In this sequel to Threads That Bind, Io and her ragtag team must go against the gods. These creatures are only legends, but Io has seen the golden threads that prove that they are real. And Io is out for vengeance.
It’s been five weeks since Io left Alante to follow a golden thread that will lead her to the gods. But she and wraith Bianca find nothing concrete. She has one lead, but it is fleeting. Meanwhile, her fate thread with Edei is fraying and that scares her. She doesn’t want to lose him. Finally, the two women find a new clue: siblings are disappearing across the Wastelands. This leads them to Nanzy, the golden city, and eye of the storm. Gaining new allies, they learn the truth--a truth that is painful for the human race. But what is better: Free will or a circle of death and destruction?
Kika Hatzopoulou creates a chase across Io’s world. But each red herring leads to reader fatigue. It takes too long to find a foothold for the story. While the search encompasses things that won’t seem important until the end, the reader is ready for the faster pace that was featured in the first book. Even when we settle into the story, the gods don’t appear until the last fifth of the book. Knowing these things ahead of time might actually make the book more enjoyable because you aren’t expecting something that the book is not.
The conclusion of the story is not disappointing at all. Readers encounter shifts in alliances, the true reason for the creation of the wraiths, and the philosophy of free will. Io becomes emboldened with Edei fighting fate versus fate line. Familial love is tested again and again. When the gods finally show their faces, the pace quickens and each member of Io team has to make their own stance. The final battle is full of twists and surprises. I wish there had been an epilogue to see what her world had become after the conclusion. But I like the feeling the book ends on and would rather not have that shattered.
While not as strong as its predecessor, Hearts that Cut has an exciting conclusion that gives the character closure and takes the readers on an epic battle.

4/5 stars!

I was super excited when I saw this ARC on NetGalley because I loved the first one and I was extremely happy to receive the ARC for the second one!

It is a little slow before Edei returns and I wasn’t really feeling it but one he did I was on the edge of my seat! Not just for the romance factor (although he had me kicking my feet a numerous parts) but the plot itself just seemed to come more together with him there!

I loved this one and I would kill for just another one that’s more slice of life for Io and Edei like I would devour that!

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!

This duology is so good! Although I loved the first book a lot more, this one was still so exciting and phenomenal. It dragged a bit in the middle but picked up quickly and I was hooked from then!

This was a good conclusion to the story of threads that bind.

The relationship between Io and Bianca was something different than we saw in the first book and I enjoyed their journey. Sometimes it had that buddy cop feel to it.

This book really touches on the expectations of family and how blood doesn’t always mean those that will stand by your side. Her relationship with her sisters and the pressure the parents put on them to trust and go along with anything with 0 questions was fascinating.

I did think the middle dragged a bit which left the end feeling a bit rushed. Overall though I enjoyed it.

This was such a wonderful conclusion to a duology. A heightened version of the mystery of the first book, it is just as heart-poundingly good. Filled with magic and Greek mythology, I cannot get over how freaking cool this world is, how freaking awesome it see to see the threads unravel over the mystery, and just how havoc could be wrought. It is so beautifully done, the weight of generational trauma, the fear that comes with change, the desperate craving for love. I adored it all the way through.

A pretty good ending but i never really got a grasp of the world. The prose is good and the romance was sweet

It was extraordinary, perfectly built on the lore of unique gods and goddeses and delivered as much excitement, heartache and freshness as awaited! My mind was blown: i screamed with Io, cried with Eden and raged with Bianca. We could say, MY heart was cut😅

The new cities and landscape we get to know in the sequel are so surreal, yet I saw so many things mentioned there being reflected in our current world.
Io has grown tremendously and found her courage, her fate and that she can be more than just a cutter.
I loved Bianca holding onto dear life and being her spiky, sarcastic, strong mob queen! Edei, well he is Edei and I repeat, protect him at ALL cost!!

Without telling any spoilers my advice is to grab a box of tissues and a pack of ice to calm your nerves and let your tears fall.

After absolutely LOVING Threads That Bind, I had very high hopes for Hearts That Cut. Sadly, this was a DNF at 30% for me. I was so bored and so confused. There was no "mini recap" of book 1 so it took me forever to remember what was even going on. The author then further complicated things by increasing the number of people with different powers and it was all too much to keep track of.

Thanks to Netgalley for my complimentary e-arc. All opinions here are my own.

The description pulled me in and I did think it was written well enough.

It moves along and if you didn’t read the first you will be confused at first but can catch on quickly as there is enough of recap and details which was nice. Some books will take too long to catch a reader up this one doesn’t do that.

I like the pull of mythology but the author had her own take on it as well. Just something with the characters I couldn’t really care for them.

Did I enjoy this one as much as the first one? No, but I still enjoyed it a whole lot. It does suffer a little from the sluggishness of a second book, but other than that, it was a solid book. I do love the Greek mythology embedded in the story, and it brought the conclusion to a good point. Overall, a solid duology.

