At first I wasn’t completely convinced this book would be a hit, but about halfway through I was completely hooked! In the beginning I was critical of the rushed enemies to lovers trope between the main characters because it all felt a bit rushed and underdeveloped. After reading, I understand that the story was meant to read that way, as if things weren’t as clear and predictable as they seemed to be. Overall, I loved the plot, the magic-system, the complexity of the characters, the love story, and the FMCs growth into her power. The last 20% of the book was completely action-packed and had me on the edge of my seat. This is the first book in a duology that I cannot WAIT to continue.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyage for sending me this ARC!!

First off, thanks for the arc!

It's a duology

I'm halfway through and thinking: how do you choose between them...

Everything she did, she did it for her family.

I liked the style from the get-go, it's light but well-written, you can tell a lot of effort went into it.

The atmosphere is wow, and the family's a real crazy house. Reminded me of the family in "A Winter's Promise," but at least some of them turned out good in the end.

By the end, I was shouting, "How could you trust them?"
Then I realized I'm kinda like that too, so I get her.

I loved how the Fernglove family's magic hides someone with wings, horns, and tails.

By the end, the plot had me hooked; I couldn't sit still!

I felt a bit detached from the characters, but that's just me.
Can't wait for part two!

A girl with the magical power to heal at the cost of her own life threads, a family needing healing, brothers who are infected—everyone has the same goal, but there are always sacrifices. People can be toxic, no one to trust, but feelings will lead to decisions.

🪲Dark fantasy with romance
🪲From hate to love
🪲Forced proximity
🪲Secrets and intrigue
🪲Healer
🪲1st POV
🪲Gothic castle
2🌶

⭐️For emotions: 4.5/5

Mark my words! This book is going to EXPLODE in 2025!

The first book in this duology introduces us to Edira, a young woman whose outward appearance suggests a life of dedication and selflessness, shaped by a painful history of illness and heartache. But beneath the surface, Edira conceals a remarkable truth: she is one of the rare humans blessed (or cursed) with the extraordinary power of Threadmending. With her extraordinary ability, Edira can weave into the fabric of a person's existence and repair damage. However, this power exacts a heavy toll. Every healing comes at the cost of an unknown chunk of Edira's own lifespan. She conceals her powers to protect herself and live a normal life with her siblings, but fate seems to have other plans. Her brothers soon contract the very same illness, Blighy, that claimed her parents. Desperate to save her brothers, Edira unleashes her power and tries to threadmend. As she radiates with moonlight, Orin Fernglove discovers her and proposes a deal: in exchange for her brothers' safety, Edira must live with the powerful and immortal Ferngloves and help find a cure for Blight.

This world is a captivating blend of enchantment and darkness. The enigmatic Fernglove family draws you in, conjuring a mix of fascination and unease. This family is brimming with drama and cattiness that is just begging for a modern day reality TV show; it’s that addicting. This is a tale of shattered dreams, forbidden passions, dark mysteries, and overwhelming expectations. I highly recommend this book to fans of forced proximity, slow burn romance, and a blend of gothic and fantasy elements. I'm fascinated by the magic system and the history of the Evers; I hope it's explored even further in the next book. I’m eagerly awaiting the release of book two!

A huge thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

The House of Blight grabbed my attention immediately with the gothic tones, visceral emotion, and forbidden magics.

Edira, who is what is known as a Threadminder, possesses the ability of healing, but her magic comes with a cost: with each life she mends, she exchanges a piece of her own.
When the incurable blight infects her brothers, she realizes that she cannot save them both and must rely on the Ferngloves, an influential family, and their leader Orin. After an offer of assistance. Edira is drawn to Orin, agreeing to a deal that beneficial to both of their interests. What lengths will she go to save those most dear to her heart?

I really enjoyed this story and I’m definitely interested in reading book 2.

Thank you NetGalley for this gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review and feedback.

This book keeps you reading from the very start, from the very beginning it keeps you engrossed in the plot line. I love that the author can catch you off guard with the different characters in the book.

Damn was this good! I saw the twist coming from the start because regardless of what creature they are, men are the worst. Excited for where this story goes though. Was really enjoying the romance.

