Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

Plot: ★★★★★
Characters: ★★★★
Readability: ★★★★★

I absolutely loved Crewel, and I’m still trying to get my hands on a copy of Altered. I did actually pre-order a copy but after a series of disasters it didn’t end up showing up, and so far not one bookshop I’ve been into has had a copy!

Adelice is naturally gifted with the ability to visualise matter and time and weave them into something different. The Spinsters are the chosen women who do this for their jobs, manipulating food, the seasons and more – taking the fabric of reality and altering it to keep Arras running smoothly. Adelice doesn’t want to be chosen though, because being a Spinster means moving away and never seeing her family. It means controlling people’s lives. Adelice has been hiding her talent, but when she slips up during testing, she knows it’s just a matter of time before they come for her.

Crewel has a wonderfully unique premise, and I really enjoyed the world-building; it was what made this book for me. It’s hard to say too much about the world-building, because I honestly think it’s better if you know as little as possible before the book, but I will say it’s incredibly creative. With elements of fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian, Crewel truly blurs the lines between genres.

There is a love triangle, which I didn’t love, but I was far too drawn in by the world-building and the story to give it up because of that! I liked Adelice as a character, despite the fact she got caught up in a love triangle, partially because she is flawed. She isn’t perfect, and although she can be feisty and strong, she can also be confused and naive, and that made her easy to relate to. Albin’s writing is very easy to get caught up in, and the further I got into the book the more the story hooked me, and I’ve since gone on to recommend it to various people! Crewel also has an amazing cliffhanger ending that left me questioning things I’d assumed throughout the story.

Buy it? This is definitely one I’d like to buy.
In a nutshell: Unique, fascinating and genre-bending – a new favourite.

Other Reviews of Crewel: Daisy Chain Book Reviews | A Bookworm’s Haven | Gone With The Words