The finale to the duology, a fate to break, a love to take, and the future of the world in her palms. Picking up where the first book left off this book follows Io as she tries to discover the god at the end of her golden thread. She is also dealing with the fact that her fate thread with Edei seems to be fraying. The more she digs into the clues the more her world begins to upend. It doesn't help that she's beginning to realize that the fate of the world is on her shoulders. This book felt a bit lackluster to me, I was hoping it would pick up since it was ending and would ramp up on the excitement and journey but it really just felt "eh" to me. I honestly did not care for Edei or the romance at all, I really didn't care for Edei in the first book but in this one that hasn't changed much either. The story felt a bit long and honestly it felt like "not much happened but here we are" kind of journey. Sadly this duology felt like a miss to me but I had really high hopes and with such a fun premise and world it could have been amazing. It just felt like a miss to me but I do think that anyone who likes a unique fate-themed read should give it a go!

Release Date: June 18,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Razorbill for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

There were so many things to like about this book. The world building was amazing. I have read many fantasy books and have never encountered a premise like this. A+ work by the author.

I think maybe this series would have been better served as a trilogy rather than a duology. There were times the pacing felt off during this book and the ending seemed a little rushed. I would have loved some more development of the relationship between Io and Edei and also between the Ora sisters. There were some gaps that just weren’t filled by the end of the story.

I hope the author considers writing more book set in this world. Maybe we will get to follow Ava and Bianca!

Overall, I enjoyed this but definitely felt something was missing.

4.5 - I will be raving about this series for the foreseeable future, because what a breath of fresh air!! I have recently read a lot of new fantasy or sci fi series have similar plots/worlds/magic systems, which I enjoy, but I have been craving something different and unique. I LOVED this series and the characters. With aspects of Greek mythology and the greek heritage of the characters, the Fates, the threads of fate, the gods, and the different quests, it felt very reminiscent of my Percy Jackson, Greek mythology obsessed youth. Although this series was very different from PJ, I loved the teenage angst, the quests that the groups of characters went on, and how badass Io was.

Io is a descendant of the Greek Fates, living with her sister and assigned to solve the mysterious havoc that wraiths are wracking on their city. Io has the ability to use the threads of Fate to track others and is a private investigator. When she is pulled into solving the newest mystery in her city, she is forced to work with her soulmate and sisters, both whom she has a tentative relationship with. I LOVED the mystery in this book, trying to figure out who had set the wraiths on the city. I loved Io's character, as some dealing with the guilt and insecurities of being left by her older sister and not knowing whether her soulmate likes her. The humor was great, the angst was great, and the fantasy setting was SUPERB.

In Hearts That Cut, Io has been betrayed by the people closest to her, separated from her soulmate, and forced to venture out on her own to solve the issue with the wraiths. She is battling the gods and goddesses, her threads are slowing unraveling, and she is unsure about who to trust and keep close. This book had actually the same vibes of Threads That Bind: a crime/mystery, tied in with fantasy and Greek mythology. I loved the way that the author created such a vivid world, building on the locations from the first book and expanding out as Io continued throughout her investigation. I loved the little pieces of interactions and relationship building between Io and Edei, although this book was mainly focused on solving the crimes and Io finding her place in this world.

I was SO EXCITED to jump into this sequel because of the anticipation of finding out what would happen with Io’s fate thread!! I loved learning more about the different clues hidden on the front cover, and seeing Io open herself up more to the important people in her life. I felt like we were watching Io grow up throughout this book and mature significantly. By far my favorite part of this series was the magic system and learning about the different threads!! And the ending was perfect.

AND THE QUOTES!! I found myself underlining so many key lines. It felt so reflective of my youth and time as a teenager, trying to find a place for myself in the world, dealing with betrayals and trust issues. I cannot recommend this book enough for anyone looking for something fresh and new on the YA fantasy front, and especially if you enjoyed Percy Jackson or greek mythology, I think you would love this!!

Thank you again to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group, Penguin Young Readers, Razorbill, and Kika Hatzopoulou for the opportunity to read Hearts That Cut in exchange for an honest review.

