An exceptional life leads to extraordinary challenges. Especially with a tiger, dog, and snake.
In a world of ancient secrets and mystical powers, Thali, a famed merchant’s daughter conceals her true identity. After her brother’s sudden death, Thali must stay safe and navigate a new school and unfamiliar faces. As she struggles with whom to trust, strange things start to happen around her, and the animals refuse to be ignored as she’s tempted by the draw of her own magic.
Every day threatens to expose her secrets as she’s torn between embracing her magic and remaining in the shadows. Especially when she meets a mysterious boy who is a match for her in all forms. With her friends, magic, and identity at stake, Thali must confront the truth she has been avoiding.
As Thali battles her inner demons and the mysteries of an ancient world unravel around her, will Thali embrace her true self and harness her magic’s potential, or will she succumb to the evil dangers that lie ahead?
Looking for a clean YA fantasy novel and series to dive into? Want something with a forbidden romance angle? Well, Of Threads and Oceans, the first in the Threads of Magic series will be a book that you don’t want to miss out on. Of Threads and Oceans is an engaging novel that follows Thali, the main character, as she struggles with the loss of her older brother. Her parents encourage her to attend a trade school where they believe she will be safe. There she makes an array of new friends, but is frustrated with how more advanced she is. But her gets a welcome distraction in the form of a mysterious thief who steals her heart. Not a lot of magic takes place in this book, but the storyline still is interesting and will keep readers engaged in Thali's story. The romance angle is nice, though it does seem a little rushed. I just wanted a little more depth. As is, we know little about this thief. As the story draws to a close things really start getting more interesting especially with the ship/travel test. I'm definitely interested to see where things go from here as the author is dropping hints that there is more than meets the eye. If you love a good YA novel then this book will be one you don't want to miss.
Thank you for the great read Camilla Tracy, I am excited to grab your next book.
I found Of Threads and Oceans a fantastic read! The story moved along at a nice pace with adventure and a little romance. Romance is very age appropriate for a YA book. The animals bring in some cute humour and I can’t wait to see the animals evolve with Thali’s powers. This is a book I will recommend to readers as it has -school and trades -adventure -balls and banquets -good characters -animals -secret powers
This is Book 1 of Threads of Magic and follows mainly Thali - a girl who is struggling to keep her identity hidden... especially when the animals want to be heard!
This is an amazing book and has a split POV of Thali and Garren and a thief and also Thali's love interest- both from entirely different worlds.
Thali is such a great character... strong and determined, she is everything a YA FMC should be plus when you add in her animal connections, well I'd love to be friends with her!
The overall story is engaging and well written as Camilla takes us on a journey of Thali discovering herself and also discovering what happened to her brother!
The story is engaging and as a clean YA, perfect for 14+ and adults alike!
I received an eARC of this book via the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.
Of Threads and Oceans by Camilla Tracy is the first book in a YA fantasy series featuring the daughter of merchants and her magic. Thali is reeling from the loss of her older brother, her other half as she puts it, when her parents send her to a trade school where they believe she will be safe from the dangers lurking on the waters. Thali goes along with it, anything to make her parents happy after the tragedy, but quickly finds herself bored and lonely. As she slowly integrates herself with her fellow merchant students, Thali finds more to life than ships and animals.
I enjoyed this book for the most part. Thali is an interesting character to follow. She isn’t used to being around people her age as she has spent her life on the deck of a ship with sailors. Being thrown into a school setting gives her a chance to learn new skills, but she is lightyears ahead of her classmates. Despite this, she slowly learns to trust some of her fellow students and open up a little. Her magic is my favorite part of the story. Thali can talk to animals and somewhat see through their eyes. This is something she has been taught to keep secret, so we only get a few glimpses of it. But I LOVE her relationship with her horse and snake (and I hate snakes 😂).
While I enjoyed the set up of the book, the beginning of the story was drawn out and a bit slow to read. This did pick up about half way through. I also enjoyed her relationship with Garen, a thief in the town the school is in, but felt it moved quickly from friendship to more.
Overall, Of Threads and Oceans is an okay read. There were some issues with the flow of the story, but those worked itself out by the end of the book. Thali is a fun character to follow as the majority of the story comes from her perspective. I’d be interested to see how her story continues in the rest of the series. If you are a fan of YA fantasy adventure with a side dose of romance, I think you’d enjoy this one.
