I originally picked this one up as an email from the publisher described it as “perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia.” As she is my favorite, this was an immediate must read. I definitely recommend this one but do want to advise there are some massive trigger warnings for this one with rape and sexual assault in particular.

I really connected with this author’s writing. This story is kind of a gothic ghost story but set in a very modern fashion industry, and I found this dichotomy to be particularly interesting. As in most gothic stories, the setting does become a character, but in this case, it was the whole town of Vernon. The author really brought this place to life, particularly with the smells of the slaughterhouse giving you the sense of suffocating alongside the characters. And our main character, Samara, is also very gothic lit inspired with her slowly devolving throughout the story to the point where you don’t know if the things happening are reality or all in her head.

If you are looking for a “scary” story, this is not it. This is more of a gothic exploration of women surviving the most horrible things men do. This book touches on issues of race, class, and particularly the rich white man privilege that makes them think they can do whatever they want. Although this is a book about the horrors that people inflict upon one another, particularly when they think they are better than those they are inflicting the pain upon, this is also a story of hope. I loved that this book was about women creating a community and a family amongst themselves where they looked out for one another and tried to protect each other from the monstrous men they were forced to endure because of work. This novel showcased the history of Vernon and showed how the horrors had always been there but so had this sense of women enduring and surviving together. I really connected with that message.

Tiny Threads follow Samara, a Cuban-American freelancer journalist, as she starts her dream job as the head of PR for a renowned fashion house. As she deals with the demands of her fashion designer boss, she is faced with her inner demons and grief, and in the process finds herself hearing voices in her house and ghosts haunting her from the past.

I will start by saying that there are a lot of triggers here (addiction, SA), and I did not finish the book as a result. It was extremely disappointing that the publisher did not include a list at the beginning and as a result put me personally into a really jarring state. I am giving it a 3 star rating based on what I ended up reading but want to warn people in advance.

The themes going into the story were very poignant and stark, which I really liked. There was a lot of discourse on inequality, racism, and sexism which really added to its gothic horror theme. It really plays into the psychological horror of the book and makes the slow-burn plot more interesting.

The characters weren’t particularly sympathetic, but I think that’s supposed to be the case in this story. It reflects how we can perpetuate the worst in society through inaction and purposeful ignorance. Even Samara isn’t really that sympathetic herself, but I think it adds to the human-ness of the story. She’s a total pick-me girl but we do kind of understand why.

I think overall the plot was slow, the characters were okay, but the themes were excellent. I only wish the TWs were more stated so I could finish the book without compromising my mental health.

Thank you to @delreybooks and @netgalley for the e-ARC!

I forgot to leave a review for this, but I really enjoyed it! It's already out, so I won't say much more than I need to for my star rating. <3

As fall begins and we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Lilliam Rivera’s “Tiny Threads” offers a gripping supernatural thriller. The story follows Samara Martin, a young Cuban American woman who lands a high-profile job with designer Antonio Mota, only to find herself facing unsettling visions and a toxic work environment.

Rivera skillfully creates a sense of dread as Samara’s life in California turns nightmarish, with the gothic atmosphere of Vernon enhancing the tension. While the initial focus on character development builds anticipation, it delays the horror elements until later in the book, leading to chaos as Samara's psychological state deteriorates.

The novel's abrupt conclusion leaves some threads untied, but it effectively explores themes of exploitation and systemic racism within the fashion industry. Samara's journey reveals strength and resilience, making this an engaging read for fans of psychological horror and those interested in cultural identity intertwined with supernatural elements.

“Tiny Threads” earns four stars for its originality, atmospheric tension, and thought-provoking commentary. The book will be released this September.

Samara finally has a job with legendary designer Antonio Mota, a California home, and a possible boyfriend in Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota’s fashion line. Her dream life begins to unravel when the pressures on her mount. She starts hearing voices and seeing things, and it's not just the stress. There are shadows in LA as well as the House of Mota, and the secrets they hide might be lethal.

Samara is like every young woman trying to make it on her own: lonely because she's far from home, determined to succeed and taking on too big of a challenge, and hoping to prove she deserves the chance she was given. This is especially true in the cutthroat world of fashion design, so she tries to market a collection for a fashion show in just over two months. This puts her into volatile Antonio's path constantly, and she willfully ignores the odd things that occur. Antonio and those like him prey upon those looking up to him, taking in and internalizing the abuse. This stressful work environment also contains a haunting, one that continues until Samara and the reader realizes the truth. The careful avoidance crashes down in the finale, and we understand the past on the town as well as what Samara was trying to forget. It's sad, and I hope their future is a better one.

This one was a little different than I thought it would be, but I ended up loving it! I think I walked in thinking more fashion and less psychological, but the way the two balanced out made for a propulsive story that I could not put down.

I loved:
🖤 Samara – excellent main character!
🖤 Vernon – a small town with a very dark past!
🖤 Piedad – IYKYK!
🖤 The spiral into madness – need I say more?

That’s all you get about the story. Go in blind to the plot and embrace the ride!

