Some of us are destined for greatness, others are destined for darkness.
Fate has always paved a rocky road for Juliet Winslow. When she finds the body of a young girl buried in the backyard, kismet leads her to Hoffman House and to Harold Greene. There’s more than what meets the eye to the ruined estate and to Harold. In this twist of fate, Juliet finds herself at a dead end. Will she accept her destiny or will she die trying to change it?
Kismet Thread is the fourth book in the Knight Time Novellas series. If you like books you can finish in one sitting that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then you will love this page turner.
Each novella is a standalone and can be read in any order.
Buy Kismet Thread today and find out if you can change your destiny.
I'm super partial to Holly Knightley's twisted brain and will read everything she releases, so I understand I'm a little bias here, but...
Kismet Thread is awesome. It makes you smirk at the main character's dry sarcasm and humor and feel a little unhinged by her hexed fate.
Juliet is probably one of my fav FMC. She's cynical and has plenty of reasons to be. So as she is attempting to bury her recently deceased kitty (R.I.P Jack the cat) her shovel comes in contact with something very unexpected. Her life and the tale twists and turns from there including a mysterious death, a slightly alluring groundskeeper and an ending I didn't see coming.
Honestly this entire novella series is a must for lovers of horror and the darkish spooky happens in graveyards and haunted houses. Holly Knightley is a staple on my shelves now, don't wait, check her stuff out.
Ah, Kismet Thread. A novella that grabs you by the scrubs, buries your cat, hands you a human skull, and whispers, “Welcome to your destiny, Juliet.” If you’re looking for a wholesome tale about a girl finding herself, you’re in the wrong damn woods. This one’s mossy, messy, and full of bones—literally.
Our heroine Juliet is everything I want in a slightly unhinged FMC: tall, sarcastic, tragically unlucky, and possibly hexed by fate itself. She’s stuck dating Rick the Dick (a sentient garbage disposal of a man), working for a dentist who weaponizes fluoride, and mourning the death of her cat, Jack Cat (may she rest in soft mossy peace). Then fate (that clingy bitch) intervenes by throwing a dead body into Juliet’s shovel—and from there, the spiral begins.
Enter the skull. Yep. Juliet’s tearful burial of her feline bestie turns into a forensic horror show when she unearths a decades-old mystery involving a missing girl named Poppy Rose, an overly pink seaside mansion, and one very swoon-worthy gardener named Harry Greene (he’s got abs and he pulls Juliet into his arms when she falls off a ten-foot fence—do with that what you will).
The story’s charm lies in its genre-blending chaos: part ghost story, part romance, part “I inherited a haunted property and now I’m the main character in someone else’s unfinished trauma.” Holly Knightley delivers a biting narrative voice with Juliet’s dry humor keeping the spooky suspense fun instead of purely bleak.
Spice: This is a slow burn with eyebrow-raising chemistry and one steamy brain moment where Juliet imagines using Harry’s abs as a washboard. It’s not graphic, but it’s cheeky enough to make your tea boil over.
Final Verdict: Kismet Thread is like if Nancy Drew stopped giving a damn, buried a cat, found a corpse, and got hit on by a hot lawn care professional. It’s spooky and sweet, with just enough emotional gut-punches to make you clutch your comfort blanket. Read it if you like: • Sarcastic women with bad luck and better comebacks • Hot guys with shovels and tragic backstories • Dead girls with secrets • Magic masquerading as moss
Would I recommend it? Absolutely. Especially to anyone who’s ever cried over a dead pet, wanted to throttle their ex, or fantasized about inheriting property from an eccentric old lady with secrets. Just watch out for the skulls.
“When the Fates say it’s your time, it’s your time, and mine is coming soon. None of us can hide from Kismet’s thread. We all have to die.” (Ch 2)
Juliet is a dreamer. She viewed the world as if it were a fairytale or she wish it were. Her life, however, is no such thing. She was too tall, unexceptional, picked the wrong kind of guys, and nothing really went the way she imagined it would.
While digging the grave of her best friend, she makes a gruesome discovery. And through that twist of fate, her life would change. Inheriting a property, meeting a handsome flirty guy named Harry with a cat named Romeo... the winds seem to shift in Juliet's favor. It was fate... kismet. But as things go, perhaps it's too good to be true, and not everything is as it seems. When Harry told her the property was haunted, maybe she should have believed him.
