Such a haunting read overall, it was a very dark and creepy read that kept me hooked all the way through.

3.5 stars. I was impressed with The Thorns, even if I found the execution a bit messy and predictable.

Using a dual timeline structure, Dawn Kurtagich introduces readers to Bethany Sloan. In the “now” chapters, Bethany is a successful writer living with her loving husband Bruce in London. She’s struggling with writer’s block, agonizing over how to finish her award-winning series of novels, when her school friend Stacey re-enters her life. As teenagers, Stacey and Bethany met at a remote boarding school in South Africa, and in the “then” chapters it swiftly becomes clear that their friendship was far from healthy. In fact, it was toxic: marked by obsession, bullying, and abuse. With Stacey back in her life, Bethany is forced to confront the trauma of her adolescence once and for all.

The Thorns is an incredibly dark book, dealing overtly with themes like abuse of all kinds (physical, sexual, emotional, substance), self-harm, and mental health crises. Through the characters of Bethany and Stacey, Kurtagich reveals the dark heart of girlhood, in all its cruelty and vulnerability. The narrative, inspired by Kurtagich’s own experiences at boarding school, feels intensely personal. She completely captures the mindset of a teenage girl struggling with self-worth and how to relate to an expanding world of increasingly adult experiences. Bethany is one of those characters who you want to both hug and lecture about making better choices, but she is sympathetic all the way through. And The Thorns is an incredibly atmospheric book, with an arid, desolate setting that perfectly complements the book’s overarching themes.

I was intrigued by the “urban legend” feel of the description – the frightening “Glass Man” and his cruel games – but sadly, he barely makes an appearance in the book. In fact, the Glass Man references have no bearing on the plot at all, and I’m not sure why they were even included…maybe to add a horror element? But this isn’t a scary book, and while it’s deeply psychological and incredibly dark, it doesn’t really read like a thriller. It’s a coming-of-age novel more than anything else, about how every emotion is experienced in the extreme, how everything feels simultaneously confusing and upsetting and glorious, and how the mind copes and seeks to protect itself when dealing with trauma at such a pivotal point in a young woman’s development. The book feels a bit crowded with all of this going on, somewhat hectic and overwrought. I predicted the final twist very early on, and I think many readers will.

This won’t be a book for every reader, but if you are willing to travel with the author into some incredibly dark corners of the human psyche, it’s a worthwhile, meaningful read in the end, despite a few hiccups. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the early reading opportunity.

I was thrilled to be able to read an advanced copy of this one through NetGalley, and it did not disappoint (although I knew it would be amazing. I will read anything this woman writes.) This story absolutely gutted me, and I won’t lie — it was a hard read at times. But the writing and overall eerie tone of the book made it just so enjoyable, I couldn’t stop! The Thorns is one of those books where you can tell that something is wrong, but you can’t put your finger on what it is (aka my favourite type of book).

After loving Kurtagich’s teen horror novels growing up, I’m thrilled to say that I think I like her adult writing even more!

Thank you net galley for allowing me to read this book in advance in exchange for an honest review, this book was interesting and definitely kept me guessing

3.5/5
Thank you @netgalley @amazonpublishing #partner for the gifted copy of this eArc!

The Thorns is a dark and atmospheric novel that delves into themes of obsession, power, and manipulation. It definitely has a mysterious and eerie atmospheric vibe as we follow a group of characters caught up in a twisted, obsessive situation. Dawn successfully creates an unsettling tone and because these characters were younger I felt sad for them most of the time. The rituals and mind games within the group are disturbing and left me feeling a little empty in side. It’s a mom thing in my own brain because I would just be so sad if my kids acted like this. At times, this one did feel somewhat redundant but overall I did think this book was intriguing. I am definitely excited to read more by this author and still have The Madness sitting on my shelf to read!

This moves back and forth in time to tell a story of abuse and toxic female relationships. Bethany, now an author, based one of her characters on Stacey, who she met at boarding school but they haven't been in touch for years. But now all of it- all the awful- is coming back. This is well written but it's also disturbing in its portrayal of the abuse. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Didn't enjoy it but others might.

