✨ How much of the future is your choice... ...and how much is truly fate? ✨

🧵 In Kika Hatzopoulou's debut YA fantasy novel Threads That Bind, we meet three sisters; descendants of The Fates. Such descendants are always born in threes: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. They've had many names throughout history, but their purpose has always remained the same. That is, until the Ora sisters try to take Fate into their own thread-binding hands.

🧵 The Threads That Bind duology by Kika Hatzopoulou @kikahatzopoulou continues with Hearts That Cut, out 6/18/24.

❓Have you read Threads That Bind yet? If not, what Greek mythology retelling is your favorite?

Agender Books To Read For Agender Pride Day

Happy Agender Pride Day! Here are some books with agender characters you should read:

Book Titles:

The Heartbreak Bakery by A.R. Capetta

The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will by Maya MacGregor

In the Care of Magic by Robin Jo Margaret

Our Bloody Pearl by D.N. Bryn

When the Angels Left the Old Country by Sacha Lamb

Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall

The Thread That Binds by Cedar McCloud

Werecockroach by Polenth Blake

next stop on my bookbinding journey is the couple down the street by @godlizzza which was one of my greatest most fun reads ever. i wish it could have gone on forever

Aromantic adult books (part 2)

ARO WEEK 2023

WERECOCKROACH / contemporary sff novella / aroace agender MC

SAILING BY ORION’S STAR / historical fiction / multiple aroace MCs

THE WORLD WE MAKE / contemporary lovecraftian sci-fi/fantasy / one of the many MCs is aroace coded 

BAKER THIEF / urban/high fantasy / one of the two MCs is aro bi

BLOODY SPADE / urban/high fantasy / one of the major characters/MC’s brother is aro bi

THE THREAD THAT BINDS / urban/high fantasy / one of the 3 MCs is aroace, other aro-spec side chars

*as a note, some of these only briefly explore aromanticism, and/or explore the ace part of the aroace character more. If you want more details on how much things are explored, see my database!

Hi honey! How are you? How’s your mom doing? I hope she’s better now🥺💚

I’ve recently decided to learn how to book bind bc it’s a must to have my fav fanfics as actual books. I’m still learning and it’s probably gonna take a while before I get the results I want but I wanted to ask you if it was okay with you to book bind The Red Thread? Obviously it would be just for me, I would not sell it or make any profits. (And if it turns out how I want to, I would love to gift you one👀)

It’s one of my favourite fanfics of all time, like it’s a masterpiece and I would love to have a physical copy of it<3

And I know it’s not finished yet but it’d probably have to be a few volumes anyways bc it’s a lot so😅

She's doing ok! Progress is slow but it's definitely happening! She's graduated from at-home physical therapy to outpatient, which is a HUGE thing. We've gotten the house pretty well set up too now (chair lift for a section of stairs not covered before, new railing on the front steps), and between me, dad, and sis's various sleep schedules, we're all able to make sure she has someone nearby when she needs help getting around or opening things. I'm still in caretaker mode and trying to balance everything, but she's getting there, so I hold onto that! As for me, I'm doing... ok I think, considering how exhausting and brutal the past few months have been. I'm taking @shouldbestudying41 's advice and just trying to be kind to myself, and I'll admit my brain seriously needed the break. I continue to miss Cato something awful, but I've felt a little more settled since his ashes came home, and I think I'm starting to adjust to sleeping without him next to my pillow. I also got my follow-up today with my cardiologist on my heart issues and their answer was basically a shrug and a, 'we have no idea why your heart's doing this, but it's getting better every time we test you, so keep doing what you're doing!' Which could be worse. So... I'm getting there. Slow and steady!

And oh my gosh, you absolutely, ABSOLUTELY can bookbind TRT, thank you! 😭The idea anyone would love it enough to bookbind makes me SO FUCKING HAPPY! Hell, if I could sell copies at cost I would, but sadly that's a huge no no and all I can do legally is tell people, YES you can bookbind TRT for your shelf! I'm 100% supportive basically (also I would D I E if I got one, like no pressure at all cause D A Y U M it's a long thing to bind, and also just knowing it's out there on someone's shelf is more than I ever expected would happen so I'm delighted even if you just bind for you!).

TRT volumes one to ten maybe??? LOL. I know I had it planned as a series originally before I decided to just kinda keep it in one thing since we were all already there LOL.

______ the only book boyfriend ever

anyway if yall want something greek-mythology inspired to read, please pick up Threads that Bind by Kika Hatzopoulou. It's a post-apocalyptic fantasy romance (soulmates!) with lots of queerness in it, inspired by various mythologies but centered around greek mythology, with a greek-coded protag & cultural elements strewn across, and written by an actual greek woman who lives in Greece. It's also the first book I see by a greek author to be written & published in English/abroad first, and to go semi-popular on western reading circles.

we need more like this. please support her.

The Thread That Binds was a cute and cosy story that combined some of my favourite things - especially books and tarot! I initially heard about it from a list of books featuring aro and/or ace characters but it's so much more queer than that - one of the main relationships is a QPR, there's poly dynamics, and the primary society featured has no concept of gender so there's a whole bunch of GNC characters!

I ended up really enjoying it though at times I found it a little slow/I could have done with more action but I'm not super big into cosy stories so if you like that sort of thing it probs wouldn't bother you. I did like it enough to buy the oracle deck (also by Cedar McCloud) which was inspired by/featured in the novel, and it is Gorgeous!

