#nadiya loreni

[evenstarfalls]

So my first guess was wrong about Nadiya...

SHE'S FUCKING AROACE HOLY SHIT THIS IS SUCH A WIN

I knew V.E. Schwab wouldn't let us down like I figured she'd be some flavor of queer. And while lesbian was my first (clearly wrong now dkdjdjabfb) guess, aroace was my second and boy did she deliver!! Seeing her find a family and a place to belong and even thrive while being very clearly aroace (she may have lacked the words for it for it's obvious she's aware of it) was so wonderful. And as an asexual who is not sex averse, it was really lovely getting some representation in that regard.

Also the Loreni colors being purple and gray... I see you!! I see what this is!! 💜🩶

And like even beyond representation, she's such an interesting character! Her relationship with Alucard is really nice, and I'm excited to see where her and Lila's relationship goes, especially after Lila was hurt by the stolen invention. I think they're actually quite similar characters, which is definitely part of what makes them clash. And her inventing is probably also going to be important. I hope she continues to cook up dangerous shit I...hope she has fun :) I'm also curious about her and Rhy's relationship—I mean they're married of course, but we didn't actually get a lot of them together and I'm quite interested in that dynamic.

In short: all hail our aroace slightly unethical science queen

[typingwithmyhandstied]

Tes's characterization, storyline, and backstory has parallels and similarities to almost every other major character in The Fragile Threads of Power. (CONTAINS SPOILERS)

Kell: Kell's parents traded him in for his powers. That's probably very similar to what Tes's father would have done to her if she hadn't gotten away. Both Kell and Tes want to be viewed as a human being and something beyond their powers. Neither really are. Both feel like people look at them and see their power not a person. They also seem to both have the urge to hide it as a means to not be viewed that way.

Lila: Lila's father sold her to pay off his debts. Tes fears---or really knows---that if her father knew her power, he would try to do something similar. He made use of all her sisters in similar ways. Both Tes and Lila had to leave and fend for themselves on their own because of this. They just did so in different ways.

Alucard: There's the very obvious fact that both Alucard and Tes can see the threads of magic, but both of them also have a bad relationship with their siblings. Obviously not exactly the same, but it is still very reminicent of the other.

Rhy: Tes and Rhy seem to share the same core goodness. Both of them are the kind of characters who don't seem to believe that their survival is anymore important than anyone elses.

Nadiya: Tes and Nadiya are both inventors to a certain extent.

Kosika: They are the two youngest characters. Kosika also had a parental figure that was ready to sell her for her potential power (maybe that is really just the repeated pattern throughout the books). Both were also thrust into a situation where they had a lot of independence at a young age.

Holland: He's the only character I can't really think of anything for.

[luciehercndale]

Hello, I love reading your adsom posts (:

About the Antari baby, we already know that magic cannot be inherited, magic is in the blood of everyone but it chooses its host and will start manifesting around 5-7 years old. To me nothing special will happen. In a world where parents can sell their child because of magic, I think we would have already known if an Antari mother was enough to give birth to another Antari (the mother is the most important because her blood communicates with the fetus and so her magic could transfer during the development - good thing that it doesn't work this way). Honestly, I would not be surprised if their eventual child will be magicless, like Rhy is, it would make sense for balance as it is a very important concept in the books.

I also wanted to say, that during the scene of Lila observing Kell with Ren, the author insists on the fact that Lila is seeing him from his left side, she can only sees his blue eye but Kell cannot sees her from his position. Emphasizing that during this scene, she is thinking of him as a human, not as an Antari. I loved that tiny detail.

Hey :)

Yeah, I would love to see it because it would be fun to explore (and because I like the baby trope) but like you said, they would likely have a normal baby for balance because they are powerful. It's like the magical dna would be balancing out.