Thank you Netgalley & Thomas & Mercer for an eARC♥️

The story is centered around Bethany, a bestselling author who's forced to confront her past when an old friend, Stacey, reaches out after 17 years. Their reunion is awkward and unsettling, and it's clear that their friendship was complicated.
What struck me was the way the author explored the nuances of adolescent relationships. Bethany and Stacey's friendship was intense and all-consuming, but also toxic and damaging. It was clear that they were both struggling to survive in a difficult environment. Dawn Kurtagich’s portrayal of their relationship was so raw and honest that it felt almost uncomfortable to read at times.
The writing is evocative and immersive, and I appreciated how the author wove together the different threads of Bethany's story. The result is a narrative that's both haunting and thought-provoking. I loved how the author used the African boarding school setting to explore themes of isolation, trauma, and resilience.
I'm not gonna lie, this book deals with some heavy themes, and it's not always an easy read. But it's also a really important one, and it's stuck with me long after I finished reading it. The author's willingness to tackle tough subjects head-on is admirable, and the result is a book that's both challenging and rewarding.

3.5 stars!

"The Thorns" is a dark and twisted tale about an author who reconnects with an old boarding school friend and is forced to confront their shared past and the imaginary creature they thought they left behind. The story follows Bethany Sloane, who will do anything to stay in the good graces of her friend Stacey, including playing twisted games with dark consequences. Seventeen years later, Bethany receives an email from Stacey, bringing back memories of their traumatic past. As Bethany tries to navigate the dangerous game Stacey is playing, she must confront the horrifying world of adolescent abuse, controlling friendships, and blinding obsession.

This book was quite intense! It sheds light on how easily influenced young people can be and how much they crave approval in order to fit in. The content of this book made it challenging to read, primarily due to its manipulative nature, triggering themes, and almost obsessive behavior portrayed.

I found it difficult to fully immerse myself in this story. The characters, Bethany and Stacey, are both young and complex individuals who are not easy to connect with. Certain parts of the book were hard to digest, particularly the inappropriate relationship between a 13-year-old and a 28-year-old. It was disturbing to even consider that the young girl seemed to be accepting of it. Readers should be aware that there are many intense themes present in this book that may be triggering for some.

If you are drawn to stories about complicated, often toxic friendships, mental health struggles, and heart-wrenching narratives, then this book may pique your interest.

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Bethany is all grown up- an author who is married and currently struggling to finish a book series that has reached critical acclaim status many times over. As she falters between losing her creativity and vision of ending her book series, she finds herself reconnecting with Stacy. I can't even go into explaining Bethany and Stacy's friendship- it's genuinely so nuanced and double stacked that you'd just have to read this in its entirety to understand. Stacy attends an African boarding school with Bethany, and after being forced by her mom to attend a place she really didn't want to, the latter finds herself latching on to Stacy in the way all lonely fourteen year olds probably would. It's not very healthy nor are the girls old enough to understand the true duplicity that can come from such a relationship- but the games they play are just for the two of them. From the description alone, I'll fully admit I misidentified the role Glass Man and the thorns would play in this story- if you go into this one expecting a visual and visceral explanation of a fun childhood urban legend, you're apt to be quite disappointed. Dawn writes so beautifully in this one, and I loved everything that wasn't said as much as I did the things that were. I think it'll be fun to see everyone's interpretation of the grief, abuse, and malice intention in The Thorns- but unfortunately, I don't think everyone will understand the plot and what it took to reach such a conclusion. Bethany and Stacey shared beautiful moments within that end up so horribly ugly that I'll be hard pressed to forget such a thing anytime soon. Thank you so much to the publisher for approving me for the eArc, and even bigger thanks to the author herself for sending me a physical copy once the former fell through! All opinions are my own.

Despite an intriguing start, I ended up truly hating this. Kurtagich's writing is repetitive and flowery, making an already-long book feel even longer. Using twenty words where one would suffice sapped the narrative of tension and horror, and the ending was telegraphed from a mile away from the very start, so this felt like a completely futile reading experience.

It's like... you know where the story is going and you're taking the longest road possible to get there, including looping back on yourself several times before you finally reach your destination.

