If you are a fan of Greek mythology, fantasy or YA paranormal, this duology is a great read! In this sequel, we get to follow Io as she teams up with the Mob Queen to solve a series of murders. If you are worried about second book syndrome, this book doesnt convey that. It seamlessly connects Book 1 and Book 2. Io and Edei partnership is awesome to me. Io is smart and perceptive.

Thrilled for this sequel! I so enjoyed the first one I was waiting on pins and needles for the second. It does begin a little slowly but picks up the further along you go. 5 stars

What an amazing end to this duology. I absolutely ate this one up. The combo of fantasy and mythology really hits. I particularly loved the concept of the fate string. Such a cute little love story wrapped up in an amazing fantasy tale.

This was every single thing I wanted from this. I absolutely loved the first book and I just felt like this went with it so well. This author is no question an auto buy author for me now

Io has fled her city, leaving all those she loves behind. She has teamed up with The Mob Queen to discover who is really pulling the strings behind the wraiths and murders across their world.

Read if you like: YA paranormal romance, Greek and other mythologies, slow burn, detectives & mysteries, dystopian settings, complex family drama, and a fantastic adventure for the truth.

As Io and Edei began to unravel the clues leading to those who control their city they soon realize the threads stretch much further to unbelievable origins. Now Io and Bianca must follow their only lead and as the traverse the Wastelands they begin to understand how things are getting worse everywhere and it’s all connected to one unknown thread. To make matters worse, Io’s fate thread is dulling the further they search and she fears what it means for her future. Io begins to realize that her future might depend more on her choices than fate.

Y’all! How does Kika Hatzopoulou pack this much story into one book?! It’s amazing. It’s simultaneously fast paced while giving you all the space to process what’s happening in the world and with the characters. I am in awe. This book had me on the edge of my seat and my heart in my throat from the beginning. I had hopes but no idea what would really happen. I love the dynamic between characters and how she makes you love the unlovable people flaws and all. And the slow burn is so worth it. We’re not getting spice but the relationship with communication and emotional maturity is the stuff of legends. I love, love, love Io and Edei and their story.

I really think this is a great YA duology for discussion. We see people who learn to understand each other and work together and become friends who value each other above all else. Meanwhile we get into the moral and personal philosophy of what makes someone bad and how can you love someone who is unhealthy. The story is complete without the need to fully finish off every detail, because life continues, which can open the discussion for possible outcomes and choices. Utterly fantastic and magical while being so grounded in the human soul.
Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Teen, and Kika Hatzopoulou for a copy of this book for review.

I loved Threads That Bind, so I was super excited for the sequel. It's been a little while since I read the first book, but thankfully there were enough reminders of what had happened that I could pick up the story again.

Hearts That Cut follows Io and her friends as they attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery that they uncovered in the first book. The mystery and its unraveling got a little convoluted for me, although it does get cleared up over time. The best part of the story was the exploration of Io's relationships with her sisters and with Edei. With everything else high-stakes, I liked the focus on the smaller things that mattered to her. Overall, however, I just found this book a little harder to get into than the first one, and would give it 3.5 stars


Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Teen for the ARC.

Wowww this sequel was so good!

Likes:
-Picks up right at the end of the first book
-Ties up loose ends from the first book
-The characters: I LOVE THEM
-The romance
-The world is expanded upon and very cool

Dislikes:
-A lot of new info about the world (it would've been helpful to have a glossary or map)
-Details that contradict things already established
-Rushed ending

I like that this was a duology, but I also think that forced the author to rush things and leave out explanations that would've been helpful to the reader. Overall this was a super solid first duo loft and I'll definitely read more from this author!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

What a wrap-up! While there were still some formatting issues, either they weren’t as bad or I get better at figuring them out. Needless to say, it was much easier to stay in the flow of this part of the story.

With Goddesses and threads and romance and hurt, this title really got the ball moving after book one. Throw in a drop or two of betrayal and some righteous anger, and boy howdy did things just hustle right along as they got moving.

Definitely would recommend this duology. First because it’s such a unique magic system, but also the story itself is well written and interesting.

This second installment of the Threads That Bind duology takes us further into Io's world, following her investigation across new cities as she races to uncover the true mystery behind the murders in Book 1.

My favorite part about this book was following the FMC to new cities in the world and meeting more characters (I'd love to explore these new places more thoroughly, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a spin-off 😄). I also loved how this book had a ton of great action-adventure scenes that made it hard to put down. If you're a Percy Jackson fan and you're looking for another story with the descendants of the gods, don't sleep on this urban fantasy thriller. It felt fresh and creative, and I'd recommend it to any mythology fan. 5 stars from me!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"Hearts That Cut," the sequel to "Threads That Bind," picks up five weeks after Io left Alante in pursuit of a golden thread that promises answers but delivers more questions. Her relentless journey through the Wastelands, accompanied by Bianca, leads her into a web of mysteries involving sibling disappearances and ancient conspiracies. All signs point to Nanzy, the golden city, as the heart of the sinister plot.