It would be interesting either way. A magicless child would need extra protection in a world ruled by magic. He would be like Rhy or like Berras, who were magicless royals who chose different paths to compensate for their lack of magic. Rhy suffered being magicless a lot but at some point he realized that his power lay in his charming personality. Berras, on the other hand, chose to strengthen his physical power.

This is heavily reflected in the other characters too, and it's what happened to Kell and Lila in Threads as well. He couldn't use his magic so he trained his body, whereas her development was more internal as she navigated being a Captain and dealing with her crew as well as dealing with her feelings for Kell. If we want it to see it as a proportion, king : palace = ship : captain.

I love the bit about Lila seeing Kell from his human side. She's the only one who sees him as a person and not a magician. I mean, being a magician is a part of him, as much as it's a part of her, but he isn't just that even if he thinks so a lot of times (because that's how the Maresh family pushed him to see himself). The fact that Lila encouraged Kell to reinvent himself when he was lost speaks volumes. It's like saying: "you can be anything you want to be and I believe in you because you are more powerful than you think," and it's not something to take for granted. In fact she is proud of him when he's finally able to surprise her. A lot of people believe Lila is superficial because of her love for power, but she is an observer and a listener, and she observes and listens to Kell a lot. And she feels for him. She just wants him to be okay, with magic or not. She wants Kell the human being to be fine. This is also a parallel because when they meet in adsom, Lila is a human to Kell. He falls for her when he believes she's human, and when he finds out she's antari, it doesn't change anything. If any, it makes him even happier because there is someone else like him in this world and it's amazing that it's the person he happens to love.

Things would change if they were to live in Grey London, where they wouldn't be able to use their magic either. I don't think it's a possibility, but since they can both travel through worlds, I wouldn't see it out of place that they I don't know, stay at the Stones' Throw from time to time and lead a quieter life. Especially if magic will change. Don't mind me, I'm just imagining. lol. It's just that I thought that Lila moving from Grey London to Red also tipped the scales of magic because now two antari are living in Red, one in White and none in Grey. She is the only Grey antari -that we know of- and after she stayed in Red, it seems the situation got worse. There's also to consider what is happening in White, of course, and I hope this is addressed!

Anyway, I believe the situation is going to change again once we find out who the next antari is. We don't know how random antari are, if magic chooses every X year (is it explained in the story? because I don't remember), but I have the impression that the new antari in Red will likely be Ren. Do you know why I feel she's might be the next? Because of her hair. I know it sounds weird, but hear me out. In SOM, the three main antari have red, brown and black hair. In a way, their looks are balanced as well because they have different features. Symbolically, I believe this means a lot. In AGOS, Ojka is the new antari. She has red hair just like Kell, and she's the reason he is held captive in WL. In Threads, there is Kosika, who is an antari with brown hair, just like Lila. By now, Lila is the only one who knows about Kosika being an antari. This is a parallel. Which means, following the features of the og antari, that the last antari that may appear in future Threads might have black hair. Who has black hair? Yeah, Ren. She could either be an antari because magic would choose her, but considering who her mother is, she could also become an antari because of some of Nadiya's inventions. She invented the golden band/ring that stole powers. Even if Lila destroyed it, she's an inventor, and she won't likely be stopped from creating another token. I'm not saying Nadiya will test her inventions on Ren, because it doesn't seem likely. It seems her daughter doesn't even go to her lab... however, she has animals. Her bunny could roam to Nadiya's lab and steal something, and give it to Ren. The priest, Ezril, may also steal and give it to the child, since as aven essen, she's around her. Until Ezril is outed as a villain, she has free reign. To make a last parallel as why Ren might become antari (whether because magic will choose her or because Nadiya will create a token to help her), maybe Ren will venture by herself to WL or she will be kidnapped. All the other double antari opposed to the og trio always lead to White London, and I don't think it's casual. The Hand is still looking for a thing that does what the persalis used to do, and this could also make it easier for a child like Ren to travel to WL without knowing. This could also be a parallel with the time Rhy was kidnapped as a child and Kell saved him. Being the child of royals, it is a possibility that the Hand might try to get her.

