Novice Threads: A Brand New emotional Coming of Age Scottish Saga

Margaret and Jessie are best friends in a small Scotland village, even though their family circumstances are vastly different. Margaret leads a privileged life, while Jessie’s family barely scrapes by. When the girls reach school age, Jessie receives unexpected tuition to attend the same costly school as Margaret due to an unknown benefactor. As the story unfolds, readers learn more about why both girls end up in Edinburgh as preteens, working for a wealthy family. Relationships develop, family drama takes place, and there are both happy and sad times in this interesting depiction of life in 1800s Scotland. Warning: This is the first book in a series, so there are loose ends at the conclusion of this enjoyable read.

I am reviewing this for Net Galley.

In this story we are following Margaret and Jessie who are two best friends. When Jessie's grandma passed away, Jessie went to work as a scullery maid caring for a young child named Charlotte. Margaret and Jessie remain friends, sending letters to each other on a regular basis. Overtime, Margaret recognizes Jessie's speech and penmanship get better.

Margaret decides to work at the same place as Jessie. She will be teaching those how to read and
write. This way she can also be closer to her closest friend Jessie. While there, Margaret has her fair share of suitors. Than is surprised to find out that her close friend Jessie also has a suitor. Jessie is being very secretive about him.

Jessie finds out news that is troublesome to her but she does not want Margaret to worry. When the time came that they found out the news, this will lead to changes in their lives. One change that Margaret did not see coming. Will she be able to move forward from this change?

I really enjoyed this book. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre. I enjoyed reading about the friendship between Margaret and Jessie. Even though things do not work out as planned these two still find a way to keep their friendship. You don't see friendships like this anymore. I didn't care for the wife of the husband the girls worked for but no one really cared for her. I was glad the husband stepped up in the end. Otherwise I for the most part enjoyed the story.

1840s Scotland - A book I didn’t put down until I had finished it. Two best friends, one able to go to school, the other a maid. Their lives come back together as tragedy strikes. Loved it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Most of the book tells a story about an adventure between two best friends, Margaret and Jessie, narrated from Margaret's perspective. Practically sisters, they've been inseparable since childhood, navigating life's twists and turns with their destinies intertwined.

It's a really wholesome story filled with positivity as we follow Margaret and Jessie figuring out life together. We get to see their ups and downs but we would never feel despair because of the characters' optimism toward the future. You'd have a bit of laugh when Margaret was still a child, I had never expected this book to be funny in the first chapters but I had a chuckle and a laugh here and there.

The writer's ability to detail each scene and constructing the characteristics' of the characters are divine. I feel like I'm experiencing Scotland with the characters all the way from my home. I can feel the love, the heartbreak, the confusion of each character. I weep as well as laugh along when the scene beckon me to do so. 

I can connect with each character and scene but one. It seems like an affair justification because of the one sentence produced in certain chapter and I admire Margaret's attitude on the whole ordeal. But I can't stand that particular scene, for me an affair is wrong in any way and can't be justified. So I have to let 1 star go from my rating. 

I would still recommend this book to those who love Jane Eyre, coming of age story,  a bit of romance and struggle but a fun read!

Novice Threads is the first installment in a three book saga about the lives of a small group of women in Scotland from the 1840s through the 1920s. In this novel, Nancy Jardine has created a thoroughly gripping story set in the small town of Milnathort where young Margaret Law is lucky enough to go to school and shares her education through teaching what she's just learned to her best friend, Jessie Morison. As the girls grow up, Jessie is sent to work as a maid in a house in Edinburgh and Margaret keeps in contact with Jessie through letters. As Margaret's family's finances change and her father loses his draper's business and their home, Margaret has to forgo her dreams of becoming a teacher in order to seek work and a new home for herself. As fate would have it, Jessie's employers need a tutor for their disabled daughter, and Margaret comes to stay in the house and is reunited with Jessie. This is a lovely coming of age story that deals with issues of family, the power of friendship, the rigidity of class and mores in the Victorian age, female self discovery, and the difference between romantic love and desire. Lovers of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women will find much to love with this novel. Eagerly looking forward to the next book in the series.

In this fun historical fiction novel, readers travel to nineteenth century Scotland where Margaret Law finishes her schooling, much to her joy. Wanting to become a teacher after tutoring her friend Jessie, Margaret must put her dreams on hold because her parents’ business collapses and she must find work in Edinburgh, a big change from her small town life. Working as a tutor in the same household where Jessie is a maid, this new job is exactly what Margaret wants, except the tension in this household, her parents’ growing estrangement, and Jessie’s personal secrets are making things more complicated. As things change and become more complicated when tragedy strikes and questions get answered, Margaret must decide what she wants her future to look like. A charming, realistic, and straightforward protagonist, Margaret and her story are immersive and compelling, and the worldbuilding in this novel is absolutely masterful, bringing Victorian Scotland to life. With a fascinating story and wonderful characters, the setting of this novel brings the social class of Margaret and Jessie to the forefront while also emphasizing the differences between rural and urban Victorian Scotland. With excellent characters, a vibrant setting, and a fascinating plot, this novel is a must-read for historical fiction fans.

Scots would say ach it’s a braw story! I’d say in Northern English, it’s a bobby-dazzler and others it’s simply a brilliant story!

Set in mid nineteenth century Scotland, with two young besties, growing up and learning life together, in the small town of Milnathort (with textile mills, distillery and brewery). The story progresses to the city of Edinburgh, a hour or two down the road, where the two teenage girls find themselves working in the same house and discovering first love or first lust and much else beside. The author Nancy Jardine brings us a delightfully heart wrenching tale of love, subterfuge and mystery.

Thank you NetGalley for the reading arc.

I really enjoyed this one. Can't wait for more by Nancy Jardine! I'll be on the hunt for the next book.