Of Threads and Oceans is the debut and first book in the Threads of Magic series by the author Camilla Tracy. This book has our FMC, named Thali, who is a merchant's daughter who attends a new school after her brother tragically and suddenly dies. Thali draws in animals with her strange and new magic that she has just found out she contains. Thali has a tiger companion named Indi who is her confidant and friend while she is with her brother in the beginning of the book, however they are kept elsewhere while she is sent to the school by her parents after the death of Rommy. And then Mia and Thali go to the school together. I loved that she got to go with a friend. And then throw in the love interest of Garen along with new friends and you have such a compelling story! I love the way that the author wrote this story, it was engaging from the first pages to the very end of the book. I loved the interactions between Thali and Garen in this book, they had some intense and also sweet moments. I can not wait to read more of this story in the next book entitled Of Flowers And Cyclones!
Of Threads and oceans Let me start by saying that I don't usually read YA fantasy. But this book literally won me over both for the story it tells but also because I was intrigued by world building. Here are some tropes you will find 💜Forbidden Love 💜Academy 💜Fish Out Of Water 💜Animal Magic 💜Quest 💜Star Crossed Lovers This book keeps you glued to the pages with the many adventures, animal magic but also with the epic quests that make the book captivating. We also find forbidden love, ancient secrets and mystical powers. But let's talk about the protagonist Thali, I loved everything about her in this book she is one of those characters you can't help but root for for the entire duration of the book. I recommend this to all those who love YA fantasy books, books with animals, you will have to discover which animals by reading it. But if like me you love, or rather adore, the trope of forbidden love, I repeat, absolutely read this book. I will definitely read the other books in the series. In fact I can't wait. Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This was really good. A little slow because it sets up the different relationships that Thalia has to navigate but this has a new magic system I want to see explored more. The Threads Thalia sees are very interesting and I want to know if her emotions will affect the animals more if she's really mad or really sad and if she could make them help her while fighting and what the other new threads could mean. Because it would be interesting if some people she could control or if there are others like her.
Between her love interests I definitely like Garen more because he does let Thalia be herself and doesn't expect to take advantage of the position she holds being the largest merchants daughter but there is the one problem of not being able to go public with their relationship, but I can only assume something happens that means they go public and at least her parent understand.
Overall I did enjoy the few balls and I loved the animals and the political issues were interesting so I do want to read the next book when I can.
I read OF THREADS AND OCEANS by Camilla Tracy for a review tour hosted by the author and Hidden Hollow Book Tours. Thank you to both for inviting me along and for the gifted book. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thali is from a famous merchant family. All she wants is to be the captain of her own ship and to begin her own adventures on the high seas. Her parents don't think she's ready. And, when tragedy strikes, Thalia agrees to go to a special school instead of starting on her own.
While at the school, Thali tries to keep her not-so-secret magic a secret. She has a special relationship with her animals, a tiger, a dog, and a snake. I love this part of the story. Characters that have an affinity for animals always touch my heart.
A mysterious boy shows up and turns Thali's world around. A relationship with him would be forbidden, but the heart wants what the heart wants. Forbidden love is my favorite trope.
This is such a good story. Strong FMC, hidden magic, high seas adventure, forbidden love, animal magic, and a mystery that is beginning to unfold. I will definitely be continuing with the series.
Thank you to the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
📖 Book Review 📖 Sometimes it takes a journey through fantasy to remind us of our own inner strength. With bold characters and the quiet, calming companionship of animals, Of Threads and Oceans is a beautiful coming of age tale that will resonate with readers of all ages. After the tragic death of her brother, Thali must learn to navigate the waters of her life without her constant north. Grief unlocks a myriad of complexities, and for Thali, her magic truly comes alive. And the introduction of a mysterious young man named Galen, who captures her young heart, certainly makes life all the more alluring and catapults Thali on a whirlwind journey, finding her identity amidst the mystery in the burgeoning world around her. Camilla Tracy writes another epic adventure filled to the brim with the perfect mix of action and heart.
A warning - once you start reading, you’ll find it hard to put down! I’m not exactly a young adult anymore, but I found this story to be captivating, thrilling, and filled with unique characters and excellent world-building. Thali is smart and strong, and seeing her do her best in the face of heart-break and uncertain circumstances made me like her even more. She refuses to simply lay down and allow life happen around her, and instead attempts to forge her own path while learning to control her powers better. If I’m being entirely honest, the animals were one of my favorite parts of this story. There is a little romance mixed in, but it slips in well with the rest of the plot without taking it over entirely. Cannot recommend enough for anyone looking for a YA fantasy adventure to read. I’ll definitely be diving into the rest of the series!
An exciting YA fast-paced adventure. I enjoyed the adventure aspect to the story there was a lot going on with pirates, merchants, classmates, royalty and so much more! There was hardly a dull moment.