Thanks for the questions and sorry if it took me days to answer, but I have an exam tomorrow and my brain is focusing on that <3

[clockworkbee]

❗the fragile threads of power, spoilers ❗

that's precious 🥹🥹🥹

[teartra]

The King, The Queen, The Heart… I’m weak of their family dynamic

[nerdy-girlramblings]

Spoilers for Fragile Threads of Power

"You cannot have my eyes."

"No bother," she said with a shrug. "I'll take them when you're dead."

Nadiya is so creepy. The way she causally makes comments like this and views people as something to study is chilling. I'm really excited to see her development in the later books.

Also, Lila said she doesn't trust her and neither do I. A huge part of Lila's character is that she trusts her gut feelings, so I trust her intuition.

[augustinajosefina]

I finished The Fragile Threads of Power a couple of nights ago and I have to confess, I absolutely hate Lila Bard. She's a bully with very little character development for four books now, and what she has had mostly seems to consist of 'might makes right'. She keeps running off on her own without notifying anyone (including the people whose actual lives are at stake in a given situation) and needing to be rescued (sometimes by the very same people). I'm kind of hoping she'll end up losing her power at the end of this series, for the sake of all the Londons.

Besides, she was mean to Nadiya Loreni. Nobody should be mean to Nadiya Loreni.

[tadamitakumi]

Wrong, wrong, wrong (spoiler alert)

So, last post was about how to read FTOP without any moneybor scores to buy it, so I asked a friend who owed me a favor and I got it!

Read it and it's amazing, and I have to say, I was kinda on lila's side, since at first I thought Nadiya was the traitor, and I also think that she's bat poop crazy. Deny it. Why on earth would she build an instrument as powerful and dangerous as those freaking bracelets?!

It's madness!!

[typingwithmyhandstied]

Nadiya Loreni is an icon. She scares the shit out of me, and I don't really trust her. But that doesn't change the fact that she is an icon, and I love her.

[luciehercndale]

⚠️threads of power spoilers ⚠️

Somehow, I felt like Lila wouldn't like Nadiya. Lila likes the attention she gets from the people at the palace, the way they seem to fear and respect her because she's aven but hates when people try to gaslight her and they use Kell to do so. The Queen sees what he means to Lila and her worries about his condition. The Queen is also interested in antari so she tries to manipulate Lila into doing things that she could potentially study. I bet she was the one who told the servants to refer to her as Kell's promised lady, as if Lila was just that. As if Lila is just an accessory to Kell and a vessel she could pressure to test her theories. Nadiya tells Lila that Kell is a good uncle and he would be a good father, assuming that sooner or later they will also have a baby like she had Ren. Not that Nadiya should care, but she does because she wants to see if two Antari can have an Antari child. An experiment. This would be interesting to see but Lila is set on not having children (at least now) but I think it does cross her mind at times. Who knows if they ever talked about this? But I guess never. They argued when Kell wanted to give her the magic ring, speaking of children would be an off limits topic bc I think Kell knows Lila doesn't like children. But it must've crossed her mind, even briefly. Especially when she sees Kell with Ren. "What if Kell wants a family but I don't?"

I think Lila doesn't like Nadiya because like she said, it's like looking into a mirror. Nadiya dares to say the things Lila keeps to herself because they belong to the realm of bonds. That's why she also didn't accept the ship ring (but still kept it around her throat). She loves Kell but she believes that they don't need an object that binds them together to validate their relationship. And a child would be the realest representation/manifestation of their union and it's not something like a ring that you can put in a drawer if you don't want to wear it. That's why Lila probably doesn't like the idea of children. It scares her to death to care for another human being that exists because of her

[teartra]

I just finished The Fragile Threads of Power

IF ANY OF YOU COME AT MY QUEEN, NADIA LORENI I SWEAR

[luciehercndale]

Threads of Power final thoughts/review (SPOILERS).

