The beginning of this book seemed very predictable and I had to switch to a different book for a while. But once I came back, I was hooked. The slow start was SO WORTH IT because I could not put this book down! The climax at the end was riveting, the build up to that point wasn’t forced and it flowed naturally. The romantic connection was perfection and I need it to be explored in a second book!!!
The very beginning was a deathly hollows mix with spring court of ACOTAR, but became so much more! I would’ve loved for more magic outside of the threadmending because the Evers are supposed to be powerful so please ramp up the magic in a fantasy series. Still 5 stars tho, must read!

Wow wow wow I honestly don't even have enough words. It was slow to start but once I hit the 55% mark I devoured the rest in a matter of hours. I giggled, I felt visceral rage, I felt unbelievable love, i sobbed. I am absolutely awe stuck by the ending to this book, there were so many twists and turns I didn't see coming at all. The magical system is very unique and the characters are very well written. I absolutely can not wait to see where this series will lead!

*House of Blight* by Maxym M. Martineau is a captivating read that was hard to put down, with incredible world-building that draws you right in. Edira's role as a threadmender, tasked with healing at great personal cost, adds a unique dimension to this dark and gothic tale, and the Fernglove family is as mysterious as they are dangerous. The tension between Edira and Orin, combined with the family secrets lurking beneath the surface, kept me hooked from beginning to end. While some plot points were predictable, the rich atmosphere and strong character dynamics made this a thrilling journey, and I can't wait for book two!

There were some incredibly cool ideas and visual moments here, but to me, the worldbuilding fell too flat to support it. It might just be me, but I could not get over all my questions about the mines, specifically her brothers working in them. (They're seventeen! How young were they when they started? Was she just okay with that? Does she worry how long they'll be working that job? Or is it something everyone in town does for work?) They and their friend seemed to be the only ones working in them. The town was supposedly built around the mines, but everyone else was rich and did other work. I feel like there is so much more that goes along with mining towns: dust inhalation, cave-ins, other work-related injuries, that it seemed almost odd to be concerned only with blight. I think having that part not ring true ended up pulling me out of the story so I kept questioning things instead of letting myself get swept away. Probably not a deal-breaker for everyone, but for some reason I just couldn't get over it.

This was an easy to read and hard to put down story. The way this was written was really well done. For reference, how the main creatures were not thoroughly described was absolutely my favorite part. It left open the imagination with subtle hints here and there as to what they could be. That's an awesome thing to pull off and it was really done well. The story is very medium paced with a few slow parts here and there. But they weren't distracting from the overall plot to slow it down. I really enjoyed this one!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! The name and cover immediately caught my attention, and I was drawn in by the synopsis. I am so grateful to NetGalley and HarperCollins for allowing me the opportunity to ARC read this story.

I was extremely enamored with the setting and aesthetic of the story, one of a gothic and fantastical fantasy. From the little village where Edira and her brothers live to the elusive and creepy Fernglove manor. The description of characters, their clothes, and the unique nuances to the world were wonderful.

I appreciated the author’s writing style and ability to draw you in to the story. I was hooked from the start, and I truly enjoyed how questions developed but didn’t get answered immediately. I was kept guessing and questioning until the end. I love the twists and turns, and I’m so eager to learn what happens in book 2.

Some areas of the book seemed to lull a bit, and I was worried about how fast Edira was moving with her relationship, regardless how everything played out in the end. I didn’t pick up on any grammatical errors or obvious plot holes, either (this was a proof and not a final draft ARC read).

Overall, I gave this read a solid 4/5 stars, and I have been recommending everyone add it to their TBR. Extremely enjoyable, unique magic system, beautiful characters, and a wonderful story with a dedication that hit me straight in the heart.

Again, thank you for the chance to ARC read this book! It was the best introduction to ARC reading!!

This is the perfect book for those who love acotar series or the shepherd king duology. It’s an amazing Romantasy.

This book is absolutely amazing and it’s so hard to write a review on this one because I want it to remain spoiler free.

Edira is a threadmender who has been living with her abilities kept secret. When her brothers fall sick to blight, an incurable disease that is deadly once caught, she is lucky that Orin Fernglove, an Ever, is nearby to help put her brothers in stasis, in return for her threadmending services to help his family. Once at his estate she begins to learn more about her own powers but also the issues plaguing Evers and their families.

I loved the magic system that this book had and I loved the layout and progression of the story. Seeing Edira learn more about her powers and trying to cure blight while finding out the secrets about Evers and the Fernglove estate made this a fantastic read.