"It was a morbid thought, and I wasn’t sure what that said about me as a person, but did things indeed grow better if watered with blood?" (Ch 6)
It is a discovery of a dark web of buried family secrets. Haunted by ghosts, she knows not whether are good or evil. Truths or lies, she doesn't know what to believe. Holly Knightley brings the goosebumps and suspense of not knowing, of what is to come, of what the truth might be, horrifying or revealing.
"Everything had brought me to this moment. I couldn’t escape my fate." (Ch 11)
Damnnnnn Holly!! GOSH. I just love love your twisted brain 👏 This one had me hooked from the first page—I couldn’t put it down! I low key wished it was longer though because I was NOT ready to leave Juliet and all the chaos behind. Creepy, fast-paced, and deliciously dark. More please.
Kismet (n.): fate, destiny; the idea that events are meant to happen.
I’ve always believed things happen for a reason. What reason? No clue. But I do think there’s a ripple effect in life, one small moment sets off something much bigger. And this story is exactly that.
We follow Juliet after she buries her beloved cat. From there, life takes a turn: strange, emotional, and totally unpredictable. This novella flows like real life: unexpected, disorienting, and yet weirdly perfect.
And that ending? I loved it. But I already know not everyone will feel the same way, and honestly, that’s kind of the point.
If you are interested in reading a spooky, addictive short story, then this is the book for you. I just received this today and could not put it down. I’ve never read anything from this author before, and I will definitely have to add her books to my tbr. Give this book a shot, and I promise you will have so much fun!
II received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
So, minor content warning, but the story begins with the main character burying her elderly cat who just passed. Yeah, having gone through that earlier this year myself with my dog (who was even the same age as Jack Cat), the first chapter was a rough read.
That said, Holly Knightly is great at creating horror stories that will also make you cry, so I'm not too surprised at how much I teared up at this one. This short story is about Juliet, someone who considers herself having led a mediocre life until, after burying her cat, accidentally discovers a body. Except it wasn't an accident, but fate. Fate finally intervened in her life and led her to finding Poppy, the girl buried on her family's property, then to a more extraordinary life, both for good and bad.
I really enjoyed this story (once I was done crying at the first chapter, of course). It's an interesting take on fate and, as the author does so well, mixes horror with drama in such a way that will leave you wanting more. Not everything is explained in the end, but it's fine because you really don't need it. It's bittersweet and still satisfying.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this revie voluntarily.
As soon as I got the chance to read this book by Holly, I grabbed it right away. So far, I've only read one book by Holly that I've enjoyed, and I was sure this one would be the same. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. But that could be my problem. Sometimes I set the bar pretty high and it's hard to satisfy her.
The book was a typical 100-page book, which also delighted me in this case. There were no drags, no boring parts. You start with the first page and you're on the last. But I have to admit that for some reason this book was harder for me to read. There were several unknown words that even Google couldn't translate correctly. Of course, this meant that I couldn't fully connect with the book.
This time, I won't go into the short synopsis, where finding a skull in the yard leads to the discovery of secrets from the past and new deaths in the present. The theme of the book itself is excellent, and I always get excited when I see how imaginative some authors are when they create a good book.
Many thanks to the BookSirens and Holly for giving me a chance to read is book. My review is voluntarily.
Juliet just wanted a normal life, but nope—she gets dead girls, creepy estates, and a whole heap of destiny drama instead. Kismet Thread had me hooked from page one, and by the end I was side-eyeing my backyard like, “better not be any surprises back there.”
This story is fast, eerie, and addictive—one of those “I’ll just read one more chapter” books that ends with you finishing the whole thing in one sitting. The twists? Slick. The atmosphere? Perfectly haunting. The writing? Sharp enough to slice fate itself.
If you like your thrillers with a dash of destiny and a sprinkle of doom, welcome to the Knight Time Novellas............you’re gonna love it here.
Kismet Thread is the fourth installment of the Knight Time Novella series by Holly Knightley. This is probably my favorite one out of the four so far. They are all wonderful stories in my opinion. I love a good dark ghostly mystery. It’s hard to pick just one because Holly delivers every time. It’s a great mix of a mystery, love and a ghostly story. I had a difficult time trying to put this one down. It’s one of those books that once you start it, you’ll want to complete it all at once. Looking forward to my books by Holly.
