a lovely debut! the writing was strong and i thought this magic system was very unique. the mix of Mexican and German cultures in a fantasy setting is nothing i've seen before and i'm really looking forward to future books from this author.

I really enjoyed the magic system and mystery elements in this! The romance was a little much for me, but that’s just an issue of personal preference. It was well-written and the world-building was really interesting; I can’t wait to see what else this author writes!

Full disclosure: I know the author personally, but that doesn’t impact my review.

Jade Aguilar is a thread speaker. A unique magic system that allows her to see people’s souls and weave tattoos into their skin that grant special powers. But she can also take away parts of people’s souls and even their lives. Her mother is the thread speaker for the queen and when people start showing up dead with their souls missing and Jade’s mom disappears, Jade has limited time to figure out what’s going on. She meets Lukas, a poor boy who once tried to get Jade’s mom to save his dying sister. With unresolved animosity between them, they set off to solve the mystery of the killer and find Jade’s mom.

What we get is slow burn romance, a reclusive and scared Jade who undergoes a beautiful transformation throughout the book, and an angry and worn down Lukas who learns things aren’t always what they seem and sometimes it’s okay to take care of yourself. This was very well written and constantly kept me hooked the entire time. There were twists and turns and new information dropped at just the right time. Don’t ever think you have it figured out, because then something changes. Highly recommended.

I loved the concept and magic system in this book. It is super creative. I know this is YA but I felt like the writing style was a little too simplistic and could have benefit from some literary elements and development. The characters also came across a little too simplistic for me, but I do think it is worth a read and will likely be enjoyed by many.

The embroidery magic concept was very unique. The story had a lot of characters that kept the story engaging but not overwhelming. It was not an overly predictable storyline. I really enjoyed how the magic played into the story, but it was really a journey of discovery for the main character. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This was such an entertaining story that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
They are realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

The first half of this book I devoured and would have rated 5 stars. It was the last half that I found myself struggling with because it felt like a completely different book. It was info dumpy and felt like a slog to get through. At first I had no clue how to rate this book but I guess it would be a 3 because I can’t ignore the beginning but I also have to take the ending into account so I guess it ends up somewhere in the middle. 2.5 to 3 star

Jade’s mother has been missing for months now. Since she hasn’t returned, Jade is expected to take her place as the life weaver to the Queen. There’s only one problem. Jade isn’t ready for that responsibility and is still holding out hope that her mom will return. The Queen gives Jade more time to see if her mother returns. If not, Jade will have to take her place. Along this Journey, Jade finds Lukas who helps her more than she knows.

Thread tattoos that imbue traits into your soul, a new magic that few wield in this new fantasy world for young adults by Ruby Martinez in her debut novel An Embroidery of Souls. I loved everything about this book from the unique magic system that was well thought out to the very human characters that showed amazing growth to the emotions evoked and the love that formed and bloomed for them.

The story follows Jade, a rare thread speaker adopted by another thread speaker at a young age, a woman who works for the royal queen, and Lukas, a poor young man who takes care of his remaining family, as they work to uncover the mystery of a murderer in their city. Along the way both learn lessons and are pushed into situations that require them to grow and overcome their fears and insecurities. Together they build each other up and wrestle with their emotions and fears, and fall in love in the process while untangling their past and uncovering secrets.

The author built a unique fantasy world with plenty of familiar elements to make it feel real, like I could easily step into it. The pacing of the world building, and the character building, was natural and didn't feel too rushed or forced. The writing had beautiful descriptions throughout that made it a joy to read. The characters felt human and relatable with real issues they each faced and overcame. I always felt like I was there in the pages with the character, feeling what they felt. Jade and Lukas don't necessarily start out as friends but they are both good people and work together, eventually becoming more than friends though it takes them a while to realize and even admit it. The romance was sweet and appropriate for a young adult audience, while the main focus of the story was about overcoming fears/issues, growing as a person, and supporting each other.

