Good physical descriptions, but slow and formulaic. I could not get into the characters or the plot because I either found it too slow moving or it kept reminding me of other books I'd read previously or would rather be reading.

I was really intrigued by the concept of this book and I usually enjoy a fun queer fantasy, this just didn't really do it for me. I had a difficult time staying in the story and ended up DNFing. I think there's a chance I may go back at some point and try to finish it, but now just wasn't the time for me.

2.75

This was an interesting read. It’s not something I would typically be drawn to, but I was intrigued enough by the idea of a grimdark queer fantasy that I thought I’d give it a shot.

The most interesting part of this book was definitely the worldbuilding. It’s a take on a historical Celtic world, where our main character, Finn, is from a race of faeries that are dealing with human invaders/colonizers. There’s definitely hints, especially towards the end, of more in this world, so I don’t know if Cain has written more or not.

That being said, I found parts of the writing very clunky. There were certain phrases that I highlighted that just felt off or over-explained or unnecessary, and if that were to happen once or twice, it would be no big deal, but it started to become one of the only things I could focus on while I was reading. I also found the romance to be instantaneous. Cain kind of explains that by making the childhood crushes, but even then I wanted more, especially when the fan had been portrayed as a major player before that, and had just seen a former lover murdered in front of him.

All in all I thought this was a fun enough time, and I’m always excited to see M/M romances, written by actual queer men. This book is available on Kindle Unlimited if you’re interested!

This was not at all what I expected whenever I read the blurb of this one. The plot differed a lot from what I thought it was going to be. It didn't quite live up to my expectations but was a fairly enjoyable read with a lot of good points. The world-building in this was excellent and well-fleshed out. There was a wide cast of characters and a lot of action.

However, it did feel in places like there was just too much going on and it dragged on in places. I found myself getting tired of the dialogue and it began to become a slog to get through. I also did not connect to the main romance and I felt that the 'bad guys' were a little too cliche. That being said this was overall a good read and I did enjoy it, I just expected more from it and wish it had delivered.

Queer Grimdark Fantasy: Finn is no hero, chosen born, or noble. Despite escalating tensions from the Dayigan soldier’s occupation of Feah lands, the happy-go-lucky twenty-five-year-old is content to spend his days fishing and flirting with the other men in his Celtic-like village. But everything changes at their midyear’s eve festival when an angry Dayigan commander catches Finn in the arms of another man. Suddenly framed for murder, he must flee his village or face death.

However, Finn isn’t the Dayigans’ only target. They believe all Feahs are wicked and intend to destroy them by any means necessary. The Feahs’ one hope of stopping the reign of terror is to find a relic forged by dark faeries and able to control chaos magic—and claim it to protect themselves. With the fate of the Feah lands resting on his shoulders, Finn seeks out sorcerers who practice ancient, forbidden magic.

Instead, he finds love with the handsome but fierce head of the sorcerers—and a power he never knew he could possess.

But when the Dayigans strike, can Finn harness the perilous magic to save his people without losing himself in the process?

After reading Thorn of Chaos by Jeremiah Cain the element I was most impressed with was the excellent worldbuilding. The magic was intriguing and well thought out, especially the chaos magic but I also enjoyed the druidic magic, how it varied and how each type of magic was different and had limitations to how it could be used. I also appreciated that there was a price for what Finn does with his magic.

In the book, I also found Finn well fleshed out, a three dimensional character. His family is equally well depicted but I was disappointed that we didn’t get more time with his family or his choices. All of the choices that Finn makes seem rushed and the pace didn’t allow time to develop the characters or the plot as much as it could have. While the worldbuilding was excellent, especially the magical systems, the spellcasting, and the battles, the characters were not as solid. The head of the sorcerers, Lasren, didn’t get enough time to develop and the love story between the pair seemed rushed. The Dayigans were flat and two dimensional, although their motivations were eventually better explained, that lack made me not as connected to the story.

