Tiny Threads is a story that haunted me while reading and has continued to haunt me since then. Samara got her dream job and moved from New Jersey to Vernon, California. Vernon and the job turn out to be a psychological and physical trauma for her. She begins to be consumed by the history of trauma that her job and the city itself embody. She can't sleep, and she can't function; she will either be consumed by it, or she must face it, fight it, and defeat it.

The way the story is told and the haunting that Samara encounters reminded me so much of the way the women in my family recount ghost stories and stories of people being haunted by spirits.

This book wasn't quite it for me. It was a super quick and easy read but I wish that it went futher. The concept for the horror was super interesting to me, but when it came down to it, it fell super flat for me. It feels like the author wanted to write a horror but wasn't able to actually write the horror aspect. Either that, or this is mislisted as a horror over a thriller. I also usually love a slow decent to madness but again, this just didn't go far enough. This was just fine for me but I would still be interested in horror from this author if she ever does go darker!

Tiny Threads started out interesting as a concept, but eventually the narrative fell off for me. I did not find the story as compelling as I'd hoped it would be.

This was slow for me to get into and the momentum never really picked up even once we get on our way. I was very disappointed that I couldn't enjoy this one.

The premise of this book was delicious, diving into the long history of the textile industry in Southern California and the deeply held prejudices that persist in the world of fashion. It had the gothic elements, family secrets, and "good-for-her" energy that I love to see in thrillers these days.

The protagonist, Samara, ditches her journalism gig on the east coast for a dream job on the creative team of Antonio Mota, an iconic fashion designer who has just set up shop in the small, Californian textile town where her grandmother used to be a seamstress.

The pacing missed the mark for me, though, with some of the anxious "haunting" moments that the protagonist Samara encounters feeling a bit stuffed in, and some of the characters within Mota's fashion house felt a little flat.

That said, the way that Mota shifted his identity, backstory, and presentation based on his audience was handled really well: it's manipulative but understandable and hits on some of the ways that race, culture, and class impact the stories that we want to tell about ourselves, especially for a social climber like Mota who is trying to ingratiate himself to a predominantly white American elite. Rivera's handling of the class dynamics between factory owner and factory worker, designer and seamstress also felt real and important.

Ultimately, this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to people who are interested in exploring those themes as they relate to latine-American culture at the margins of social power. While I think it would have benefitted from a little more editing, I'm impressed by Rivera as an author, particularly since this was her adult debut. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

I really enjoy books set in the fashion industry so I was excited for this one. I knew that it was a horror book but it was honestly a lot darker than expected. This book had a sad and dreary cloud above it. The writing is HEAVY and sometimes confusing and the main character isn't someone was excited to read about or hear from. Overall, I can't say that I was ever excited to pick it up.

Tiny Threads is a great horror that dives deep into fashion and the history of a city. Samara has her dream job and it might just cost her everything. She falls into the routine of her new employer, but peculiar things start taking place that she can't make sense of. As the pressure mounts on a huge fashion show for her employer, everything, including her grip on reality, begins to be slipping.

I was impressed with this story and the way it unraveled. It covered topics I did not expect and I will definitely read more by this author. Horror with a lot of heart and meaning can be so powerful.

This book was a weird interesting. Samara gets a job writing a profile on a fashion designer. She starts noticing strange things happen to her and in the town where she lives. Is she drinking too much, under too much stress or is it something else?

I love this! I had no idea where the story was going or who to rot for, but omg that end!!!

Eat the rich vibes and down with fast fashion!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy of this title in exchange for honest feedback

The premise for this sounded solid however I ended up DNFing at 30% the descriptions were long and unnecessary, and I felt like the author told rather than showed me what was happening. The pacing is also just too slow for me.

Samara leaves New Jersey for California, escaping after the death of her grandmother to a new job working for Antonio Mota, a legendary designer making a comeback.
Not long after her arrival Samara beings to spiral into madness as her dream life begins to turn into a nightmare.

Okay so I liked this. Lets lay that out straight. Its way more "phycological thriller" though than horror. So set your expectations.

the cover of this book was awesome!

This book really didn't work and i was so excited to get this because i love a good horror book and to be set in the fashion industry was a plus.

The writing was decent but it was pretty boring. I just didn't have an interest in the characters and it just wasn't to me a horror story. It seemed like it was slow but very repetitive and it didn't make me want to keep reading.

It did get better the second half but would have been better if it didn't seem so abrupt in the concept and the storyline.

thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

I was so excited to read a supernatural fashion designer book, but this just fell short.
I found this hard to get through and the main character sad and uninteresting.
Samara seemed to have a drinking and substance abuse problem so it was hard to tell if there was some ghosty things going on or she was just hallucinating because she was eating edibles and putting vodka in her coffee.
Samara uprooted her life to take a job in a different city for a well known designer. She struggles to make friends with her coworkers and blamed them for unexplained things that were happening to her.
It didn't feel thrilling or scary; it just kind of made me sad for her.

Promising premise, underwhelming development of said premise. Specifically, better pacing and better character development of Samara would have made a big difference for me.

Ratings
Story Concept 4/5
Quality of Writing 3/5
Pacing 2/5
Plot Development 3/5
Character Development 3/5

Overall Enjoyability 3/5

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. I had high hopes for this book but it didn’t hold my attention or interest. I did enjoys certain aspects about the fashion industry but all in all, wasn’t too impressed with the writing or story.

I was immediately drawn in by this book for the 'Devil Wears Prada' premise with a supernatural twist. Also, I loved the cover.

This book was rather hard to read for me, it felt very heavy and took me some time to get through. I stuck it out reading chapters little at a time.

We follow Samara away from her home town in order to make a name for herself as a writer in the fashion designer, working with an elaborate designer. Moving across the country to make her own way away from her family.

I loved the initial setting of the workplace surrounded by creatives and the immersive read. (I could hear the sewing machines in my head). We have a strong FMC and you get mean girls vibes amongst some coworkers. Then it turns very quickly in which we start following a unreliable narrator. A boss we love to hate and a secret love interest.

PLEASE check trigger warnings. Samara is dealing with family trauma and SA flashbacks that are desciptive. The scenes felt very intrusive and misplaced. We see Samara struggle with the balance of her work and haunted past. These are important in a story but were not done well here and with no warning.

I lost interest through the story and got that sick to stomach feeling but was still rooting for Samara to succeed. As she quickly spiraled from her grief and loss.

My favorite part of this story was the connection Samara had with her grandmother and seeking to learn more about her past.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am sad to say that this really didn't work for me. Initially, I was so excited to try this - a horror set in the fashion industry sounded like a concept I would love. This, though, was not what I was looking for.

While I don't think the writing was particularly bad, I was pretty uninterested from the beginning. I don't need to like or connect with a main character to enjoy a story, especially a horror novel, but I found Samara just uninteresting to follow. This was repetitive and I almost wish this had been a novella instead.

There were some interesting concepts brought up toward the latter half but it felt way too late and abrupt for there to be any impact.

Sorry to say that this wasn't for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera sounded like it could be right up my alley. It was fine, but I was just hoping for more out of this horror novel. One of my main issues was that I wasn't interested in and didn't like any of the characters. I might have preferred this novel more if the characters stood out to me more.

Thanks to Ballintine and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

This was such a whirlwind of a book and I had no idea what was going on for most of it, but that was fine and on purpose? Samara takes a job with a fashion designer in California and slowly and then very very fast, her mental health deteriorates as she drinks and feels and sees things coming at her from all sides. As she slips faster and faster into despair and mania, she has a hard time understanding what is real and what isn't. This was a real rollercoaster ride and fans of horror should definitely pick this up.