Note: Content warnings should definitely be checked for this one as there are several graphic moments. I always recommend using Storygraph for a full and crowd-sourced list.

Some members of my book club are notorious for not finishing books, therefore DNF’s are a pet peeve of mine. But I will make exceptions.

“Tiny Threads” by Lilliam Rivera was a book that I had to abandon at the halfway point. I did give the book ample time to develop, but a combination of poor writing, a vacuous principal character, gratuitous sex, and a non-existent ghost story finally overcame my obligation to the publisher and NetGalley for my opinion.

I was excited for this devil wears Prada/ gothic horror. I dunno if this was a high expectations unmet kind of thing… it just felt extremely slow and then very rushed at the end.

It also had an old feel so when the pop culture/ modern day references popped it was quite jarring.

Thanks to netgalley and random house for an eARC

This is a haunting exploration of ambition turned nightmare. Samara, thrilled to land her dream job with legendary designer Antonio Mota, quickly spirals as the pressures of the fashion world intensify. What starts as a glamorous opportunity in California unravels into a chilling descent into madness, with eerie voices and unsettling visions haunting her nights. As she delves deeper, dark secrets about Mota and the city emerge, forcing her to confront external and internal demons. Rivera blends horror with a critique of the fashion industry, making this novel a gripping and unsettling read. Samara's journey is a cautionary tale of the high price of success.

2.5 stars.

I'm really bummed to say that I didn't care for this book despite being very excited about it. I saw it marketed as "for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia" and I think that does the book a disservice because it sets expectations that the book doesn't meet.

The premise is really strong, but I feel like this book is trying to tackle way too many different topics and fails to connect them. There isn't a clear. throughline which makes the book feel messy and disjointed. The book's commentary also feels like the author's voice coming through a character's mouth very strongly. It doesn't feel like it's incorporated smoothly into the book.

Samara is a very passive character despite being supposedly very ambitious. She does little to no investigation and simply reacts to things and moves on. We are also told rather than shown how Samara feels–the phrases "She was so scared" and "She was so afraid" were used constantly. As a result, the story doesn't really unravel in any way, stuff just kind of happens. Some connections that do get drawn are drawn without clear evidence and get dropped out of the story suddenly. Samara also doesn't really form many meaningful relationships with other characters, and the other characters are very flat and interchangeable.

A lot of the scenes feel very repetitive as well. It doesn't seem like anything in either Samara's work or home life (including her alcoholism) develops in any meaningful way. The same things happen over and over and Samara doesn't do anything about them.

There are a handful of things I like. I recognize that this has largely been a negative review, but I want to include a few things that might attract other readers. For one thing, I did really like the relationship between Samara and her grandmother and the way that influenced Samara throughout the story. I also really liked the inclusion of some community-focused scenes with a local artist. Some of the horror in the latter half of the book is very well written and creepy, and I think Samara reacts to things in a very believable, relatable way. This is also a book that strikes me as very of-our-time, and I think that might appeal to a lot of readers.

Overall, this book strikes me as disjointed and messy, and nothing in it feels like it develops in a meaningful way. That said, I think a lot of readers will connect with the character of Samara, and I hope that this book does find its audience.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

A slow burn suspense novel about a woman who goes to work for a prestigious fashion designer. As the pressure mounts, strange things start to happen. Samara doesn't know if it's real or if she is cracking under the pressure.

This one was supposed to be a slow burn, but the first half was slow, no real burn. It just wasn't really suspenseful for me, and I didn't love Samara as a protagonist.

I am absolutely loving the recent uptick in fashion / beauty market horror & thriller books, wow! This was excellent, I loved not knowing exactly what was going on and wondering if the main character was nuts or actually dealing with something sinister. I feel like a few scenes could've gone a bit harder with the creep factor, but that's just personal preference - this was definitely good!

samara, a journalist based in jersey city, travels cross country to vernon, ca to report on the return of a fashion DESIGNER onto the scene. samara is dealing with more than just the “vernon perfume” - which is from the slaughterhouse next door. her grandmother just passed away, shes avoiding her parents, shes waking up Every night at 2AM to strange noises and event some hallucinations. on top of that, she has to worry about staying in her boss’s good graces and figure out why the seamstresses dont talk to her.

as it gets closer to the fashion show the hallucinations get worse until finally samara realizes they arent hallucinations but ghosts who want her to listen to their story and stop the cycle.

this book is such a quick read because you need to know what is happening and you need samara to realize it aSap. the book is incredibly gothic but please checks tws. there are conversations about grief, alcohol misuse, assault, microaggressions, racism, death.

In my opinion, TINY THREADS suffers from having a compelling and intriguing plot but an underwhelming execution.
By reading the synopsis I was expecting a real horror story about this woman who starts to work for a famous designer and creepy things unravel from there.
It wasn't, really. We, the readers, follow the main character, Samara for over half of this book just going to work day by day, meeting new people, socialising with her boss and, eventualy, some eerie events happen when she's alone.
It was interesting (up to a point) because it gave me the unsettling feeling that I wondered if everything was just going on in Samara's head, like a psychological situation.
And the ending did deliver some horror - mostly by social critisicm.
But this a short book. In my opinion, the author spent too much time focusing on Samara's background, life history and daily activities other than focusing on the real horror. In general, this book didn't read as a horror novel - and I was expecting a horror novel.
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher Del Rey, for providing me with a free eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Saprophyte (noun): a plant, fungus, or microorganism that lives on dead or decaying organic matter.

