Book Review! Gates of Thread and Stone

I was given a free copy of this book to read and I have to say it was a refreshing read for a change.  Lately, the amount of young adult fiction that I've read have all had flimsy lead female characters.  Without going into names, what annoys me most are lead characters that are written to be whiny cry-babies that I am somehow supposed to care about and want to read subsequent novels on.  There have been exceptions, and Gates of Thread and Stone is one of those exceptions.

Here's the bit from the publisher:

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.

Gates of Thread and Stone is the first book in a series, however, it is also written as a stand alone.  It follows Kai, our unlucky heroine, that starts off on a foolish quest to find and save her brother and winds up getting caught in a feud that has been going on for centuries.  The book is laden with mythology yet it is woven in subtly to begin with, and doesn't really hit its climax until the end.  The upside to this - it happens in the last few chapters.  The downside - their representation seems a bit heavy-handed, and very cliche.

Overall this is a great fantasy adventure story.  I've read quite a few bad reviews that complained about the romantic themes within so I will warn you - it is a romance too (though this is a secondary theme).  I was also given a copy of the second book The Infinite but I'm going to give it time inbetween.  The characters went through quite a bit in the first book, it will be good to give them a rest for a little while.

If you're interested in finding out more about the author, here's the link to Lori M Lee's site.  I also provided links below to purchase online.