House of Blight follows the story of a young woman hiding in plain sight with a rare magical gift to heal others, but it comes at a cost. And one fateful night, she discovers exactly how much the price is to save her brothers ‘ lives from the deadly sickness infecting the area.

Striking an employment contract with the enemy was the only way to save the last two people in her life she loves. Leaving her lackluster life behind to work with the Evers to cure the blight ailing their matriarch and her brothers, Edira starts to unfurl the truth. Trust no one. Heal no one.

The characters were so well written. Their joy, pain, anger, humor was brought to life by Maxym M. Martineau.

If you’re looking for a fantasy read with themes of romance, vengeance & justice, this is the book for you.

House of Blight, the first book in the Threadmender Chronicles duology, offers an intriguing story filled with sacrifice, magic, and mystery. It follows Edira, a threadmender who can heal sickness by unraveling and reassembling “life threads” at the cost of her own health. But when the Blight—a sickness she can’t cure—afflicts her brothers, she makes a desperate deal with an immortal Ever: to live with him and study the Blight in exchange for keeping her brothers in stasis.
The concept of threadmending is fresh and engaging, and the story’s stakes feel real, especially when it comes to Edira’s love for her family. The world-building is solid, and there are plenty of moments that keep you hooked.
However, parts of the story felt familiar, with clear callbacks to ACOTAR and other popular romantasy. The pacing dragged in spots, and while the romance had potential, it leaned too heavily on instalove, feeling predictable and underdeveloped. The MMC’s kindness alone wasn’t quite enough to sell their connection.
Still, the ending left me curious about what’s next. While it didn’t blow me away, there’s enough uniqueness in the magic system and story to make it worth a read for fans of the genre.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded to 4 on Goodreads)
An entertaining read with potential but a few rough edges. Great for those who enjoy romantic fantasy with high stakes and unique magic.
Thank you @netgalley @HarpersVoyager and @AvonBooks for the eGalley

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC of this book!

I gave this book 4 stars because I have hope for the remaining books in the series. This book carries the same essence as the first ACOTAR. It’s intriguing to a point, then blah then the end starts the real story. This entire book is world & story building with no real romance connections or action. We get to see a bit of power from the FMC but we don’t learn much about anything, just bits of information here and there. I’m assuming(if this follows the same story telling as ACOTAR) the next book will be packed with information & romance. I suggest this book for Romantasy fans since it’s a compelling story with a compelling love interest, I just hope book two doesn’t fall flat!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for an ARC of this book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book. The magic system was unique and interesting, and the characters were flawed and not godlike perfect immortal creatures. The FMC is naive a lot of the time, but if I was in her shoes, I'd probably have been the same way if I was trapped in a bad situation like that with a huge power imbalance.

The pacing was a little uneven and slow in the beginning, but does pick up quickly in the second half of the book. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you busy thinking too.

Overall it was a solid book, and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Posted my review publicly at goodreads, copied here:
I don’t think I’ll be the first or the last to liken this one to ACOTAR, and that will either help this book find an audience, or rub people the wrong way. Time will tell.

The story starts extremely strong before grinding to a halt when what seemed like a smart, loving and fierce main female protagonist heads off the Beasts Castle exchanging her freedom for her family’s safety… wait I mean the Ferngloves Estate. As soon as she arrives she becomes a simpering, brain dead, blushing girl more interested in chiseled chests and dark eyes than thinking about how messed up anything happening to her is- and it does just HAPPEN to her. No agency, no driving to discover the mysteries or find her chance at freedom.

We also have a trope you will either love or hate: a love triangle including two brothers. And a first love interest who appears too perfect and turns out to be awful (Tamlin much?). And lastly none of the characters are likeable…. Why Edira our main girl decides to sacrifice SO MUCH to help these people who are nothing but rude and terrible to her and each other is inexplicable.

The writing is good, the first 20% is good, and the world is good. The author has basically invented a new vampire/fae stand in with her “Evers” which have a great origin story and the gothic vibes are often very good.

But overall the book is frustrating at worst, boring for too long, and unsatisfying with a full second book to go before resolution.

