Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey publishing for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I very much enjoyed this novel and it is my first one by Lilliam Rivera. It was short and read super quickly which I appreciated, but I do wish that the horror was more thoroughly explored. The character experiences most of the horror in what feels like a fever dream and that is also what it felt like reading the horror in this novel. I wish Rivera took a beat to flesh out the horror a bit more but I also understand the authorial choice to present the horror how it is presented. It feels like I am the main character and experiencing the horror exactly like Samara is. I didn't know where the book was going until it went there and I like where it went. I love horror that has something to say and this definitely does. Again my only complaint is that at times the horror felt a bit unexplored but I loved what this novel had to say and I would definitely read more from Rivera in the future.

I like messy. I like conflicted characters. I like supernatural horror. Tiny Threads took all this to a new level, tragically not in a good way.

Tiny Threads was a hot mess with a banging cover.

One dimensional characters, whose mysterious behaviors are left unexplained. Threads that go nowhere. A confusing, inaccurate Latinx diaspora (mixed in with actual, historical events that took place in Vernon, CA), trying to make Vernon (an industrial town with a population hovering around 200) into the "new Brooklyn", a fashionista boss from hell that Samara has moved across the country to work for, let alone how in the world she got one of the top jobs at the fashion house in the first place (she's written a few articles). An ending that isn't earned, it's plopped on you.

There are things that go bump in the night, but it could have been Samara's head from all the booze she swigged in the wee hours (and in the morning with her coffee, and throughout the day (at work), and after work with the gang at happy hour (along with any pill, powder or tablet proffered)). Yes folks, unreliable, alcohol fueled protagonist.

When we're reading fiction, especially fiction that bills itself as supernatural suspense, as readers we must suspend disbelief and go with the story. Get picked up and crash around with all the twists and turns, get lost in the imaginary world. It was impossible to suspend disbelief with this one; something on every page irked. There could have been a good story here. The author was trying to make statements about colonialism, racism, misogyny, rape, gentrification, and the fashion industry (I guess), and when the message is extra important Rivera hits you over the head with it, in case you didn't figure it out for yourself. But she doesn't help you with the Spanish sprinkled liberally throughout (thanks, Google translate) and in general the writing was just weak:

"Samara had always been the one in her circle who never did anything salacious. The tame one who worked out her Catholic school guilt through writing, while her friends lived their hoe lives in real time. Instead, Samara just drank too much".

Two stars for that breathtakingly beautiful cover.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing – Ballantine for the digital ARC.

Gothic Horror thriller, s*xual abuse is a bit graphic.

Setting is a Model factory where Samara is working, There is paranormal activity throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lilliam Rivera, and Del Rey Publishing for allowing me this e-version arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm not sure what I expected, but Tiny Threads was not that. A woman who slowly imposed her life and loses her mind is not what I expected. I could have connected with or even cared about her. She did have trauma that lead to this. But she was just unlikeable. The best thing I can say about this book is that it was short.

Sigh. I really wanted to love this one but I just didn’t. 😩

I spent most of the book trying to figure out if the FMC was just losing her mind, was hallucinating with all her self-medicating, or if there was actually something paranormal going on. I was expecting a creepy read, but this was not that at all. By the end I felt like this was more of a thriller than horror. 🤷🏼‍♀️

As always, just because this book wasn’t for me does not mean it’s not a great read for someone else! 🙂

TW: substance abuse, sexual assault, rape

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Ray for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Rivera's horror-thriller is thematically riveting but slow to engage. Samara is a tragic character to follow, and though her story has merit it was difficult to watch her descent into alcoholism and addiction. While Tiny Threads does an excellent job of illustrating the divesting mental and emotional consequences of assault and abuse, the pacing is all over the place and the lack of trigger warnings may distress those unaware of what is to come.

Samara Martin has landed her dream job with the House of Mota, all the way across the country in California. She also seems to be escaping some sort of trauma back in New Jersey & uses this job as an excuse to leave her family and self-medicate with vodka. Because of this, what should have been creepy horrific scenes were overshadowed by wondering if Samara was suffering a psychotic break, so high that she was hallucinating, or really seeing ghosts. It was neither scary nor thrilling. That was also partially due to the pacing. It took way too long to get into the “meat” of the story. Fully half of the book is Samara going to work, getting triggered by her caricature of a boss, putting vodka in her coffee, going home, drinking way too much, and having visions. It was repetitive and it was hard to stay interested. Then, as the fashion show gets closer, I feel like the pacing picks up and suddenly, we have a thriller! I wish the rest of the book could have had that urgency.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for this e-arc.*

There were parts of this that I really liked. Taking the fashion industry in a horror direction makes perfect sense and the sense of wrongness that the. Author created surrounding Samara was well done. The issues for me came from the pacing, which is slow until near the end, and in Samara herself. She’s made into an unreliable narrator as she self medicates through her days. I understand why she does this, but it adds a sense of doubt into everything happening in the wrong way and distracts from the creepiness of what’s happening.