In this thrilling sequel to *Threads That Bind*, Io's journey becomes even more perilous as she follows the elusive golden thread. Five weeks of constant travel have brought her no closer to finding the god she seeks, while her connection to Edei grows dangerously fragile. Io’s investigation leads her to a dark conspiracy involving sibling disappearances and a powerful plot centered in the golden city of Nanzy. Along the way, she faces powerful enemies and uncovers ancient secrets that suggest the future of the world may rest in her hands. As Io struggles to unravel the mystery, she must confront the question of whether her destiny is shaped by fate or her own choices.

Earlier this year I read ‘Threads That Bind’ and it was one of those books that really captured my attention this year and I finished really quickly. I was so excited to also be able to read the sequel and I have to say I was not disappointed.

In this world the fates are quite literal beings and the Gods while hidden are as corporal as me or you. IO has been fated in a prophecy to cut a thread that will end the world and in this book you see how and why that prophecy unfolds.

From the first book, I felt everything on a smaller scale. There was a sense of tension on a local level, but in this book the stakes are so much higher and the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance.

Yet, my favorite parts of this book had little to do with the larger stakes, but with the relationships between the characters I have come to love. At the end of the day IO’s true fight is for thier fates. Her friendships and her love for her people leading her to a destiny to save so much more than her own people.

IO’s strained relationship wither her sisters and the opposing decisions they make increased the tension ever higher. Yet, IO manages to take the time to look inside herself and decide how she feels about the both of them and if family really does mean that you answer their call regardless of how much pain they have caused.

There is action, betrayal, fate beyond time, and a love that may just persist beyond the constraints of the threads that bind us. This was an action packed read that kept me on my toes all the way into its satisfying end.

This was an amazing following to Threads that Bind! It worked into the world and storyline perfectly. I loved every moment!

STUNNING!! This is the only time I got a book from FairyLoot and became so enamored I had to get the sequel. This story is so well balanced where nothing is overshadowed. I think a lot of books swing very trope-like but this is done so well. To the point and tells the whole story in 2 books. Writing was so well done and the plot was on point. New favorite author!!

I loved that we were given more world building and magic system in this book. It was so hard to put down and I loved the writing.

This was a good sequel/finale to the series. THREADS THAT BIND pulled me in with the world building, magic systems, and a strong mystery that made me not want to put the book down. So I really enjoyed that HEARTS THAT CUT made the world bigger, showed up more magic systems, and continued to have a mystery component.

While I liked it enough and appreciated the satisfaction of seeing how this story concluded (and just how big and far reaching it out) it didn't give me the same rush of excitement as THREADS. Possibly there was just TOO much going on: the gods thread, the sister relationships, the fate thread, the missing people, the weather disasters, the wraiths. And they all did come together but I felt I was pulled in too many directions to feel engaged strongly on any one area. I adore duologies but perhaps there was just so much the author wanted to tackle that a trilogy may have done it more justice.

Still a very good duology that I will recommend to readers looking for fun magic systems and a fantasy mystery.

I really enjoyed this book! It allowed for a deeper continuation of the first title, but introduced more familiarity with certain characters. The beginning felt a bit slow, but by the end the pacing really picked up. I will definitely be recommending this book for fans of the first one.

Threads that Bind introduced me to one of the most unique fantasy worlds I've experienced in a long time. I loved the continuation of the series and enjoyed getting to know more about the world in Hearts That Cut. This was s fantastic conclusion to the duology and I look forward to reading more by the author.

Hearts that Cut Picks up a few weeks after the events of Threads that Bind. We follow Io and Bianca as they chase the golden thread in hopes of solving the mystery behind the murders of the other-born. This was just as fun as the first book with a mix of murder mystery noir and Greek Mythology. However I think this series could have benefited from the expansion to a trilogy. I say this because everything wrapped up too fast in the end and I feel there wasn't enough time given for proper resolution between characters. Also there were some things in terms of world building I felt needed more time and explanation. I still really enjoyed this duology overall and would highly recommend. The magic system is very cool and I liked seeing our characters struggle with the concept of "necessary violence." I like Kika's writing style so will definitely check out more of her work in the future!

4 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the eARC and gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.
#PenguinTeenPartner

i have to thank whoever sent that email recommending the duology in netgalley because i don't think i would've discovered it on my own. the best part was that it ended up being a super improvised parabatai buddyread, so double points for that.
now, i have to say a lot of things but hear me out: i really enjoyed it 😭😭😭 the beggining was kind of desperating because my beautiful duo wasn't together but once they were and the banter was back and so was the drama??? i was sold 😱😎 i didn't expect ANY SINGLE PLOT TWIST that came, which i have to hand it to the author because that is something really difficult to do nowadays with the many books being published and read. the side characters were just amazing, i was rooting for every single one of them, the best one being Bianca because that development was just cheff's kiss.
the ending left me in shambles and, once again, with a lot of hope. it developed so much in the sibling's relationship, in change, in hope, in what love really means and choices and so many things. i really think this story deserves more love because it's just so unique with its world-building and magic system. allthough i would prefer a glossary of the many gods and goddesses the next time because there were so many and i kept getting confused 😅
but yeah, please read it. it's really good 😍