House of Blight is book one in a gothic romantasy duology.

The FMC, Edira, is a threadmender who has the power to heal, which comes at a cost—time off her life. She bargains with an Ever, an immortal, to try and save her brothers from a deadly disease known as the Blight. From there, mystery and secrets await at Fernglove Manor.

The writing was creatively eerie and atmospheric. The descriptions of the fatal Blight—the vivid imagery was gut churning—Fernglove Manor, and the surrounding nature and friendly insects had me feeling connected to even the tiniest details. The magic system paired well with the dark/gothic theme.

It was easy to imagine a dark, peculiar setting with even more peculiar characters that had a layered edge to them. The dynamic and banter between everyone was entertaining. There was slow burn romance and angst among the tension and chaos!

And then there's Ywena—she was such an endearing part to the story.

Overall, I had a lot of fun reading this one, and I am looking forward to seeing what happens next and how it ends. I recommend to any reader who loves romantasy with gothic vibes.

—𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘝𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.—

Sometimes you just read a book and you know that the romantasy crowd is going to eat it up. House of Blight is one of those books. Two immortal brothers and a human girl with some special powers? Sold. The female main character isn't still a teenager, and is, in fact, firmly in her 20's?! Bonus points.

It's easy to say I enjoyed reading this one. I thought the premise was fairly unique while incorporating well loved tropes. I thought the author, Maxym M. Martineau, did a good job painting a picture of who the three main characters are, while still leaving room for us to learn more about some of the characters in the next book. I also loved the love shown to insects. Bugs aren't appreciated enough. There was also some nicely subtle foreshadowing which is always a good addition.

I will say, as someone with a VERY detailed imagination when it comes to visualizing what I'm reading, I had a hard time during some scenes. Got a bit of the ick. The visuals I conjured up took me out of the moment a bit. Especially when there are references made to Edira (the FMC) having some of her own visuals, though conveniently for her, not in the places I was thinking about it. I don't think this would be a problem for many readers though.

In general, I would absolutely recommend this book to any fans of romantasy. I really enjoyed reading it and I'm only sad that I'll have to wait even longer to read the next one than folks who will read it upon release.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon & Harper Voyager for the chance to read this book as an ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

The House of Blight was my first Maxim M. Martineau book, but it will not be my last! I found the premise of this story to be a bit different than anything I have read before. My initial intrigue, coupled with an opening paragraph (pure poetry) and its strong prequel, had me instantly hooked. I could not put this down!

Edira is a threadmender, a rare magical healer able to cure any ailment, except the blight that is plaguing their world. Each time Edira mends, she sacrifices some of her own threads, taking time off her life. Edira is careful to conceal her ability from others, particularly the Evers, the immortals who own the mine that supports her village and have a keen interest in anyone with this unique ability. When her brothers become infected with the blight, Edira makes a deal with one of the Evers: come to work with him on finding a cure for the blight and he will put her brothers in stasis, preventing the blight from spreading and buying her the time to discover the cure. Despite not knowing how much time she has left, she enters into an agreement bound by magic with the Ever. But when she heads to Fernglove estate with the Ever, she finds by not being specific in her word choice she may have agreed to more than she planned, the blight may be tied to dark secrets, and the estate she moved into may be as furtive as its residents… and if she’s not careful, she may not survive.

The world building is descriptive and well done and the array of characters are varied, from compelling and dynamic to love-to-hate and rigid. Several of the plot twists were a bit predictable, but I enjoyed how the author developed the story to get the reader there. The ending does leave several threads left loose, but was more mild than most cliffhangers. Overall, this book exceeded my expectations and I am excited to see where Martineau takes these characters in the sequel! 📚
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✨Gothic romantacy
🦋Duology
🧵Haunted House
✨Magical vows
🦋Glamours
🧵Magical healing powers
✨Single POV*
🦋Magical pet
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Thank you Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review! 📚
Publishers release date 4/8/2025
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“When the stars were young and the sun was new, a woman of great power and strong mind met Death at a four-way crossing.”
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“Welcome to Fernglove, Edira. May you live to see something else.”
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*The entire book is from Edira’s POV with the exception of 1 chapter toward the end.
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Update: this was a 4⭐️ review, but I am upping it to 5⭐️ because I cannot stop thinking about this book!

