Book Review: The Weaver Bride by Lydia Gregovic
The Weaver Bride by Lydia Gregovic
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Suicide (Off Page, but discussed)
Death
Murder
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Forbidden Love
Bachelor-style Marriage Competition
Love Triangle
Reluctant Allies
Murder Mystery
Gothic Setting
Old Castle Backdrop
What is The Weaver Bride about? (Non-Spoiler)
A sweeping fantasy about a witch who must navigate a ruthless marriage competition—and try not to fall in love along the way. Part twisting mystery, part thrilling romance, The Weaver Bride is an unputdownable romantasy steeped in a lush magical world.
Lovett Tamerlane is a silkwitch. Like all girls of her kind, she holds a rare magic—a magic that can be harnessed only through marriage to a Weaver. But finding a Weaver husband requires status, refinement, and money, all of which Lovett sadly lacks. Her one secret ability, to open any door, is her saving grace. Hidden in plain sight, Lovett spends her days using her gift to steal from wealthy families and her nights avoiding the fate imposed on all unwed silkwitches: a life confined to the cloisters.
But opening doors can be dangerous, and when Lovett steals from the wrong person, she finds herself face to face with Eliot Lear, the notorious son of a prominent Weaver. It turns out Eliot’s been watching Lovett. He knows she’s a silkwitch, and he offers her a life-altering opportunity: entrance to the Vainglory, a competition with the ultimate prize—marriage to Noé Alaire, heir to generations of Weaver wealth. The catch? Last year, the Vainglory ended in tragedy. The winner died. And the winner was Eliot’s sister.
The arrangement is simple: If Lovett solves the mystery of Ophelia Lear’s death and unmasks her killer, Eliot will ensure she has her pick of Weaver suitors, regardless of who wins the competition. Yet unraveling Ophelia’s murder proves far more complicated than either of them anticipated. And Lovett should know better than to take a Weaver at his word.
After all . . . what is love without betrayal?
Pre-Read Thoughts
Before I started this book, I thought I was completely over the marriage competition trope. After reading so many fantasy romance books that follow the same formula, I was ready to swear off this storyline forever.
Spoiler alert: The Weaver Bride completely changed my mind.
My Review
Pacing, Plot, & Setting
Yes, we still have the classic marriage competition set up: An influential man strikes up a deal with a woman cast out of society and promises her entry into a competition to marry a high society man who could take all her problems away. But the author takes this formula and brings in an interesting magic system, a unique societal structure, and a murder mystery, which transforms what could have been a tired plot into something fresh. The murder mystery kept me guessing right until the end. I remember hitting 91% and still having no clue where the story was going or how it would end, which is exactly what I want from a good mystery.
The pacing absolutely kept me hooked from chapter one. I give most books a 100 page grace period to really get going. This one didn't need it. The action starts in the first chapter and the pace never slows down or drags.
The magic system is simple but has devastating implications, particularly for young women. In Balmoore, all the magic is sourced from silkwitches, who are exclusively women. However, only Weavers, who are men, can harness and wield that power. Because wealth depends on magic, silkwitches have three years to marry a Weaver once they turn 18, or they're shipped off to the cloisters. These are essentially prisons where a silkwitch's magic is farmed from her until she ages out of her power, and once she goes in, she never comes out. The stakes feel real and the tension settles over the entire story like a thick fog.
Characters
This oppressive system naturally raises important questions about wealth, power, and who is worthy of protection. In cities with money and Weaver lines, silkwitches are coveted and protected. However, our main character Lovett is a silkwitch from a small, rural town, where she's been ostracized and feared her whole life. She escapes to the capital city, Isle d'Eylau, to find a Weaver husband only to realize she's not welcome to compete in Balmoore's elite circles. This makes her partnership with Eliot absolutely necessary for her survival.
“Those of us not born to rich parentage though...We became birds without a cage as soon as our gifts, unhidden, and unchanged, but also wholly unprotected. Vulnerable.”
Girls like Lovett are destined for the cloisters. She has nothing to lose and her character reflects that. She is unapologetically self-interested throughout the entire book. I kept expecting her to soften and start making choices for love or friendship, but she never does. She's ruthless and can backstab people when she needs to. I wanted to dislike her sometimes, but I completely understood her motives and couldn't fault her. I love having that complexity in main characters.
Lovett and Eliot’s Relationship
The one issue I had was Lovett and Eliot's dynamic. They're meant to be reluctant allies to (maybe?) lovers, but they felt like downright enemies for most of the book. The hostility and anger between them came out of nowhere. Some explanations were offered following their tense scenes together, but it still felt like I was missed something. I found myself wishing we got more scenes of them actually colluding together.
So, Should You Read The Weaver Bride?
If you're a fan of marriage competitions, definitely pick this one up. Even if marriage competition storylines aren't typically your thing, the murder mystery, gothic setting, and layered characters still makes this book worth a try.
If you liked Belladonna by Adalyn Grace, you might like The Weaver Bride. I'm definitely grabbing the sequel when it releases.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
The Weaver Bride FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Yes, The Weaver Bride is the first book in The Weaver Bride Duology.
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The Weaver Bride is a 1 🌶️, which is glimpses and kisses. There are no spicy chapters in this book.
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Lovett wins the competition and emerges from the tunnels to face Noé.
Noé reveals that Ophelia was his longtime love and they used the candle to communicate before the competition and during.
When Cecilia went into the workshop behind the moonless door, she saw that there were notes on her Wit (opening all doors) and extrapolations or extensions of it.
Noé points out that his father’s power of controlling minds is an extrapolation of his mother’s power.
This is important because Weavers are actually siphoning magic from the silkwitches and learning how to wield it appropriately so they become powerful that the silkwitch ever was. (The easter egg in the story is that Noé admits he doesn’t have power and Weavers don’t have power until they get married)
A silkwitch’s power began to fade in her mid-twenties only because Weavers husbands took it all. Otherwise, she’d have power her whole life.
Noé convinces Lovett that he wants to break this entire system.
He convinces her to marry him. He also promises he’ll break her bond as soon as they’re married so he can’t take her magic.