Note: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is like The Devil Wears Prada or Cruella with a supernatural gothic twist. Samara, our main character, is a writer who is entering the high fashion world as she's hired by infamous designer Antonio Mota. Because of this, she makes the move from New Jersey all the way to California to turn a new leaf and jumpstart a career in fashion.

From the beginning, Samara seemed to be shedding off layers from her time in New Jersey with her family. The Latina experience is very strong in this one. It showed the struggle of a woman trying to break free from all her traumas and grief. It also put a magnifying glass over how a dysfunctional family unit while close-knit can also be suffocating.

While reading, I enjoyed how easy it was to digest the material. The scenes seemed to flow together and it kept me wanting to read more.

The most interesting part of this book is seeing the descent in Samara's character. She started out with her best foot forward, only to fall off the top of the hill and kept rolling down and down. I kept reading the book and going: "Please, don't do this to yourself 😭"

I will say, I wish there had been more development from the other characters. Antonio Mota was a central figure in this book, seeing as he's the designer and Samara's boss, but all we got from him was anger issues and temper tantrums. The receptionist Lake turned out to have a significant part in this cyclical story, and I wish we could've seen more from her character to show how a person like her can get wound up in that kind of world. I also wish we had seen more of Dolores and Rosa. Out of all the secondary characters, Rosa was the most dynamic, and I loved seeing her evolution alongside Samara's, but I still wish we'd seen more. Really, I kept asking "why?" constantly. I wanted to know more about their decisions and their pasts.

However, the ending of the book left me wondering why we hadn't seen the layers of trauma that led Samara to the town of Vernon from the very beginning. And while it was hinted at with her thoughts trailing off when her mind reminded her of what had happened before her move, there wasn't anything more to it. I wish it could've gone a little deeper than that.

Nevertheless, I think this was a good book. And as a Latina, I could relate to so much of Samara's thought processes and experiences in regards to culture and family dynamics.

3.5 rounded up

Samara self medicates- a lot- and so you'll wonder how that impacts her psyche and how reliable she is as a narrator of this gothic tale set in the fashion industy. Antonio Mota might be a big deal but he's also an off the scales pain so to cope, she drinks more, She moved from New Jersey to Vernon, California for this job but it's not what she expected or wanted. THere's crazy stuff afoot. One bright spot in her life is Brandon but that's not enough. Rivera tweaks but doesn't really pull the threads of racism that run through this but leans hard on self doubt. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An interesting read.

"Fashion-obsessed Samara finally has the life she's always dreamed of: A high-powered job with legendary designer Antonio Mota. A new home in sunny California, far away from those drab Jersey winters. And an intriguing love interest, Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota's fashion line.

But it's not long before Samara's dream life begins to turn into a living nightmare as Mota's big fashion show approaches and the pressure on her turns crushing. Perhaps that's why she begins hearing voices in her room at night - and seeing strange things that can't be explained away by stress or anxiety or the number of drinks she's been consuming.

And it may not be just Samara imagining things as her psyche unravels, because she soon discovers hints that her new city - and the House of Mota - may be built on a foundation of secrets and lies. Now Samara must uncover what hideous truths lurk in the shadows of this illusory world of glamour and beauty before those shadows claim her."

I love the dark underbelly of fashion. So many people rarely get it right though.

This book describes one woman's yearning to be a designer, but ends up as assistant to a crazy self-absorbed man.

Rivera’s newest novel encompasses the high pressure atmosphere from The Devil Wears Prada and pairs it with all the mental and physiological response associated with high stress. Throughout the novel, Samara navigates Antonio’s outlandish demands before the big fashion show. Samara has a nightly guest visitor, who makes her question her sanity and wellbeing.

Throughout the novel, Samara loses her grip on reality and begins to rely on caffeine and alcohol to make it through the day. The prose of this novel is quick and sharp, which definitely allows for it to be thrilling and mysterious. Some of the characters were well-developed, but many of them fell flat for me. I think that if the characters and plot points were just a little bit more developed throughout the rest of the novel, that the ending would be more successful. Towards the conclusion, there were bits of information that seemed to have been tossed in there as a way for Rivera to end the novel. If the characters and some of the other plot points were consistently addressed throughout the piece, the ending would’ve packed more of a punch.