I absolutely loved the story and found no faults in it, so highly recommend this book for readers who enjoy romance and fantasy! Young adult and adult readers alike will enjoy reading this story. I do want to warn readers that the book does contain death, grief, murder, and some violence but it's still suitable for a young adult audience. I thank Knopf Books for Young Readers, part of Random House Children's Books, for providing this advance copy for review via NetGalley All opinions are my own.

An Embroidery of Souls follows Jade, able to use the magic of thread speaking, and Lukas, a poor immigrant boy from the slums. They must work together to protect their home and family from a monster that steals souls.
I enjoyed the lush and imaginative world. It really breathes and comes to life from the writing. I also was really rooting for the main characters. We understand how their mind ticks, and how each is trapped in their own thoughts. So even when they make bad decisions, you understand the why of it. The mystery of the monster is handled well, and the way it ties up is satisfying.

Embroidery of Souls is a magical realism novel in which Jade Aguilar is a thread speaker, who can manipulate the fabric of a person’s soul, a tapestry with each thread color symbolizing a different aspect of the self. She can stitch beauty and brilliance into existence, save a life or unravel one. After his father’s death, Lukas Keller is desperate to provide for his family. He approaches Cora, a vicious gang leader, for help, and she tasks him with finding the murderer who is not only taking people’s lives, but also their souls. He enlists Jade’s help and together they discover love and strength in themselves, as well as solving the mystery of the monster on the hunt. Set against the backdrop of Mexican and German lore, this is an inventive and spellbinding page-turner.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's Books | Knopf Books for Young Readers & Ruby Martinez for the ARC–my opinions are my own.


Synopsis
Jade Aguilar, a powerful thread speaker like her mother, can manipulate emotions and even life itself with a needle and thread. When her mother vanishes, Jade is forced by the queen to find her or face a life of servitude. Meanwhile, Lukas Keller, struggling to support his family, becomes entangled with a dangerous gang and reluctantly considers seeking help from a thread speaker. Jade and Lukas form a wary alliance as they face mounting threats and unrest in the queendom of Mérecal.

Review
5 stars

Wow! This was such a creative story, with such a unique magic system, and such a strong debut novel. I love embroidery so the title and summary piqued my interest! The idea of seeing someone’s soul and their traits/characteristics through different colors of embroidery thread is so fascinating!

Jade and Lukas both had such great character development throughout the story and I enjoyed their slow burn love story. There was definitely some repetitiveness internally in the characters (Lukas: “I shouldn’t like Jade cause XYZ…”) and the middle of the story felt dragged out, but the ending was so thrilling and fast-paced–it didn’t deter from my overall positive feelings of the book. I felt like all the threads of the story were tied up nicely, and I actually enjoyed that there wasn’t a cliffhanger, or that this wasn’t going to be a duology or trilogy, etc…, but I hope the author revisits this world in the future!

It was pretty good. Not the greatest, but solid, and I can see the author having the ability to continue to improve their writing.

Although I know the focus was set on the mail female character overcoming fear it felt like it was a little too constant to not become a bit annoying as it felt like a crutch in some scenarios.

Additionally I’d have liked to see the author flesh out the theology a bit more as it was important to the story in a way, but could have played a bigger part.

Other than that, pretty solid read.

Jade is a thread speaker who is now in charge of protecting her village and trying to find her mother. She meets Lukas along the way, and a flame builds between them as they learn how to trust each other while helping one another.

This was such a fun and educating read. I learned a few things about German folktales while also intertwined with Mexican folktales. The author describes their world in a way that sucks you in. It’s a fun YA romantasy that’s easy to follow along filled with mystery, murder, and magic. ✨

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

An Embroidery of Souls by Ruby Martinez is a first person dual-POV YA fantasy romance inspired by Mexico and Germany. Jade is a thread speaker, someone with a rare talent to not only see the threads of people’s souls, but to also weave them into other souls and take abilities. Lukas has spent his life trying to keep his head down after his father and sister’s deaths. When the two meet, they not only have to untangle their complicated shared past, but also a conspiracy hiding in the palace walls.

