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The Spindle of Fate #2
The Thread of Destiny
Full of grotesque monsters and revenge, Evie Mei's journey to confront her mother's killer comes to an end in this middle grade novel from Aimee Lim.
Evie Mei has literally been to hell and back. And while the trip to Diyu, the Chinese underworld, alongside Kevin was a grueling feat filled with endless horrors, nothing compares to the fact that she was unable to bring her mother back.
She now has the great responsibility to assume the role her mother once held: head weaver in the magical Guild. Spinning people’s fates sure seemed easier said than done, and now Evie finds herself buried in Guild duties while trying to maintain a strained relationship with her best friend.
What could make a 13-year-old’s life even more complicated? Escaped monsters from the underworld that broke through when she returned to Earth. A mysterious yellow fog that seems to be turning their city upside down and hinting at an approaching massive force they aren't prepared to fight. Not to mention the looming man who sent her mom to the underworld in the first place (and her aunt’s fiancé). Can’t a girl catch a break?!
Aimee Lim’s fast-paced conclusion to Evie Mei’s story is filled with her signature sardonic voice, explorations of grief and relationships, and thrilling action that will leave readers rooting for the young girl whose courage outshines everyone.
Evie Mei has literally been to hell and back. And while the trip to Diyu, the Chinese underworld, alongside Kevin was a grueling feat filled with endless horrors, nothing compares to the fact that she was unable to bring her mother back.
She now has the great responsibility to assume the role her mother once held: head weaver in the magical Guild. Spinning people’s fates sure seemed easier said than done, and now Evie finds herself buried in Guild duties while trying to maintain a strained relationship with her best friend.
What could make a 13-year-old’s life even more complicated? Escaped monsters from the underworld that broke through when she returned to Earth. A mysterious yellow fog that seems to be turning their city upside down and hinting at an approaching massive force they aren't prepared to fight. Not to mention the looming man who sent her mom to the underworld in the first place (and her aunt’s fiancé). Can’t a girl catch a break?!
Aimee Lim’s fast-paced conclusion to Evie Mei’s story is filled with her signature sardonic voice, explorations of grief and relationships, and thrilling action that will leave readers rooting for the young girl whose courage outshines everyone.
288 pages, Hardcover
Published July 8, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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July 2, 2025Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy
The Thread of Destiny by Aimee Lim is the first person-POV Chinese mythology-inspired sequel to The Spindle of Fate. After the events of the last book, Evie is just as determined as ever to avenge her mother’s murder but she also doesn’t want to break her aunt’s heart by exposing that Evie’s mother’s murderer is also her aunt’s fiancee. But weird things are happening in town and Evie might get a chance that is too good to give up.
One of the things I really liked about this is that this is a revenge book for kids that also treats the situation with complexity and explores other situations where people make choices that are only good for one person. Evie learns that her mother helped erase the feelings of a young woman of Chinese descent for a Japanese-American man because the young woman’s grandfather couldn’t handle it. Knowing what I know about recent Chinese-Japanese relations, I do understand why the grandfather had hang-ups, but much like Evie and her mother, I fully agree that the young woman should have been allowed to make her own choices. The way the story presents the scenario is that Evie and her mother are right while also presenting the ways the situation is not quite as simple as we want it to be.
Much to my surprise and delight, Kevin does indeed return. I love depictions of boy-girl friends with no romantic undertones. I also very much do like Kevin as a character and how he interacts with Evie as he understands her desire for revenge and her grief more than a lot people their age would, but he also is willing to pull her back if necessary.
Evie’s grief is explored in ways I wasn’t really expecting. One of the things that broke my heart but also made sense for her relationship with her mother was that she admits it’s not fair that she had twelve years with her mother and her sister who had a better relationship only got eight. That shows a real maturity in understanding her sister’s grief and putting aside her own feelings for a moment while recognizing to herself that she did still love her mother.
I would recommend this to fans of Chinese-mythology inspired fantasy and readers looking for a Middle Grade centered around grief and revenge
The Thread of Destiny by Aimee Lim is the first person-POV Chinese mythology-inspired sequel to The Spindle of Fate. After the events of the last book, Evie is just as determined as ever to avenge her mother’s murder but she also doesn’t want to break her aunt’s heart by exposing that Evie’s mother’s murderer is also her aunt’s fiancee. But weird things are happening in town and Evie might get a chance that is too good to give up.
One of the things I really liked about this is that this is a revenge book for kids that also treats the situation with complexity and explores other situations where people make choices that are only good for one person. Evie learns that her mother helped erase the feelings of a young woman of Chinese descent for a Japanese-American man because the young woman’s grandfather couldn’t handle it. Knowing what I know about recent Chinese-Japanese relations, I do understand why the grandfather had hang-ups, but much like Evie and her mother, I fully agree that the young woman should have been allowed to make her own choices. The way the story presents the scenario is that Evie and her mother are right while also presenting the ways the situation is not quite as simple as we want it to be.
Much to my surprise and delight, Kevin does indeed return. I love depictions of boy-girl friends with no romantic undertones. I also very much do like Kevin as a character and how he interacts with Evie as he understands her desire for revenge and her grief more than a lot people their age would, but he also is willing to pull her back if necessary.
Evie’s grief is explored in ways I wasn’t really expecting. One of the things that broke my heart but also made sense for her relationship with her mother was that she admits it’s not fair that she had twelve years with her mother and her sister who had a better relationship only got eight. That shows a real maturity in understanding her sister’s grief and putting aside her own feelings for a moment while recognizing to herself that she did still love her mother.
I would recommend this to fans of Chinese-mythology inspired fantasy and readers looking for a Middle Grade centered around grief and revenge
October 3, 2025
3.5 stars. not as good as the last one, but I still enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next one.