The pace of "Hearts That Cut" is undeniably fast, quickly addressing many of the loose ends left from the first book. However, despite the intriguing premise of a world where people inherit gifts from lesser-known Greek gods such as the Muses, the Furies, and the Fates, the execution leaves much to be desired.

Io, as the protagonist, often seems to stumble into revelations about the overarching plot rather than solve them through her own cleverness, which can be frustrating. Her character lacks the depth and agency that would make her a compelling lead. Instead, she frequently appears to be swept along by events rather than driving the narrative forward and a plot line that only hinders the story in my opinion, her Fate thread with Edei. To me, it doesn't make much sense to have one of the main driving forces of this story a romantic based one when this isn't a romance story.

On the other hand, supporting character Bianca shines with a storyline that is far more interesting and compelling than Io's. Bianca's journey and development provide much-needed depth and intrigue, often overshadowing the main plot. Her character is dynamic and engaging, making it clear that a story centered around her would have been far more captivating.

Despite these shortcomings, the world-building remains one of the book’s strengths. The blend of mythology and fantasy is rich and imaginative, and the exploration of ancient conspiracies and godly inheritances is intriguing. However, the potential of this fascinating world is not fully realized due to the underwhelming use of these elements within the plot.

All in all, "Hearts That Cut" was a mixed bag for me. It offered a fast-paced continuation of the series with significant world-building and some compelling secondary characters. Yet, it falls short in its execution of the protagonist’s journey and the utilization of its intriguing premise. Fans of the first book may find satisfaction in the answers and developments provided, but it may leave others wishing for a deeper, more engaging narrative.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

In this heart-pounding sequel we are brought into the story following the same FMC Io. Io is paired with the mob queen Bianca as they race against time, weather, and prejudice in an attempt to track down the end of the golden thread Io grabbed hold of at the end of book one. When it leads the duo astray, it also leads to a new mystery. There’s a string of kidnappings and they all seem to be siblings. Curious, Io begins on a new investigation to realize it may not be all that new. The final destination may be the same as the first mystery. Will they find answers? Only time will tell.

Although this book took some time for me to get through I did enjoy it tremendously. Io is such a strong FMC and I love Bianca’s “no effs given” attitude. Edei is the book boyfriend we all need. I love how diverse this world is. The characters are amazing and I can’t get enough of how well done the character arcs are. The world is fantastic and I can picture it all in my mind’s eye. Hatzopoulou knows how to build a world without over doing it and I love that. I did get a little lost in the sauce on this book. I had to remember a lot of characters and what their magics were and sometimes it through me off and I couldn’t concentrate on the actual story. It could really do to have a glossary with all the other-born characters/magic. Overall 4/5 stars!!

Hearts That Cut (Threads That Bind #2) by Kika Hatzopoulou, 336 pages. Razorbill (Penguin Random House), 2024. $17.
Language: R (43 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Io and Bianca have been following Thais’s thread to the gods for weeks, needing to understand the reason for all the deaths they witnessed in Alante. But the gods and their followers continue to stay one step ahead—and their adversaries aren’t the only ones misleading Io’s power.
There seemed to be more expository sections in this book than in the prequel, which were cumbersome to read but important to the conclusions Io makes to unravel the antagonists’ plan. With betrayal, reconciliation, and more of the amazing magic system, the non-expository parts were action-filled enough to make the reading worth it. I am satisfied by the climax and conclusion, though I would not say no to more stories set in Io’s world.
Hatzopoulou’s main and side characters are diverse in skin tone and sexual orientation. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol, illegal activity, partial nudity, and an intense make out scene. The violence rating is for assault, gun use, fantasy violence, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The second book in a series can always be a hit or miss with me, especially when I enjoy the first one so much. This one did not fall into second book curse. This story picks up right from the start and does not slow down for one second until the end of the book. Io is on her search for the Gods with Bianca after being betrayed by her sister. I do not want to give away anything that happens in this book all I can say that I was sucked in and didn't even realize how much time/amount of the book I had read because I was that engrossed in it. I am so sad that this is a duology because I would love to see the aftermath of that ending and what the certain someone who left at the end (IYKYK) might do to cause mayhem for Io and her friends. Even just a .5 would satisfy me! Love this series love the love story with Io it was heartwarming my favorite line below. The ending gave me everything I needed from those two cause i just had a sneaking suspicion that all would be well. This will be living in my head rent free for a while.

