. I really appreciate that kind of writing style. The story is intriguing because of the scattered information that even though I am not reading this book there is something in it that makes me want to go back in this world and find out what happens next. The plot is a little slow for me because I was expecting the book to start after the synopsis. One more thing that I found great also in this is the execution of deaf characters. It doesn’t glamorized it. And even though the characters are just talking in sign language sometimes, the description still shows their emotions.

As for the characters, I want to talk first about Marguerite. She is a brilliant and brave girl. The reader can see it with the way she carries herself, and it is clear that she will become a better queen. Even though the world in this book is a little more tied in religion, Marguerite is making her decisions not based on the belief of a supreme being but rather on her own ethics. I think it was a very great character structure. I also love Tys and Marguerite’s chemistry throughout the book, their relationship with each other and the way that they interact with each other is so heart-warming to read. Tys is also a good love interest. His character has its own structure rather than just go with the flow with the main character, I like how distinct it was. For the villain, he is such a pure evil, I feel so bad for every character that he tortures because it was so gruesome. The women characters in this book also are great because like Marguerite, they are all clever, smart and strong in their own way. Such a clever way to show strong characters in this kind of dark world. The author also did a very good job with giving each character their own vulnerabilities because it represents how realistic they are.

Overall, I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars. Although I think this book is a slow one for me, I still enjoy the rest of it. It has a great representation of disabilities and very raw when it comes to talk about human weaknesses. I totally recommend this book because I think more people should read this kind of story.

I really enjoyed Unravel. I’ve never seen or read a book with the main character deaf. I really enjoyed it. While the magic and world building are astounding, I think it’s well thought out without shifting the focus of the book away from the importance of deafness. The magic system was amazing and the plot was well developed. This is defiantly a book is buy for myself.

I liked this book and it was a fun enough read but I did had some issues with it.
I struggled to really like the main character and while I didn't really hate them, I didn't overly care what happened.
I did really like reading about a deaf main character as this was a first for me.
In the end I don't think this book was to my taste but I can see a lot of people loving it.
Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.