Threadneedle: The magical SUNDAY TIMES bestselling debut novel

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The nasty girl politics that hit in the late teens are so accurately portrayed that it almost triggered high school PTSD in me. Any girl who has ever stayed in the bathroom stall because you can hear the 'popular' girls combing their hair as they rip you to shreds will know what I mean. No hubo grandes giros ni sorprensas en las personalidades de los personajes y eso fue lo que no me terminó de convencer. Todos los personajes caían en estereotipos o si eran algo más complejos como la tía de Anna o Selene, al final eran... lo que parecían ser, no había profundidad mayor en sus construcciones o motivaciones. Y la autora tuvo casi 600 páginas para darnos algo un poco más elaborado. Lo mismo con Effie, me cargó, no la soporté, pero creí que podría haber algo interesante en ella y para el final me tuve que creer una relación de amistad con Anna que nunca pude ver. De hecho, toda la amistad en el libro, exceptuando Attis y Rowan, se veía como esa amistad de adolescencia que se produce por la cercanía y cierta idea de un beneficio mutuo, no por los sentimientos reales entre los involucrados. The first in a new fantasy trilogy, Anna's aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic and now, aged 16, she is counting down the days to a ceremony that will bind her magic forever. That is, until her eyes are opened to a London she never knew existed one with a shop that sells memories, a secret underground library and nightclubs full of magic.’

The ending was almost too convenient in some aspects and a bit ridiculous in others. I am not a fan of how things ended so openly and sadly it hasn't enticed me enough to continue the next book. En cuanto a los personajes, es muy fácil empatizar con nuestra protagonista: Anna; sometida a su tía y a sus estrictas reglas, con un futuro sentenciado de antemano, y que busca ser invisible para que no se burlen de ella en el instituto. Ahora bien, lo más interesante es ver cómo evoluciona y cómo se va abriendo poco a poco al mundo exterior y a sus deseos, persiguiendo ser la dueña de su propia vida, a pesar de que puede salirle caro. Huelga decir que la tía de Anna no va a ser santo de vuestra devoción. I found the magic system in this story to be completely fascinating and I loved the idea that there are so many different ways to practice and that a witch has to try various types of casting to find the language that calls to them. Bueno... ha sido todo un viaje esta lectura: lo empecé con muchísimas ganas, y aunque sí me estaba interesando, y me enganchaba, también sentía que le estaba costando bastante a la historia arrancar, que la introducción se alargaba más, y más. Es verdad que hay mucho que contar acerca del funcionamiento de la magia, de la vida de Anna, su pasado y su relación con su tía, y el resto de personajes... pero es que no es hasta mucho después, pasada la mitad de la novela, cuando al fin empieza a desvelarse algo de todo el misterio y al fin avanza la trama realmente. There was definitely a point in the story where I couldn't put the book down because I wanted to know how it would end and the ending did not disappoint. It all came together in a way I was not expecting and that felt resolved, but also left me eager to read more.The supporting characters were all so interesting and impossible to figure out. I never really knew who to trust at any point. I also really loved the tension surrounding Effie, Attis and Anna - I could never figure out the relationships between them. And I still can’t! This is a well written character driven YA tale. MC Anna has been taught to fear and loathe her magical talent by her repressive and cruelly disapproving aunt. She's approaching the day when a ceremony will bind her magic forever, when she meets exuberant and irrepressible young students Effie and Attis. They're soon off having adventures and exploring their magic and testing boundaries. Cari manages to breathe new life into the genre with a unique take on witchcraft that is inspired by both the traditional as well as something entirely new. One of the things which I think could be better would be some of the cringey dialogues. It reminds me of all the coming of age movies I've ever watched my whole life lol.

Effie shows Anna a whole magical world she never knew existed including shops full of magical items and a library buried deep underground that has a mind of its own! Aunt is terrified of magic and the reasons for this are only fully explained toward the latter end of the book so I’ll not spoil the story by talking about the why of it all. There’s magic in every nook and cranny – as well as shops selling memories – in this fantastical novel that stalks the streets of London’s underbelly’ The premise of the book is really simple, yet very well executed. It sets in a normal school in London, with witches hiding among them. If you have watched any witches show, you will probably know how they work but the author is able to take this simple recipe and brew a book with teenage drama, angst, coming-of-age story that is easy to love.

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I loved the coven and how they all had their reasons for wanting to be part of it (or to refuse that they wanted to be part of it in one members case haha). The school setting was amazing, it truly made it possible for some of the most wild antics to go down. You just get so attached to the characters, wow. Forbidden witchcraft, a horrifying family mystery, and a slow-burn love triangle: Cari Thomas’ Threadneedle has all the ingredients of an addictive young adult fantasy. Some of the book reads well - I liked the friendship between the four girls that make up the coven. I also think the magic system is cool but the world-building could be more in depth which is hopefully something for the next book. La trama está llena de secretos y giros, con los cuales la autora nos mantiene intrigad@s, y hace que llegue un punto en que no podamos parar de leer debido a las revelaciones que se hacen y lo que va aconteciendo. Por otra parte, lo novedoso del sistema de magia también es algo muy atrayente, puesto que vamos a ir descubriendo cómo funciona esta sociedad mágica, los distintos clanes que existen y cómo hacen magia cada uno de ellos. De igual manera, el argumento de la novela se centra tanto en el pasado de Anna, como en su historia familiar, que quizás no es como se la han contado, y en los conflictos de las brujas y las diversas formas de magia. Y ahora contadme: ¿Os gustan este tipo de historias de magia y brujería? ¿También sois como yo y las novelas con una determinada ambientación os ponen ojitos *.*? ¿Os llama la atención esta novedad?

The book comes to us from the point of view of sixteen year old orphan Anna who stays with her disciplinarian aunt. This aunt has always warned Anna about the dangers of magic and plans to bind Anna's magical abilities. But soon some new people enter Anna's life and she begins to question the validity of everything her aunt has ingrained in her mind. It was, after all, magic that killed her parents and left her in her aunt’s care. It’s why she has been protected from the magical world and, in one year’s time, what little magic she has will be bound. She will join her aunt alongside the other Binders who believe magic is a sin not to be used, but denied. Only one more year and she will be free of the curse of magic, her aunt’s teachings and the disappointment of the little she is capable of.Naturally, magnetic Effie and heartthrob Attis do draw Anna into their popular circle, along with two other school outcasts who are revealed to be witches as well. Effie establishes a secret coven, and Anna learns there is so much more to magic than she ever knew. In a well-worn and canny move, Thomas has naive Anna learn the rules of this world, allowing the reader to follow along.