I applied for the arc of the book through NetGalley and knew even if I didn’t get it through there I’d be buying it asap I loved the premise of the books so badly!
And I’m so glad I got it because I could not put this down!! This book in my opinion is a perfect starter for people just getting into reading fantasy as it moves a lot faster than most (making it far easier for me to justify staying up late to finish it!!)

A fair cute book, Shoestring Theory is a fantastic book for people looking for a lighter romance read set in a delightfully magical world.

While I wouldn’t call this book cozy fantasy as its comp titles do, I would still say that this book is fairly lighthearted, and makes for a fantastic feel good read. From the depiction of middle-aged queer folks, to the themes of family, to the adorable in-law relationship between Tigris and Cyril, Shoestring Theory is incredibly heartwarming.

While personally this book wasn’t for me, due to the ill-paced first 1/3, a personal dislike for romance, and to be honest, an overly predictable villain who I spotted the first time we met him, I still found this a pretty cute read. Furthermore, past the initial hump, the book became a much easier read as we grew familiar with the delightful characters of Cyril and Tigris. My favourite character, by far, was Tigris, though Cyril and Eufrates don’t lag behind either.

TLDR; A cute, heartwarming romance, Shoestring Theory is most suited to folks who want an easy read with decent pacing.

What a wild, whimsical ride with Shoestring Theory, a queer, time-bending, friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance that’s equal parts heartwarming, hilarious, and mind-bindingly magical!

Set in the broken kingdom of Farsala, we follow the once powerful (and very guilt-ridden) Cyril Laverre, former Grand-Mage and husband to the now-deranged King Eufrates.

After a decade of hiding out in a seaside shack with his sassy cat familiar, Shoestring, Cyril’s life takes a sharp turn when Shoestring dies, triggering a desperate last ditch effort to rewrite the kingdom’s tragic history. The twist? Cyril time-travels back to a happier, simpler time, when his romance with Eufrates hadn’t yet blossomed, and the kingdom was on a very different path. But magic comes with strings…..dangerous ones.

The story is packed with quirky, lovable characters, including the formidable Great Aunt Tig, a royal who might have saved Farsala, and Ganache, a crow familiar who steals the show with sharp wit.

Cyril's journey to fix the past is filled with awkward love quadrangles, hilariously complex magic, and the most bizarre friendship-to-romance roller coaster you could ask for. And let’s not forget the angst of time bound magical oaths , because what's time travel without a bit of heartache?

Costa’s writing is a perfect blend of light, fanfic like fun with just enough emotional depth that kept me hooked. It’s a charming and chaotic mix of fantasy and romance that feels like an episode of your favourite magical sitcom, but with higher stakes, like, the future of the world!

Shoestring Theory is perfect for anyone who loves queer fantasy with a side of absurdity, magical mischief, and endearing characters that make you want to jump through time with them. Fans of Legends and Lattes will feel right at home here. Cyril’s redemption arc, the hilariously complicated relationships, and the delightful mess of time travel make this one enchanting read.

Shoestring was a quirky, easy to read high stakes fantasy novel.

This was an okay debut and would be a good book for someone new to the fantasy genre. The plot is fast paced and the banter between the characters could be quite humorous.

However, I found the world building, magic system and character development were lacking. Cyril is the most fully developed character and the entire story is told from his POV which is a shame. For someone who is supposed to be 'the greatest mage of his generation', he isn't proficient in a lot of areas of magic. He then pulls off these ridiculous feats of magic seemingly out of nowhere and without explanation. Also, his self-loathing whilst endearing at the beginning begins to grate around the halfway point.

Tigris on the other hand was AMAZING. I loved her ferocity and self-sacrificing. I found her to be hilarious, brilliant and very likeable. I would have loved to have her POV and more character development.

The Margraves siblings were adorable together and I did really enjoy the friendship between all three characters.

Also more books with adorable familiars please! Ganache needed more time in the spotlight.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you Netgalley and Angry Robot Books for the opportunity to read Shoestring Theory and to provide an honest review.

If you want time travelling gay husbands who fall under the friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers trope in a grounded, easy-to-read fantasy book, Shoestring Theory is for you. I enjoyed Shoestring Theory with its flowing prose and simple worldbuilding. It's definitely a good start for people looking to get into fantasy without getting bogged down by pages and pages of worldbuilding exposition. Mariana Costa's book is quick, easy, and intriguing.

