*Thanks to Netgalley and Vyletra LLC for the chance to review this ARC for an honest review*

Finn is one of the Terovae, beings like humans but with wings, who lives in a simple fishing village with his friends and family. But their way of life is being threatened by the Dayigans, humans who increasingly encroach and threaten their way of life. Thorns of Chaos follows Finn on his journey to protect their way of life.

Cain has painted an intriguing world with a huge amount of potential. I enjoyed the book, and Finn makes a truly charming main character. The political plotlines could have been more fleshed out and the plot sometimes felt rushed. There are a number of groups and dynamics that create a really interesting story but left me wanting more.

I'll be intrigued to see if Cain plans to add more books in this series.

This is an extraordinarily vivid ancient telling about free-spirited winged Feahs, magic, and their collision with the powerful cruelty of Humans.
The Feah lands flourish in the magic and love of their Druids. Their life's force mentored in respect and strong faith in Earth's nurturing force. This story concerns a small village of Feahs called the Drevites, their passion for all living things, and their souls' bond to the Earth. But this book is also about a diaspora of fear and hate. The antagonists' uncompromised bigotry and threats of extinction threaten the Feah way of life. They are the Dayigan. A Human tribe.
The forest Feah are culturally, emotionally, and militarily unprepared for a war prosecuted with the purpose of their extinction. Tragic events lead the main character, an adorable and loving male Feah named Finn, to pay the ultimate price. His painful passage leads to embracing dark magic and gradual soul-deep evolution to save his Feahs.
Thornes of Chaos is above love stories between two men. Their families and tribespeople. Finn and Laisren have loved each other since childhood and are faced with a rediscovery of passion amidst loss and grief. Although practicing dark magic strengthens his magic, Finn's love for black hair and wings, the object of Finn's childhood of adolescent passion and love, becomes a steward in the taboo world of dark magic. Laisren's reluctance ultimately bears witness to Finn's beautiful goodness and innocence evaporating.
Finn's enrapture with saving his race from extinction at any cost causes Laisren's heart to break. As the evil of hate and bigotry transform Finn's body and soul. Can they survive the war the Dayiganss are bringing?
The plot twist of this reading is like the stories Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. Thornes of Chaos mimics the same mind-numbing dedication to goodness and light warring against the hellish darkness of mindless evil.
In a comparatively short book, the story moves quickly and efficiently, holding captive readers' attention needing to discover the outcomes of the survivors after the last paragraph.
Keeping safe their lifelong covenant of bringing no harm to any living creature and respecting the boundaries of tribes outside their borders, the cruel realities of Dayiganss find the Drevites of Feah lands unprepared.
Author Jeremiah Cain excels in bringing passion, love, grit, action, and bravery to the story in clear language. The emotional rollercoaster ride into the magical warrior Finn is breathtaking. And the supporting cast of lovers, friends, and relatives weaves a tale that takes the reader on a hauntingly dramatic journey.
My Thoughts,
This is a journey of how magic, love, and Feah-faith souls of the Earth become tools against the Dayigan tribe. Humans believe Earth will be better without Feah.
This emotionally lit storytelling is a passage that will remain long after you consume the last page. Author Jeremiah Cain delivers on his promise to provide fear, wonder, heartwarming loving, and commitment, waiting for discovery on each page.
Magic and fate became real for me in this story about fated love, family, friends, and magical winged tribespeople. The battle scenes are brutal, presenting stark, and bloody. Elements that grabbed my attention, holding it captive.
Thornes of Chaos down is an easy five-star good read.

This was a challenging book for me to review. I am not generally a fantasy reader, but I do make exceptions for those with LGBTQA+ characters. Also, this is undoubtedly the first book of a series set in the same world. The author does a nice job of world-building--very detailed and consistent. He models the colonial treatment of Native Americans in the book's main conflict. The feahs are connected to nature and their magic is of the healing sort though they can also control nature as an offensive and defensive weapon. They are a matriarchy (nice touch) led by druidesses. The hero, Finn, is a feah; a human with wings. As is typical in these books, see Frodo in Lord of the Rings, the innocent young man, though Finn does sleep around, who considers himself completely unfit for the role ends up becoming a brave fighter with dark powers. His lover, Laisren, while originally a feah, has adopted the dark arts that Finn learns along the way.

I had several issues with the book. First, although Finn and Laisren had been childhood friends, when they meet up again, the love is unaccountably insta. It would have been nice to see this develop--particularly since Finn is well known to play the field. Finn's character morphs too quickly and completely and without much growth from simple fisher boy to dark master. Once he becomes the dark master, he loses much of his likeability as well as the reader's sympathy. Most of all, though, the book is one of the darkest, grimmest books I have ever read. Just when you think it can't get any darker, it does. For me, there is too much violence, torture, pain, and killing for sport I realize that this is probably only the first book of a series, but I do not think I will sign up for another ride Be prepared.

Basically a queer, hornier version of every existing fantasy novel. Do with this information what you would like. ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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 the night of the Midyear’s Eve festival, when the Dayigan commander catches Finn in the arms of another man. Suddenly, framed for murder, Finn must flee his village or face death.

This book was nothing like I expected to say more would spoil it. Read it for yourself but don’t expect flowers and rainbows.

It was a solid book. I wish it had been better at pulling me into its world. Everything about the book blurb screamed at me that I would love this book. I hit the 60% mark and was still coasting along, not fully engrossed, I was disappointed. This book has the makings of something special. Thanks to NetGally for the ARC gift!