i’ve read it. bc tay is my friend. this is about to rock everyone’s socks off
______
i wrote the first part of this review while Tay was still in the drafting stages of writing Threaded. After finishing the fully fleshed-out book, I felt like it was time for me to write a proper review.
Threaded is the story of a girl, Mariah, who craves a life outside the restrictions placed upon girls in her kingdom. You either have magic and become a priestess, or you don't and are married off to the best suitor. Mariah would rather riot than do either of those things, so she plans (for most of her life) to sail away and live an adventurous life in a faraway land.
Of course, this doesn't happen. (enter chosen-one trope)
Instead, she is pulled into the politics of the kingdom, the magic that finally chooses her propelling her not to the status of priestess, but to the seat of the throne.
As a fantasy reader, Threaded ticks all the boxes for me. Its world-building is intense, but written in a way that's easy to digest because it's threaded (pun intended) into Mariah's character development. I didn't have to take notes or go back to certain scenes because I couldn't remember details. During early drafts, the magic system was a mystery to me, but Tay's final product explained it well. Mariah's magic is so unique that we even saw the history behind its genesis. I'm also a big proponent of fantasy religion, so Mariah's connection to the Goddess in the book made me salivate LOL.
All that to say - the world is so layered that I was able to completely lose myself and forget I'm a living breathing human being on planet Earth. THAT is my definition of a 5-star (fantasy) book.
None of that even covers the characters. They genuinely felt like real people. I am very attached to them. Unhealthily so. Mariah has 7 men in her personal armature who are bonded to her and protect her with their lives. They are all very... attractive :) Watching Mariah form relationships with them was !fun! ( and that bonding ceremony 😮💨 ). The relationship I truly adore is with her best friend Ciana. My little golden retriever girlie.
My favorite character was Andrian, grumpy shadow-daddy that he is. The relationship between him and Mariah is a bit chaotic, but in a good way IMO. Both he and Mariah have a hard exterior, and its only in each other's presence that they let that wall crumble. After they realize they don't actually hate each other, that is (hate-to-love trope). Also, there is nothing like some angsty spice. I love it. That being said, their jump from hate to love was intense, and considering their "I'm going to protect my heart" demeanor their professions to each other toward the end of the book were jarring But yeah, they are the ultimate OTP.
I think it's also important to note that, while some first books in fantasy series have quite a bit of action, or start rolling the "overarching conflict" ball, Threaded (IMO) is not like that. Sh^t doesn't get particularly real until the very end. A lot of the conflict is politicking, and it focuses mostly on Mariah settling into her new role and realizing the obstacles she is going to face if she is going to be queen. I personally loved this.
Tay is a writer that I truly look up to. her prose is beautiful, and she's the queen of a metaphor. For a debut novel, this book is absolutely magnificent and i am SO proud. I can't wait to see where Tay takes these amazing characters (pretending like I don't know spoilers 🤠)