Book Review: The Thread that Binds by Cedar McCloud

At the Eternal Library, books are more than the paper, ink, and thread they're made from--they're full of spirits. Only a handful of people will ever be invited to the Bindery to learn the craft of Illumination: the magical creation of intricate illustrated manuscripts, bound with a secret that will make them last forever.

Tabby is a dreamwalker, a witch who escapes into the stories of sleep to avoid a birth family that's never loved em enough. Amane is a cartomancer, a medium who speaks for the Unseen, but doesn't know how to speak her own needs. Rhiannon is a psychic, an archivist who can See into the past, but only has eyes on the future.

Their stories intertwine as they discover the secrets of Illumination, the Library's archives, and those of their mentors--the three of whom are competing to be the next Head Librarian, the Speaker for all the books. How do you know who's truly worth being part of your family? Sometimes we must forge connections in order to heal; other times, those bonds must be broken...

I bought this ebook from Nook/Barnes & Noble when they were having a sale. You know I'm a sucker for any kind of book about a library and/or books, and this one sounded really interesting. I read it for the Trans Rights Readathon. 

The world this story is set in is a queernorm one, with LGBTQ+-ness being completely normal and most people not having a gender at all. Eir/em pronouns are used for a lot of characters, which takes a bit of getting used to. Just about every letter in the acronym is represented, including aroace rep. The worldbuilding is very well done, with fairytales and folklore from the countries being a theme. The world felt real and lived-in, and I really want to visit the Eternal Library. The magic system is varied and interesting, and the idea of magical books is so cool. You know I enjoyed all the bookbinding etc. stuff. 

Trust, healing, and relationships (especially found family) are big themes in this book. While it deals with some heavy topics, it still feels somewhat cozy. Overall I really enjoyed this book, and would definitely read more books by this author, especially if they were set in the same world.

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Spice score: 0.5 out of 5 chilies 🌶 (just kissing)
Read in: March 29
From: Barnes & Noble/Nook  

Representation: just about every letter in the QuILTBAG, nonbinary, asexual, aroace, polyamory, Black characters, queerplatonic relationship, racial and body diversity

Trigger warnings: domestic abuse, abusive parents, controlling parents, emotional manipulation, magical torture, that's all I can think of. Cedar McCloud has a list of trigger warnings in the beginning of the book