Loved this book and can’t wait for the next in the series. The world building isn’t too over the top and confusing, I was engaged and excited about what was next, and I liked the main character ok. The writing was great and like the story and concept. If you like Sarah j. Maas and enjoyed the ACOTAR series you will enjoy this! Great fantasy read for 2025!

This book…. Wow!!! It honesrly had me hooked from the start. Edira Brillwyn is a threadmender, able to heal others by giving up pieces of her own life—a power she’s hidden for years. But when her brothers catch the blight, a deadly disease with no cure, she’s forced to use her magic. Just as she’s about to risk everything, Orin Fernglove, the head of a powerful and mysterious family, steps in with an offer: he’ll keep her brothers alive if she works for him to find a cure.

The Fernglove estate is dark and dripping with secrets. Orin is impossible to figure out—charming one minute, suspicious the next—and his family is equally shady and fascinating. The magic system felt so fresh and visual, and the gothic vibes were everything: eerie, atmospheric, and impossible to look away from.

Edira is such a strong, relatable character. She’s just trying to save the people she loves, even when the odds are stacked against her. If you love fantasy with high stakes, morally gray characters, and a touch of slow-burn romance, this book is for you. I’m counting down the days for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager.

Thanks to NetGalley & Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me an e-ARC!

**2 stars** Unfortunately, this novel wasn’t an enjoyable read for me. I typically enjoy reading gothic fantasies with unique magic systems but the lack of world-building and character development made this a mediocre KU-type work.

We follow our main female protagonist, Edira Brillwyn, a threadmender on her journey of navigating her rare, dark magic. Following the mysterious plague her brothers caught, she is approached by Orin–the head of the Fernglove family. Together, they find a cure to this mysterious virus while mastering Edira’s magic. And of course, the two start to develop an undeniable attraction to each other.

This is literally a copy-paste of any other romantasy book found on KindleUnlimited with the typical, popular troupes that our fellow BookTok, BookTube, and Bookstagram love. Enemies-to-lovers, a potential love triangle, instalove, smut–all beloved by these communities. Where I had problems is the fleshing out of the setting. We readers have no idea when or where this is set.​​ This is necessary if the author intends to separate themselves from the popular romantasy books out there. The magic system, though interesting, is not very detailed. And even though this is marketed as adult fiction, the writing felt very YA. There was lots of repetition which at times started to get very annoying.

What I can appreciate about this book is that it will only be a duology. Had this been dragged out, this could be an opportunity to better flesh out the world but I’m not sure it’d be worth it. This book requires no brain power so it is a good palette cleanser book, if you will. I really did want to enjoy this but there are too many similarities to all the other gothic fantasy works out there.

Where to begin. First thank you to NetGalley for this eARC. This book follows Edira a human with powers to heel and Evers who want to catch and use her power. My only negative on this book was that she was so annoying naive at times, however that did not effect me giving it 5 stars. This book was a magnificent read that drew me in from start to finish. An amazing new take on a magical world and while it doesn’t come out until April I am already impatiently waiting for the next installment. I LOVED it. It was funny, inspiring, deep, emotional in all the right places and so well written. I would recommend to anyone and cannot wait until Book 2 comes out!!!

A deal made with Death for everlasting life and a sickness ravaging the land and humans...there is interesting lore, magic, and character arcs that kept me entranced. My first read by Maxym, but not my last!

House of Blight is a solid read with a creepy, gothic vibe that’s perfect for fans of haunted houses and dark romantasy. The threadmending magic is beautifully described, and the eerie atmosphere pulls you in right away, especially with the graphic details of the Blight itself. That said, the characters fell a bit flat for me, and the romance leaned too heavily on instalove with a barely there love triangle. While I enjoyed the tension and mystery surrounding the Fernglove family, I wish the plot and relationships had been explored more deeply. If you love gothic tropes like slow burn romance and forced proximity, this one is worth checking out, but it didn’t fully captivate me.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.