Oof. I liked the idea of this, the project of this, but the execution was rough. :( I'm the outlier here, so your mileage may vary.

This is about a young Latina woman, Samara, as she starts her new job as brand manager for a designer in California. The stress of the job increasingly starts to get to her, and she starts getting haunted and seeing things that no one else sees. It's hard to describe more of a plot than that, to be honest.

There are some specific things about this book that I did like. For example, there's a "family lunch" everyday at this company, but in practice it's highly stratified. The upper echelon jockey for favor from the designer, and it's really pathetic. They try to entertain him, put others down, etc. in the hopes of winning some points with him. It was great, I loved it. ;)

Samara as a character seems divisive based on what I see in other reviews, but I was fine with her. I mean, yes, she does bad things sometimes, but I enjoy reading about people who are messy. Her problems were all tied into the thematic work the book was trying to do.

My problems with the book:
1) Thematically it was trying to do too much with too few pages. Racism (internalized, microaggressions, explicit), sexism and sexual violence against women (as well as women's enablement of this), low wage worker exploitation, toxic fashion culture, substance abuse, etc. The book desperately needed a focus. So many threads (haha) were picked up and dropped. Themes were dabbled in but never fully explored.
2) Nothing much happened for the bulk of the book. The hauntings, such as they were, were quite repetitive and didn't escalate much until the end. Neither did they hint what the haunts were all about or why Samara was targeted.
3) The writing quality here was fair to poor for me in multiple ways (except for the prologue, which I loved!). It makes sense that this is Rivera's adult debut and that she wrote YA previously because one of my complaints is the simplistic handling of the themes. It was very ham-handed (another unintended pun), which makes more sense in YA. I also found the writing style in general too simple. Everything zips along like the book itself is skimming the story. Rivera often summarizes and "tells" instead of shows. There isn't a lot of introspection from Samara or lingering in any scenes. Chapters often end abruptly. It felt a bit skeletal and shallow.
4) The ending was quite the letdown. There are multiple reveals and events that feel very random. The "villain" of the book for the most part feels like Antonio, but the end of the book seems to argue otherwise. I think the root of the problem here is the lack of focus in the theme.

Better books that grapple with similar themes: Kindred by Octavia Butler, The Good House by Tananarive Due, Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith, and The Corset by Laura Purcell. I didn't love Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang, but many people did, and I do think it's more successful than this novel. Movies I'd recommend are In Fabric and Neon Demon. Even The Phantom Thread. Rivera lists authors in her acknowledgements as inspirations, and I was like... yep, they did it well! But this book feels underdeveloped and messy, unfortunately. :/

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I had a really tough time with this. I made it through because I don’t DNF ARC s that are given to me in exchange for my honest review but would have had it not been..

I hate the main character. I do not want to root for her let alone care what happens to her. The whole book is just poorly written. It came off like a spoof of horror.

I never recommend trigger warnings specifically but having some clue of what you’re about to wade into would be a good idea as it’s jarring . It’s also not needed.

I’m going to leave it at that so I don’t completely trash this as maybe someone will enjoy the story beyond the description (which really doesn’t give you a true sense of the book).

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

I enjoyed reading Tiny Threads. I enjoyed Samara's unlikable, alcohol induced antics. I also enjoyed the fact the book was set somewhere other then police/detective or a book publishing setting.
Samara gets a new job and moves across the country to California to work for a designer who is trying to make a comeback. Strange things start happening, fueled by her constant indulgence in alcohol and pills, Samara tries to get to the bottom of what is going on. And of course, the violently rancid smell that whiffs through the town of Vernon daily...
However, I didn't enjoy the ending, and the SA turn the book took. Over all 3 stars. Could make a great B line horror movie!
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.

The book centers around Samara. Finally ready to break out on her own, and obsessed with fashion she's landed her dream job with Antonio Mota. Moving from California to Jersey seems like a dream, and she's more than ready for the change.

Designer Antonio Mota is not what she imagined. Constantly striving for his attention and dealing with her problems, Samara's dream begins to unravel as quickly as the rolls of thread used in Mota's workshop.

Samara learns that the life of a fashion house isn't as glamourous as it seems.

I liked the idea of the story, but as Samara began to unravel I had problems determining what was fake and what was reality. If that was the author's purpose, she nailed it! Otherwise, I was sometimes left a bit confused.

