This book has been on my tbr for a while now and I’m glad i was finally able to get it. The story was engaging and enjoyable with flawed yet lovable characters and plot twists all the way up until the very end. It left off with quite a lot unresolved, so I’m really looking forward to seeing more from these characters in the future. I also made time to read The Hedgewitch with it; a cute novella about Rowan, one of my favorite side characters from Threadneedle! It was a quick and easy read with simple plot that was fun and engaging.

This has magic, beautiful word building and characters that pull you into their lives. So many twists and I seen zero of them coming. It’s also a story of friendship and family and the secrets within. There are some dark topics, and some interesting magical places such as the library and the shop. It feels like a good starting point for a series, getting all the backstory out of the way for what could be a really magic filled sequel. It was a very slow read with longer chapters but they are worth it. This reads very dark academia, discovery of witches, and Harry Potter. This was an ARC and I’m voluntarily leaving this review.

The story takes place in a suburb of London following a girl named Anna who has magic. She lives with her Aunt who forbids magic at all costs. Her aunt teaches her all the dangers that magic can cause and what will happen if she uses it.

Anna meets Attis and Effie at her school which helps her discover and appreciate her magic.

With this setup I was expecting so much to happen but for the length of this book, it was very slow with not much happening at all. It was a struggle for me to get through. This is not something I do often or like to do. I love to give all books a chance and see them through to the end. I love when even the slowest of books pull it together in the end. Unfortunately, this became a DNF for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper 360 for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Anna’s Aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic. Its twists. Its knots. Its deadly consequences.

Now Anna counts down the days to the ceremony that will bind her magic forever.

Until she meets Effie and Attis.

They open her eyes to a London she never knew existed. A shop that sells memories. A secret library where the librarian feeds off words. A club where revellers lose themselves in a haze of spells.

But as she is swept deeper into this world, Anna begins to wonder if her Aunt was right all along.

Is her magic a gift … or a curse?

Threadneedle is the first novel in the Language of Magic series. It follows orphan, Anna Everdell, who was raised by her aunt, who is a member of the Binders, a society of witches. Anna was raised to believe that magic is evil, which means that she is shocked when her late mother’s friend, Selene visits with her magic-wielding daughter, Effie, and Attis. When Anna returns to school, Effie creates a secret coven and recruits Anna along with Attis and two other girls, Rowan, and Miranda. Through this group, Anna begins experiencing magic-use. In addition, six mysterious deaths that point to witchcraft occur leading to a larger mystery. The story does feel a little all over the place where it seems the writing could not figure out where it fits. There are vibes of a contemporary fantasy, some gothic elements, some fairy tale elements, and some teenage drama.

Anna was a great character to follow as she came out of her abusive aunt’s shadow and began to discover herself and her magic. Effie was not a great character as I found her to be abusive in her own way (still abusive, but just different compared to the blatant abuse by the aunt). There was body shaming, manipulation, gaslighting, and bulling, just to name a few that happens through this novel. Some of it was addressed while others were glossed over. Readers should review the trigger warnings before reading as there were a lot more included than I initially expected. I understand the inclusion of some of them, but I think the author still has more work to do to fully explore these themes properly.

As for the pacing, there are moments where it feels the writing could have been more concise as it dragged in a few places. There is a lot of potential in the writing. The last part of the novel greatly intrigues me where I cannot wait to see what happens next. While some readers could potentially predict the ending, I like that I did not. It takes a long time to get to the conclusion, so I think the writing could use a little tightening up. Since this is a debut, I can see the potential with the author. There are a lot of great elements, but they just need a little more care in their execution. Overall, the novel itself is not quite a favorite, but I can see the budding talent of the author and how the next novel could be amazing.

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and HarperVoyager for the opportunity to read this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

I enjoyed this story. The magic system of the binders was unique and interesting, but I was bummed that this magic did not last. We start the story with Anna living with Aunt, in an abusive environment, but then it becomes about her breaking those ties and becoming something that she never thought she would be. I did find the plot slightly confusing. but overall good book.

Threadneedle by Cari Thomas is a story of family, magic, and intrigue that had me hooked from page one.

What i loved
1. Lovely atmospheric writing, Especially in scene setting and character introductions.
2. Interesting magic system. I wouldn't call it a hard magic system but it had enough rules as to feel powerful without imminently solving every problem the characters encounter.
What didn't work as well for me
1. This book does not read as Young adult but rather as an adult fantasy novel that happens to have younger protagonists. While I enjoyed it for what it is I did go into it with a YA mind set at first and feel the category its in being shifted is a good idea.
2. Dialogue during the first fourth of the novel feels very clipped .
Who would I recommend this book for

Threadneedle is a fantasy novel that would be a wonderful fit for people who enjoy the atmospheric writing of Lani Taylor and the fast pace of Brandon Sanderson.

Mix together Mean Girls + The Craft + a dash of Wednesday (the Netflix series) and you have Threadneedle. I really enjoyed this book by Cari Thomas and wasn't looking for it to be anything more than a story about teen girls and magic which is exactly what this was. I loved the high school drama, friendships, romance, and rebellion as much as the magic - and I really liked the magic and the unique way it was described. The relationships are also complex and heartbreaking at times, the characters fully formed. My favorite character was Rowan and I hope she gets more of an arc in the rest of the series!
There was definitely a point in the story where I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know how it would end and the ending did not disappoint. It all came together in a way I was not expecting and that felt resolved, but also left me eager to read more.
I will say I like the Goodreads description much better than the NetGalley one and the one I've seen on retail sites. The new description does not capture what drew me to the book in the first place which is the dangers of magic.

I found this books little slow and hard to get into, Anna herself seems to have an extremely unhealthy relationship with her aunt. Some of their interactions feel borderline abusive and ithey were particularly difficult to read. The tone of the writing is very stiff and I had a hard time getting into the story as a result. Though it seems open to a sequel, I probably wouldn’t continue with this series.

That was her magic, she could still feel love, even as her heart was breaking.

Y’all! This book! I was caught in its spell. Magic, a crazy Aunt, family secrets, the pressures of which path to take, betrayal, and love. It gave me Practical Magic vibes in London with a mean girls twist. I’m looking forward to the next book!

“Love is the most dangerous of all emotions.”

I will publish a full review online when you guys make a deal with the union workers. Until then, I will stay silent about any of your books.

I loved Threadneedle. I am a sucker for witchy books, female friendship, and fairytales. This book provided all three.

3.75/5 stars! First of all, this cover was stunning and pretty much made me want to read it without even looking over the premise. This means that I went into this book blind. I think that worked in the book's favor. I found myself empathizing with Anna and how confusing it must be to be led to your beliefs by a narcissistic aunt and have no idea who you truly are. I think there were a lot of really smart choices in this book and it was truly a message regarding the oppression of women and the inability of young girls to make their own choices. So for me, it worked, although I saw it was a miss for some others. My only major complaint was that the length of this book let it down; at least 50 pages could have been cut and it would have tightened up the plot.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Threadneedle was an interesting read that kept me wondering what was about to happen. It was predictable in its nature but I wasn't quite sure how it was all going to play out in the end. I do feel however it was very slow paced and several bits could have been left out, especially the comings and goings of school. Mostly though I feel it is a disservice to the book to market if as an adult fantasy book when it is very clearly YA.

Threadneedle reminds me very much of a CW fantasy show - this isn't a bad thing. In fact, I greatly enjoyed my read of Threadneedle. It is well written, dark and funny at times, and I am very much looking forward to the sequel. I was honestly expecting something more adult, but the book ended up feeling more YA, maybe NA at times. Our main character is a 16 year old witch and as such all of her life experiences--her very sheltered life experiences--and of that her friends are that of 16 year olds. There are a lot of subplots (or filler episodes) to help us get to know each of the characters, as well as a mean girl element that goes too far, because of course, its high school.

And boys, we cannot forget about the boys! Thankfully there is no insta-love going on, just typical teenage hormones. Rowan's interests were my favorite because I believe she would date half the school if possible.

There is also a darker, mysterious back plot that occasionally pokes its head in through out the daily life of our gang of witches, and comes to fruition in the final chapters. The dark elements are fairly dark in this novel, though still appropriate for YA/NA feel. There is a good amount of at home abuse that people should be aware of before diving in.

Even though Threadneedle is the first book of a trilogy, it wraps itself up nicely with only a few loose ends in regards to the larger, overall plot that I'm sure will be addressed in the sequel. These loose ends have the potential to lead to a much darker story and I am cannot wait to read it!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

From the start of the story, Threadneedle introduces a complex and unique magic system. I loved the concept of spells being cast through threads and knots of sewing, stitching, and embroidery. Unfortunately, by the middle of the book, I feel like this system took a bit of a backseat and we started to see more stereotypical witchcraft like herbal and Norse pagan rune magic, which was just a little too many types of witchcraft happening for the sake of the story.

The plot also fell away to a very juvenile high-schooly cliquey kind of story with scenes I felt were not needed, making the entire middle of the story unengaging. There was also quite a lot of fat-shaming and slut-shaming from the bullies, and while I'm not against these things showing up in media, I do wish the ideas were challenged more than "oh, that character is just mean".

Being that the prologue featured the Six Faceless Women, I thought it would be a major part of the story, lending a mystery aspect to the novel, but sadly, it was rather insignificant to the rest of the book. It was mentioned here and there, but not really a focus.

I did, however, adore seeing Anna grow into her own person, and separate herself from the abuse she's known her whole life. Seeing her friendships develop, and seeing Anna become less afraid to stand up for herself spoke to me in inspiring ways.

Though the middle of the story dragged, the end was just as exciting as the beginning, introducing unexpected twists that finally had me wanting to read more.

NetGalley also had this book listed under Adult Fiction and Romance, and the book was definitely Young Adult. The romance, too, though present, was an insignificant part of the story and didn't really make itself known until the last quarter of the book, so I'm not sure I'd categorize it that way.

Anna has been forbidden to do magic by her aunt. When a new student transfers into her school, Anna begins interacting with other witches and learning about their powers. Chaos and heartbreak ensue.
Mashup of Carrie and The Craft without the buckets of blood plus a pinch of Sabrina The Teenage Witch (1990s tv show version). Big content warning for intense high school bullying.
I would have rated it higher if there weren't so many tonal shifts, ideas, and plots that did not quite cohere for me. I liked the worldbuilding. Maybe my expectations were too tuned into the idea of a world of sewing-based magic when it turned out there were many, many, many different ways to practice magic. Maybe the next books in the series will be more focused.

This one was difficult for me to rate because I loved the magic and the magic system, but the characters here were lacking. The answer to the mystery was right in front of our faces and the aunt kept telling us too. I also felt like the characters also lacked development, at the end of the story they hadn't changed a bit. I'm curious to see if there is going to be a sequel and what direction it will takes us.

Wow. This was a whirlwind. This book took me in every direction, and I didn't see most of it coming. This was also a decently long read but it kept me on my toes.

I couldn’t take this story seriously. The bland world building mixed with the one dimensional characters just didn’t do it for me.