Fun blend of mythology and murder mystery!

Threads That Bind follows a "cutter" named Io in a fantasy/dystopian city. She is the youngest of three sisters who have powers similar to The Fates in Greek Mythology, meaning they can weave, strengthen or cut threads of connection between people and the things they love. I really enjoyed how the author brought together different mythologies, having characters embody the essence of the deities through their powers.

The setting was also very immersive and gave commentary on class, citizenship and cultural disparities.. I liked the world building and effort put into making this feel like a real and logical world, despite all of the magic woven in.

The murder mystery had me intrigued and kept me reading to the very end. I felt the main character grew and changed reasonably though the story. There is also a romance B-plot for those who are interested. The characters were diverse and inclusive, and their motivations were multi-faceted - no one was inherently good or evil. The author does a great job at reflecting the gray areas in many aspects of life and relationships.

The negatives that I can see some people having are the pacing and amount of information about the different types of people and their powers. It is a book I would tab to keep the information highlighted for later. The characters can be frustrating at times but make sense within the context of their age, upbringing and amount of information they have in the moment.

Overall I had a really great time reading this and like that it didn't leave off on (much) of a cliff-hanger for the main mystery, although there is much more to learn and discover. This was a quality book with a unique and interesting magic system, I will definitely be picking up the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group/Razorbill for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First, I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review. As always, it is appreciated.

Now, onto the review.

Y’all!! I absolutely loved this book!

Worldbuilding? Great!

Characters? Great!

Plot? Great!

Did I want more? Yes.

Will I be buying the sequel? Yes!

We follow Io, the youngest of the Ora sisters who are Moira born. They can see the threads that connect people to each other. There are people with powers aside from them who are born with the watered down powers of old gods. And it isn’t just Greek gods (although everything has a different name). But we have Egyptian gods as well. It was great. I loved the way the powers worked, how it was all described and the diversity of all of the people.

Io works as a private detective using the threads she can see as a way to help find people and the things she needs. Say there’s someone someone loves that’s gone missing, she can follow the thread to find them. She can see all of the threads for someone. Life, love, everything.

And can cut them. Which severs whatever feelings the person had for whatever was cut. And she has to use her own threads to do it.

As a cutter, Io is looked down on. She’s not seen as someone who can be trusted. None of the powered born are and the unpowered distrust them all.

Alante is a city wracked with flooding and neo-monsoons due to a climate catastraphy. It’s not given too much detail, not enough to feel like a textbook anyway. Also, there are three moons. And that’s got something to do with what happened to the climate. Honestly, I don’t remember in detail but I remember thinking it was interesting and well done.

Io has two older sisters, Thais and Ava. Thais is a weaver. I honestly can’t remember what Ava does.

But the girls are close, especially since their parents are gone.

Then Thais leaves.

So, lemme say this. I can’t stand her lol.

This is a story about sisterhood, finding yourself. And I loved Io. She was a great main character. She was well thought out, I cared about her so much. A plus for this character. She’s great.

Thais? Meet me outside the Wendy’s girl.

She kept manipulating Io’s emotions! Blaming her, making her feel guilty, all because it was how she kept control over her.

I’m a big sister and I would never, ever, ever, do that to my sibling. Plus Thais has this savior, holier than though, mentality and uses it to propel herself forward.

Look, this book is complex and well written. It was a great read, I loved it all.

The worldbuilding is top notch. I can’t lie. The way there are gangs that run through the Stilts, where Io and Ava live. And Bianca, the mob queen who is ruthless and powerful.

There’s also just, a casualness that comes to queer characters that warmed my heart so much.

Please read this book. Five stars, 5 stars, 5 stars!

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. 

Descendants of Greek Gods loving among mortals. This book is about 3 sisters born with different gifts. The eldest sister Thais weaves threads, middle sister Ava draws threads, Lo the youngest cuts threads.

I really enjoyed the magic system and love learning more about Greek Mythology but I just couldn’t get into the book

I think it’s worth the read. Easy to follow and fast paced.

This book's title really sucked me in. And the whole story with the lies and secrets and some twists I suppose were great. You kept thinking who was behind everything. And the why?
And Io is someone that can cut your threads and that means you just don't feel the same as you had before about whatever it was.
But when you learn more about what is at stake you think um okay.
When gang members get involved and their boss what can you do really? Also can Io decide what is right and what isn't?;Can she save the others?