That being said, however, I don't think Shoestring Theory should be getting marketed as a cozy fantasy due to its simplicity. It is entirely an epic fantasy, targeted at audiences not familiar with the landscape of fantasy fiction. Shoestring Theory is in fact quite dark and deals with some surprisingly heavy topics for a book with Legends and Lattes as a comp title. The stakes were exceedingly high with Costa not shying away from grittier topics- something that doesn't quite fit the cozy fantasy's low-stakes, lighthearted nature.

All-in-all, Shoestring Theory was a good read, but be aware that you will not get a conventional "cozy fantasy." 4/5 stars.

Finally, another gem in my pile of digital ARCs! I am so glad that I found it on Netgalley and requested for the ARC because I absolutely loved everything about it. The expectation was that it’s going to be your typical cozy fantasy story wherein every trope will be thrown at you and you just have to deal with it. I am so glad that Shoestring Theory offered a lot of new things which put a smile on my face.

For a debut novel, Mariana Costa did a wonderful job with Shoestring Theory. She has a good grasp about what she wanted the readers to feel and how to make them invested with the lovely characters. The story’s prose is akin to poetry, lilting and magical. The main characters Cyril and the Margrave siblings (Eufrates and Tigris) were just plain adorable in their own quirkiness. It’s very refreshing to read something that you did not expect for a character to do. Surprise, surprise, surprise! Cyril, who was deeply besotted with his husband, Eufrates, suddenly decided – after years of marriage – to kill the latter. It was pure delight to see Cyril, a seemingly innocent mage, take grievous matter into his own hands and do things that are purely out of character. What could have driven such an endearing character to such actuations against the equally endearing Margrave siblings?

Shoestring Theory has a perfect balance of being enchanting, surprising, and grisly. Mariana Costa certainly knows the recipe to make an atmosphere that was both cozy and spine-chilling as the plot moved forward. A lot of things happened and revealed gradually in the book that I didn’t see coming. Even the antagonist carved a space in my heart because who wouldn’t love such despicable and cunning villain? The romance was also something that you can look forward to because it elicited a lot of feelings from my end. With the past and present timelines, it was interesting to read the progression of the romantic relationship between Cyril and Eufrates and how it became a perverse kind of love as they plotted against each other.

I don’t think I could give Shoestring Theory enough praises because it’s perfect for me. It gave me all the things that I need in a cozy fantasy story. It’s a standalone so no pining for the next story although I would appreciate it very much if it has a second installment as long as Mariana still has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. It has characters, both main and supporting,that are unforgettable including the familiars. It’s gender inclusive. The story is refreshing with a well-executed plot. It ended wonderfully with all the loose ends tied up nicely and the conflict resolved without resorting to crazy deux ex machina. I have not yet read Legends and Latte but do I look like I care? What I only care about is that I thoroughly enjoyed this one and I seriously wish that you do yourself some favor and pick this worthwhile read.

I had so much fun with this Arc. Time travel and magic is a good combo. And a familiar with the name shoestring. Perfect read for the spooky season.

This had two things that I enjoy a lot, I loved the time-travel elements and that the friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers worked in this story. It had that fantasy element that I was hoping for and thought the characters worked overall in this world. It had everything that I was looking for and was glad everything felt like it was supposed to in this world. I was hooked from the first page that Mariana Costa wrote and it left me reading till the end.

I feel like this had all the potential to be a really fun, engaging book, but it just didn't hit the mark for me.

I think the premise is really cool (though having the comp title be Legends & Lattes is definitely... a choice? I feel like the bulk of this book is much darker and more introspective than cozy). The problem is that the author doesn't fully commit to, well, anything. For starters, you've got the magic system, which is partially where the title of the book comes from (the other is the main character's familiar, named Shoestring). The magic system hinges on being able to essentially peer into the world and see the "threads" of magic and weave them to make spells. At least, that's sort of what I think the author was going for. Unfortunately, the magic system is woefully underexplained for how prominently it features throughout the book.

Then, you've got the main character, Cyril, who is the only POV we follow throughout the entire book. He's very introspective and, while normally I wouldn't mind that, he's also self-centered in a way that never fully gets challenged in any meaningful way. His "woe is me" act also tends to grate and makes him a character that frustrates more often than elicits sympathy.

This ties into the fact that the secondary characters are also just not fully realized. You can see flashes of fun characterization when Cyril is bickering with the Margrave siblings (well, mostly Tigris). Euphrates is a complicated character because I feel like he could definitely be more complex than he actually is? And his relationship with Cyril felt hollow from the on-set, so when the enemies finally became lovers again it didn't really hit the mark.