There is a bit of spice and romance with lots of passages about lust and longing. I’d rate it 2/5 spice level just because there is a spicy scene in the book.

I’m really excited for the next book and this is definitely the type of book I’d buy once it releases to have as part of my collection.

Other than that this is the type of story if I say to much it spoils it. Happy reading!

Characters: 4/5 stars
Plot: 5/5 stars
Writing: 5/5 stars
Overall: 4.75/5 stars

First I want to thank netgalley for letting me read this ARC, I very much appreciate it!

This book was the best book that I have read in a very long time! I enjoyed every second, every word of this book! From the prologue all the way to the last page of this ARC I was enraptured in the world building, the characters and the plot. Everything was just *chef's kiss'. This is a book I am eagerly awaiting publication so I can add it to my shelves.

Bring in Edira, a threadmender, a healer able to see the threads of life. She can take those threads and stitch them together and heal you, but at a cost. Minutes, hours, days and even weeks off her own life.
There's this sickness going around, fast acting, killing people within minutes and there's no cure. Edira can't help either, the Blight is too strong for her to heal. One day, her brothers come down with the Blight and an Ever (a magical, immortal being) Orin walks in on her desperately trying to heal her brothers. He makes a promise to her that he can slow down the Blight with his magic if she agrees to move into the Fernglove mansion and learn how to wield her power. She agrees and from there it's a wild ride. Edira, during her stay, finds out untold truths and betrayals ensue.

This book was fantastic! I wasn't sure going in what to expect because the author is new to me, but once I got into the story it was hard to put it down. I loved the characters and the world building, it was all unique which made it so much better. I like that our FMC is a healer that instead of letting people suffer, steps up and tries to save everyone she can in any way she can. The romance was good, though I think it's because the last couple of books I read before this were very spicy in comparison. I'm definitely looking forward to the next book!

4.25 stars

This was an interesting start to a new series. The world building and magic was different and really well done.

I really loved the extended cast of characters, the many Evers were interesting and even the townspeople had a couple of interesting moments.

I thought the way the romance was approached was interesting, I had a feeling that was the way things were moving, but I was worried until the end that maybe things wouldn’t turn out alright! Rorik and Orin were both really interestingly done. I hope we dig more into motivations and drivers for the entire family now that some of the secrets have come out!

This book does feel like a set up for a larger story, there’s a lot that happens that introduces you to the world, but the ending feels so unfinished. This is ultimately what dropped my score a little bit, I felt like there was too much more left at the end that I couldn’t believe that was it! It felt a bit abrupt.

I really do see the potential second book to be even stronger than this one, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

"For those who constantly sacrifice in the name of others, it's okay to save yourself first."

"I'm training you to survive."
"Why?"
"Because you deserve to live."

Once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down! I felt like Edira was really relatable in the sense that she's constantly doing things to help other people. I love the subtle crumbs throughout the book that had to do with color schemes, the banter between Edira and Rorik, and the way the plot developed. This book kept me on the edge of my seat as Edira was trying to put together all of the pieces about the Evers, and when everything finally clicked I wanted to scream. I'm excited to see how that plays out in the next book!

This was the fantasy book I have been looking for the last several months. Maxym M. Martineau has created a new magical world and crafted a story that was a delight to dive into. Edira is a human with powers that make her a threadmender. She can see the life strings in people and heal them but the magic comes at a cost as every time she uses this power she loses time off of her life. As a result, she holds back and hides this while she struggles to care for her two younger twin brothers. The worst part is that there is a disease called "blight" which is disgusting and kills humans quickly. I mean, mold spores and decay abound. (gag) This disease she cannot cure which is why she and her brothers are orphans.

She hides her powers, especially from "Evers," who are an immortal race of people with unique powers and beast attributes. Think of them as variations on Fae. The Evers eventually find her and so begins the story of her working for them to find a cure for blight. It seems like a noble act initially but there are so many twists and turns that I found myself not sure who to trust. I did predict a few things but there were always pieces missing and it may remain that way till there is a sequel.

I really enjoyed this book. I truly mean it. I can't wait for the next one in the series. The story ends with a resolution but there is a cliffhanger. I loved the world-building and hidden details throughout the story. Yes, Edira did make a mess of things with her decisions but it was all for the love of her brothers. The story has a bit of romance threaded through and some spice but it isn't nuts. There is tension, a lovely animal sidekick (which I love!), and constant bathing. Seriously, she is always bathing. There was one scene where I actually wondered if she bathed yet because it happened so much. Sorry, let me refocus.

Anyway, this was a delight and I highly recommend it.

I was provided this book as an ARC from NetGalley and Harper Collins. These are my real and honest thoughts.