OMG 😱 this was fantastic story. It was a page turner and the suspense was a thriller. I was on the verge of my seat and I couldn’t even put it down. This was emotional and chaos of drama and danger and fear.
I definitely recommend this book and you won’t be disappointed. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Trina Jones
Another fine work of art. Holly Knightley has once again written a tale worthy of Edgar Allen Poe. This is a short story but it nonetheless a solid world brought to life. Now comes the real torture. Waiting, waiting with bated breath for her next book.
This is an intriguing read from the first page to the last. Holly Knightley is fast becoming a favor of mine. if you enjoy horror and haunting, you will enjoy this story.
I received an ARC from BookSirens and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Let me tell you I didn't see that coming for sure. Makes you wonder who really is twisted. Are they all darkness and the only light was the little girl. Keeps you guessing.
I can never get enough of Holly Knightley. If your looking for suspense, something to keep you up at night to finish cause you just have to know what is happening. Holly is your girl!
This was a fascinating and yet frightening book that pulls on the threads of fate and the reader's seat as you turn page after page because it is so good.
From the echoing halls of Holly Knightley's mind comes Kismet Thread, another chilling favorite. Her command over the haunted house genre is unnervingly precise! I love how she weaves in subtle whispers of pop culture (hey Umbrella!). The protagonist's witty and snarky inner dialogue pulls you in. Once more, Knightley's grip proved inescapable; I consumed this novella in a single afternoon. An obsession is taking a hold of me, I love ANYTHING by Holly. Each of her tales, a deeper plunge into the shadows than the last.
I received this arc for free and post this review freely and quite willingly.
Kismet Thread by Holly Knightley Received as an ARC Juliet sadly was burying her cat of 17 years when she discovered a skull. It was of a young girl Poppy lost 40 years ago. The late girl’s aunt contacts Juliet. When she passes Juliet inherits a property that was Poppy’s but no house but taxes paid and funds to maintain the gardening. She meets the young gardener and falls in love. She finds the land is haunted but it self cares for its lush greens. She stumbled across a journal of Poppy’s and found some eye opening cruelty and possible motif of how she died. Juliet sets out to figure the mystery. 4⭐️
I went into this novella completely blind. If we were being honest, the cover drew me in.
What starts off as a cat burial quickly turns into Juliets fate being changed forever, and not like in Romeo and Juliet. I literally just read the whole thing in one sitting. Everything I kept thinking was going to happen took a different turn every time, and I was not mad about it one bit.
If you need a quick read that has you needing to find out what is going to happen next around each corner, then this is the novella for you!
10/10 recommend for sure!
Tropes: ghosts touch her and die insta love HEA found family chosen one arson death of a pet
Talk about a creepy opening! This book draws you in right from the first sentence! And it just keeps getting better!
‘My shovel struck something hard, forcing me to pull it from the ground to reposition it.’
We start off eerily with Juliet, digging a grave in the rain, for her beloved cat, Jack Cat. Creepy setting gets even creepier when Juliet finds the bones of a young girl, Poppy Rose.
We then follow Juliet as she uncovers the truth of what happened to Poppy Rose, while uncovering some seriously dark and twisted secrets!
Full of suspense, fast paced and unputdownable! Loved every minute of it!!
I genuinely had no clue what I was getting into with Kismet Thread, but that’s part of the charm. Holly Knightley serves up a modern gothic tale that easily could have a space on the same haunted shelf as Wuthering Heights or Rebecca: eerie estate, haunted heroine, emotionally elusive man with a past. But this isn’t some dusty throwback—it’s sharp and witty, with just enough creep factor and twists to make the story feel fresh.
From the moment she finds a dead body while burying her cat, Juliet Winslow is one of those rare protagonists you instantly root for: brave, smart, and emotionally grounded in a way that makes all the strange things around her feel that much stranger. And she’s got real chemistry with Harold. Sure, he’s brooding and cryptic, but Knightley doesn’t reduce him to a cliché. Their dynamic clicks, and it carries real emotional weight through the story’s darker turns.