Hearts That Cut is the thrilling sequel and final installment to the Threads That Bind duology. While the author is certain that this is the end to Io's story, there is certainly room to write more in this world. Maybe Hatzopoulou will change her mind?

In this highly-anticipated conclusion to the duology, the book starts off and reads like an adventure quest for about the first half. Told in third-person limited, the reader follows Io and wraith + former mob boss Bianca in a quest to find the goddesses and stop Io's prophecy from coming true. She is the one said to cut the thread of the world and bring ruin to all. Surely the goddesses out to end her before she can end the world will reconsider?

When Io and Bianca run into some former acquaintances and friends, they soon have a mystery on their hands. Between the betrayal of Io's sisters, the looming prophecy, and her much-loved fate thread linking her to Edei, Io has quite the task ahead of her.

Steeped in monsters from Greek mythology as well as the various other-born (those with special abilities) who have the powers of the Gods, this novel has mysteries and thrills around every corner. There is excitement and alure for the reader as we get to see the powers of the other-born being used and just what those powers implicate in the grand scheme of the world.

While I am sad to see the end of Io's story, the adventure and thrill of following her along the way has been its own enjoyable adventure. A brilliantly written novel with just the right end, this duology is for lovers of Greek mythology and strong female characters with high stakes. And a small dash of fated romance😉 .

I loved the story of the first book and could not wait to delve into this sequel. Hatzopoulou, thank you for creating this world!

The mystery and turns that this novel kept me on my toes as Io navigated this rich world of mythology and magic. I loved the premise of sibling-based magic in the first novel, and the new mythological powers that we learn about in Hearts that Cut added to the complex setting of Io's environment.

As a diehard romantic, I loved Io and Edei's sweet, slow burn relationship. I do wish, however, that the sister relationship was settled in some sort of way. I do agree with other reviews that I would have loved an epilogue to close off the story in my mind.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is a good story. I do feel like this if I could’ve been more than what it was this could’ve been a multi series story that really could’ve expanded upon the world more. I do think it still was a good ending. I just think that in the middle there’s so much left up in the air that we could see more happen I would still recommend the series to people because I do think it’s still a very entertaining, and I love the world that this author created

in 2023, i rated threads that bind, the prequel to hearts that cut, a 5/5, which is rare for me, as i only rate books 5 stars if i absolutely love them! threads that bind was a unique twist on greek mythology that mixed romance, mystery, fantasy, and drama together. i was interested to see how the gods plotline would play out in the sequel. hearts that cut is the second part of this duology, so i was so so excited to receive an arc. unfortunately, this was a disappointing 3/5 for me. it felt as is so much yet so little happened at the same time. the entire book i kept face palming because nothing seemed to go right, and the plot was just all over the place. the first part starts off with just io and bianca together, and it was very slow. to be fair, it has been about a year since i read threads that bind (so maybe it is on me), but it took a long while for me to get back into the world and the characters and the powers. in the end, i still don't have a good grasp on all of the characters and their roles in both books (if they were introduced in book 1).

my biggest issue with this book was the ending. the entire time i was reading i was certain that there was no way that all of this would end in just two books: introducing gods into a world where supposedly they were dead and having to wrap that up in two books seems ambitious, but i was hoping kika would pull it off somehow. the ending felt very rushed, abrupt, and almost incomplete. when i got to the last line, i kept trying to flip to the next page on my phone because i was thinking "surely there's more to this!". spoiler alert: there wasn't lol. it seems silly to me that the way in which the gods were killed was through, literally, the power of love, i.e. she killed them with her fate thread. the entire debacle at the end required such a meticulous plan with an entire troupe of io's allies, and in the end, none of that mattered besides "love"? i wish io and edei's relationship was fleshed out more - they were lovely in book 1 and i adored the their banter and of course, i love fated lovers tropes. io's relationship with her sisters was complex, but how she was able to just easily forgive ava but not thaias didn't seem right to me.

overall, i do think threads that bind is worth reading, but not necessarily hearts that cut. i am excited to read future works by kika!

i’ve been sitting on this book for awhile, mainly because i hadn’t read the first book yet. but!!! i managed to finish that and i knew i needed to read this asap. not gonna lie, i was a little disappointed? it started off a little slow (ish) and it does get going after awhile but it felt like a lot happened at once. maybe that’s just me. i just think this lost that spark i got from book 1.

it’s a good 2nd book tho! it’s not bad!! i think this is a duology? i haven’t checked? it felt like it.

for enjoying it a little less than the first, i read through this quick. the romances between a few of the characters were a nice touch. it broke up the story well, i liked it all. would i recommend this? yeah probably.