I also feel like the ending felt way too rushed to be satisfying, especially given how dark and grim the beginning of the book started.

Lastly, this book definitely needs some trigger warnings at the beginning. Even though the synopsis gives you some indicator of what you're getting into, it doesn't fully delve into how intense some of the scenes can be.

Overall, interesting bones of a story and characters than never got fully fleshed out, even at the end.

*4.5*

This book was SO SO SO good. Of course I start every book with the hope to love it, but I didn't expect to adore this one so much. It may not seem so from the trigger warnings I listed above, but I really read this book as a cozy fantasy, even though I see that some themes dealt in it veer more from the genre.

This is the story of Cyril, a Grand Mage at court, obliged to self-exiliate when his husband, King Eufrates, starts to use an iron fist and discard everyone's feeling. Cyril, now in his fifties, decides to cast a spell in order to go back in time and prevent the darkness to spread in his husband's oul, before he was power hungry. He wants to save his husband's sister from dying, so she can become queen and not him.

The premise was so intriguing, I knew I had to read this book. Cyril was such a rootable main character, and I loved to read his story, he's such a powerful mage, but he doesn't believe in himself at all. I just wanted to see him gain confidence and start to see himself for who he is.

His relationship with Eufrates is so strange, but also so loving. The main reason this book didn't get a 5-star rating for me is because I really hoped to see more of them reconnecting, sadly though the main chunk of this happens at the 80% of this novel, and while it was satisfying it wasn't enough for my romance-reading heart.

The rest of the book though was so good, I loved the setting and the classic fairytale feeling this story has (with some twists and turns that are not so classical and I adored). Also, there are some revelations that I really didn't expect, I don't know if this is on me for being too naive, but I was still very surprised.

Also, I think this book is perfect for Fall, so I highly recommend to read it once it comes out in October if you read Fantasy!

This is such a weird book. I think it's being marketed as cozy fantasy, and that's not accurate. While it is largely character driven, the stakes are quite high and the book feels quite heavy.

The book follows court mage Cyril, and at the start of this book he is near fifty and seperated from his husband, King Eufrates, who slowly turned into a tyrant during his rule. Cyril is determined to fix everything and casts the most powerful spell to date: he turns back time to when he was in his twenties and with all the memories of his near fifty years tries to make sure the worst does not come to pass. However, due to an unfortunate spell he cast at his wedding binding him and Eufrates together, Eufrates is also back with all his memories.

The book is single POV told by Cyril, who is simultaneously an idiot twenty year old and a weary fifty year old, and I'm quite impressed how both feel true. I liked Cyril as a character, he loves deeply, tends to self sacrifice and blame himself for what has gone wrong, and sometimes misses what is right in front of him. I really liked his arc about learning to stop self sacrificing and really fight for what he wants.

Eufrates was... interesting. In the early portion of the book, I couldn't imagine how he and Cyril would ever end back together, but some events happen I will not discuss because of spoilers and I do like how it turns out and where Eufrates's arc goes.

Tigris was a delight to read about. She's Eufrates's older sister and the rightful heir to the throne, but in the original timeline she died suddenly, leaving Eufrates on the throne. Now, Cyril is determined to keep her alive so Eufrates never becomes king. He strings Tigris along into his schemes, and Tigris doesn't hesitate to make her opinions known. Watching these tree together, it's no surprise everything went wrong with Eufrates and Cyril in charge because Tigris is the only one who seems at all competent.

The world building was minimal, and I think for a story like this that works as it's far more character driven with quite a unique plot and the world building mostly existed to support the plot. It's a typical medieval kingdom with knights, a court, etc, and the magic system is not super developed but there are different branches of magic and as a court mage Cyril has to be a jack of all trades. I don't think there was anything super unclear to me, it was all basic but did what it needed to do.

Plot wise, I found it quite a unique concept, and there's a twist I didn't see coming at all I really enjoyed, and I loved to see how this played out especially in the end.

Would recommend this to fans of Rose Black, Emma Denny and Alexandra Rowland and anything who likes character centered queer fantasy

An interesting story with interesting characters….wizards, magic and intrigue. It might suit a middle school audience as I found the characters a little under-developed. Thank you to the author. Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

I’m going to hold my hand up here and admit that I’m not usually a fan of character driven books, I love a great plot or an epic journey but, character based can leave me cold, however, there’s always an exception. Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa features Cyril, a mage who has travelled back in time to when he believes everything in his life started to go wrong. Cyril Laverre is a mage and was the Grand Mage of Farsala, a now blighted kingdom that Cyril believes was devastated as a consequence of the actions and choices of his husband and former love of his life Prince Euphrates, who became king after the untimely death of his elder sister and parents.