That’s not to say, however, that the ending was bad. The ending (and throughout the novel), Rivera addressed important social concepts, especially related to race, economics, power, gender, sex, and identity. Through the seamstresses and supernatural parts of the novel, these issues were brought up, examined, and synthesized in a way that strengthened the overall effect of the novel. Generally, I would recommend this novel to those who like a bit of magical realism in their horror endeavors — and those that enjoy themes of social justice and feminism.

Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera #eightiethbookof2024 #arc #tinythreads

CW: alcohol and drug abuse, violence and rape

Samara has landed a great new job with illustrious fashion designer Antonio Mota. So what if he’s a little volatile? So what if she can’t sleep? So what if she keeps seeing a woman from an old photograph everywhere she goes? She just has to get through the big fashion show to prove she has what it takes to make it in California.

Whew. This was exhausting. That was a very simple synopsis but this is a complicated story. Samara is completely unlikable and unreliable. She drinks and takes pills and you can’t believe anything she sees because it might not be real. Brandon, her potential love interest, is a little creepy and I just wanted her to stay away from him and in general make better decisions. But this is a propulsive novel. I couldn’t stop reading it. I guess I wanted to see what bullshit she would get away with at work.

It’s marketed as a mystery/thriller, but I think it’s more psychological horror. People looking for an actual mystery or thriller won’t find that here but it’s worth reading. I think the author is trying to make a statement about racism and misogyny but it doesn’t quite come together.

I wish the ending was a little more fleshed out and not as rushed, but I liked the inclusion of the ghosts of previously mistreated women and their part in the denouement and assumed fate of Brandon.

Thank you to @delreybooks and @netgalley for the advance copy. (pub date 9/24/24)

This book kept me up all night turning pages! Samara leaves the East Coast to move to sunny California in the hopes of praying her dream of becoming a full time fashion writer. When she gets hired by House of Mota and begins working for the eccentric Antonio Mota fashion designer extraordinare, she believes she's finally living her dream. But there are strange things going on at the House of Mota and Samara connection to reality is slipping away. She begins drinking just to cope and her down spiral begins. As each day passes she becomes more paranoid and overwhelmed and it appears that something sinister is afoot. This book has some really important implications about women's rights from past to present and what it means to be a woman following your dreams for something more than societal expectations of happiness. An overall solid read.

I uploaded my review to Goodreads. I will upload it to Amazon on publication day.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Lilliam Rivera for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Tiny Threads coming out September 24, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really love horror books and Spanish books in general, so I was excited to receive this from NetGalley. I thought the story had a lot of action and horror in the beginning. I’m just not sure it was completely my cup of tea. The writing was a little repetitive to me. Samara was going through it and some things I could understand, but there were some things she did that weren’t exactly likable to me. It felt like she was definitely the main character and there wasn’t really anyone else who stood out. I wish there were more fleshed out characters. I would check out other books by this author.

I read Tiny Threads at the height of New York Fashion Week, which, LOL could not have been more perfect.

Tiny Threads is Devil Wears Prada...with horror, but not. Samara has wanted to work in fashion for most of her life. She's escaped her home, moved across the country and has taken a stressful job with Antonio Mota. Samara handles her stress....incorrectly. She self-medicates, drinking at work, drinking when not at work, drinking, drinking, drinking. Then the visions start happening. Is this real, or just a symptom of her drinking?

It's catty, it's scary, it's wonderful.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A young writer’s new high profile job working for an iconic fashion designer slowly becomes a nightmare as she starts hearing and seeing things and her dreams bleed into reality. Is the stress of the job too much or is something more sinister at play? Though the pacing was a bit off (slow start, rushed ending), the story kept my attention and I found it hard to put down.. I look forward to more books by this author! Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

I will say, I’ve never heard of a plot line like this, where there is horror in the fashion world. But, I feel like this story did not hit that mark. I agree that there is a lot of repetition in this story, and that can be a bit predictive. And I feel like the ghost could’ve been represented better.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC of this title.

I read this in one long-ish sitting and that felt like the perfect way to devour this. It feels like there are probably one too many threads being tracked in this book, and the important-to-the-plot ones don't get enough development, which makes the ending setpiece of the book feel like it comes a little out of nowhere when it gives you more detail on a character that's previously only been hinted at. Still, this feels nicely time for September/October release, and feels satisfying enough as horror fiction.