July 9, 2025
Evie is back and only 2 weeks after her first adventure into Diyu, the Chinese underworld. In the first book of the series, Evie journeys to Diyu with the hopes of finding her mother but is unable to bring her out. Now, she must learn to live without her mom and to ensure her aunt does not kill the man who killed her mom. Evie is torn between what she wants to do and what she has been asked to do.
Evie is also now the head of the Weavers guild and holds the role her mother once held within the guild of elders. She is still learning what this means as her mom never shared much about the guild or it's duties since she never shared that portion of her life with her daughters. There is a lot Evie is trying to learn on the fly and on top of all of this, she is trying to balance her friendships and find a monster who escaped Diyu with an accidental bit of help from her.
I like that we explore revenge from the perspective of a fairly mature 13 year old. Evie really does her best to be the person she thinks here mom wants her to be and to support her dad in the best ways she can, but she's also still a budding teenager with a lot of emotions and a mom who recently passed. There are moments that will break your heart and there are moments which are surprising. I also enjoy that Evie and Kevin can be friends without there being any level of romantic undertones, especially with hormonal teenagers (who always seem to be coming of age). Such a great conclusion to Evie's story. I look forward to more from this writer in the future.
Evie is also now the head of the Weavers guild and holds the role her mother once held within the guild of elders. She is still learning what this means as her mom never shared much about the guild or it's duties since she never shared that portion of her life with her daughters. There is a lot Evie is trying to learn on the fly and on top of all of this, she is trying to balance her friendships and find a monster who escaped Diyu with an accidental bit of help from her.
I like that we explore revenge from the perspective of a fairly mature 13 year old. Evie really does her best to be the person she thinks here mom wants her to be and to support her dad in the best ways she can, but she's also still a budding teenager with a lot of emotions and a mom who recently passed. There are moments that will break your heart and there are moments which are surprising. I also enjoy that Evie and Kevin can be friends without there being any level of romantic undertones, especially with hormonal teenagers (who always seem to be coming of age). Such a great conclusion to Evie's story. I look forward to more from this writer in the future.
August 19, 2025
The Thread of Destiny by Aimee Lim is a middle-grade fantasy novel that follows Evie Mei Huang, a Chinese American girl who becomes the leader of the Weavers Guild after a journey through the Chinese underworld. Tasked with spinning threads of fate, Evie faces a moral dilemma when she must weave the destiny of the man who killed her mother. As supernatural threats emerge in Southern California—including demons and a chaos god—Evie must balance grief, friendship, and leadership while deciding what kind of person she wants to be. The story explores themes of identity, justice, and emotional growth. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me this book as an arc.
June 2, 2026
Book 2 and conclusion to series
Evie is back from Diyu, the Chinese underworld, where she was trying to bring her mother back from death. Not only did it not work, but a prisoner escaped and she opened up a way for other creatures to also escape Diyu and chaos is now breaking out in the mortal realm. Evie is also dealing with family and friendship drama, making for fast paced and engaging action. There is a lot to keep the reader engaged in this satisfying conclusion to the series - in fact, I liked it better than the first book in a rare turn of events. Character development is solid and authentic, plot development is consistent and clever.
Evie is back from Diyu, the Chinese underworld, where she was trying to bring her mother back from death. Not only did it not work, but a prisoner escaped and she opened up a way for other creatures to also escape Diyu and chaos is now breaking out in the mortal realm. Evie is also dealing with family and friendship drama, making for fast paced and engaging action. There is a lot to keep the reader engaged in this satisfying conclusion to the series - in fact, I liked it better than the first book in a rare turn of events. Character development is solid and authentic, plot development is consistent and clever.
May 25, 2025
2.5 ⭐
This book was pretty underwhelming. Evie is such an unlikable main character that it’s hard to root for anything she does, especially since most of her goals come off as self-serving and inconsiderate of other people’s feelings. The side characters felt really underdeveloped, and since we’re stuck in Evie’s POV the entire time, they stay pretty flat throughout. Overall, it just didn’t leave much of an impact.
This book was pretty underwhelming. Evie is such an unlikable main character that it’s hard to root for anything she does, especially since most of her goals come off as self-serving and inconsiderate of other people’s feelings. The side characters felt really underdeveloped, and since we’re stuck in Evie’s POV the entire time, they stay pretty flat throughout. Overall, it just didn’t leave much of an impact.
March 29, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
After her adventures trying to find her mother's killer in the first book, Evie not only has to try to do her late mother's job as head weaver in the Guild, but has to deal with monsters that she has managed to bring with her. A good conclusion to an action packed duology with plenty of Chinese mythology and culture.
After her adventures trying to find her mother's killer in the first book, Evie not only has to try to do her late mother's job as head weaver in the Guild, but has to deal with monsters that she has managed to bring with her. A good conclusion to an action packed duology with plenty of Chinese mythology and culture.
July 10, 2025
Not often you get a middle grade novel where the MC is thirsting for vengeance but that sums this one up. It was a solid read. I liked the continued exploration of grief but I wish there had been more about Diyu and what was happening there.
August 6, 2025
A decent follow up/ending to The Spindle of Fate, though I wanted more vengeance.
This one is less hellish than the first, but has a larger focus on the characters in exchange.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.
This one is less hellish than the first, but has a larger focus on the characters in exchange.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital review copy.
August 26, 2025
Good read and a great sequel to Spindle of Fate. I recommend reading Spindle of Fate first even though it can be read as a stand-alone novel.
Characters are funny and charming.
My 9 years old niece loves both.
Characters are funny and charming.
My 9 years old niece loves both.
February 7, 2026
i didn't realize this was actually the second book in the story. oops. still, it was easy to follow along. i was so curious about the ending!
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews