Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada for giving me the chance to read and review this E-ARC. This review will be posted to Goodreads, My Instagram, and Various Shops (Amazon Canada/Barnes & Noble/ Indigo Canada).

I loved seeing Briar Rose, Fi, Shane, and Red again in this sequel to The Bone Spindle. My favourite part of The Severed Thread was the characters and their relationships. I also enjoyed meeting new characters in this sequel.

The last half of this book (last 20%) was my favourite portion of this book. This book builds itself up for the end, and for book three. Based off that last half, I'm excited to see how this trilogy ends.

The Severed Thread felt more character driven to me. It is much slower in pace than The Bone Spindle. The first book had a lot of adventure and action in it. Whereas, in my opinion, the sequel still has adventure, but has less action.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this sequel as much as I loved the first book. I found this book to be really slow in pace, compared to The Bone Spindle. However, the ending of The Severed Thread has left me excited for book three.

Overall, The Severed Thread isn't my favourite book in this trilogy. I enjoyed seeing the relationships further develop between the characters. I also loved the last half of this book. I'm excited to see what is in store for readers in book three.

When I tell you I was excited for The Severed Thread, I don't think you understand how much. As someone who grew up on adventure movies and treasure hunting, Vedder's series gives a serotonin boost every time I think of it. The Bone Spindle is one of the most unique, adventure filled, and packed with charming characters book I've read. So my expectations for The Severed Thread were astronomical. And 100% met. This sequel is action packed from the beginning to the very last page.

I absolutely adored the treasure hunting adventures and quest. It's a solid element that if you love, you have to read this series. The action swept me away and I finished this book days before I thought I would. But what makes it even sweeter are the characters. Shane and Red? Talk about a perfect ship with my two favorite character types - grumpy girl not sure if she can ever let anyone in again plus a protector ax wielding warrior. Smitten.

Loved how we jumped right into the story that ended in book one and how I was literally on my seat with the adventure that hits you right at page 1!

The Bone Spindle blew me away with Vedder’s creative magic system based on fairytales and characters that made me want to scream, cheer and shake them whenever they did something that I knew they’d regret later. Very early on in the first book I was hooked, so I went into The Severed Thread with a heart full of anticipation and silent prayers that that drama wouldn’t be too heartbreaking.

In the first book Fi and Shane became partners to get to a treasure, and that was all it was supposed to be; a gig to get treasure. They didn’t expect to be thrown into a life-changing adventure when Fi cut her finger on a spindle and ended up waking a figure from legend, the Prince Briar Rose, from a magical sleep. Now they’re on the run from The Spindle Witch with a plan to get Briar to a hidden city where the last witches in Andar sought refuge.

That is if they can survive that long. The Spindle Witch has sent her minion Red, the sexy witch that Shane can’t help but feel something for and then there’s the witch hunters that have grown in power over the years. Then there’s Fi’s curse, The Butterfly Curse, which her former associate tricked her into gaining. As much as she wants to relax and see whether there’s anything between her and the centuries old Prince she woke up with a kiss, the curse is constantly on her mind.

Once again Vedder has created a high stakes fantasy novel mixed with fairytales in a way that turns the genre on it’s head. There are no damsels in distress here, no tiaras or ballgowns. I love the art for the covers of this series and how the characters not only look grim and determined, but also have smudges of dirt and healing wounds on them because that is the essence of this series. Other than a handful of moments when they get to breathe and briefly clean up, our heroes are then thrown into chaos and whatever nice clothes they’re wearing are completely ruined. I appreciated the fact that in The Severed Thread Vedder made the point of including a description of one of the character’s coats being mended and patched up, rather than overlooking the fact that their clothes magically surviving everything they put them through.

The Severed Thread was a fabulous read with just the right amount of adventure and romance, and what I appreciated was that the relationships moved at a pace that made sense. The relationships in this book are complicated with all involved having been hurt, abused or manipulated in some way in their past. Vedder carefully navigates their thoughts and feelings, balancing them without going too far to the negative or the positive. There is a point in The Severed Thread when Briar has cause to doubt Fi and in other books that would have been the point where there would have been a huge drama scene, a huge falling out. Instead, it was very well written, and it was a relief to see that Vedder chose to go with realism rather than drama.

It’s hard for me to put into words just how good this book is, so I’m just going to leave it there!

I really thought this was a duology so lemme tell you that I was NOT prepared for that cliffhanger.

I enjoyed The Bone Spindle well enough (mostly because I’m a sucker for the prince romance trope) so I figured I’d try this sequel out too. I probably should have reread or at least found a recap of the first book, because I found myself very unattached to the characters since I don’t remember a thing that happened. I love Fi and Shane’s friendship and enjoyed the Briar POV chapters as well. I don’t love Red as much so could’ve done without her POVs. Not sure if I’ll be finishing out the series but thought this was a fine sequel.

I really enjoyed this! I'll admit, I had no idea this was more than a duology. I thought this book would wrap everything up. I got to about the 350 page point, and realized there was no chance of that happening. I'm a bit disappointed that this wasn't the conclusion, but that's because I was so invested in the characters.

In my review of The Bone Spindle, I said I wanted more of Red. This book gave me all the Red, and I've never been happier. For some reason, I find her to be the most compelling character. I love her and Cintzel's bond and I definitely want more of them in the next book. And more of her and Shane! They're such a cute couple.

I also really like Fi. Briar is a bit less compelling, but he's still cute. I just love Fi and her bookishness. Her and Shane have the cutest bond, something about warrior type meets scholar is so enjoyable.

My one complaint about this would be the pacing. Overall, it was great. But when you break it into certain side plots, it's a bit messier. It's clear that some side plots got left behind. I have faith that they'll be addressed in the next book, but I wish they'd gotten a bit more attention in this one.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

The Severed Thread is the second book in the Bone Spindle trilogy, and the treasure hunting adventuring duo of Fi and Shane are back! The story continues on from the cliffhanger from the first book, and the story didn’t disappoint.

Like I’ve already mentioned, the dynamic duo of Fi and Shane are at the heart of the story. Their banter is still going strong, and I love that underneath it there's a clear respect and love for each other. There’s more background and depth added to them, as well as to Briar and Red. Not to be dramatic, but Red might have become my new favourite character. Her journey from their enemy to a companion was amazing to read about. The complexity there is to her, and her past, really made me love her.

This book contains just as much, if not more, adventure and action as the first book. Something that shows off more of this interesting world with adventures, witches and witch hunters. There’s magical hidden cities, a heist and constant trouble. It was so much fun to read about, and I’m so happy we get to see the world expanded in this way.

The ending had me in its clutches and I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book!

Oh how I love this series.
I absolutely love the way Vedder writes.

The Severed Thread picks up right after the events of the first book (The Bone Spindle)- the groups are separated and everyone must fight their way out of something.
True to Shane, she is just as stubborn and in love with Red as ever. We see so much more of them together and we learn more about Red.
Fi and Briar are still clearly meant to be together if Fi could get her self together 🤣
We also meet several new characters which was fun.

But that ending 😭 what in the cliffhangers was that?! I hope we get artwork for Briar because, yes.

Overall, please read this. Everything I could ever want in a fantasy is packaged up in this delightful series.

My absolute favourites, the ultimate besties, Fi and Shane are back! These two have some of the best banter I’ve ever read and I’m living for it.

I’ve been eagerly anticipating this sequel all year and I can say it didn’t disappoint at all. It was just what I had been hoping for.

Continuing with the fun and the adventure, these action packed books have me longing for more adventure/treasure hunting type stories. These really hit the spot.

Can’t wait for the finale next year! I absolutely adore this world.

This series thrives in the spaces where most YA series barely get by. It’s jam-packed with action and adventure, but not in a way where the MCs don’t get chances to work through their reactions. It’s fueled by themes of found family, but not just in the way of romance. It’s got several side plots, like pesky curses that complicate everything, but not in a way where they draw away from the main plot.

Two extremely lovable MCs serve as the beating heart of this literary kingdom, Fi and Shane. They are magic relic-hunting besties — they are quite literally partners in crime (but for a good cause) — that fight for hope and redemption for the ones they love and one another. They also make mistakes and are very human in that, and despite it all, they always somehow show up for one another in times of need.

