Leslie Vedder’s debut novel The Bone Spindle, a gender-bent reimagining of the tale of Sleeping Beauty, absolutely knocked it out of the park with the action, the found family aspect, the romances, and the worldbuilding. When the opportunity came up to read and review the sequel, I jumped at the chance. What started out as a simple quest for treasure has changed Fi and Shane’s life forever – the action in The Severed Thread picks up with the group on the run from the witch hunters and the Spindle Witch as they attempt to get Briar (the legendary prince Fi woke with a kiss) to the last refuge for witches and save the kingdom. The Severed Thread expands on the existing worldbuilding from The Bone Spindle. Readers get to learn more about the different witches, the witch hunters, and the kingdom as a whole. I loved getting to learn more about Andar’s history and how the Great Witches got their titles. The Rose Witch in particular has been a big character over the course of the series so far, and I appreciated the little stories here and there that allowed readers to learn more about her. There is a lot of character development for the main players in the story (Red, Shane, Fi and Briar) as they work towards the Spindle Witch’s defeat. For example, every relationship (both romantic and platonic) in the ragtag group has been affected by their past trauma. They have to work through their challenges to make meaningful progress towards a happily ever after, and that felt more real to me than when two lovers just magically fall into each other’s arms (because in real life, it takes work to maintain any relationship).

It was interesting to see how Fi and Shane’s relationships with Briar and Red respectively are at opposite ends of the spectrum – Fi is trying hard not to fall in love with Briar due to fears of repercussions from her butterfly curse, and Shane is head over heels in love with Red while Red is holding her at arm’s length (due to her association with the Spindle Witch). Readers who love young adult fantasy books filled with action, engaging storylines, and lots of humor should definitely pick up The Severed Thread today. After the events of book one and two (and a cliffhanger ending), I’m eager to see how the story ends in the final book (to the best of my knowledge, the series is intended to be a trilogy). CONTENT WARNINGS: Violence, Blood, Captivity, Abusive and Manipulative Relationships (Historical)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

I really tried getting into this one because of how much I enjoyed the first book. I couldn't really get into this story though and I tried it as an audiobook as well as eBook. There were too many perspectives for me to follow and I wasn't really invested in Briar's storyline at all.

This is what a sequel is supposed to be. It has great character development while not taking away from the original storyline. The story progressed beautifully, and you fall more in love with each character as the story moves forward.

Briar's story line does some back and forth movement but it doesn't take away from the progression of the book which was really well done. Sometimes story arches like this stay stuck in the past. Fi is really growing into her character and I'm starting to like her a bit more. I need her and Briar to make a move already because they are killing me, slowly.

Shane and Red, holy smokes. Love them, LOVE THEM. I know we aren't suppose to root for the bad guy, but dammit Red deserves a happily ever after after what she's been through; and who better to spend it with than Shane?

My only issue with this book is that god forsaken CLIFFHANGER!! WHY?!

I absolutely loved the first book, but the second book just did not do it for me. I’m not quite sure if it was too many perspectives, that all sounded similar, or the lack of character development. Even though there was some plot progression, I wasn’t interested. I was surprised to get to the end of this book and find out that there’s going to be another one. This book definitely suffers from middle buck syndrome, and even though there was more romance, I really just did not have any interest in it. Which is interesting because I loved it in the first book.

Even though this book ended on an interesting cliffhanger, I don’t think I’m gonna be continuing the series.

Holy Indiana Jones meets Sleeping Beauty (and maybe a smidge of red riding hood :) In this case, Indiana Jones is Fi and Shane combined and Sleeping Beauty is Briar. I cannot explain how much I enjoy this series. This is the sequel to the bone spindle. Leslie did such a good job taking the characters she had started to build in The Bone Spindle and allowed their personalities to develop and to allow them to grow.

Fi and Shane's relationship is probably one of my top tier favorite partnerships. Where at first Fi was hesitant to have a partner (insert plot point here) at first but would literally follow Shane to the ends of the earth and would do anything to save her and Shane has and would do the same. Following her into danger no matter what the consequences might be. It makes my little goblin heart happy.

As for Red, I really did not like Red in the first book. I knew that girl was trouble, but I really enjoyed how she was developed in this book and the changes and growth she made.

