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The Thread That Binds Us
Not yet published
Expected 11 Aug 26Fates Woven. Power Strung. Worlds Torn.
Yiva Ulfrik drinks to forget, gambles to feel alive, and lies to herself about the power burning beneath her skin. Magic capable of sundering the boundaries between worlds. A reckless cartographer with a sharp tongue, she believes staying numb is the only way to survive.
When Yiva is claimed by decree and conscripted into a deadly quest, she is dragged to the Citadel and forced into gruelling training and dangerous trials, under the tutelage of Aksel Veythar, an elven warrior of lethal precision.
This is no call to glory but a descent toward ruin. A mission that will send her through an unstable portal to recover a worlds-altering artifact. Plagued by unanswered questions, Yiva digs deeper, uncovering truths that threaten to dismantle a kingdom built on lies.
With the Veil stirring and desire burning where it shouldn’t, survival demands Yiva become what she fears most.
Yiva Ulfrik drinks to forget, gambles to feel alive, and lies to herself about the power burning beneath her skin. Magic capable of sundering the boundaries between worlds. A reckless cartographer with a sharp tongue, she believes staying numb is the only way to survive.
When Yiva is claimed by decree and conscripted into a deadly quest, she is dragged to the Citadel and forced into gruelling training and dangerous trials, under the tutelage of Aksel Veythar, an elven warrior of lethal precision.
This is no call to glory but a descent toward ruin. A mission that will send her through an unstable portal to recover a worlds-altering artifact. Plagued by unanswered questions, Yiva digs deeper, uncovering truths that threaten to dismantle a kingdom built on lies.
With the Veil stirring and desire burning where it shouldn’t, survival demands Yiva become what she fears most.
430 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication August 11, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 28, 2026
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from this incredible author, allowing me to devour this book before its official release in August yay!
Named as one of four tributes forced to go on a dangerous quest to collect a relic for a power-hungry king, Yiva Ulfrik must train with an elven warrior known as the deadly King’s Blade all whilst learning to understand and control the magic that both terrifies and threatens to consume all that she is.
Yiva is that FMC that bursts into the room like a storm of fresh air you didn’t realise you needed until you met her. She is not your typical female lead in a romantasy and honestly, within seconds I absolutely loved her for it. She is reckless and flawed, stubborn to a fault and yet still follows her soft heart despite all that she’s been through.
The King’s Blade, Aksel Veythar is a weapon made into flesh—and so much more. He loves fiercely (once he allows himself to), is haunted by what it means to be his nickname and yearns above all else for peace after many lifetimes of war.
One of my favourite things about this book is the world building, rich, intricate lore, descriptive language that enthrals the reader without being heavy, info-dumping or difficult to follow. Yiva’s job as a cartographer is described in such a fascinating way, she could have a whole book just about all the lost cities she’s mapped!
I see so many romantasy books having an insta-love/insta-lust story nowadays but Yiva and Aksel’s romance felt as natural as breathing. It was a slow burn that simmers gently coaxing to boil an undeniable love that is real and enduring, we have a tribute and her commander, a student and teacher relationship that moves past the point of forbidden and straight into dangerous territory, for the quest takes all precedence and the threat of wondering if they’ll survive it makes the desire moulding into a surrendering love that much more thrilling to read.
If you love portal quests, high stakes fantasy, lots of LOTR references, FMCs who aren’t great warriors and badass MMCs who yearn for even just the softest touch of her hand in his (hehehe) then this book is for you!
Named as one of four tributes forced to go on a dangerous quest to collect a relic for a power-hungry king, Yiva Ulfrik must train with an elven warrior known as the deadly King’s Blade all whilst learning to understand and control the magic that both terrifies and threatens to consume all that she is.
Yiva is that FMC that bursts into the room like a storm of fresh air you didn’t realise you needed until you met her. She is not your typical female lead in a romantasy and honestly, within seconds I absolutely loved her for it. She is reckless and flawed, stubborn to a fault and yet still follows her soft heart despite all that she’s been through.
The King’s Blade, Aksel Veythar is a weapon made into flesh—and so much more. He loves fiercely (once he allows himself to), is haunted by what it means to be his nickname and yearns above all else for peace after many lifetimes of war.
One of my favourite things about this book is the world building, rich, intricate lore, descriptive language that enthrals the reader without being heavy, info-dumping or difficult to follow. Yiva’s job as a cartographer is described in such a fascinating way, she could have a whole book just about all the lost cities she’s mapped!