Set in the world of fashion, Tiny Threads deals with social issues such as racism, violence towards women, misogyny, and sexism. There are the Gothic elements of haunted buildings, female protagonist in distress, ghosts, and suspense. The tension builds slowly and we are gifted with a satisfying climax of good versus evil.

The Saprophyte is a fashion house located in a warehouse next to a slaughterhouse (a very interesting choice). Here, the air is foul, and the street deserted. It is the city of Vernon, California which has been pegged as “The new Los Angeles”. This is where mercurial designer Antonio Moto chooses to prepare his latest line of women’s fashion. Vernon is Antonio’s hometown, and this is a symbolic return to his roots logistically and creatively. His early designs featured themes of violence and beauty. As of late, his style has become main stream, and predictable. It is possible that the juxtaposition of beauty and violence will be his inspiration and return to relevance.

Samara Martin is the new Executive Director, Global Brand Voice at The Saprophyte. She moved to Vernon from New Jersey to work with Antonio. Taking this job will give her a fresh start in a career she sees as the opportunity of a lifetime. Samara is also trying to reinvent herself; to distance herself from the grief and traumatic memories she associates with her family and New Jersey. Stressed, depressed, and having difficulty fitting in, she increasingly turns towards alcohol to get through the days...and the nights. At night she is visited by the grunts and smells of ghost pigs, and the apparition of a tragic, beautiful woman.

Over the course of several months, Samara’s life and touch with reality begin to unravel. Her past makes her vulnerable to the violent history of the area which manifests itself in paranormal events. As her boss’s capricious demands become more and more ludicrous, she sleeps less and drinks more. As it gets closer to presenting Antonio’s fashion line, Samara spirals into supernatural phenomena escapes with increasing frequency and intensity.

I would like to thank Del Rey Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

"Tiny Threads" by Lilliam Rivera is a kind of Gothic "Devil Wears Prada" story. Though I detested all of the characters (though I came around to liking Samara more at the end when I discovered the reasons behind her poor choices), this book was entertaining from the first page until the last. I wouldn't describe it as 'terrifying' but its supernatural moments were definitely spooky and it is the perfect book to pick up as the days get shorter and Halloween approaches. Though the city of Vernon is fictional, sadly the horrific events of its past are entirely realistic. It is difficult to be a woman in a world dominated by men and I couldn't help but cheer for the women in this book who took back their power, even if they did so in chilling ways.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced digital copy of this book.

I have to admit that halfway through this book I felt like I was watching a trainwreck in slow motion as Samara began to spiral more and more out of control. But it turns out that she absolutely needed to do so in order to get her to a place where she could both heal and be healed. I don’t know what working in the world of high-power fashion is like, but I imagine as with everything, one does not become famous or make a lot of money without oppressing someone. And despite just how very aware we are of those oppressions in this day and age, we still can’t seem to fix the system. I love the way Rivera uses supernatural suspense to further open Samara’s eyes and the alcohol she consumes to numb those nightmares only serves to break her down instead. An excellent read!

I have never read a book that horrified me so greatly. Literally brought every stressor I’ve felt at work, twisted it, and then brought it to horrifying life. Almost TOO good at emulating real life: I felt like I could barely breathe at times, and that was often more so from the stress than the actual horror?? Hard to rate this one because of it - but ultimately, I quite enjoyed it and absolutely LOVED the final crescendo of plot.

🎬 Read this if you like:
Last Night in Soho
The Devil’s Advocate
⏰ Best time to read:
After binging the new season of your favorite reality fashion show
📝 Themes:
Psychological Thriller, Unreliable Narrator, Horror, Paranormal, Fashion, Sexual Assault, Alcohol Abuse, History, Latinx
👍 What I liked:
I loved the ending to this one, as it offered closure to a very tormented character
❓ Synopsis: Samara is a Jersey girl who moves to Vernon, CA to work for the designer Antonio Mota. Samara is already hanging on by a thread following her abuela’s death. But the stress of the job and strange noises at 2am each night push her to the brink, and Samara copes with alcohol and other unsafe behaviors. To protect her sanity, Samara must confront the traumas that haunt her and generations of Latinas.
📣 Review: This book is not for the faint of heart. Samara’s descent into madness is extreme, and I had a difficult time accepting many of her decisions throughout the book. There are also storylines related to abuse and exploitation that are poignant, yet could overwhelm some readers. I guess, as a horror fan, I wanted there to be a bit more space devoted to supernatural monsters rather than real ones, but I appreciate Rivera’s vision and the book’s purpose.

Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera is a sinister, slow-burn novel of supernatural suspense.
A compelling supernatural horror story it’s a slow-burn build that kept me glued to the pages.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House, Ballantine & Del Rey for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!