Samara has hit the big time. She's been offered a job in Los Angeles to work as the head of PR for the designer Antonio Mota, who is also trying to reinvent himself and revive his career back to its former glory. She leaves her best friends and family behind in New Jersey and makes the leap to the West Coast to start work in Vernon, CA.
Thinking that California is all sunshine and movie stars, she comes to a rude awakening when she sees that the Mota compound, Saprophyte, is right next to a slaughterhouse, and the stench of manure and death surrounds everything. Trying to stay upbeat, she throws herself into her work, trying her best to please Antonio, despite his rounds of outbursts to every underling on site. She soon sees that everyone is desperate to please him, and avoid his rage.
All this pressure is mainly caused by the looming date in February for his upcoming fashion show, a show that will determine if he makes a glorious comeback, or reinforces his failures.
Samara is Latino and had a great relationship with her late grandmother, who was a seamstress in California for a knitting mill. She gets the job at Saprophyte due to an article she wrote about her grandmother's immigration and factory experiences.
I thought this book would be the latin 'The Devil wears Prada', and there is some resemblance to that, but the majority of the book is focused on Samara's attempt to quell her demons with vodka and pills. She drinks to get up in the morning, and drinks to go to bed in the evening. She has visions of a woman with bleeding hands, and hears grunting noises in her apartment at night. She also sees this woman during the day at work, and a photo of her keeps reappearing on Samara's desk. At first it's hard to determine if these are hallucinations due to all the self medicating, or if something actually supernatural is going on here. When the head of the seamstress team, Dolores, tells her she's in danger, and has demons around her, you begin to suspect the latter.
There are a lot of pacing issues in this book and it takes a long time to get to the root of what's going on here. Most of the middle section is Samara drinking, taking pills, and running and screaming from alleged ghosts. Thankfully this was under 300 pages so that helped.
Once the fashion show gets started, some of the key plots in the book get revealed and it's nothing too shocking, but the age old story of men taking advantage of women, and some women getting revenge.
There are major triggers here for graphic sexual assault descriptions ( ala Jodie Foster in 'The Accused'), that were not mentioned in any of the book summaries, so heads up on that.
I would say if it was better written, the pacing tightened up a bit, and had a more likeable main character, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

My passion for fashion is what initially intrigued me about this book; the underlying secrets, nightmares and unraveling a mystery Samara faces in her new “dream job” kept me hooked. I dreaded not only the ending, but finishing that last page knowing I want to read more from Lilliam ASAP. Thank you, Lilliam Rivera and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. Absolutely loved it.

3.5
Samara was definitely a tortured soul that was trying to find herself while landing her dream job when she recently left NY to move to Vernon. Her boss the designer seemed crazy as hell with a huge ego & his staff seemed to always to try to stay on his good side especially Samara. She wanted to be liked so bad & had a serious drinking problem. It was so bad I wasn’t sure if she was having a mental break down or all the visions she had were from the side effects of drugs and alcohol she kept using. Loved that this story was pretty unique & was well written but the pace of it was not great. The “twist” or backstory of everything that happened seemed a bit rushed at the end & left a few unanswered questions in my opinion. Overall it was an okay read & I would recommend to others that enjoy this genre but it does feel like a slow burn for how much it went on & on. This copy of the book was complimentary & all opinions are my own.

this uses the supernatural suspenseful atmosphere perfectly, I thought everything had a great overall feel in the mystery element perfectly and it had everything that I hoped for in the story. The characters were everything that I was expecting and glad I was able to read this. I was engaged with Lilliam Rivera and thought it worked well overall.

Evocative, compelling, and, ultimately, disturbing in an all too familiar way. Here are some additional words for the sake of netgalley's word requirement.

I have to admit that halfway through this book I felt like I was watching a trainwreck in slow motion as Samara began to spiral more and more out of control. But it turns out that she absolutely needed to do so in order to get her to a place where she both heal and be healed. I don’t know what working in the world of high-power fashion is like, but I imagine as with everything, one does not become famous or make a lot of money with oppressing someone. And despite just how very aware we are of those oppressions these in this day and age, we still can’t seem to fix the system. I love the way Rivera uses supernatural suspense to further open Samara’s eyes and the alcohol she consumes to numb those nightmares only serves to break her down instead. An excellent read!