OBSESSED with this story. It has everything I want and need in a fantasy. Some Greek inspired fantasy with God's and magic and a slow burn romance. Slooooooowwwww burn. With fates and a mystery...betrayls and death. Oooh boy this has it all for me. I'll be sitting her reveling in how happy finishing this book made because it was just so darn good. Now if I could just read the sequel right now, life would be perfect

Well done. This is compelling and you want to keep reading. I love the world created here, and the concepts. Great use of folklore.

This book was interesting. I feel like it was a mix of a lot of different ideas and I found myself getting confused at times. There is a lot of world building throughout the whole book. The love a cute love story. I am looking forward to the second book.

When I saw this book was based on Greek mythology I rannnnn for it! I’m big into Greek culture and myths and love learning more. I got so lost in this story and the world building was phenomenal. I’m here to tell everyone to read this book! The plot and magic system in this book is just so good and I need more!

I received an ARC of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

Threads That Bind is Hatzopoulou's debut novel. It's a fantasy novel set in a futuristic world where sea levels have risen to the point where the streets of cities flood every night with the tides as the cities sink deeper into the waters. Some people are distantly descended from gods of different pantheons (like Greek and Norse) and they're born with magical powers. The main character in Threads That Bind, is descended from The Fates from Greek mythology. Her sisters weave and draw the threads of love and fate and Io cuts them. This book felt like a hardboiled detective story mixed with a novel take on a magic system based on mythology. At times this novel veers into the gruesome as Io tries to piece together the mystery of women who have been murdered and turned into killing machines.

Threads That Bind is very atmospheric as it delves into the underbelly of the criminal gangs of the city as well as the politics. I really enjoyed my time reading Threads That Bind, and I felt the mystery was well-executed and compelling. The characters also felt vibrant and interesting. My only negative is that there's a lot of information that Hatzopoulou is conveying in this novel and sometimes it's a lot to keep straight, but it didn't dampen my reading experience.

I give Threads That Bind 4 out of 5 stars, and I'll probably read the next book in the series at one point.

Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou
3.5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC!
Three sisters, three different agendas, three bodies, one soul.
Io Ora is our MC and moira-born, which means she can see the invisible silver threads that essentially make up a person.
“Threads connect people to what they care about. A person you have met, an object you have used, a place you have been. You love it, deeply, and a thread is formed.”
Io and her two sisters are descendants from the goddesses of Fate. The first born is a spinner, who can weave new threads. The second is the drawer, she could elongate or shorten a thread. And the youngest, Io, is the cutter. Able to cut whatever thread she desires. Even the thread of life, but at the sacrifice of her own. The pros and cons with that one man, you have to be pretty selfless. The love thread and the life thread in particular are fascinating! I also liked the idea that she could cut negative threads if she desired, like substance abuse.
The ultimate heartbreaker indeed. A necessary evil.
The concept of the book as a whole is just so cool! The author starts out the story beautifully and quite unequally in my opinion. After an investigation gone wrong and a unique turn at the end, Io finds herself entangled with a boy named Edei.
The boy who just happens to be at the end of her fate thread.
A thread she has previously been ignoring…and now she must work alongside him as well as not fall in love in the process. Easier said than done.
This book is full of mystery, betrayal, and so much magic! All the different powers were phenomenal. I loved the thriller element too. It reminded me of the Pegasus series by Kate O’Hearn with the heavy Greek vibes.
The only thing that kept me from rating this book a full five stars was I didn’t like how there was one mention of the LGBTQ+ thing and then at 70% through it was just WHAM! Over and over and over again, to the point where it was unrealistic. It was just thrown in EVERYWHERE. And then it just wasn’t again at about 80%. That being said, it wasn’t bad enough that it stopped the story from being good! The plot and the worldbuilding held up on its own as well as the two MC’s and my personal fav, Nico. I kinda hope he and Chimdi get together in the sequel.
Will definitely be reading book two. Especially after that cliffhanger!

I never posted my review here, oops!