I really enjoyed this book! It wasn't exactly a romantasy; it was more like a gothic mystery with magic and some spice. It was really unique and definitely a page-turner!

Our MMC, Edira, is a threadmender, which allows her to magically heal people, but at a high cost. Her own life is shortened each time she uses her magic. Her life is turned upside down when tragedy forces her to work with Evers (a powerful, magical race of human-like creatures) to cure the blight--a deadly disease that's been taking over the land. She goes to the Ever's giant manor, where it's clear there's more going on than meets the eye. Edira doesn't know who to trust or what to believe. Things get especially interesting when two Ever men take an interest in Edira. 😉

This is going to be a duology, and I will 1000% be reading the next one!

This felt like a really unique fantasy with very unique forms of magic that I don't think I've really ever come across before (and I read a lot of fantasy and fantasy adjacent books, so me saying something is unique is REALLY saying something).

I love the cozy apothecary-type vibes of Edira (our main character) when she's selling her potions and things.

I also thought it was unique that the "politics" within this book was more so between different families in this little town. That makes this book feel like a high-stakes cozy fantasy (even though people often associate cozy fantasy with low stakes).

And due to the overhanging spookiness of this town and environment, it feels like it can be categorized as a fall read. This just has that sort of vibe. You'll want grey skies and orange leaves for this one.

This has immortal beings, rare and hidden magic, a price for using magic (I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS), a wealthy and overbearing neighboring family, spooky house secrets, eerie atmosphere, a FMC that knows what she wants and doesn't want, a grumpy love interest, and glamours galore! And so much more.

This is another one of those books where I feel like I have to be quite vague because I think this works best when you go in not knowing that much about it. This is the first book in a new duology and I will definitely be reading the sequel!

Thanks to NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My review is up on Goodreads and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly wrap-up.

I really loved this book and I had so much fun reading it. I thought the concept was really new and intriguing and this book did not disappoint. I loved the grotesque and detailed explanations of blight and the way it works. I thought the characters were super fleshed out although I wish more had been done with the two younger girls I still thought the characters made the story more immersive. I did guess one of the plot twists in the book pretty early on, and I did spot a typo towards the end of the book, but those aspects of it didn't take away from my personal reading experience. I would still highly recommend it. I wish more happened in the middle of the book because most of the plot happened towards the end of the book but besides that, I didn't have any qualms with the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Voyager/Avon for access to this E-arc

I loved this world and the magic system. It was different from others. The prologue of this book really caught my attention and had me wanting more. The only reason I rate 4 and not 5 stars is because it was pretty predictable. I knew what was coming throughout the book. Which is not a bad thing, but the story and the plot were so good, I wanted more of a twist or something to happen. But this is definitely a great and quick fantasy read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for this eARC.

I have a lot of feelings on this one! Did I overall enjoy it? Absolutely. It was very well written. It had an interesting premise. It had a very unique magic system. It had most of the things I love.

I will say, the pacing in the middle part of the book was slower than I would like and it made it hard to want to pick it up for a few days. It made up for that in the end because the last 30% was great.

One thing the author did very well is her imagery. The descriptions made it very easy to visualize the world (almost too much, because the descriptions of blight had me grossed out to the max)…

One thing I don’t personally like is when a FMC is portrayed as gullible. I feel like there were obvious traps or foul character actions that she didn’t even question…but before leaving her hometown she questioned everything. The main love story line also felt really instalovey especially for someone who’s essentially been forced into a new life they didn’t want.

However, I liked the way this wrapped up and if there will be a sequel, I’d definitely give it a chance!

This is going to be the next big fantasy romance book, and I feel completely honored to have been able to read an early copy. I can't wait to read more. Now I'm off to read Martineau's backlist.

This book reminded me of another ARC I read a little over a year ago called House of Marionne because it's kinda just an adult version of that in my opinion, with some slight changes.

I feel horrible giving this book just three stars, and it isn’t because the writing was bad or anything so concerning, but just because it didn’t really suit my preferences. Still an incredible book, with characters that I applaud, as it felt like they naturally fit in their own skin.
I definitely got springy gothic vibes, which wasn’t really what I was looking for at the time that I started it, but I’m glad I stumbled across nevertheless, as it left me feeling refreshed and a little haunted.
If you like Sarah J. Mass’s A Court of Thorns and Roses or the Folk of the Air series by Holly Black, I would recommend this to you in a heartbeat; it shares similar heart-rending twists, romantic tension, and seductive characters.
This read was razor-sharp. Brace yourself for lots of emotions if you give it a go.