"Because if he doubted the love with the fate-thread and she feared the love without it, then where did that leave them? Doubtful and fearful and alone." ugggghhhh

Hearts that Cut
4.5 stars.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and PANGUINE GROUP for this ARC!
All my reviews are posted on my Goodreads and my Instagram as well.
“Perhaps what came after heartbreak was just as important: when you rose on one knee, then the other, and stood. When you realized that you could piece yourself back together, little by little, slowly and painfully. You might not be whole ever again, but you would survive.”
Betrayed and on the run, Hearts that Cut jumps right into where Threads That Bind left off! It has been five weeks since Io left Atlante, five weeks and Edei hasn’t come after her like he promised. Her fate thread hasn’t moved, what’s worse it seems to be fraying-as if his love for her is dying.
Overwhelmed one night and thinking of Edei, Io yanks on her fate string and finds it snagged. Tugging it free, it appears he is not still in Atlante after all, but heading west, to Nanzy.
Exactly where her and Bianca are headed.
This was one of the duologies where the second book was better than the first, I felt like the characters were better developed and I actually wanted to know what happened to them. The stakes were higher and the action level was more intense. The tension and the drama that was woven between everyone was utterly complex and this book was chopped full of quotes I loved! Just the way I like it.
“If it hurt, it required change.”
The struggles Io goes through felt very personal and heartfelt and the morals Edei tries to keep as he battles the real world felt very real and nostalgic. They weren’t cardboard characters that fit the “perfect hero” mold, but were imperfectly human and it made them all the better for it. I liked the developments with Nico and Thais and Ava as well; everything wrapped up really nicely for everyone! I even liked Biance there in the end.
You’ve got to have fangs to sit on the throne. There is no changing things, not in this world.”
My only critique is while the first 1/3 of the book was slow, it was well developed. The middle of the book was phenomenal! But the ending felt a bit rushed and I would have liked just a little bit more there to explain. Unless we are talking about that last paragraph because OH MY HEART IT WAS PERFECT!!
Overall, this book was a fantastic conclusion to the duology!! I am sad to know that this is the end. I love Io, I love Edei, I love Nico, GAH I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH!! Stunning debut series and a fresh take on a YA, Greek/Urban Fantasy!
“Albi, albi, albi.”

Hearts That Cut is full of adventure just as The Threads That Bind. We dive back into the story of Io, Thais and Ava.
Io and Bianca are still following the God thread trying to track them down and find out what is happening with the Moira born and why The Nine were massacred and the Fury Born line ressurrected. People all throughout the Wastelands aer disappearing and the threads that connect them to their loved ones have been severed.
Io makes a shocking discoverey when she finds her sisters again, but in finding her sisters she also finds Edei whom she thought was someplace all together different but something was blocking her fate thread until she broke it loose. The damage has already been done and the fate thread that once gleamed brillianty is now dull and fraying. Edei, Io, Bianca and others that have formed their ragtag group must find out where the Gods they once thought no longer existed are hiding and stop them from completeing the damage they have done. Io has never gone up against the Gods and the Prophesy still rests in the back of her mind. Will she be the worlds undoing? Will she cut the thread that destroys their world? Or can fate and destiny be avoided?
Join Io and her sisters as they try to save their world and defeat those that cannot be defeated.

I want to thank #Netgalley fo the chance to read #HeartsThatCut by #Kika #Hatzopoulou in return for a fair and honest review.

I received an advanced copy of Hearts That Cut from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Threads That Bind, the first book in this duology, was an imaginative story that utterly captured my attention. Hearts That Cut brought the series to a fantastic end.

I will start by saying that the first third or so of this book was a little hard to get through. It has been over a year since I read the first book, and I remember very little; while I love being thrown into the action, it took quite a while for me to remember what was going on and how it affected the characters since there was no real recap. On top of that, the pace felt sluggish, and it was, unfortunately, not very interesting. When Io and Bianca finally got to Nanzy, though? Oh boy, was I hooked. I breezed through the rest of the story, captivated once again by the mystery and the characters.

The characters were wonderfully fleshed out. They felt authentic, new and old alike, and their decisions felt right. I've read many books where characters make decisions that don't align with their character to further the plot, but I didn't feel that here. I liked every character in this series.

The mystery was one of the best I've read in a while, and the plot, once it picked up, was twisting and turning in all the right ways. Perhaps slightly challenging to follow, but good regardless. The ending was shocking, and I didn't see it coming.

I don't have much else to say. I love the world and mythology that Kika Hatzopoulou has created with this series. While I'm sad it's over, I liked the ending and can't wait to see where the author takes us next.

This book was just as good as the first one. Ahhh my love for this author is so big now. This book picked right up where the last one left off. The adventures are so thrilling and pulse pounding. I ate this book up and want more!!