I want to start by saying - if that wasn't clear already from my previous posts about some bits of this book - that I enjoyed it really much. I've been waiting for years for ToP, at some point even thought Victoria decided not to go further with this project anymore, and I was overjoyed that in the end she decided to continue. Thanks from the bottom of my heart. This book came into my life in a difficult moment and it helped me go through the last week (that's why I took my sweet time reading it).

I want to start from the characters we already knew from Shades. Loved seeing all of them and take a peak into what happened into those seven years after the previous series.

This series was about threads of power as magical bonds, but also romantic and platonic bonds and how people can manipulate those threads. Each of us has power over those he loves or hates.

It was a delight to see Kell and Lila again. Loved their evolution as single characters but also as a couple. It wasn't banal at all, and I know I've already written enough about them, but I still have a lot to say about their development in this book. I was glad that the storyline about Kell's power was solved in this book because I couldn't have waited anymore. lol. Something tells me that now that Kell is better, they might travel to the other Londons because I'm sure new trouble will happen.

Loved Rhy and Alucard in their daddy era. Ren is adorable! A lot of thoughts still plague them and their union, and somehow, when Alucard talks to the nobles at the wedding, I just knew one of the enemies would be his brother and someone of those he spoke to on that night. I'm satisfied that Berras is dead, but ofc, if you cut a hand, there are other hands. I wonder how Alucard will react to that and how Ezril the priest will deal with Rhy, who is too naive and trusting towards the woman.

I was surprised to see Holland as a ghost but it makes sense that he would not want to leave his world until it was healed, and he chose Kosika because she was there when he died. It wasn't possible that Kosika just knew how to use Antari magic, but at least it was explained how she came to have that power. I'm curious about Holland's plan to bring magic to White London and whether he is the Holland we know from SOM or a fake!Holland.

I didn't like Nadiya when I first met her, and so did some of our mains. I have to admit she's interesting, though. She is a morally grey character and I think she's ace rep too from the things she says, plus, the flag of her royal house has the color of the ace flag, so. She has character and she's definitely one of my two guesses when it came to who was the woman with Berras at the Veil party. I had my guesses between Nadiya and Ezril and I'm a bit relieved such a powerful person like the queen isn't with the Hand, but you never know. Nadiya is also from a family who is next in line to the throne, I think, and even if she is ON the throne as queen, she might want to get rid of her husband and consort. We'll see. Still have my suspicions about her.

Tes and Kosika are both interesting girls who can do different magic. Tes is more outgoing while Kosika is more closed off. I have to admit, the bits about Tes interested me more but maybe because Kosika didn't interact with the other characters, if not for the persalis door bit. And because, I don't know, the White London parts are a bit slow. But ofc, we needed them to see how magic was changing there compared to Grey and mostly Red London. I can't wait for Kosika to interact with the other Antari and see how Holland reacts to that, because I'm still not 100% sure the ghost is the Holland we know. Speaking of Tes, I don't think Maris' ship is the safest place for her to be. Sure, she can help fixing broken objects, but that is also a place where her older sister Serival could come to look for things to give to her father. Hope we see that in book #2 because Tes' sister might be involved with the Hand as well, who knows.

Last but not least... Bex and Calin. They had their own cards, and I suppose they are characters we will see in the future. They were funny enemies to lovers lol and I wonder if they really went to a void or maybe, Tes didn't know, she opened a door to Black London and they meet Kosika? I don't think we've seen the last of them and I believe an edition of the book contained a short story about them as well? Send it my way if you have it, I'm interested.

Overall, I would rate this book 5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed it even though there were some parts (like Kosika's parts) that were slow. I can't wait to see more of this world even though I have no idea when book #2 is going to come out.

[clockworkbee]

All things in nature ebb and flow. The tide rises and falls. The seasons come and go and come again.

—Nadiya Loreni, from The Fragile Threads of Power