Of course nothing in time travel is simple and there is no way that Cyril can resolve all of the wrongs done to the kingdom in a straight forward and logical manner, particularly when there is the lovers vow that Cyril had previously woven into his and Euphrates’ marriage vows that will not see them divided. And, yes, this alone is not the only obstacle that Cyril will need to navigate if he has any hope of saving Tigris, Euphrates’ older sister and the kingdom itself. Thus begins a fantastical comedy of errors that all began with Tigris pushing Cyril off a swing and Cyril meeting his familiar Shoestring in the woods.

As I said this book is primarily character focused, and it isn’t an action story that immediately picks up the pace and runs with it from chapter 1. Costa spends time introducing Cyril and providing insight into his backstory, which does feel a little slow in the first few chapters but, delivers the rewards as the story progresses. This is a story of love, understanding, a comedy of errors amidst foolish young lovers, and those too involved with their own lack of confidence and too cowered by the rules and niceties of society, to be more aware of those who surround them and the consequences of this lack of awareness.

Tigris, is not one of these characters who lack confidence in themselves, she is most definitely the example of self-belief and believing in others but, be warned just like Aunt Helene, she doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Fortunately, she is not the only strong character, Aunt Helene, Cyril’s guardian, quasi Aunt and the Grand Mage before him is also a force to be reckoned with. And of course Euphrates, the spare, constantly assessing himself against his older sister and finding himself failing, not noticing or maybe valuing his skills as an artist, songwriter and musician, who finds himself out of his depth and time.

I’m not sure if this book fits the characterisation as a ‘cosy fantasy,’ there are elements of this but, it also encroaches across other fantasy territories, including high fantasy and as I’ve referred to the comedic error elements that contribute to the plot as Cyril endeavours to save his kingdom and his Queen. I will say that I truly enjoyed reading this and found the characters development to be truly uplifting and the plot to be well structured and paced, supported by some great wit and repartee that truly entertained.

Thanks to Book Break UK, Angry Robot Books and Netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Review - Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa

The central plot of this book involves a mage who invokes a spell that allows him to time travel back to a point in his life where many things that went wrong have not occurred yet. Cyril Laverre is the main character, reliving his life again, given the chance to right wrongs which were made the first time around. The kingdom of Farsala was blighted, and he seeks to thwart his former lover, Prince Euphrates, who he blames for its downfall. As a time travel story, it reminds one of a number of old Twilight Zone episodes or the film "Peggy Sue Got Married".

However, Cyril and Euphrates were permanently bound earlier by a foolish, youthful lovers' vow that can be both a blessing or a curse. We see some convincingly flawed characters as the book progresses: Euphrates was tempted by power, and corrupted its use to his own ambitious ends; Cyril was a foolish lover who missed a lot going on around him, now regarding himself as incompetent or of neglecting things he should have paid attention to. Princess Tigris is a rebellious royal who must learn to control her impulses, and I found her to be by the far the most engaging and interesting character of the book (especially after she is "transformed"). I also was intrigued by the nature of Cyril's Aunt Helene, a reserved elder mage who tries be a responsible guardian for him, while at the same time hiding her awkwardness with expressing emotions by a sharp manner towards him.

In the first two-thirds of the book, there was a bit more angst and self-recrimination from Cyril than I would have liked. Also, not that much occurs, or when it does I'm afraid that I didn't find it that enjoyable. However, we get some strong details for the settings: the flamboyantly stylish and aristocratic kingdom of Farsala, where Cyril's sanctuaries are gardens and woods, and private chambers. This contrasted with the neighbouring land of Cretea, which is held up as quite different and expansive. The ruler of Cretea, King Atticus, presents himself as a picture of humbleness and good character, and we are invited to trust him...

At the two-thirds mark, however, everything picks up. We get startling revelations about both the sinister-seeming Euphrates and the pleasant-seeming Atticus. The action also properly kicks off, as three of the characters must stop a diabolical plot from wiping out the kingdom of Farsala. Cyril discovers his rash hastiness can actually be a strength, and also finds his true potency in magic as a possible future Grand Mage.

The story has cozy moments but it doesn't quite fit the 'cozy romantasy' bill: stakes are high, for one thing (the fate of a kingdom and even the environment, a concern of high fantasy). There is also an unusually bleak beginning with a character committing an act as a last resort of desperation. However, as things move along we see a lot more wit and cheeky dialogue (especially involving Aunt Helene, who often precipitates Cyril falling to pieces) which redeems a lot.