Things I enjoyed: the main character was SUCH an interesting protagonist, I felt drawn into her world because I believed in all her messy, complicated emotions and reactions. I also loved the focus on sisters as sibling love and complexity bringing out interesting themes of loneliness, acceptance, inner strength and what it really is to love someone.

I feel the pacing wasn't quite right, however, as I felt it would dip up and down without much consistency.

I was drawn into it enough to feel anticipation for the sequel! That cliffhanger, omg.

Back in march one of my book clubs chose this book but I missed it because I was on vacation. So I was eager to delve into the ARC and see what I had missed.
My experience with the book was positive enough to continue with the series at 3.5⭐.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group/Razorbill for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When all are tied with threads, what becomes of them when those threads can be manipulated? Interesting magic system, very reminiscent of The Three Fates of Greek Mythology, but with a twist. Definitely enjoyed the story, though the kindle formatting was ATROCIOUS and made it difficult to really stay submersed in the tale.

Looking forward to book two and hoping the formatting is better!

Wasn’t sure how I would like this one but it was very interesting to read. Would recommend this if you like retellings

Really interesting. The characters have so much depth and the plot is so unique. I really enjoyed this and am excited for the second!

I don't have the most to share on this one because I spent the majority of it struggling to keep up. The concept is interesting, for sure, and pretty original. But the worldbuilding is way too complex for YA. I was so hyper-focused on processing all of the info dumps that it took me out of the story. I'm sure if I had listened to it on audiobook, I would have been able to lose myself in the fun of it, because it IS fun! Inspired by Greek mythology? I'm sold!

So much potential here and it wasn't completely wasted, but I feel like the author was trying so hard to write a complex plot that it overtook/overshadowed the complexity of her characters. Were they actually surface-level? I have no idea because I lost the will to look too deeply after suffering the heavy world building. Also, adding a insta-love romance in there is a little cheap, but it did the trick to keep me going even when my brain was fried.

I'm being harsh, because this was a solid read, mostly. I would read the sequel if the author decides she got all the info dumping out of the way in this one, lol

Thoroughly enjoyed this book! I’ve always enjoyed reading stories about the Moirai, and this book did not disappoint!

Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou was a phenomenal Greek mythology story.
This book was well detailed and I was constantly engaged.
A beautiful story with great world building.
I was sucked in by the first page and I thought the flow of the book was perfect, and it made for an easy read. I also enjoyed the backstory of how the world came to be shrouded, and just overall a great plot!
I can’t wait to start Hearts That Cut!

Thank You NetGalley and Razorbill for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I’ve been wanting to read this for the longest time and finally got it!!
The writing was so very well done I couldn’t put it down!
10/10 recommend

4.5 - When I heard @catherines_shelf raving about how much she loved this series, I knew I needed to check it out! Reading this YA series was like a breath of fresh air. I have recently read a lot of new fantasy or sci fi series have similar plots/worlds/magic systems, which I enjoy, but I have been craving something different and unique. I LOVED this series and the characters. With aspects of Greek mythology and the greek heritage of the characters, the Fates, the threads of fate, the gods, and the different quests, it felt very reminiscent of my Percy Jackson, Greek mythology obsessed youth. Although this series was very different from PJ, I loved the teenage angst, the quests that the groups of characters went on, and how badass Io was.

Io is a descendant of the Greek Fates, living with her sister and assigned to solve the mysterious havoc that wraiths are wracking on their city. Io has the ability to use the threads of Fate to track others and is a private investigator. When she is pulled into solving the newest mystery in her city, she is forced to work with her soulmate and sisters, both whom she has a tentative relationship with. I LOVED the mystery in this book, trying to figure out who had set the wraiths on the city. I loved Io's character, as some dealing with the guilt and insecurities of being left by her older sister and not knowing whether her soulmate likes her. The humor was great, the angst was great, and the fantasy setting was SUPERB.

In this book, I loved meeting Io and Edei, learning about Io’s traumatic past and all her loss. This book really set up the background of the characters so well, while also being very fast paced with so much action. I thought it was so fun to read about Io being a lead investigator, working with members from the different gangs to solve the havoc that has come to the city. The ending of this book was CRAZY and had feeling so lucky that I got to dive straight into my arc of Hearts That Cut.

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!!