This book also had a good cast of side characters, The Paper Witch, Perrin, and nobody can forget Cinzel. I would die for CINZEL. Just an FYI and his relationship with Shane. Absolutely spot on. When the dog likes you, you know the relationship is gonna find a way to work and if it doesn't I'm going to be devasted.

My Views - The Severed Thread is the second book in the Bone Spindle Trilogy. The story started from the cliffhanger from the first book where Fi and Shane along with Briar and the Paper Witch started their journey to find the hidden city of the last witches to uncover a secret that might help them defeat the Spindle Witch.

Like the first book, in this one also, the dynamics between Fi and Shane are a treat to read. They clearly go on with each other all the time but underneath that they have love and respect for each other and are always ready to protect each other's back. In this book, more background stories are added to all the characters including Red. Her character definitely added more interesting elements to the story. Her journey from being their enemy to friend and her past, her connection to the Spindle Witch, everything added more excitement to the storyline.

This book is as interesting as the previous one with more adventures, magical hidden cities and more secrets to unravel.

This book also ends in a cliffhanger as it is the second book of a trilogy. I am intrigued to see how the author takes the book to the finale.

Overall, this one is a very exciting and fun read.

Thank you Netgalley for the earc in exchange for an honest review.

Returning to this world and seeing the world building get better and incredible is the cherry on top. It's the perfect book I need for when I'm in the mood to read YA. Loved the characters and the relationships built. Look forward to continuing the series.

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for an eARC from netgalley to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

CWs: violence, fighting, blood and injury detail, fire

I enjoyed this one, but not quite as much as the first one. While this one was still exciting, magical, and fun to read, I just felt like it was more feelings-heavy and a bit slower in terms of the plot. There was more discovering possible answers instead of actual answers.
I did really like the progression of the relationships between Fi and Briar and Shane and Red. Each pair had time where they were the focus, and I liked seeing them work out some of the issues they had in the previous book.
I also really liked getting to learn more about Red and her past. Red has some major trauma in her past, and I absolutely felt for her character during this one. I liked seeing her growth as she and Shane grew closer.
I thought the ending was climactic and exciting, and the author does a great job of gripping the reader and keeping them glued to the book during these scenes. I was frantically flipping pages, and that ending! I’m both terrified and excited to find out what’s in store for these characters next.

I loved this so much! This is such a great fantasy with lots of high stakes and amazing characters. It’s rare to find fantasy with both great plot and characters but this book does it amazingly. I will admit I’m not a huge fan of the romance but that’s just a personal preference. The world building and intricate adventures are a great part of this book that I’m sure many will enjoy.

I recently devoured The Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder, and was dying for more Vi and Shane content!

Luckily, today is my stop on TBR & Beyond Tours’ bookstagram tour for The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder! Today I’ll be sharing my review of The Severed Thread but be sure to check out the tour schedule (link in bio) for amazing content from all the hosts!

I’ve seen this series be compared to the Indiana Jones movie franchise, which I find to be very accurate! They both possess the same thrilling, treasure hunting adventures and a sense of discovery. I enjoyed the ways that Leslie Vedder pushed her characters in The Severed Thread, as I feel they truly grew from where they were in The Bone Spindle. This series has fantastic pacing and wonderful character relationships, and I personally cannot wait to see where this trilogy will end!

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy books that make you feel as though you are on an epic adventure, you need to grab copies of both The Bone Spindle and The Severed Thread! I would especially recommend this series to fans of queer fairytale retellings.

4/5 stars, when it picked up it really picked up

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group & Razorbill for the arc through netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I remember reading the first book in this series last January, and absolutely falling in love with the innovative and unique storytelling. This is a retelling of sleeping beauty with some hints of Indian Jones thrown in, and I still think that it took a lot of talent to mesh those two things together. The vibes for this story are so fun and blended perfectly into this book as well. There were some parts of this book that I think could be improved upon but overall it was still a good read.

One of the things that was just a bit frustrating was that the plot and pacing felt a bit uneven, sometimes there was lots of action (like in the beginning) but then it would slow down and I felt sometimes focused too much on little things. It just felt inconsistent throughout the whole story, enough for me to notice so I hope that it's more consistent in the following book. I also wish we had gotten a little more detail on the setting, though we did get some other world-building. The main mystery wasn't solved, but there were some more tidbits uncovered about it. But in general, I didn't feel that a lot of the setting was overlooked, even when a place was revealed.