(Thanks to Angry Robot Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this book.)

Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)

Truly delightful. At times very funny, at times quite moving, and always very sweet, I'm surprised by how much i was taken by these characters. It's definitely a book for those with roots in fanfiction (/positive), the worldbuilding and general plot will likely be lacking for anyone who doesn't value character over everything when reading. Luckily for me character-driven stories are most of what I care about, and the protagonist of shoestring theory truly captured my heart. Really loved the descriptions of rooms/outfits and hints at a greater world behind the characters', and especially appreciated the resolution of the story. I had no trouble with the magic system being freestyled a bit because i found the concept really lovely. Honestly it was such a great time it truly truly warmed my heart, what a beautiful story of (self-)love!

The writing was also really good, very evocative and able to switch between funny moments and more moving ones quite effortlessly. I do particularly appreciate that the characters' arcs were clear and well-written without having the reader being beaten over the head with the beats of growth and the "morale" of the story, something I've seen happen a lot in stories that aim to be cutesy/character-driven. It wasn't twee at all, and Cyril's inner struggles felt both very vivid and very realistic. His inner monologue is well balanced, I think it was exactly the right tone of lack of self-awareness/agonizing self-hatred. It's not easy to do, and it's a pleasure to see that anywhere but especially in a book concerned with power, responsibility and identity. Cyril and Eufrates you have my sword... Great women in this book too!

My only gripe is that there is WAY too much italics being used and it disrupts the reading at times (seriously the italics need to be cut down by at least half, even if I see the vision and tone it's still too much). I also think the stakes/themes are too high/serious at times for this to be marketed at cozy fantasy but I'm not a cozy fantasy fan so what do i know.

Highly rec for anyone wanting a short, sweet, gay time and a colorful story to get sucked into!

This was a fun read (and I'm particularly fond of a cat being called Shoestring).
This appears to be marketed as a cosy fantasy which doesn't feel quite right - there's quite a lot of action and it's a lengthy plot. I feel the beginning could have been tightened up as it took a while to get into, but after about 20% I was flying through the pages. It had one of the most intriguing first chapters I have read in a while!

I was expecting a rather cute and little silly story with high stakes background, and it is exactly what I got! "Shoestring theory" follows Cyril, Grand Mage, when he tries to go back in time and prevent his husband grom becoming a cruel despot. Of course, things don't exactly as planned and he has to make adjustements along the way.

If Cyril's goal is quite clear cut at first, we quickly realise that if he wants to succeed, he'll need to go through his own inner journey and see the mistakes and wrong assumptions he made in his life, especially regarding his husband. I will not lie, once I reached a certain point in the story, I knew what was going on and felt slightly annoyed it was so straightfoward. But the story is still great.
We feel Cyril's love for his husband despite all that happened, his flaws and how his insecurities played with him; we also feel Euphrates's (the husband) love for Cyril, and, of course, the different kind of love woven with other characters.

Even though the relationship between Cyril and Euphrates is at the core of the story, I feel like it is more a tale about owning your mistake and becoming more active to hope for change than a romance. There isn't really any doubt about the feelings, they don't change that much aside from the realisation the characters must go through.

Mariana Costa's style of writing is great, easy flowing but sometimes heavy on the internal monologue placed at times where it slows down the story. I didn't mind much, but if this is something that can bother you, you might want to steer clear.

The author also seems to have taken quite a pleasure to use a lot of Ancient Greece and Antiquity names, for the characters (Cyril, Tigris, Euphrates, Helene, Atticus...) or the place (Cretea and Frasala). It was a bit disconcerting at times, but also fun. I must say world building wise, there isn't much to say, it is a classical fairy-tale fantasy like world, with the months we know as well as a few other "real world's' references. Again, I didn't mind it but I think it would have been great to have a more defined world. The magic's nice though !

All in all, the book lived up to my expectation as a nice and fun read, cosy but with higher stakes, a but silly with flawed characters doing their best (at least sometimes and for some of them).

I enjoyed this book but I took me a while to get into! Once I was hooked I was hooked though!

I definitely think it could have been better paced at the beginning to allow readers to be dragged in but the rest of the execution was perfect!

Overall a solid book!

Not bad at all it was a little slow but I still really enjoyed it a lot. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

I ended up liking it more than I expected to. It seemed appropriate for the middle school and up audience and it was a really cute book in the end.