Book Review: Gates of Thread and Stone

Name: Gates of Thread and Stone
Author: Lori M. Lee
Number of Pages: 355 in Hardcover
Published: August 5th 2014 by Skyscape
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Magic, Science Fiction, Paranormal

In the Labyrinth, we had a saying: keep silent, keep still, keep safe.
In a city of walls and secrets, where only one man is supposed to possess magic, seventeen-year-old Kai struggles to keep hidden her own secret—she can manipulate the threads of time. When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her.
Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

If you have read my Currently Reading post about this book, you might have an idea of what concerns me the most. For those who have not read it yet, I’ll give you an overview. Well, you see I am a fan of Emily May and I consider -but not always- her reviews on books we’re both interested in. I usually do that. Read reviews first and mull over why they like it or not. Then, write my own as to how I felt about the book. Going back to Emily. Well, she didn’t like this book and I think, now I know why.

The writing is quite good. Though the plot wandered a bit, it’s still pretty much unpredictable. Perhaps that’s why I continued reading this. That feeling of wanting to read more because you feel it’s there, but can’t actually grasp it. The book somehow didn’t move me much. Not until the last couple of chapters. Maybe since it’s the first book of the series, a big portion of the book dealt with world building and some character presentations so that’s okay. There’s also little resolution on this book and a lot of figuring things out. I can’t really say that I love it nor that I’m not impressed. Like I said, I did enjoy some parts and tolerated some.

The POV is with the main character Kai. She’s brave and strong willed. She’s a loving sister to Reeve though they’re not blood related. A little stubborn I may say, but she just knows what she wants and I like her for that. What I didn’t like is her constant desire to be close to Avan. To touch, kiss and feel him in the ENTIRE book. This is what Emily talked about. I realized that if these parts were to be cut off, half of the book would be gone or nearly half. I’ve been warned, but still it’s a bit annoying that it is true. Avan on the other hand, is a mystery. I can’t really guess what he’s up to or he’s just head over heels with Kai and I’m in denial that this is indeed InstaLove from the very beginning. They just couldn’t admit it to themselves so it looked like they gradually fell in love. What’s up? One more thing is the twist at the end. It’s so convenient. Somehow, it’s like everything that happened was not because Kai is special. Period. I don’t want to go into details with that, it will be spoilery so I would zip it. I’m also concerned about a potential love triangle that’s been really obvious. Really hoping I would be wrong about this. For me, the book has too much to figure out to add this kind of snag. I’d say, PLEASE. Don’t. Do. This. I really couldn’t discuss what I have in mind without giving much so let’s move on..

As you can see, I’m a bit torn so it’s up to you to figure out whether you want to read this or not. I can say that the book has a lot of potential. Perhaps it will catch up on the exciting parts on its sequel. I like the book. Just couldn’t bring myself to actually love it. I was like bored, confused, thrilled, disappointed and intrigued. Yeah. In that order. Maybe it’s just me. 😀