The magic system takes the idea of the red string of fate and takes it a totally new direction and then expands it massively. The threads are not only abilities, but show the fabric of someone’s soul, such as melancholy, love, and anger, and take on different colors. This ability is extremely rare with only twelve known users by the time the story opens including Jade and her adoptive mother and it binds them to the queen of their country as she is required to have a thread speaker in her court at all times. The system felt well-thought out not only in terms of application but how it would operate within the world at large.

The romance between Lukas and Jade could be enemies-to-lovers in a different story. Jade is the daughter of the woman that rejected Lukas and his sister when they were looking for help because they didn’t have enough funds and Lukas has a lot of negative feelings towards thread speaking as a whole. There are other aspects to their relationship in a grander context as well that could have served the trope. What stops it from entering enemies-to-lovers territory is that they never view each other as enemies or even rivals. They are wary of each other in the beginning, but there’s very little genuine animosity or a lack of understanding of the other person’s side. They are on the same side, they just don’t necessarily have all of the same information.

The worldbuilding mixes Spanish and German names, fashions, and other details for a world that feels both familiar and different. There’s nothing that is deeply unfamiliar to most American readers, I think, so the familiarity does win out overall, but it still isn’t a vaguely European-sounding country that is indistinguishable from decades of vaguely European-sounding countries in fantasy.

I would recommend this to fans of fantasy romance with a mystery element and readers of YA who want a not-quite enemies-to-lovers dynamic

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was mesmerized by this book from the first few lines. Written with lush prose and courageous characters, An Embroidery of Souls is a captivating and thrilling tale.

Jade Aguilar can manipulate souls with the tug of a thread. When her mother goes missing and a series of gruesome murders plague her city she can’t help but wonder if they are somehow connected. Given 60 days to find her mother before she’s forced to be the thread speaker for the queen, Jade teams up with Lukas in search of the mysterious killer haunting the city.

This was such a creative story. I loved the world building and the rules of magic at play in the novel. Ms. Martinez does a beautiful job of creating complex characters who take courageous action no matter the fear they may feel. I really loved Jade and Lukas. They were so adorable together, and I felt that the way their relationship developed was so lovely. Lukas is a courageous man who takes care of his mother and siblings after the death of his father. He has sacrificed his future for them so that they don’t starve. He is an amazing character, and there were so many beautiful moments when he champions Jade and encourages her. He lovingly brings out the best in her and accepts her for who she is.

Jade is a fantastic character. She suffers from anxiety in crowds and often has panic attacks, and yet she perseveres. She willingly takes on challenges and puts herself out there. She helps Lukas to see what a wonderful person he is and conversely he helps her see how brave and courageous she is. It’s such a loving partnership.

Both Jade and Lukas have strong character arcs. It was such a pleasure to get to go on that journey with them. It was bittersweet to say farewell. This is a strong debut, and I look forward to reading more novels by Ms. Martinez.

Jade finds herself in a postion that she has never wanted ever since her mother Zamora the Queens thread Speaker disappeared. Summoned to the Queen she is told that she has 60 days to find her mother after that per the law she is required to serve the Queen as the royal Thread Speaker. Thread Speakers are able to see a persons soul, all the colors that make up the person and in seeing that soul they are able to make alterations, even cut the thread of life but to do these things it is a give and take, there is always a price to pay. One that Jade has been familiar with since she was twelve when her mother took her to the docks and using a piece of hair from a dock worker had Jade weave the portrait of the mans soul and then cut his life thread. Since that day Jade has known this is not something that she wants but Thread Speakers are rare and as soon as they are discovered they belong to the crown.

Not only does the Queen want Jade to become the Thread Speaker and to help her find the person responsible for the recent string of murders. People are turning up dead with their eyese missing and rumors abound that its either the old Gods taking vengeance for the people straying from worship or its The Serpensa a group that lives underground and causes trouble. So Jade finds herself with limited time to find her mother before she is thrust into a position she doesn't want.