While I loved the winged people and the magic, the reality and consequences of the war, this book really reminded me that Grimdark is not for me. I do prefer a more hopeful story but the novel does have excellent worldbuilding. But I also felt the pacing and characters needed better development overall. If you like Grimdark fantasy with a queer spin, I would recommend trying it. I just will advise that it is very dark and the bad guys really need more exploration of their motives

In Thorns of Chaos, Jeremiah Cain takes us on a polarizing journey where our hero Finn is thrown in to the middle of a holy war. This puts him on a path to protect his people from being eradicated by an imposing religious crusade. Finn and his people must compromise their morals, as it is clear that in this world no one can come out a war clean. The story here is very compelling, and nothing comes easy. The magic system is similar to that of A Song of Ice and Fire, or Elder Scrolls. It is very ritualistic and limited.

I'm giving it 4 stars because while the story is very action packed and interesting, the characters could have been more dynamic to me. I found Finn to be a little passive for my taste. Without getting into spoilers, there were opportunities for the author to make broader points about indoctrination that I think were skirted in order to keep more of the character morally clean.

Thorns of Chaos was an interesting read.

It is incredibly layered with lore and fascinating characters. The world building was decent though I expected more as this seems to be the first in a series. Finn was free-spirited, funny and far from a warrior but found the courage and will to save all that he loves during the story.

I liked Laisren and I do felt for him during some of the scenes in this book. Here is to hoping the next installment won't disappoint.

This was a difficult read as there's a bit number of violence, torture, pain and suffering. It did get a bit dark. Normally I wouldn't even bat an eyelash reading a book which is a bit dark and grim but at the moment I am not just much in the mood for it.

Overall, Thorns of Chaos is still worth the read and I did enjoy it enough as it is.

This would be 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

3.5 stars

This was a fascinating read filled with some great world-building and great dialogue. I would have liked for more character development for the main characters, some things fell a little flat since I wasn't so invested in their storylines and other things felt a little rushed. I'll definitely check out the next book when it comes out.

While I did eventually enjoy the story, this took me a bit of time to get through. There is a lot going on and a lot of POVs to get through. I did appreciate the overall story though.

‘Thorns of Chaos’ by Jeremiah Cain is one of the more intense fantasy novels I’ve read in a while. Incredibly layered with lore and characters, it was a deep and immersive reading experience. this is one of those books where I feel like I can’t say more because it just needs to be read to be appreciated fully. I’m deeply excited for the second book, should there be one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Vyletra LLC for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll be honest, this book was a bit tough for me to get in to and it took me quite a bit of time to finish it as I constantly veered to other books and activities between chapters. I’m okay with fantasy books but the way this story was told was more telling than showing so it dragged a bit. It was information overload for a reader who just couldn’t get involved in the story.

Finn is the MC. He’s a feah, or a human with wings. He tried to be innocent but he gets around. He had an instaconnection with Laisren who was a childhood friend. The romance was a bit washed out as the storyline exponentially grew dark and a bit disturbing. It almost seemed like the author kept dying to outdo himself to increase the tension.

I felt like the writing was okay, although it could’ve used a bit more editing. The flow was a bit sluggish but consistent. Maybe this was a me thing because it wasn’t bad, it was just okay.

Arc received from NetGalley. I voluntarily left this review.

I REALLY wanted to enjoy this one, but the writing style just didn’t work for me at all.
I’m not sure if this just needs a very heavy edit or if Cain’s style just isn’t for me, but the excessive physical descriptions, repeated ideas and words, clunky dialogue and overall tone made this incredibly difficult to get through.

Thank you, NetGalley!
Heartbreak and pain. That is what this book brings but in the best way. There is so much growth and change in Finn our main character, as he struggles to save his people. This book details the cruelty of people and the lengths Finn will go to save his tribe and defend what he cares about. It details the pain and struggle of the war, and it affects the people in it. I wish there was more development for the main romance in the book but other than that I think this book has a wonderful premise and brought so much mention when reading.

3/5
If you have lingering emotional damage from the Red Wedding scene in Game of Thrones, you aren't ready to read this book. Although, if that kind of heart break is your jam, you'll love it.

The vibes of Thorns of Chaos were very interesting. It was like Outlander meets Nora Roberts in a good way. It follows Finn as his tribe of winged magic practitioners in their fight against the Dayigan human settlers who view them as savages. Why are they wicked and savage? Because they are open with their sexuality and gasp wait for it.....their leadership is a matriarchal system. How could women possibly be the leaders of the perverse tribe. EYE ROLL. Finn is cast out after the leader of the troops frames him for the death of a soldier. On his mission to track down a difference sect of magicians who use chaos magic, Finn discovers the boy he fell in love with as a child is their leader. Finn throws himself into about every single dangerous situation you can think of in order to save his tribe from the Dayigans.