Sundays are for fantasy books

the good news: finally started* my new bookbinding project (making a sketchbook for a birthday present for my brother—I think I'm going to do some variant of a sewn boards binding if I can find some kind of card with the right weight. thinking of doing some kind of loz design or at least a sword on the cover? also I found the scraps of gold leaf I scavenged from the trash this has so much potential)

the bad news: it's 1 am and the high of starting something is making me. not tired

*folded the signatures and that's all

🦇 Threads That Bind Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❝ The firstborn was the spinner, who could weave new threads. The second was the drawer; she could elongate or shorten a thread, intensifying or weakening the corresponding feeling. And the youngest was the cutter, able to cut whatever thread she desired, even life threads. ❞

❝ There is violence in kindness, and kindness in violence. ❞

❝ "I think the people we love can be cruel. Our love doesn't absolve them. Nor should it. ❞

❓ #QOTD Do you believe in fate? What Greek deity is your favorite? ❓ 🦇 Io Ora is the youngest of three sisters, each a descendant of the Fates: one to weave, one to draw, and one to cut the threads that connect people to the things they love and to life itself. When she learns someone is abducting women, cleaving their life threads, and setting them loose as wraiths to exact revenge, Io puts her skills as a private investigator to work. The half-sunken city of Alante is filled with descendants of the Greek gods, leaving Io with a long list of powerful suspects. Can she work alongside Edei Rhuna, the boy she shares a fate-thread with, to unveil secrets in the darkest corners of Alante?

💜 Oh. My. Goddess. I've struggled for two days to put my thoughts to page. This book hangover is going to haunt me for a MONTH. Kika Hatzopoulou wove a spell-binding world inspired by Greek mythology, lore, and above all else, sisterhood. Every thin thread (pun intended) Io follows connects to another; no page is wasted, no detail unnecessary. This captivating tale of family betrayal, fate, political power, and societal inequality snares readers from Io's first page and keeps them enthralled to the bitter end. Hatzopoulou uses her well-developed characters, vivid world-building, and carefully plotted murder to give us so much more than a mythology retelling or mystery. This fast-paced YA novel features an innovative culture and history unlike anything we've seen in mythology-inspired masterpieces before it. As someone who wrote her own mystery and mythology retelling in the past, I can only hope to reach Hatzopoulou's level. Io is a real, raw protagonist with faults and scars, making her all more realistic even in such a magical setting.

🦇 Despite having annotated this book more than any other in the past year, I do think there's room for growth in Hatzopoulou's prose. A certain amount of poetic prose would contribute to the mythical magic of Hatzopoulou's world, captivating readers even more. I know I'm nitpicking, but a few word choice changes could have made all the difference. This is a stunning debut, though, and a fantasy novel you CAN'T miss this year. My only other issue was the antagonist's reveal. We're given the mastermind's name, but when they walk into the room, Io skims them from the floor up, then names them again. Removing the antagonist's name and focusing on the description (showing, rather than telling) would have made for a stronger reveal. There are a few pages where Io's narration runs in circles, repeating details as she works to solve the mystery. Repeating certain details ensures readers are on track, piecing together the clues as Io does, but there's more than one occurrence when it's unnecessary. Beyond that, this is a powerful debut with the potential for a wow-worthy sequel or series.

🦇 Recommended to fans of Lore, Song of Achilles, or any mythology retelling. An engaging read for fans of Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew who love unraveling a good mystery.

🧵 Greek Mythology 🪡 Soulmates ✂️ Murder Mystery 🪡 Sisterhood 🧵 Prejudice / Equality / Social Change

🦇 Major thanks to the author and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

One thing I love the most from Threads that Bind is the fact that Io wears spectacles. Please, more badass female mc with spectacles

https://parallaximag.gr/agenda-parallaxi/biblio/i-thessalonikia-poy-eide-to-vivlio-tis-na-ginetai-pagkosmia-kykloforia

There will be a greek book called the Threads that bind and the story is quite interesting so far. About a girl with the power of the fates, greek mythology, modern noir setting in Greece.

Now i really do hope this book succeeds a lot like any Greek author who wants to make it big globally. Also the story is what we have been saying on this blog. A greek story mixing Greek mythology and modern without exploiting it, but trying to question the philosophy behind the myths of our culture, in her story specifically how much choice a person has in their lifes.

Looks promising! And honestly I love that she writes under her real Greek surname without making it short English-like, like many Greek celebrities abroad, even though the book is written originally in English and will be first published in USA and UK (she has studied the English language and literature) and will then be translated and published in Greece! Also love the Fates theme. But I really hope she doesn’t fall on the traps foreign writers fall on, in order to attract a young foreign audience… this worries me a little.

Aro & Ace Books: F/nonbinary ships

Baker Thief - adult sff - aro bi bigender MC / demisexual woman MC

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester - YA paranormal - nonbinary acespec MC

Adrift in Starlight - adult scifi romance - asexual woman MC

She Who Became The Sun - Adult historical - nonbinary ace-spec-coded MC

The Mariah Mission - YA contemporary - nonbinary ace love interest

Fire Becomes Her - YA historical fantasy - demidemi MC, nonbinary ace love interest (qpr)

Two Dark Moons - YA fantasy - arospec girl MC / nonbinary MC (qpr-ish)

The Thread That Binds - NA fantasy - agender greyace MC (has both an agender qpr, and a female love interest)

The Unbalancing - Adult fantasy - nonbinary demisexual MC

#aspec books / aspec database / tumblr masterpost

5 stars

This was an AMAZING book. I read it when I was extremely sick so unfortunately I didn't write a review but I would 100% recommend it. It's neo-noir and takes descendants of certain gods/monsters/mythological beings certain powers.

It follows the main character who is a descendant of the three fates, so her sisters and her have powers. She's the Cutter, the one who can cut the strings of Fate. I loved how she used her powers as like a private detective. I loved the messy dynamics of sisterhood and family. The discussion of fate and destiny too.

It was so refreshingly unique and just so well done. Can't wait for the sequel.