I see so many romantasy books having an insta-love/insta-lust story nowadays but Yiva and Aksel’s romance felt as natural as breathing. It was a slow burn that simmers gently coaxing to boil an undeniable love that is real and enduring, we have a tribute and her commander, a student and teacher relationship that moves past the point of forbidden and straight into dangerous territory, for the quest takes all precedence and the threat of wondering if they’ll survive it makes the desire moulding into a surrendering love that much more thrilling to read.
If you love portal quests, high stakes fantasy, lots of LOTR references, FMCs who aren’t great warriors and badass MMCs who yearn for even just the softest touch of her hand in his (hehehe) then this book is for you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Did Not Finish
July 21, 2026This read like YA
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
A huge thank you goes to Helena Potter & New Dawn Publishing, for letting me read an ARC of The Thread That Binds Us! This debut is just the first instalment in a romantic fantasy trilogy, but I’m here to already tell you that Helena is an author you’ll want to be following. Turn on all the notifications: for Helena’s socials, her author profile on Amazon, everywhere!
Yiva Ulfrik has long since stopped placing a value on her life. She gambles, she drinks, & she pretends that she’s never wanted more for herself than this. But she has. When Yiva is called up to participate in a deadly quest, she knows she’s already at a disadvantage—cartographers aren’t taught to fight. But when the King’s Blade is tasked with her training, Yiva will find no sympathy from this legendary warrior. Aksel will push her until she either breaks or becomes stronger. And he won’t accept the former. Can Yiva & a ragtag crew succeed in this quest, when everyone else has failed? Why is this lost artifact so necessary to everyone’s survival? The world is on a knife’s edge… And Yiva’s choice could push it to ruin.
The Thread That Binds Us reminded my why I love this romantasy genre down to my very bones. Within this tale? We get emotional turmoil, perilous choices that will tip the scales at the slightest breath of a secret, & a forced proximity romance which has left me reeling for reasons I won’t say here. Because—obviously—spoilers.
If you remember nothing else, do remember this: Helena Potter is an author to watch. Because this debut? It isn’t just a wonderful romantasy with tropes we all know & love (although of course it has this in spades)… It’s also a story which seems to effortlessly sprinkle some kind of alluring magic over the reader after just a few words. But keep playing this tune, Helena. I’ll follow your pied piper ways anywhere...
You can see so much more fangirling in my FULL REVIEW here: https://www.immersedinbooks.com/the-t...
Yiva Ulfrik has long since stopped placing a value on her life. She gambles, she drinks, & she pretends that she’s never wanted more for herself than this. But she has. When Yiva is called up to participate in a deadly quest, she knows she’s already at a disadvantage—cartographers aren’t taught to fight. But when the King’s Blade is tasked with her training, Yiva will find no sympathy from this legendary warrior. Aksel will push her until she either breaks or becomes stronger. And he won’t accept the former. Can Yiva & a ragtag crew succeed in this quest, when everyone else has failed? Why is this lost artifact so necessary to everyone’s survival? The world is on a knife’s edge… And Yiva’s choice could push it to ruin.
The Thread That Binds Us reminded my why I love this romantasy genre down to my very bones. Within this tale? We get emotional turmoil, perilous choices that will tip the scales at the slightest breath of a secret, & a forced proximity romance which has left me reeling for reasons I won’t say here. Because—obviously—spoilers.
If you remember nothing else, do remember this: Helena Potter is an author to watch. Because this debut? It isn’t just a wonderful romantasy with tropes we all know & love (although of course it has this in spades)… It’s also a story which seems to effortlessly sprinkle some kind of alluring magic over the reader after just a few words. But keep playing this tune, Helena. I’ll follow your pied piper ways anywhere...
You can see so much more fangirling in my FULL REVIEW here: https://www.immersedinbooks.com/the-t...
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
As soon as I saw this book, I knew I wanted to read it. And WOW... this was easily a 6-star read for me.
The cover grabbed me immediately, but the story? It completely exceeded every expectation I had. I'll be honest, fantasy has been a bit hit-or-miss for me this year, but this book had me completely locked in from the very beginning.
What stood out to me immediately was that this didn't just feel like another book about magic and elves. The world-building was incredible, it felt fresh and I was never confused.
Yiva... what an FMC. She was an absolute baddie with a capital B. I adored that she wasn't written to be instantly lovable. She was messy, stubborn, carried so much pain, and constantly battled her own demons. It made her feel so real. Watching her emotional growth throughout the story was honestly one of my favourite parts, and the payoff was EVERYTHING.
And then there's Aksel... The King's Blade. Yep. He's officially up there as one of my all-time favourite MMCs. This romance is a true slow burn...like, set-to-a-low-simmer slow burn, and I ate up every single second of it. I have so many little annotation tabs dedicated to this man.