I cannot begin to say how much I love Kika Hatzopoulou's words. I am totally in love with this series and so happy that I was able to read it, thank you to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for this opportunity. Just like the first novel I could not put this book down. This book is non stop action from the first page. Gripping you and not letting you go! I loved every second of it! With Kika's writing you can't help but love every character, no matter what they're up to, you root for them (even when you shouldn't.)

This was a thrilling conclusion to Threads that bind. I loved how well things were resolved. I thought it was pretty clever. I did find the ending well foreshadowed as I was able to come to the right conclusion on my own. I enjoyed the world building. Although I could’ve done with a map to keep up with where everyone was.

I really like Io. I really felt for her going through everything she was put through in this story. I certainly wouldn’t have coped half as well as her!
Thanks to Net Galley & Penguin for letting me review this book!

Hearts That Cut is book two in the Threads That Bind series by Kika Hatzopoulou.
This book is phenomenal! The mystery is compelling and gritty.
The characters are just outstanding.
I found the worldbuilding and magic system to be very interesting.
I read this in one sitting and was completely sucked into the story. I adored the magic system-it was so unique and the world building was exceptional
This was a really great fun fantasy mystery.

Thank You NetGalley and Razorbill for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

A big thank you to Netgalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book!

Hearts That Cut is the sequel to Threads That Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou. This follows the youngest of three sisters born with the power of the Fates, in her journey to uncover a conspiracy that is causing chaos and deaths in her world. And how being the sister that can cut threads of fate, love and life could possibly be the key to either saving or dooming the world.

I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series and I was super excited to see where this story went from there, since so many of Io's inner circle were scattered from her at the end of the first book. In this one we travel to many of the other towns in this universe and get to deal with more types of powers from mythologies that weren't in the first book. You also see more of the chimerini animals than in the first book.

I really loved the twists and the way that things were concluded in this installment, however it still feels like we don't know enough of the entire world. I'm really hoping that in the future we get to see what happened after these events, but from other characters in the world, and that we get more time to actually explore the locations and the different godly lineages.

All in all, I absolutely loved it, although there could have been a bit more worldbuilding and exploring. And I will definitely be reading whatever Kika Hatzopoulou puts out in the future!

I wish I liked this book as much as the first one. It wasn't as immersive and exciting though I did like how the story turned out. We were introduced to many new characters and I really liked how their relationships with the protagonists and other characters turned out. This was a solid sequel and I love Io. I wish I liked the pacing as much

This was the second book and sequel to "Hearts That Cut" a fantasy YA novel based on the idea that gods and goddesses pass down various powers in family lineages. The main character in this book is Io, who is a cutter. Sacrificing one of her own threads, she is able to cut the threads of others.

This book picks up where the last book left off, Io and Bianca traveling to try to find the gods. We get to see more of the world outside of Alante and how different natural disasters are causing havoc.

The beginning of the book was a little slow. I loved Edei and Io's dynamic in the last book and really wish we got to see more of that. It definitely picked up more as Io and the other characters made it to Nanzy.

The ending had A LOT going on. I had to make sure I was reading it carefully and figuring it all out. Still, I enjoyed the book and wish there was more! I'd love to see more of the characters (especially Io and Edei) after the end.

I'd recommend these books to any fan of YA fantasy!

I want to thank Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC to review. I was so excited to read the sequel to Threads That Bind and it did not disappoint. Sequels are always a little iffy so I was worried. However, from the first moment Io appeared on the page, I knew we were going to be alright. I loved watching her grow throughout the story. We got to explore so much more of the world, and enjoy different cultures as they interacted with each other. This felt like a satisfying conclusion to an impossible situation.