A gothic psychological thriller of a horror novel . Samara gets her dream job in California working for a top designer . This book explores some dark topics such as exploitation of factory workers and women . However I enjoyed the supernatural parts and and the atmosphere the book created . not for the faint of heart this deals with some REAL subjects

I fully admit I received messaging from a publicist to look into this book, as I am a loud and proud fan of Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Lilliam Rivera was sold to me as similar. For the first few chapters I was thinking this "similarity" was just because they're Latinas, along with (most of) their MCs. This struck me as tone deaf, given the content of the book, since their writing styles are very different - and then the second act begins.

The Moreno-Garcia book specifically namedropped was, of course, Mexican Gothic but I found more in common with Silver Nitrate - but the media I found myself referencing most while reading was a movie, not a book: Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho.

Rivera tells the story of a woman who is passionate about her job, slightly embarrassed of her upbringing (particularly of her lack of skill in Spanish), and who desires, more than anything, to be SEEN. She gets the dream job, combining her passions of writing and fashion, a great apartment, and everything seems to be going great. Then, slowly, things begin to spiral out of control. I appreciate Rivera attempting to bury the truth happening behind the scenes in the story, but even with the conspicuous excuses, Rivera leans on one too many tropes and lays bare her intentions. Tiny Threads is an apt title as everything little thing that happens to Samara is ultimately connected to the Big Plot Point.

Which, in the end, means you won't be surprised when the truth is revealed - unless, like me, you're thinking too hard of Last Night in Soho. Rivera must be a fan of the film, but if you're expecting this novel to unfold like the movie then you will be as surprised as I was... but, then, not too surprised lol

I don't think Rivera quite reached Moreno-Garcia's skill, but then I don't think it's fair for them to be compared because they are so different, and good in their own ways. Actually, I think Rivera is a more welcoming read than Moreno-Garcia, with less of a slow-burn or meditative way of writing. Rivera is punchy and energetic in comparison, making her a much quicker, easier read.

A warning though: this story deals with violence against women, particularly WOC and immigrants. It can be hard to stomach at times, and is upsetting. The ending doesn't give us a pretty bow at the end, instead hanging on the promise of a better future to come for Samara and her friends. Someday.

I really liked what the author was attempting - evil thrives in a small California town. The glamour of the fashion industry - a famous mill employing quiet young women, targeted by a lecherous man. A promised night of ease and wealth becomes terror and abuse.
Decades later, a young woman takes a new job for a famous designer. Relaunching his brand, Samara and his staff become victims of his mood swings and instability.
Something haunts Samara's neighborhood - stealing sleep and rationale.
Dark and intriguing.

When Samara Martin is offered the opportunity to work for iconic fashion designer Antonio Moto, she sees it as her way out of New Jersey. More importantly, it’s her way to escape her past. She’s ready to throw herself into her work, but something about the new place she calls home doesn’t feel right.

Moto’s fashion house is located in Vernon, California, which is said to be up and coming. While Samara is expecting to find herself thriving, instead she becomes haunted by the ghosts of whatever past horrors happened in this town. As Samara spirals into darkness - as well as drinking too much - she loses her grip on reality. Soon she is overtaken by her fixation on the mysteries of Vernon and finds herself close to losing everything.

The premise of this story is great and the author does a great job setting the stage. Author Lilliam Rivera creates an eerie atmosphere in Vernon, and the reader quickly understands why Samara is so wary of everyone. There are many intriguing elements to the plot. While the book shows promise, the last third lets it down. Samara is never a likable character, but she is so self-destructive she becomes insufferable, pushing when the reader wants to tell her to just stop already. The ending of the book also feels a little anticlimactic and leaves several questions unanswered.

Though Samara isn’t a great protagonist and it’s a bit overlong, this is a great premise and would be good for fans of darker ghost stories.

Tiny Threads offers horror on multiple levels--body horror, psychological horror, entrapment, memory loss, generational trauma, and more. While the initial set-up felt a bit too much in requiring the willing suspension of disbelief--Samara's super-fast rise into a powerful position--the rest mostly makes up for it. Samara, who is mostly unlikeable and doesn't really have a personality, just a series of traumas--is a self-destructive addict in a world that valorizes and glamorizes that, as long as she gets her job done. Pretty soon, though, the sounds and visions she begins to have can't all be blamed on the alcohol and drugs, and so while she continues to use, she also starts to try to find out what's going on. Finally, she begins to put it all together, but throughout the entire denouement, I was frustrated because she hasn't learned much from all of her digging, and leaves another woman--who has just been assaulted--behind. The supernatural elements need to come in sooner to be really effective, and I wish Samara had anything--any thing--about her with which I could sympathize.