This became one of those books I found myself deliberately pacing because I didn't want it to end. I'd save a few chapters for when I had time to completely disappear into this magical world, following the gang (FERRIS! OMG IYKYK) on their quests.
A huge thank you to New Dawn Publishing and Helena Potter for sending me an advanced copy. This one completely exceeded my expectations, and I cannot wait to see what Helena writes next.
The cover grabbed me immediately, but the story? It completely exceeded every expectation I had. I'll be honest, fantasy has been a bit hit-or-miss for me this year, but this book had me completely locked in from the very beginning.
What stood out to me immediately was that this didn't just feel like another book about magic and elves. The world-building was incredible, it felt fresh and I was never confused.
Yiva... what an FMC. She was an absolute baddie with a capital B. I adored that she wasn't written to be instantly lovable. She was messy, stubborn, carried so much pain, and constantly battled her own demons. It made her feel so real. Watching her emotional growth throughout the story was honestly one of my favourite parts, and the payoff was EVERYTHING.
And then there's Aksel... The King's Blade. Yep. He's officially up there as one of my all-time favourite MMCs. This romance is a true slow burn...like, set-to-a-low-simmer slow burn, and I ate up every single second of it. I have so many little annotation tabs dedicated to this man.
This became one of those books I found myself deliberately pacing because I didn't want it to end. I'd save a few chapters for when I had time to completely disappear into this magical world, following the gang (FERRIS! OMG IYKYK) on their quests.
A huge thank you to New Dawn Publishing and Helena Potter for sending me an advanced copy. This one completely exceeded my expectations, and I cannot wait to see what Helena writes next.
Review of advance copy received from Author
The fact that this is Helena Potter’s debut book was astounding to me. The Thread That Binds Us was incredibly addicting, the world building so intricately woven together and characters that stretch their hands from the page to drag you into the story with them.
Yiva Ulfrik has a flawed beauty to her that feels uniquely real, she is fierce and angry and hardened. Her destructive nature takes over her world as she deals with conscription and a power she doesn't understand. All I found myself wanting to do was hold her hand and give the sweet girl a hug, her journey through this story is one I found I could relate to immensely. Disregarding a few fantasy related details ofc!
Aksel Veythar, my sweet black cat baby. But like, a very large muscled, tattooed version. The more I learnt about Aksel the MORE I wanted to know! He has such different relationships with each character, each one defined by something, yet each given the same care and attention it requires. Watching him soften was a joy.
The Thread That Binds Us was a delightful read, and I shall be rereading in August when I enlist everyone I know into a compulsory book club.
Lastly, Ferris is a ball of sunlight and joy. Thats it.
ENJOY xx
Copy graciously provided as an ARC from author
Yiva Ulfrik has a flawed beauty to her that feels uniquely real, she is fierce and angry and hardened. Her destructive nature takes over her world as she deals with conscription and a power she doesn't understand. All I found myself wanting to do was hold her hand and give the sweet girl a hug, her journey through this story is one I found I could relate to immensely. Disregarding a few fantasy related details ofc!
Aksel Veythar, my sweet black cat baby. But like, a very large muscled, tattooed version. The more I learnt about Aksel the MORE I wanted to know! He has such different relationships with each character, each one defined by something, yet each given the same care and attention it requires. Watching him soften was a joy.
The Thread That Binds Us was a delightful read, and I shall be rereading in August when I enlist everyone I know into a compulsory book club.
Lastly, Ferris is a ball of sunlight and joy. Thats it.
ENJOY xx
Copy graciously provided as an ARC from author
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
The Thread that Binds us releases August 11th and I think EVERYONE needs to preorder this ASAP!!!!
The world building Helena has built for this world was so unique, it was rich and interesting and I loved every part of it, the descriptions of everything in this book was so beautifully done.
AHHH I LOVE YIVA SO MUCH!! She is definitely not your typical FMC - she’s reckless, angry and very… stubborn… And yet her heart is so soft to those she lets in. I love her so much and I wish I could give her a big hug 🥹🥹
Aksel🤭🤭 The Kings Blade is my new fav MMC!!! I also loved him so much, he loves so fiercely to those he cares about - each relationship he has with every character were so different!!
FERRIS MY BABY!! I love that man he is such a ball of sunshine OR WHATEVER THAT SAYING IS - he was so needed in this book!! (IYKYK: I literally bawled my eyes out and than laughed in the span of 2 chapters)
- I will be adding more to this review but this is just a taste of this book for now 🫶🏽😭
The world building Helena has built for this world was so unique, it was rich and interesting and I loved every part of it, the descriptions of everything in this book was so beautifully done.