I adored the character development in this sequel, and not just for our MCs but from supplementary characters Red and Briar Rose, who both take more of a central role in this edition of the Bone Spindle series. The Spindle Witch is as cunning and evil as ever (who doesn’t love a good villain?), and the Witch Hunters are just as well-cast as antagonists. No spoilers here, but I love how other side characters also end up as unexpectedly motivated by the wrong things — just reason 300000 why this fairytale retelling cuts past the HEA and ‘everyone who is good is always good and perfect’ trope. The world building in this is frankly inimitable.

Leslie Vedder’s The Severed Thread is addictive and exactly what you hope to see in a sequel of a series that should be lauded as one of the genre’s greats. I adored this book and you will too.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for a review.*

“I get to decide what’s important to me. And it’s you, Fi – it’s us.”

The queen of cliffhangers has done it again, leaving me with many questions about what is next! Leaving me more excited for the last book of this series than I was before.

Picking up right where they left off, Briar, Fi, Shane, and the Paper Witch are on the run from the Spindle Witch. In hope of finding the rest of the witches to beat the Spindle Witch and awaken the rest of Andar. They are back with their adventures but so is Red with her trusty wolf, Cinzel.
Red still under the thumb of the Spindle Witch, we do learn more about her and her past. Which I personally love learning about. It makes you understand more and more why she seemed to be questioning almost every move she made in the first book after meeting Shane. Not just because of her crush on Shane, even though who can blame her. I also have a crush on Shane at this point and will avoid everything I know to follow her. We also learn about why while having giant wolves, Red still has a soft spot for Cinzel. But don’t forget she is still an enemy no matter how cute her and her wolf is. Forgetting that can leave you separated from the rest and with more problems to handle.
But it’s fine because these problems lead to us also meeting a few new character in the hidden town of Everlynd, one of the last witch towns to exist. The best of all being the great-grandson of the Dream Witch, Perrin. He helps give the newcomers a pleasant welcome, showing Briar and Fi around, Fi getting to see everything her parents gushed about while she was growing up. Even welcoming Shane and Red into his guest home using it as a ‘prison’ even if he let them into his main home whenever. With the new member of the crew, they discover many new things to help them along their journey to reach their end goal of freeing the kingdom. Channeling his great- grandmothers magic to put the prince back to sleep to crack a code his sister, Camellia, left Briar to help defeat the Spindle Witch once and for all.
We also get to watch both couples from the first book continue to fight their feelings throughout the whole story. Mainly by avoiding them for majority of the book due to Red being the enemy and due to Fi not wanting her curse to ruin everything Briar has been waiting 100 years for.
I loved all the new developments in this story, we got to learn more about the other characters. While getting glimpse of Briar and Red’s pasts. We also learn a lot more about the Spindle Witch and how actually she got connected with Briar. I was so captivated with this story I sat down and read basically all of it in one sitting. It felt great being able to revisit the story of the sleeping kingdom of Andar once again after being able to read the first story over two years ago, back in November of 2021. It was great getting the opportunity to read this story early too!! So, thank you Leslie, Teen Penguin and Colored Pages Tour for an Arc copy of this story!! I am now going to work on building a time machine to get to the release of the last book of the series.

This was an ok sequel although I have a lot of the same questions I do as when the first book ended! Which I also didn’t even remember that well because it’s been a year but it came back to me quickly. I love a few of those characters and their dynamics, Shane & Fi’s friendship and Shane & Red’s romance, but I just don’t connect with Briar or this new character Perrin like what was the point of him? Those books are fun though, lots of adventures with weapons I don’t usually read about. Also Red has a pet wolf that I love.

This is such a great follow-up to a suspenseful first book. We get more of the world, new conflicts, and I love this whole setting, and characters with witty banter.

AHHH I've been waiting for this sequel for the entire year and I finally got to read it! This was the perfect way to end my year, along with the perfect follow up to one of the best fairytale reimaginings/mashups I've ever read. this was no different, and I was so excited to dive back into Fi and Shane's friendship, their relationships, and see what was to come from Briar's affliction. This was a non-stop action and adventure full of nods to characters I've loved for ever, I loved the development of Red the most, and that CLIFFHANGER? please, I need the eARC for the third installment ASAP. This is one of my favorite fairytale retellings of all time.

An excellent follow up to The Bone Spindle, although clearly a middle book as much is left unresolved at the end of this one. I can't wait for the final book, The Cursed Rose, to see how things turn out for Fi and Briar and Shane and Red. I love how Vedder has used fairytales as a base for these books but has definitely added her own unique take on them. Enough recognizable to be fun, but enough new to be exciting.

When reading a series, usually a trilogy, a lot of the times the second book suffers quite a bit. It's usually just used as a way of getting to the main conflict of book three. But The Severed Thread did not suffer. If anything, I enjoyed this book even more than the first of the series. It was action packed and I am very excited to see how the series ends.

This is a sequel, so there are spoilers from book one below.

I can't get into the plot of this one too much. I feel like the book is a lot of action that needs to be read. But I can say a few things. Chapters are from Shane, Fi, Briar, and Red. Shane's chapters were always my favorites for some reason. I just like her and Red more than Fi and Briar. They must all work with the Paper Witch to find their way to save Andar. We get a new character in this one. Perrin is a fun addition and I hope there is more of him in the third book. Shane keeps saving Red, but none of them can trust her. The Spindle Witch wants Briar. We get to find out what she wants. Three is a lot of action in this one. It's faster paced and I actually liked it more than the first book. I'm looking forward to the third book.

I gave this book 4 stars.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for my earc.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Razorbill, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

TW: abuse, past abuse, death, kidnapping

Fi has awakened Briar Rose, but the battle is far from over. Andar is still in her clutches and in order to find help, they embark into a journey to find where the last of Andar went to hiding. Between Witch Hunters, The Spindle Witch and hers and Briar's secrets nothing is simple. even with the help of Shane and the Paper Witch. On the other hand, Shane has to battle between her feelings for Red and her knowledge she's the Spindle Witch's right hand and maybe she's too loyal and lost to switch sides and she can't be saved anymore. All hopes of saving Andar is in book codes, a lost city and powerful allies. If they can reach it.

The severed thread is the brilliant and captivating sequel of The bone spindle, a wonderful and thrilling gender-flipped Sleeping Beauty retelling, mixed with Indiana Jones and fairy-tales.
The story is told by four POVs, Fi's, Shane's, Briar's and Red's and it was amazing finally learning Briar's and Red's thoughts and feelings. The universe, the world with twisted fairy-tales, curses and ancient magic expands, introducing more characters, letting the reader discover more about their pasts and hopes for Andar's future and their owns. Combining amazing friendships and bonds, heart-pounding romances, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, riddles to solve, book codes to interpret, this book is filled with adventure, darkness, secrets uncovered and told, alliances, love and so much more. It was interesting reading about what happened after an illusory happily ever after, what happened next the kiss, with more secrets, journeys to make and magic to discover.
I can't wait to read the next and final book. This trilogy is simply magnificent.

Words can't describe how much I loved being an early reader for The Severed Thread. It was so fun to return to the world of The Bone Spindle and catch up with Fi, Shane, Briar, and Red (who’s a POV character now!)

I so enjoyed getting to see more of Red’s backstory, the things that drove her to the Spindle Witch, and watching Shane fight for her heart. Also, lots of Fi and Briar fluff and pining, which was so much fun!

Also, please note this is book 2 of 3 of the series - the story's not over! The cliffhanger on this book is intense - Empire Strikes Back intense - but I would let this book throw me over that cliff again and again, because I loved every wild minute of it. I can't wait to have the whole trilogy in my hands.

The thrilling sequel to "The bone spindle" checked all the boxes for me. I'm a HARD CORE fairytale stan, so when both sleeping beauty and little red riding hood (ish) are combined it makes my heart happy. JUST AS the relationships these characters have do. I loved following Shane and Red's adventure, and the enemies to lovers was AGONIZING. The slow burn just keeps slow burning and i am here for it. BUT I NEED MORE!!! Same with Fi and Briar, they're sweet and have so much potential. This book will leave you on the edge of a comfy and fantastic seat! Can't wait to see what entails for these lovable characters.