I just reviewed Hearts That Cut by Kika Hatzopoulou. #HeartsThatCut #NetGalley #IoOra #EdeiRhuna #ThreadsThatBind

Those that say the second book is never as good as the first one will be happily surprised that this is not the case with this series! Hearts That Cut is the sequel to Threads That Bind and is so much better!

The way the author describes the setting and the overall world building elements was very well done; more of the details and lore were able to be flushed out and repeated throughout the book to help understand the plot better. The way the author was able to bring a different kind of twist to the Greek Mythology we are used to was entertaining and page turning!

My favorite part about this book were the characters! Not only did we get introduced to several new faces that helped the story along halfway through the book, but I was able to see an unexpected friendship grow between two people I didn’t think would work: but they did! This was perhaps one of my top three favorite moments of the story. It was so satisfying to see it happen as well as see the main character grow overall. These characters felt very real when it came to the topic of family and sisterhood; the author did a fantastic job of giving each side a point of view-showing us all that not everything is black and white and how good intentions may not always be as visible or bring the results that we wished for. The romance between characters in this story was cute and well placed in the story to give us as the readers some breathing room.

Hearts That Cut is a continuation of Threads That Bind and therefore continued with the mystery plot of the first book. Right from the start of the book it is very, “go go go” and packed with action. With new complications and subplots along the way, this book had me even more curious with how it was all going to end. The only thing I will say that I found a bit tiring at times was the mystery twists and turns that never seem to come to an end. While I did enjoy that the “answer” or “who was behind it all” wasn’t easy to figure out, it did feel like it dragged at times. However, if this had been an adult series, and the author had been able to write more scenes between different moments to not have her readers only looking out for the next clue and relaxing/being distracted a little, the mystery wouldn’t have felt as long.

Overall, this was an excellent read! I am really looking forward to the third book in the series. I am very pleased to see that each book gets better and more exciting as the series goes on!

Thank you to @netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group for allowing me to read this before June 18th 2024, in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved the threads that bind and this was a very solid sequel. I love the lore of this series and have never read anything quite like it, so I was happy to be back in this universe again. I love Io as a main character and thinks the author builds mystery and suspense spectacularly. I think that a little of the magic of the world is lost with the quest outside the major city in the first novel, but enjoyed the feeling of unlikely allies working together. I am excited to see where this series goes after the conclusion, I feel that it is an unexpected but not entirely unwelcome direction. I am also a Bianca stan for life. Can’t wait for the third book!!!

Threads that Bind is book one and I was captivated by the magic of this world. There are many people that have different fate-born abilities. I was at times a little confused about the different abilities and the names for them. I had a hard time keeping them straight. Book two, Hearts That Cut was a perfect follow up and conclusion to the story. I was perfectly smitten by Edei and Io and how they had to navigate whether being together was something they wanted for themselves or it was just the fate thread talking. I also enjoyed the evolution of Io’s relationships with her sisters, Ava and Thais, throughout the books.

So this is a duology and I think book two had the perfect conclusion and was I was left very satisfied— But I wouldn’t be opposed to more Io and Edei or this world. Spin-off?? 🙏🏻

Thank you to @netgalley, the publisher and Kika for the eArc in exchange for an honest review. Hearts that cut is a fresh take on greek mythology. The World building is phenomenal. I enjoyed every second of this book. I loved reading Io’s story. It was quite emotional journey for us.

I was really excited about getting this arc with where the first one left off, and while ultimately I did enjoy it, it took me a while to get into it / get through it.
In defense of the actual book vs the arc, the formatting for the arc was terrible. Sentences would be broken into multiple paragraphs, words between two lines would be mixed up, it was rough and choppy and didn't help me get into the story when I was trying to figure out the sentence structure.

That being said, I think the beginning was still a little slow. Once I got to about 30-40% through I sped through it muuuuch quicker.
I think the characterization seems a little two dimensional - Io tries to see Thais and Ava as multi-faceted people when they aren't directly in front of her, but the minute she's interacting with them they fall back into their specific archetypes (not just how Io sees them, but literally in how they act.)
The ending, however, picked up really really well. I was getting extremely frustrated with Io and how long it took her to realize that that she needed to use her fate thread to kill the gods but I absolutely loved the callback to the fate thread existing "outside time" and so not only was it able to kill the god's of time, but also immediately grow back