The concept of this book was so appealing — a horror exploring the dark side of the fashion world, generational trauma, plus some supernatural elements — but ultimately it didn’t quite work for me. I think part of that is just that I’m personally not a fan of the “woman who self-medicates with alcohol” genre of thriller. It’s a trope that I’m kind of bored with at this point. I also didn’t feel like all of the elements necessarily tied together that well. Spoiler — I was expecting Samara’s boss to have more of a role in the denouement, but instead he’s all the way in New York and the supernatural and real-life horror seems ultimately unconnected to him. He’s just kind of a run-of-the-mill bad boss. I also really disliked the way Samara’s sexual trauma was revealed. I feel like it needed to be addressed earlier, because it ended up feeling kind of awkwardly tacked on at the end. I found the writing occasionally a bit clunky, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the present tense. But there were some scenes that were so vividly described that I felt like I was watching a limited series based on this book already.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

Wow. This book was really good. I loved the ways that Rivera touched on the unspoken elements of our society. It was a well written piece of prose that exposed how gentrification, sexism, patriarchy, colorism, racism, classism, other form of discrimination are woven into the very fabric of modern day industries like fashion. This served as a reminder that no matter our identity, we can all easily become lost in the appearance of things, not acknowledging the underlying truths.

As a sociologist I love a good ghost story as Avery Gordon, one of my favorite theorists reminds us that our society is full of "hauntings". These serve to highlight the ways in which our society is still haunted by the horrors of our history, alive and well rather than an element of our imagination.

I truly enjoyed the bits of Spanish woven into the story. Even though I had to translate some of them, I believe readers should be confronted with this despite it making them uncomfortable. It's just another way Rivera forces us to come to terms with our entitlement and privilege as she did with the characters in the novel.

This story touched on elements of sexual violence without being graphic. As a woman who has experienced such devastating events, I believe it was done in a respectful way, highlighting the reality behind the society we live in.

Beautifully, thoughtfully written. Thanks net galley for the chance to review this ARC. It was truly a pleasure.

⭐5

Be careful what you yearn for because you just might get it, and the price could be much higher than you ever thought. Young Samara has gotten the job of her dreams working with an eccentric high fashion designer on the west coast. She leaves behind her family in Brooklyn sure that she’s making the right decision but red flags appear quickly. Samara passes them off and doubles down at her job but the more she learns about the company and its backers the more she worries. Soon she’s requiring alcohol just to make it through the start of her day, but she’s still convinced this is where she wants to be. Then at the culmination of a big project secrets are revealed and Samara must make her final choice.

This book is well written and holds your attention with surprises and changes. You really don’t know what’s coming next, who’s an ally and who’s a foe, and which side will Samara chose. I recommend it.

This book draws one in to the idea of fashion and how it can use the foundational staff - sewist - to feed itself. Fast paced and moving!

This story possessed me and I devoured it in a day. Could NOT put it down.

This book is an allegorical fiction with paranormal elements briefly addressing many everyday horrors experienced by women. Samara journeys to California running from her past and ultimately must decide if she will let it destroy her or if she will break the cycle. I think this book is AMAZING book club selection with trigger warnings for alcoholism, drug use and sexual assault.

The story begins like a disorienting nightmare, and deprives you of answers - of course that ignited the curiosity of a chismosa like me.

Don’t know what chismosa means? Look it up.

I’ve seen other reviews complain about Spanish words in the book, but I love when Latinx authors include Spanish words as gifts to Spanish speakers. I relish how it subverts reality (Spanish is never the dominant culture or language in the USA). This may cause discomfort and perhaps that sense of entitlement is something to be experienced and explored.

I imagine the uneasiness (or intimacy) the use of Spanish causes is purposeful since the book mentions many topics such as: assimilation, Latinx identity in the USA, racism, classism, colorism, misogyny, colonialism, gentrification, rape culture and environmental injustice (The myriad bookclub discussion points).

I finished the book thinking these are the tiny threads interwoven in the fabric of our society which continue to survive across generations - horrifically never going out of fashion.