I’m on a roll with these SPFBO books right now. Considering that I’m trying to paint a house at the same time, I’m pretty proud of myself, lol.
In the world’s most magical metropolis where spirits run noodle shops and cash-strapped dragons stage photo-ops for tourists, people still think fairies are nothing but stories, and that’s exactly how the fairies like it. It’s a lot easier to feast on humanity’s dreams when no one believes you exist. But while this arrangement works splendidly for most fair folk, Lola isn’t one of the lucky ones.
She’s a changeling, a fairy monster made just human enough to dupe unsuspecting parents while fairies steal their real child. The magic that sustains her was never meant to last past the initial theft, leaving Lola without a future. But thanks to Victor Conrath, a very powerful–and very illegal–blood mage, she was given the means to cheat death.
For a price.
Now the only changeling ever to make it to adulthood, Lola has served the blood mage faithfully, if reluctantly, for twenty years. Her unique ability to slip through wards and change her shape to look like anyone has helped make Victor a legend in the DFZ’s illegal-magic underground. It’s not a great life, but at least the work is stable… until her master vanishes without a trace.
With only a handful left of the pills that keep her human, Lola must find Victor before she turns back into the fairy monster she was always meant to be. But with a whole SWAT team of federal paladins hunting her as a blood-mage accomplice, an Urban Legend on a silent black motorcycle who won’t leave her alone, and a mysterious fairy king with the power to make the entire city dream, Lola’s chances of getting out of this alive are as slender as a silver thread.
Having absolutely loved the Heartstrikers series, I was excited to see this book in the finalists list for this year’s SPFBO. I missed the DFZ!
By a Silver Thread is the story of Lola. Lola is a changeling, which in this case means she is a shapeshifter. Her natural form is monstrous and when she was young, she was taken from the hospital where her parents kept her by a blood mage named Victor, who assured her he could control her powers so that she could live as a human. 20 years later, she is reliant on him for the medication that keeps the monster at bay.
One day, Victor disappears, and it’s up to Lola and Victor’s other slaves to find him, before she runs out of pills.
I liked this one, though not as much as Heartstrikers. I feel about the same about this series as I did about the DFZ series. I didn’t have the same staying up until the crack of dawn to finish every single word of a series that I did with Julius, but this one kept me listening at the same pace as Opal’s series. More of a could-listen-for-hours but not quite as sleep hogging.
It took me a long time to get on board with Lola, but she did grow on me. This was another book where I liked the background characters more than the main character for at least half of the story. I liked Tristan and I found the Black Rider intriguing, if a bit predictable. Also, there was a subtle reference to a certain pigeon-dad, which made me snort.
All told, I liked By a Silver Thread enough for 8/10 stars. I will definitely keep on listening as my audible credits come in!
superstardrifter 
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