Item: Threads That Bind
Rating: 4.50
Author: quirkycat

by Kika Hatzopoulou

In a world where the children of the gods inherit their powers, a descendant of the Greek Fates must solve a series of impossible murders to save her sisters, her soulmate, and her city.

In the sunken city of Alante, the gods’ powers have been passed down through the generations. As descendants of the three Greek Fates, Io Ora and her two sisters have always been able to see and manipulate people’s threads—the invisible lines that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. As the youngest, Io is the cutter, able to sever a thread with a simple gesture.

She uses her abilities as a private investigator in the Silts, the crime-ridden slums of the city. But while on a routine case, she witnesses a murder committed by a woman whose life-thread is severed, but who is still—impossibly—alive.

Io survives the attack, but soon finds herself entangled in an investigation that reaches from the depths of the Silts to the heights of City Plaza. And the conspiracy she uncovers involves the mob boss of the Silts, the idealistic new city commissioner, the most powerful group of women in the city, Io’s own sisters, and even Io’s fate-thread—the boy with whom she shares a thread linking them as soulmates.

To stop the murders, Io will have to figure out who created the wraiths and who commanded them to kill, before her city—or her sisters—collapse under the wraiths’ attacks.

Book Summary:

Io is the youngest daughter in her family. She, like her sisters, is a descendant of Fate. As such, they can see the threads of Fate. Unlike her sisters, Io can do more with the threads she was born to sense.

As an adult, Io is working hard to make it as a private eye. Mostly, that means following threads and breaking the bad news to her clients. But recently, it put her neck deep in trouble. Worse, it put her in the path of the Mob Queen.

My Review:

Let me preface this review by saying that I've needed a break from Greek mythology and retellings. Yet I couldn't deny the pull of Threads That Bind, and I am SO GLAD I listened. This novel may be a Greek retelling, but it is very much its own tale, too.

Okay, I'll admit that part of my love probably has to do with a lifelong fascination with threads of fate. That primed me to love this story; there's no point in denying that fact. Still, Threads That Bind held up to the promise it made.

Io's story is intriguing and complex. We have her ability to see (and alter) fates. We have her career (which utilizes said ability). But there's more – her family dynamics (complex would be the kindest way to describe that), her fate thread, and (of course) the overall politics of the city. It's a lot to take in. Frankly, I couldn't get enough of it.

The finale of Threads That Bind is a bit of a cliffhanger, so you better believe I'm counting down the days for the next novel to release (no information that I could find on that, sadly).

Highlights:
Greek Mythology
Young Adult Fantasy
Romantic Subplot
Fates that Tie and Bind
Private Detective Protagonist

Trigger Warnings:
Death, Gore, Violence
Death of a Parent
Abuse (largely emotional/verbal)

Threads That Bind (Threads That Bind, #1)

by Kika Hatzopoulou

Reviewed by Quirky Cat on Aug 30, 2023

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