AHHH I LOVE YIVA SO MUCH!! She is definitely not your typical FMC - she’s reckless, angry and very… stubborn… And yet her heart is so soft to those she lets in. I love her so much and I wish I could give her a big hug 🥹🥹
Aksel🤭🤭 The Kings Blade is my new fav MMC!!! I also loved him so much, he loves so fiercely to those he cares about - each relationship he has with every character were so different!!
FERRIS MY BABY!! I love that man he is such a ball of sunshine OR WHATEVER THAT SAYING IS - he was so needed in this book!! (IYKYK: I literally bawled my eyes out and than laughed in the span of 2 chapters)
- I will be adding more to this review but this is just a taste of this book for now 🫶🏽😭
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Complex world building that makes you feel like you are a character in the book AND an incredibly well done slow burn romance?!?! SIGN ME RIGHT UP 😍
It got a tad slow for me in the middle for me personally, however I understand that was just sizzling that romance on a low heat BBQ and then things turned right up and the story got flowing 🥳
I can't believe this is a debut novel! The storyline, the character building and the world was just amazing! Forbidden love, high stakes quests and a baddie FMC just wrapped this book up into a neat little package 💅🏼
Keen to see what Helena releases in the future, an author to keep your eyes on! 👀
Thank you New Dawn Publishing for the ARC of this one!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 stars rounded up.
The narration for the audiobook is sublime, each character is distinguishable by tone and accent with concise and clear wording the entire way through.
Yeva and Aksel will very much appeal to the enemies to lovers fans and the band of side characters trusted to help open the void add layers and an overall depth to the story as a whole. I loved some of the friendly banter and the do or 💀 element of their comeraderie.
However, I did find the story didn't always hold my interest and the slow start didn't help me to start to enjoy the book until midway through, but fans of the romantasy genre as a whole would enjoy this debut novel.
Thank you to the publisher for allowing me access to an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.
The narration for the audiobook is sublime, each character is distinguishable by tone and accent with concise and clear wording the entire way through.
Yeva and Aksel will very much appeal to the enemies to lovers fans and the band of side characters trusted to help open the void add layers and an overall depth to the story as a whole. I loved some of the friendly banter and the do or 💀 element of their comeraderie.
However, I did find the story didn't always hold my interest and the slow start didn't help me to start to enjoy the book until midway through, but fans of the romantasy genre as a whole would enjoy this debut novel.
Thank you to the publisher for allowing me access to an advance copy of this book via Netgalley.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
3.5/5 (rounded up for goodreads) I really enjoyed the premise of The Thread That Binds Us. The magic system was super interesting and definitely one of my favourite parts of the book. It felt fresh and had so much potential.
Yiva was also such a fun character to follow. Her complete distaste for authority made for some really entertaining moments.
My biggest issue was that some of the plot points felt a little underdeveloped. A few big moments either wrapped up really quickly or weren't explored as much as I was expecting. I also think the story could've kept me on the edge of my seat a little more especially with the twists.
That said I still had a good time with this one. The overall story has a lot of merit and I'm definitely interested enough to keep reading the series to see where it goes
Yiva was also such a fun character to follow. Her complete distaste for authority made for some really entertaining moments.
My biggest issue was that some of the plot points felt a little underdeveloped. A few big moments either wrapped up really quickly or weren't explored as much as I was expecting. I also think the story could've kept me on the edge of my seat a little more especially with the twists.
That said I still had a good time with this one. The overall story has a lot of merit and I'm definitely interested enough to keep reading the series to see where it goes
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book got me out of my reading slump.
I loved The Thread That Binds Us!! Helena Potter has created an immersive, beautifully built world that was easy to get lost in.
The slow-burn romance was done perfectly, with just the right amount of tension and spice!!
If you love portals, quests, and an FMC who is stubborn, fierce, and perfectly imperfect, paired with a badass MMC who yearns, then this book is for you x
I loved The Thread That Binds Us!! Helena Potter has created an immersive, beautifully built world that was easy to get lost in.
The slow-burn romance was done perfectly, with just the right amount of tension and spice!!
If you love portals, quests, and an FMC who is stubborn, fierce, and perfectly imperfect, paired with a badass MMC who yearns, then this book is for you x
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Author
If you’re looking for beautiful writing and a unique story, this is the one!!
Helena Potter is a true storyteller, her voice incredibly refreshing. I loved how Yiva’s back story unfolded bit by bit, as well as the world in which this was set. My curiosity was constantly switched on!
This is one special read, and I CANNOT wait until the next one.
Helena Potter is a true storyteller, her voice incredibly refreshing. I loved how Yiva’s back story unfolded bit by bit, as well as the world in which this was set. My curiosity was constantly switched on!
This is one special read, and I CANNOT wait until the next one.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Am I biased, hell yeah, I loved it!
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