Lukas finds himself roaming the streets trying to find work when he noticed a young woman hunched over in terror hardly able to breathe.She reminds him of his little sister Lina who passed away when she was younger, he had found his way to the home of The Thread Speaker and begged her to save his sister but she turned him away saying he couldn't afford the price and since then he has hated Thread Speakers. Little does he know that this girl that he is drawn too is exactly that. However he finds himself in a position after going to Cora Ramos the Under Queen of the Serpensa's for help caring for his family with the task of finding out who is killing people in the streets. If he is able to do that then she will protect his family, keep them fed and housed. So he and Jade find themselves aligned working together to find out who is killing people. Things are so much worse than they realize though when he takes Jade to a body hoping that she can see the soul and any residue left over from the soul of the killer. She gets violently ill and falls into a panic attack because what she sees should be impossible. The person laying before has no soul. Whatever or whoever killed this person also took their soul which should be impossible.

Together they must face things they never imagined to track down the killer and along the way learn more about eachother. They have to decide what matters more to them and learn to overcome their worst fears. I happily reccomend #AnEmbroideryofSouls by #RubyMartinez. It was a fantastic read!

Thank you to #Netgalley and #RandomHouse for the chance to read the eArc of #AnEmbroideryofSouls in return for a fair and honest review.

Again I was drawn in by the cover, it’s so pretty!! I’m also drawn to books with Soul in the title( I love the Kingdom of Souls trilogy). This book is full of magic and tangled webs. Jade can literally add to your soul with traits like strength, fearlessness etc or take your entire life away thread by thread. As with anything though to gain something you must lose something in return. In comes Lukas (I love him) who needs Jade’s help to find the monster who’s been killing the townspeople and Jade needs Lukas’s help to find her missing mother. Neither of them realize that they have been entangled in each other’s lives long before either of them came to know each other’s names. The ending had me saying I knew it! I don’t normally do romance books but it wasn’t cheesy at all, it was rather cute to see the relationship build between Lukas and Jade. I definitely recommend.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

An Embroidery of Souls is a spellbinding debut that completely swept me away. Ruby Martinez has woven (pun intended!) a lush, immersive world inspired by Mexican and German lore, filled with danger, romance, and magic that feels both original and timeless.

Jade is such a compelling heroine—fierce, determined, and haunted by both love and loss. Her thread-speaking ability is one of the most unique magic systems I’ve read in years, equal parts beautiful and terrifying. Lukas, with his quiet strength and desperate loyalty to his family, balances her so well; their reluctant alliance is full of tension, mistrust, and aching chemistry that grows into something unforgettable.

The world of Mérecal bursts off the page with its rich culture, looming threats, and dark mysteries. The pacing is pitch-perfect, blending heart-pounding action with tender, emotional moments that make you care deeply for the characters. And the romance? Equal parts slow-burn and soul-stitching intensity—utterly satisfying.

This book is for readers who love romantasy that feels epic yet intimate, with unforgettable characters and a magic system unlike anything else. I cannot wait to see what Ruby Martinez creates next—this debut is pure enchantment.

In An Embroidery of Souls, the YA debut by Ruby Martinez, Jade can kill a man with nothing more than a needle thread, and a lock of hair. She can stitch love, embroider away death, and unspool memories. She can give beauty, courage or happiness, but she can also steal them away. All this power, yet Jade suffers from paralyzing anxiety.

Lukas is a poor teen, working hard to support his family. After encountering the gruesome work of a soul stealing serial killer, he teams up with Jade to solve the mystery. They are chased across the seas as they seek answers about Jade‘s missing mother and the source of the monster that’s on a killing rampage. While they are drawn to each other romantically, they each carry a secret that could doom their love.

As Jade learns calming and coping strategies from Lukas, she grows to learn “that true bravery isn’t the absence of fear, but standing up despite the weight of pushing on you down.”

The author weaves Mexican and German lore in this beautiful fantasy world. The magic is completely unique- “our souls are a colorful tapestry”- and explores human complexity. Just as brightness remains on the fabric of our being to explain how the darkness evolves in all of us, colorful stitching blooms where we have overcome darker times.