Thali was an easy going confident character who was also capable and fun. I enjoyed her and her various animal companions as well!
Garen was sweet and fun! There’s still a lot of mystery to him and I look forward to discovering more about him. There were a couple half chapters from his POV but I wanted more!
Thali and Garen were natural. I enjoyed how they could both be themselves and the love between them.
There were a ton of tropes in this one like; light enemies to lovers kind of vibes, forbidden love, love triangle, animal companions, fierce FMC, school drama, coming of age, first love, adventure, no spice, and more!
Hidden/secret identity, animal magic, star-crossed lovers, and an epic quest combine to make OF THREADS AND OCEANS an exciting and immersive series starter. I adored the characters, particularly Thali and her personal journey of having to hide her powers and eventually embracing her true self. There’s a whole lot of emotion packed within these pages as well, as both Thali and her parents are dealing with the loss of Thali’s brother. Things do end on a bit of a tense note, but considering this is book 1 in an established series, I would expect nothing less. Pick this up if you enjoy: 🌲Forbidden love 🌲Academy 🌲Fish out of water 🌲Animal magic 🌲Epic quest 🌲Star-crossed lover 🌲Oceans, water merchants, and sailing
There are so many things I want to say about this book but I’m not entirely sure how much I can say without spoiling it!
If you are wanting a book with a book with a unique (at least to me) magic system then this will be perfect for you! Thali ends up needing to hide her identity, and in a world full of magic you know there’s going to be an adventure!
Forbidden Love Academy Setting Animal Magic Star Crossed Lovers
This is the first book in a series full of magic and fantasy I don’t want to spoil it for anyone but you’ll definitely want to pick this up if you love fantasy romances full of magic!
This YA fantasy is one that will keep you captivated with its incredible worldbuilding.
This book was full of adventure, animal magic (this made my heart happy), epic quests, forbidden love, ancient secrets, and mystical powers.
I love what a strong FMC Thali is. Seeing her embrace her true self and come into her own magic, had me rooting for her throughout the entire book.
If you love fantasy YA books, books with animals, especially Tigers, poodle, and a charming snake(and I’m deathly afraid of snakes) or the forbidden love trope. Then I highly recommend this one.
🐍 Forbidden Love 🐍 Academy 🐍 Fish Out Of Water 🐍 Animal Magic 🐍 Quest 🐍 Star Crossed Lovers
Of Threads and Oceans is a YA novel told in a dual POV by our MC's, Thali and Garren. They are from different two worlds, with her being a merchant and him being a theif, forcing them to kept their relationship a secret from Thali's family and most of her friends.
Thali is a well rounded FMC. She is smart, empathetic and knows how to negotiate. I loved her connection with animals and absolutely adored her snarky tiger Indi.
This is a very clean YA fantasy novel.
Thank you Hidden Hollow and Camilla for the gifted copy. My thoughts are my own
This is a clean YA romantic fantasy and is available to purchase now. This story is full of adventure, excitement and animal magic. The main character Thali is a very likable and easy to root for. Lots of interesting secondary characters who help move the story along. The magic system within the story is so interesting. It's such a great start to the series with room for growth with the characters, which is something I prefer in a book series.
Highly recommend this if you enjoy reading ya fantasy with an interesting magic system, clean romance lots of fun and adventure.
What a great start to an original YA series! The world building was well done, the characters and storyline are fresh and compelling, and the writing is top notch. I’m reading the series with my 14 year old niece, and we’re eager to continue!
This book was a tasteful blend of romance, fantasy, and magic. I enjoyed the split POV between Thali and Garren. Camilla wrote an amazing YA fantasy that can be enjoyed by anyone.
~ Magic ~ Merchants and thieves ~ Forbidden love ~ Love triangle (kinda) ~ Adorable pet sidekicks ~ Clean (14+) This book was everything I wanted and MORE! It gave me the perfect mix of action, magic, and romance. I cannot tell you guys how IN LOVE I am with Garen (princess of thieves has a good ring to it right ???). My only complaint is that this book left me with a lot more questions than answers and I did not like how clueless Thali was when it came to the prince... but I do think this book set book 2 up PERFECTLY! And also it makes sense that she's clueless because she grew up on a boat... but still l'm just such a team Garen girlie . Other than the morally gray book boyfriend, my next favorite part was the relationship between Thali and Mia! They had such a sisterly bond and I'm really hoping to see more of her in the next few books. All in all this was an AMAZING fantasy read and I cannot recommend it enough!