Ten Thousand Stitches (original 2020; edition 2020)

by Olivia Atwater (Author)

Series: Regency Faerie Tales (2)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
232	10	116,657	(3.97)	21
A housemaid needs some magical help when she falls for a high-society gentleman in this captivating historical fantasy full of wit, charm, and heart-fluttering romance. Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr. Benedict Ashbrooke. There's only one problem: Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help her win Mr. Ashbrooke's heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favorite jacket. Effie has heard rumors about what happens to those who accept magical bargains. But life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now she has one hundred days--and ten thousand stitches--to make Mr. Ashbrooke fall in love and propose...if Lord Blackthorn doesn't wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie's greatest obstacle might well be Lord Blackthorn's overwhelmingly good intentions. An enchanting faerie tale set in Olivia Atwater's magical version of Regency England, Ten Thousand Stitches is "a delightful, romantic romp" (Hannah Whitten) with a Cinderella twist and heaps of heart. Praise for the Regency Faerie Tales "Smart and subversive, these charming romances will ignite your heart--and your hope." --Shelley Parker-Chan "Whimsical, witty, and brimming over with charm." --India Holton "Sweeps you off your feet in the swooniest way possible." --Megan Bannen "I wolfed this down with great pleasure." --KJ Charles "Warm, sparkling with magic, dangerous, and delightful." --Tasha Suri "Whimsical but never frivolous, sweet but not sugary. I loved it." --Alix E. Harrow… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	quondame
Title:	Ten Thousand Stitches
Authors:	Olivia Atwater (Author)
Info:	Starwatch Press (2020), 262 pages
Collections:	F&SF, Read but unowned
Rating:
Tags:	2021

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Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater (2020)

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Showing 1-5 of 10 (next | show all)

A proletariat vs. aristocracy retelling of Cinderella. Plus, a faerie who tries to be helpful and is chaotic instead. (

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caaleros | May 17, 2024 |

A strange, non-sequential story to be #2 in a series. The writing style was not as engaging as book 1, and in this story the characters were mostly unpleasant. I didn't care about them much, even the MC, though the housemaids were well-drawn. I was predisposed to admire Benedict from Book 1 (unless I've mis-remembered the character who was the physician?), but he was less admirable in this somewhat disjointed follow up which seems to predate aspects of Book 1 in some of episodes. (

)

SandyAMcPherson | Feb 15, 2024 |

Effie is a housemaid at a large estate and inconveniently in love with the brother of her employer. When Effie unexpectedly meets a Lord Blackthorn, a Faerie, she knows better than accept anything from him as her mother raised her on tales of all the ways that could go wrong. But Lord Blackthorn is determined to become virtuous, which in his book requires being kind to those less fortunate. When he offers Effie a deal that will allow her to become a lady, in order to catch the attention of her love, Effie can't refuse him. But as she spends more time in the world upstairs, Effie increasingly begins to wonder if that's the life she really wants after all.

An utter delight from start to finish, this riff on Cinderella does a great job of turning all of our expectations of such a tale on its head. Effie is a brilliant character who is frequently angry about the injustices of her role in the world (and there's a definite pro-labour motif at work here). Lord Blackthorn is also a delight as the rare exception in this world of a Faerie who genuinely wants to help. Atwater manages to also sneak in a few truly laugh out loud lines into the book, which made the read even more fun. Interested readers should read Half a Soul first, as this book does include some spoilers for the first book in the series. Highly recommended. (

)

MickyFine | Feb 2, 2024 |

3.5/5
(

)

ramlosh | Jul 28, 2023 |

This is a good solid installment of Atwater's Regency Faerie Tales series. I enjoyed it a lot! I think I liked the first book better because it had a different tone, but this one is still quite good and would suit different moods better. The tone of this book has a lot more (very justifiable) anger in it, which was not what I had expected when I started reading it. However, the anger is tempered by Lord Blackthorn's pure intentions. I was very happy to have him play such a large role in this story. (

)

ca.bookwyrm | Jun 28, 2023 |

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Ten Thousand Stitches

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2020

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▾Book descriptions

A housemaid needs some magical help when she falls for a high-society gentleman in this captivating historical fantasy full of wit, charm, and heart-fluttering romance. Effie has most inconveniently fallen in love with the dashing Mr. Benedict Ashbrooke. There's only one problem: Effie is a housemaid, and a housemaid cannot marry a gentleman. It seems that Effie is out of luck until she stumbles into the faerie realm of Lord Blackthorn, who is only too eager to help her win Mr. Ashbrooke's heart. All he asks in return is that Effie sew ten thousand stitches onto his favorite jacket. Effie has heard rumors about what happens to those who accept magical bargains. But life as a maid at Hartfield is so awful that she is willing to risk even her immortal soul for a chance at something better. Now she has one hundred days--and ten thousand stitches--to make Mr. Ashbrooke fall in love and propose...if Lord Blackthorn doesn't wreck things by accident, that is. For Effie's greatest obstacle might well be Lord Blackthorn's overwhelmingly good intentions. An enchanting faerie tale set in Olivia Atwater's magical version of Regency England, Ten Thousand Stitches is "a delightful, romantic romp" (Hannah Whitten) with a Cinderella twist and heaps of heart. Praise for the Regency Faerie Tales "Smart and subversive, these charming romances will ignite your heart--and your hope." --Shelley Parker-Chan "Whimsical, witty, and brimming over with charm." --India Holton "Sweeps you off your feet in the swooniest way possible." --Megan Bannen "I wolfed this down with great pleasure." --KJ Charles "Warm, sparkling with magic, dangerous, and delightful." --Tasha Suri "Whimsical but never frivolous, sweet but not sugary. I loved it." --Alix E. Harrow

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