Ten Thousand Stitches

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 show more 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. show less

(light spoiler of topic only) Incredible read. I have really grown fond of Olivia Atwater's Regency era fairy world. This kind of book is exactly what I look for when I look for cosy fantasy. The stakes are high, but I also never had the feeling that things might turn out terribly for any character. I felt cuddled and cosy in a small world of fairies and maids. Yes, they experienced hardship, but always managed to keep from despair.
Ten thousand stitches is everything Bridgerton season 4 wanted to be and never could. It satisfied an itch in me and gave words to a discomfort that season left me. The politics of this book are just better in so many ways! I have grown so tired and sick of the romanticisation of past wealth while erasing the show more immense labour that it took to uphold it. This book is such a love letter to service, to the difficulty and dignity in it. show less

Effie, a housemaid, knows faeries are dangerous. But her working conditions are so miserable, she ends up accepting an offer of help from Lord Blackthorn, who wants to investigate English virtue -- specifically “being kind to the powerless and cruel to the powerful”. Unfortunately Lord Blackthorn’s ideas of helping aren’t always helpful.

Another delightful story about characters who are angry about injustice (or who become angry about it). I liked how I wasn’t quite sure which direction it was going to take.

“A decently angry man?” Effie asked, bewildered.
“Have you looked around at the state of things lately?” Lady Hollowvale asked dryly. “Any really decent man ought to be angry, you’d think.”

I thoroughly enjoyed Half a Soul, the first book in the Regency Faerie Tale series, despite never having been a particular fan of anything regency-related. The wit, the banter, and the outright inconvenience of faeries made for such a charming and heartwarming story about righting wrongs and finding love in the most unexpected places.

Enter Ten Thousand Stitches. I knew from the previous book that Lord Blackthorn was truly the most delightful of meddling faeries, but I didn't know how much his enthusiasm and overt desire for virtuous development would endear me to him. And Effie... "You know what you are, Effie? You're chronically helpful. It's a disease." Through our dedicated maid with such quiet indignation, we learn that silent show more suffering actually doesn't help anyone, least of all the one simmering with rage just below the surface.

I've read quite a few tales about the fair folk, but Atwater's stories are something entirely else. Hidden within a retelling of sorts (in this case, Cinderella) is a message about justice, shattering falsehoods and finally, a general desire to simply be good. Each story thusfar has been thoroughly enjoyable with a very satisfying end, and I look forward to what comes next.

I received a free advanced copy from Booksprout - despite having this book pre-ordered already - and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. show less

Effie knows better than to make a bargain with a fairy. She grew up hearing all of the cautionary tales from her mother. However, when she finds herself in love with a member of the family she serves, and in danger of losing her position due to a querulous and capricious mistress, Effie knows that her options are limited. And, well, Lord Blackthorn doesn't seem at all like the fairies she's heard about. He's on a quest to become virtuous, for heaven's sake! So, Effie is given one hundred days to marry the man she loves. In exchange for all of the trappings of being a lady, she will embroider ten thousand stitches on Lord Blackthorn's favorite jacket. Of course, things go topsy-turvy almost immediately as Effie sneaks out to attend balls show more and social events, while still keeping up her job as a maid. Will she be able to hold up her end of the bargain? Or was it all a trap from the start?

I thought this was lovely. I read the first book in the series a few years ago, and remembered almost nothing about it. So, I can safely say that this book can be read as a stand-alone. Lord Blackthorn is delightful, and Effie and her fellow servants are a pleasure to read about. I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy fantasy, fairy tale retellings, and historical fiction set in the Regency. If you like all three, this is practically guaranteed to suit you! show less

I actually liked this book even more than the first book of the series!
Effie works as a maid for a noble family that has no regard for their servants and overworks them all the time. She and her fellow servants are angry and stressed and take that out on each other, while having to act subserviant towards thei employers. She develops a crush on the youngest brother of the family and believes him to be kinder than the other family members. She meets Lord Blackthorn (from the previous book), a faerie who wishes to be more virtuous and who decides to help her marry the youngest brother. Sadly, he doesn't have much common sense, so on top of trying to have a conversation with her crush, Effie has to try to stop Lord Blackthorn from show more spreading too much chaos.

I really liked all of the characters (except the ones that were meant to be unlikeable). The anger and stress caused by the family they served, and the effects on the servants and their interactions was well portrayed. I loved the friendship between Lydia and Effie. Lydia is truly a ride-or-die type of friend and if her sory hadn't been so neatly tied up by the epilogue, I would've loved to read a book about her.
The romance was developed really realistically, despite the book being fairly short. You could really see how Effie's words and actions slowly changed changed the love interest. And how in turn the love interest helped and influenced Effie to become a more balanced person and use her anger in a more productive way.

If I had to say something negative about this book, it's that the epilogue tied everything up too neatly. Although that is just personal taste and obviously fits with the fairytale-vibe of the whole series. And it doesn't take anything away from how good the book is :) show less

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.