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, but not the second. I found it hard to get into and truly appreciate. However, I felt that the book picked up during the second half!

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this book. Because it was a not-fully-edited copy, I have to give them a pass on editing and formatting. It was really the formatting that drove me crazy. I won’t go into detail because I’m certain the published work will be just fine. I only mention it because it slowed down my reading, and as a result, I found the book slow-moving, especially at the beginning. Sometimes, I find it difficult to place myself in a vastly unfamiliar environment than the one we live in; it takes me some time to visualize it and imagine myself there. While trying to acclimate to that, I also need to digest new characters and their motivations and actions. So again, it started off a bit slow for me. This might be partly because this is book 2 in a series I haven’t read. Considering that, it was surprisingly easy to follow.

The story takes place in a dystopian world plagued with natural disasters and great wealth contrasted with severe poverty. Particularly noticeable was the way that these natural disasters more directly impacted the poor people while the privileged were largely protected. It’s hard to miss the allegory here. It painted a bleak picture of what could await us if we don’t change course.

The nature of inequality is captured in this statement from Edie, Io’s love interest: “If all of us with less power think something is not right, that it hurts us, it requires change. We need to have the choice, at least. Even if the world works as it is right now, even if it’s nice and comfortable, it doesn’t mean we can’t choose something better, something just and kind and hopeful.”

The main character is Io. “The moiraborn always manifested in thee siblings: one to weave the threads of fate, one to elongate and measure them, and one to cut them. Io was the third, a cutter.” She could call forth what was called a “quilt” that only she and other moiraborn could see. It was “a tapestry of the silver threads woven between people and the things they loved.” They were descendants of Moira, the goddess of Fate. Other-born in the world were descendants of other gods and goddesses and exhibited different powers.

Although not explained until later, there is a prophecy connected to Io. “The cutter, the unseen blade, the reaper of fates. She watches silver like a sign, she weeps silver like a morning song, she holds silver like a blade. She cuts the thread and the world ends.” Naturally, this is open to interpretation, but since Io is the hero of this book, it’s hard to imagine her doing anything to intentionally destroy the world.

Since Io is the hero, it’s understood that she goes on a journey. This is both internal and external. She travels across the wastelands with Bianca, an unlikely ally, and hopes to find Edei along the way—since there is a fate thread that connects the two of them. Along the way, they face various tests, including some horrific “chimerini bugs,” a newly-created entity that’s a hybrid of every kind of pest. They’re quite large and deadly. There are enormous birds of prey that hunt humans, tidal waves, flooding, and acid rain. And other things I’m probably forgetting—everything you’d imagine would accompany environmental collapse. And even some things you can’t imagine.

Her internal journey is more of the typical hero’s journey—learning to believe in herself and her strength, facing her enemies with the help of allies, learning to embrace change, and so on. Bianca tells her, “Staying still is rot and death… The more you stand still, the more the world finds obstacles to place in your way. Grit your teeth and just go for it.”

Perhaps, learning to embrace change is Io’s hardest lesson. “Change was uncomfortable, sometimes filled with growing pains, but without it, there was no way forward. No way to keep going, to shed the scabs of your past and heal yourself in the present. Without change, there was no future.”

Any time an author can work personification into the narrative, I’m all in. I loved this one: “The statement hovered in the room, a dangerous thing with sharp fangs and a snout dripping blood.” And of course, humor is always appreciated: “Um,” Io replied, the very picture of articulation.

Now for my problems and the reasons I didn’t give this book 5 stars. One of the villains was described, in the space of several paragraphs, in different ways—first with graying hair, then with “hair the black of charcoal,” and finally, gray. Perhaps this was fixed in editing.

Additionally, I never quite understood how the opening scene fit with the rest of the story. I mean, sure, going back and reading it after finishing the story, I could see what it was about. But at the beginning, it simply added confusion to a story that already had the potential to be confusing. And I didn’t understand the significance of the thread shimmering “like liquid flames on Io’s palm, a razor of silver-and-gold twine… It was a god’s thread…she would rather cut off circulation to her hand than risk it slipping free.” But, spoiler alert, when she lost it, nothing changed. If it was so significant, why didn’t it make a difference?

In general, I think the story was very good with a lot of action and compelling characters. It certainly followed the formula for a successful plot, and I can’t fault it for that. Unfortunately, I had a few unanswered questions. I also found the opening scene unnecessary. Perhaps, it could have been worked into another section of the story. The story ends, but it leaves room for a sequel.

Initial Reaction: 9
Characters: 10
Setting: 9
Plot: 8
Pace: 7
Style: 9
Ending: 10
Enjoyment: 10
71 / 16 = 4.5