The magic system in this book was very unique. Each magic type is very clearly tied to a different religious system. Although, the underlying theme is that the well of power that all magic derives from is the same among the religions. It is just a difference in the practices used to access it. The sect that Finn joins to help save his tribe has figured out a way to tap into that single source. I enjoyed the religious commentary. It ran parallel with most of the religions practiced today.

I didn't like the way the book ended. I wasn't thrilled with the fates of many characters. I liked it the whole time I was reading it, and then at the end I was left with no one I cared enough about to continue reading the series. I am not invested in picking up the next installment in the series. If I see it and remember that I read Thorns of Chaos, then yeah I would probably read it. But I don't care to follow the series intentionally.

I wanted to like and enjoy this novel, but didn’t. The white print on black e-copy I got to review was difficult to read, and It took me a good while to get engaged in the storyline. I had to 'force myself' to come back to it 3 or 4 times before I did get engaged.
Truthfully, I wish I had just given up instead of finishing it :-(

I noticed occasional spots of poor final editing as well as poor character development of most of the characters in the tale. In my opinion it wasn’t very well executed overall. The book ended without resolution of the main theme after serious death and destruction involving many characters.

The whole thing was way too dark for my taste. Definitely no happy ending here.

Overall, this came across as though it was finished hurriedly to meet a deadline. while serving as a teaser to promote ensuing tales in the same mythos.
Next books in the series need a more competent proofreader/editor.
I, for one, will NOT be reading any more tales in this series.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I thought the premise and idea of the book was super interesting, but not executed well. The writing felt very rushed and sloppy. There were a lot of POV's, and often showing up in one chapter, with a lot of bouncing around. I had a hard time keeping up with who was who and where with how many POV's were going in one chapter. This is a new world, so I expected some world building, but it was done with dialog and very little descriptions, there was no showing and a lot of telling as my creative writing professors would say. The author seemed to want to base the religious background on Celtic mythologies but that felt haphazardly thrown in there, and there was more a focus on the magic building, but it was a heavy info dump in the middle of the book. The intimate scenes were very one dimensional. I'm all for steamy scenes, if they're well written, these were awkward feeling and rushed. I'm bummed about this one, I was looking for a good fantasy read.

Thorns of Chaos by Jeremiah Cain

Leave it to me to fall for another winged faery 🤭 Our MC, Finn, is free-spirited, goofy and anything BUT a warrior before he stumbles upon a war that was inevitable. His people are shunned by humans for their beliefs and use of magic & he finds himself on a journey to seek out even darker magic to use in defense of his tribe. We get to see tons of character growth in Finn and I'm hoping we see more of him in future books! 🤞🏽 My only gripe with this story is the romance aspect that felt rushed. The author does provide a short explanation as to why it might have felt rushed throughout the story, but I still found myself wanting more of their backstory.

(Pub Date: 03/13/23)
Thank you to Netgally and Vyletra LLC for the eArc!

This one really wasn’t for me! I felt like it was too sexually focused and with no real substance. Couldn’t buy in to the story and none of the characters were particularly interesting.

An average fantasy novel with LGBT+ rep.

Jeremiah Cain's "Thorns of Chaos" was a quick fantasy read with some really great potential in both the story, the magic, and the world that both exist in. I found the characters to be well-developed, however, some of them were a bit too one note to keep the interest. The differing points of view when it came to narration kept the story fresh and wanting to keep reading. Perhaps the most glaring issue I had with the novel comes from the pacing -- at times if felt like we really keyed in on a moment and focused on it for a chapter or two, while at other times, we glanced over multiple months in the matter of a few sentences. I appreciate the desire to live realistically in the timeline of the story, however portions of the plot just didn't seem to fit correctly. For example, when one of the characters leaves to get help, he is gone for months on a matter that should be more pressing, only to eventually return and find that, although things are grim, they did not advance in direness nearly as much as the story lead us to believe.

All in all, I'm hoping that we get to understand more of Cain's world as it has potential to be interesting given the surprising ending and how scattered to the wind the primary characters are.