There are several twists, and a few hit really surprise in the best way. I’ll admit I wasn’t totally sold on the ending at first, but the more it settled, the more I saw the thematic resonance Knightley was aiming for. It’s less about narrative satisfaction and more about emotional truth—and Juliet’s final chapter works.
My only gripe is that I wanted more. The pacing feels almost too quick at times, like someone handing you a glass of great wine and taking it away after two sips. I definitely wanted more time to build an attachment to these characters, and I think it would’ve made this story a bit more compelling as a result.
Still, Kismet Thread is a rare find: a modern ghost story with classic bones, clever writing, and a heroine who deserves more than just fate.
Kismet Thread is a supernatural novella by Holly Knightley that revolves around the twist of fate Juliet Winslow's life takes when she discovers a human skeleton while burying her faithful Jack Cat.
This story hits the spooky supernatural mark with the dark atmosphere the author expertly creates. Juliet is a strong female character that brings a quirkiness and humor to the creepy Hoffman Estate. Harry, the estate gardener, add that extra spice with his charm, sweetness, and intelligence. Together they create quite the duo in Juliet's realization of where Kismet plans to take her.
I feel like the suspense part of the novella fell flat for me, as I was never on the edge of my seat when reading. The writing was overall well-done, and it made for a quick and easy read that kept me intrigued. If you are interested in a slow burner supernatural story with a heck of twist at the end, then I recommend this novella.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
So, exactly what does Kismet have in store for Juliet?
Once again, the talent of Holly Knightley shines brightly, even in such a short story. Our main character in this one happens to be female and unfortunately for her, nothing in her life ever seems to go right. Juliet always ends up in crappy jobs, with crappy boyfriends and now her best friend is gone. Kismet, or fate, has never really been kind to Juliet. One thing I’ve noticed about Holly Knightley’s writing, is that the further I get into a story, the darker it becomes and the more fear I feel, right along with the main character. If you like really scary, fear-filled, creepy stories, pick up something by Holly Knightley. I have never been disappointed in anything I’ve read she’s written!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Firstly, thank you to BookSirens and Holly Knightley for providing me with a free advanced reader copy. This is an honest review and the thoughts and opinions below are my own.
I've only read one other novella by this author, which I greatly enjoyed. I was genuinely impressed with this one, because the start of the story really did show off her talent with words. I loved the mysteries that slowly unfolded and the story had me so interested that I finished it in one sitting. This one was easy to read and had excellent pacing.
My only complaint was that the ending was a little abrupt - A super common grievance I have with novellas and short stories, endings can feel a little unsatisfying if a lot happens in a short time.
SO keen to read more of Holly's work, though! Stoked to have found her on BookSirens!
Kismet Threads is a fascinating read that weaves themes of destiny, mystery, and connection into a beautifully crafted story.
Juliet’s character is engaging, with themes of destiny being introduced right at the start and woven throughout. As Juliet buries her childhood cat in their special place she comes across the skull of a missing child which results in some life altering changes. As she now inherits an estate along with Harry, the landscaper and his cat, Juliet is forced to confront the supernatural elements of her new inheritance.
Fantastically spooky with an ending you won't see coming…
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
What a great ride of a thriller/horror novella this was! Great plot with a good twist at the end that I hadn’t guessed and an easy to read writing style. I could visualise the story in my mind as it went along. If this could’ve been more fleshed out with the characters it would have been a five stars (just because I felt there were backstories of certain characters I would have loved to know more about, although I do appreciate this is difficult to do with novella length stories). Would happily read more of Holly’s work!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This novella reads like a pancake. It starts out making you think one thing, and then it flips the narrative. The writing is decent quality, even though I will admit I had my suspicions about where the story was headed. I had a good time reading it, but in the end, I was left with more questions than answers and conflicted feelings about how it ended. You might enjoy this if you like serial killers and dark romances, though this story contains minimal amounts of smut. Entirely decent for being such a short little story.
**Thank you to BookSirens for the free advanced review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.**
This story had promise. Juliet, a young woman stuck in a rut in her life, discovers a dead body while out trying to bury her beloved cat. The story that unfolds is nothing short of strange and supernatural. While the plot itself was good, I felt that the way in which it was carried out was lacking a bit. The story was shorter than it possibly should have been - I felt that the relationships and the timelines were rushed quite a bit. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable novella.