My favorite part of this was Shane and Fi, the best partners for this story. Even from the beginning, I've loved their banter and relationship, and while there were periods where they weren't together in this book I loved when I did see them together. The trust that has been established between them is really sweet, and they know how to work off each other's strengths. I prefer Fi a bit more, just because she's the bookish scholar type and it's really interesting to see her figure out riddles. I still love Shane, she's just a bit more headstrong than her partner, which gets her into some tricky situations.

There were some good side characters in this story too including The Paper Witch, Briar, Red, and Perrin. While I didn't remember a lot about the Paper Witch initially, he was still a really interesting character especially when it was revealed that he had magical tattoos. Briar was a favorite side character of mine, though he was given chapters from his point of view so that was really fun to see. Red was my least favorite character, though it was interesting to get more of her backstory. And finally, I think Perrin was a great addition to the group with his humor and skillset.

Evolving from the first book, the romances were a lot bigger piece of the plot than before. I really enjoyed one of them and wasn't wholly convinced about the other, but I think there is potential there. Shane x Red is the one I'm not totally sold on, just because of how theirs has been playing out, but again I think there is a romance that can be built from it. I really enjoyed Fi and Briar's interactions though, and I cannot wait to see more of them.

Overall, this book did fall into middle-book syndrome a little bit, but I was so excited to see that there was a third book being written. This world is really fun and while I had some issues with how the story was written and where the plot went (or rather didn't go) I still had lots of fun reading this. There are definitely things to be improved on but I'm excited to read the final book.

[TW: animal bites, blood, hand trauma, broken bones, abuse mentioned, some gore, injuries, poisoning, sandstorm, death of parents and loved ones mentioned]

This is a great second installation by Leslie Vedder. The best part of the continuation of this series is how while the first book relied heavily on fairy tales we already know, The Severed Thread really comes out as an original piece of work set within the fairy tale realms. It is a really impressive step up from what we already know. The characters are also so complex and intriguing to read about, and there is no boring POV in this series. I am eagerly awaiting the third installment, as should other fans of this series.

This series just keeps getting better with each installment. Shane and Fi are two of the best characters I’ve encountered in YA fiction in a while. I love the friendship these two share and the dynamics of the relationship. All of the characters in this book are fantastic. The amount of snark and sass in this book is off the charts and I am here for it.

Book two picks up right after the ending of The Bone Spindle. Fi and Shane are still trying to figure out a way to stop the Spindle Witch so they can all live happily ever after. To further complicate things, Fi’s Butterfly Curse keeps causing more and more problems that hinder their progress. Red, the Spindle Witch’s helper, also causes trouble on behalf of the Spindle Witch.

This book also turns up the romance a little too. Now that Fi has woken Briar from his sleep their relationship starts to grow. When Red resurfaces and crosses paths with Shane, the two have a will-they or won’t-they relationship.

This book features lots of action and adventure. Lost cities, dangerous puzzles, witch hunters, and dark magic are all obstacles our dynamic duo have to face and overcome. The Severed Thread was a fantastic read and I am so ready for book three to arrive so I can see how this ends.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it. Absolutely loved!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an arc of this book.

In the sequel to The Bone Spindle, Fi, Shane, and Briar have to flee the kingdom and escape Red and the spindle witch.

Not going to say much else about what happens because spoilers but this was a wild ride! I loved exploring more of the world and learning more about the characters. Shane is still my favorite character and I absolutely loved seeing her more in this one and exploring her not-really-relationship with Red.

Also I love how close Shane and Fi are now. Like... qpr anyone?

The Severed Thread picks up not long after the events of Bone Spindle, which means everyone’s emotions are still raw. What happened in the Forest of Thorns changes everything, and our trio of intrepid heroes are more determined than ever to find a way to stop the Spindle Witch.

This book is full of such layered characters whose strengths and weaknesses truly drive the story forward. Their relationships, however complicated and fluctuating, are what gets them to their feet after being knocked down. It’s what forces them to make reckless decisions, and it’s what inspires them to become heroes. But it’s Fi and Shane’s friendship that takes centerstage for me. When they are together, they are an unstoppable force, but even when they are separate, they lean on the knowledge they have learned from each other. I loved that they didn’t have to be in the same room for you to feel the vibrancy of their friendship hanging in the air all around them. Several of their scenes brought tears to my eyes, and I’m so happy to have found this series so that I can keep all of those moments close to my heart.

The characters must work for scraps of information, and when they find a piece of the puzzle, it’s ever more rewarding to watch as they lock it into place. Building up the broad landscape of a picture such as this is much more manageable and intriguing, and I’ve found I’m as invested in the kingdom’s history as I am in the characters who have lived it.

Overall, I thought The Severed Thread was an inspired sequel to The Bone Spindle, which was certainly one of my favorite books of 2022. It added layers of depth and emotion to an already strong foundation, and has me even more excited about what comes next. Here’s to hoping all our favorite characters find their happily ever after.

Great sequel to The Bone Spindle twisted fairy tale series. This is just as action packed and entertaining as the first book. Severed Thread has more character development and swooping romance. As a reader we get more comfortable with the characters’ sassiness and I honestly would read a never-ending version of this story. Cliffhanger ending took a star away but I want more. All the love for the gender flipped retellings!

Many thanks to Penguin Teen / Razorbill for the gifted ebook !

I loved the first book in The Bone Spindle series by Leslie Vedder, so The Severed Thread was one of my most anticipated books of 2023! I preordered this signed copy and got these beautiful prints as part of the preorder incentives. If you haven't heard of this series, it's a gender-bent Sleeping Beauty retelling full of treasure hunting and curses. I absolutely love the characters in these books, especially Shane the axe-wielding ex-princess. I don't want to spoil the first book for anyone, so I'm going to be pretty vague in this review.

The Severed Thread was just as full of adventure as the first book! We get a little more back story for a couple of the characters, which was nice. My only complaint about this book is that Fi and Shane aren't together for a large part of the story, and their burgeoning friendship and partnership is one of my favorite parts of this series. That being said, I still really enjoyed this installment in The Bone Spindle series! THAT ENDING. It was extremely dramatic and left me desperate for the next book. If you've read it, you know what I'm talking about. I can't wait to see how Leslie will stomp on my heart in book three. 😂

Book Review

Title: The Severed Thread by Leslie Vedder (The Bone Spindle Book 2)

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT

Rating: 4.5 Stars

After the reveals at the end of the first book I was surprised to find the sequel starts with Red’s perspective and I am hoping it is going to give us some backstory on her since we didn’t get any really in the first book. We learn that Red seems to be bound to the Spindle Witch and despite her feelings for Shane she knows she has to track down Briar and deal with Fi as the alternative is extremely unpleasant. Fi, Briar, Shane and the Paper Witch have been tracking to the old witch city to find a safe passage to avoid the Witch Hunters and the Spindle Witch and they are almost at their destination when Red catches up with them. Surprisingly Shane takes on Red even though she doesn’t want to hurt her and in order to allow Briar, Fi and the Paper Witch to escape she plunges them down an old mine shaft and I am excited to see what happens next.

As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we don’t get much in the way of action but we do get plenty of character development which I appreciate as it is often overlooked in young adult novels. In the tunnels we have this love, hate relationship with Red and Shane as they have to work together to find their way out without causing any more injury and we get some of their thoughts during this time and some context on how Red began bound to the Spindle Witch. They do end up running into the Witch Hunters who want Red more than Shane and Shane gives it her all to keep Red safe which causes her to question her position more but she is poisoned by one of the Witch Hunters and Shane knows the only way to save her is to find the others. Back with Fi, Briar and the Paper Witch, they escaped without much injury but Briar did use the Spindle Witch’s power again which the Paper Witch has warned him against since it brings him closer to her with every use and they wait for Shane. The growing attraction on both sides between Fi and Briar was cute to watch and I can’t wait to see how it develops further but when Shane comes back with a poisoned Red I think this is going to drive a wedge between the partners since she has tried to kill them more than once and betrayed them.

As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we see Fi and Briar side with Shane against the Paper Witch since they all agree that leaving Red to die isn’t the right thing. That being said, the only cure for the poison running through her is in Everlynd, the last refuge of the Witches and it is heavily protected. As the group move towards Everlynd, Red’s condition is getting worse to the point where she can’t continue anymore so Shane behind with her while the others head to Everlynd to get the antidote and hopefully get back to them before its too late as if Red dies it will deal a heavy blow to Shane. However, this part of the journey is the most difficult since a lot of magical protections are around Everlynd and they will have to find specific marker to give them direction to the city. Between the three of them they make it quite far but the directions on one of the markers has been lost to time and Fi makes an educated guess at the right direction and happens to be right and before long they have entered the last surviving part of Andar and the home that Briar Rose remembers.

As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, Fi and Briar are both in awe of Everlynd but they don’t receive the warmest welcome especially Fi since someone recognises the curse on her hand and it’s only when Briar explains she is his personal guest that they allow her in. Here, Fi begins to notice how big the difference in their station is but she doesn’t seem to consider that Briar isn’t the ruler of Andar that’s his brother, Sage who is currently still under the sleeping spell and the best chance they have of rescuing everyone and defeating the Spindle Witch is the code left to them by the Rose Witch. In her exploration of the library, Fi finds out that the Lord of the Butterflies whose curse she bears knew the Spindle Witch when she was relatively young meaning her curse might have some connection to the Spindle Witch and she seems to understand that the Spindle Witch was powerful enough to topple Andar a century ago which means she needs something from there that she can’t risk destroying and she’s planning to use Briar to get it.

As we cross into the second half of the novel, I was hoping to have at least seen one appearance from the Spindle Witch but we haven’t yet except in one of Red’s flashbacks so I am hoping that comes soon. The group eventually figure out through Fi’s ability to read most magical languages that the Spindle Witch has siphoning magic as she steals the magic and life from others and she wants the siphoning spells that Aurora, the first Rose Queen unraveled and Briar as the only member of his bloodline awake and the one she bound herself to is needed to get this. The group splits here as Briar and Fi are going to dream walk in Briar’s unconscious to find the book that his sister left him the code for since Fi is sure that will hold the answers they need. Meanwhile, Red and Shane are going to investigate the Lord of the Butterflies connection to the Spindle Witch since he obviously favoured her over Aurora and was obsessed with her magic. While Red and Shane are scouting Fi asks for any information they can find but doesn’t count on them getting captured by Witch Hunters which Red seems to fear more than the Spindle Witch. In Briar’s subconscious, Fi is protecting him while he goes searching for the information they need but when he uses magic to protect Fi he summons the Spindle Witch to him and she almost wins but he uses the dark power to beat her off for now but I have a feeling it is doing something else to Briar but I can’t wait to see how Vedder is going to conclude this book.

As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, Fi and Briar return from his subconscious to find Everlynd in flames after a Witch Hunter attack and Fi learns they have been asleep for two days meaning her curse played a part in it. This is when Fi finally reveals her curse to Briar and he is sad that she didn’t share it with him before as he could have been helping her while she was helping him but Fi runs away before he can say anything. He realises that others have been playing him into a position he isn’t sure he wants to be in and he has decided to confront the Spindle Witch head on since he now knows he is stronger than her taking Perrin with him. They find Fi and set off after the Witch Hunters to find Shane and Red and they arrive just in time. While the others were travelling the Witch Hunters were going to turn Red over to the High Lord and kill Shane but Shane puts up the fight of her life here and manages to hold on just long enough for her friends to arrive and save her. It also forced Red to confront and seemingly accept her feelings for Shane while I have been waiting for since her betrayal at the end of the last book. I have no idea how the final confrontation is going to go down in the last 80 or so pages but I can’t wait to find out.

As we cross into the final section of the novel, we do get to see a final showdown take place but not the one I was expecting. I was under the impression that this was a duology but now I think it is a trilogy since the way the book ending means there has to be a sequel since there are so many unanswered questions and if that is truly the end then it was a very bleak and dark ending. I don’t want to talk too much about the final 100 pages of the novel since there are many reveals and questions posed to the reader that will spoil the enjoyment for others but I greatly enjoyed it. I don’t read young adult fiction so much anymore as I don’t connect with the characters as much but I flew through both of these books in a few days and I can’t wait for the final instalment if there is one. Highly recommended!