I've loved all of Dawn Kurtagich's novels I've read so far, and "The Thorns" as well! I really liked the story, even though the main character was sometimes very naive. However, we understand very well why and we would rather take her out of that school. Some scenes are quite difficult to read emotionally, and this novel is much more classified as an adult audience than the other novels of the author that I have read. I really enjoyed it!

Told in dual timelines, a boarding school obsession from the past leaks into our present timeline for our main protagonists. In present time, Bethany is a writer in herself, rehashing and trying to remember the past as her old childhood obsession Stacey seems to haunt her.

I repeatedly had to read the description because it didn’t really match the story being told. I was expecting a childhood ghost story and games of the Glass Man; this was rarely touched on and had zero relevance to the story.

A lot of times, it felt overly wordy, leaving me wondering what the author was trying to do; and the thesaurus may have been a little too close. Bethany’s past obsession with Stacey is given lots of detail which makes it easy as a reader to imagine. But there are so many details I didn’t need and didn’t add any interest to the story- like an entire paragraph describing breakfast. The back half gets a lot more focused on moving the story forward and the twist wasn’t too predictable. Overall some good writing but some stuff at the end doesn’t make sense.

Check your trigger warnings- even though there is a trigger warning at the beginning, it’s not really what the full detail of what the story triggers, which is a disservice to readers. I wish I had done more research and read reviews regarding what the “sexual violence” was in the story or I wouldn’t have requested this.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review from Netgalley.

I was initially excited to read The Thorns, but truthfully, I was not fully engaged in the story. It is presented in a dual timeline format - the then/past versus the now/present. For me, I was more interested in reading about the then/past storyline with Bethany and Stacy as it came to life more than the now/present storyline where Bethany and Stacy reconnect. Like other reviews have said, the past felt more real and engaging versus the present. Also, I felt like I was kept away from the character's inner thoughts and feelings in the present parts of the story. But I do like that Dawn does not shy away from difficult topics, like the sexual assault Bethany had been subjected to.

I honestly felt a little disturbed reading this.
The friendship between the women as girls definitely hints of lots of mental issues both in their own way.
The back and forth got a little redundant. Sometimes dragged a bit.

There are quite a few trigger warnings so definitely be mindful because even though there isn’t very dramatic detail it’s there and there is quite a bit.

I don’t know if I would have picked this for myself

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity

I loved this book! It's everything I've been wanting from a spooky, but also painfully and brutally relatable read this year. Stacey and Bethany have a horrifying but understandable codependent relationship/friendship that I think anyone who has been a teenager, particularly a teenage girl, will understand and empathise with. The dual timelines thrust that codependency and hurt that two girls so easily do to each other into the present, which really solidified that empathy for me and only served to make the entire story even creepier (in a good way). I think the author also really conveys teenage girls' experiences with abuse, particularly sexual abuse, in a thoughtful and nuanced way. I think that drew me the most, that depiction, and how it didn't shy away from holding those who should be accountable and acknowledging how girls are failed in society.

I truly don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this. Oh my god. This story is going to haunt me for a long, long time.

This is a dark, sick and twisted fever dream of a book and I couldn’t look away. The twists and turns had my head spinning. At no point will you know where the story is going.

Loved it so much. Dying to go read Dawn Kurtagichs back list now while I wait for her brain to come up with some more horrifying stories for me to love.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Rated 3.5 really.

First off...DISCLAIMER: this title was up for grabs on NetGalley (in the Read Now section). Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for providing a temporary ecopy. This didn't influence my review in any way.

As usual with Kurtagich, it's a challenge to write a review - or even a simple blurb - without spoilers. One has to dance around the truth and to use words in a clever manner, which I hope is what I'm doing...

Told in a double-timeline narrative, The Thorns is a well-written, brutally honest, disturbing book. I'm glad I read it, and at the same time, it left a bad taste in my mouth. I thought I was in for a mostly contemporary story with a supernatural thread woven in, but Glass Man and the titular thorns mythology turned out to be inconsequential (this is not the spoiler you may think it is, and I feel like it's right to include it in order to prevent false expectations). On the other hand, the abuse, obsession and manipulation were very real. The author lists "bullying, sexual violence" (not of the graphic kind), "gaslighting, self-harm, chronic pain, minor alcohol and drug abuse, reference to animal harm, and mental health crises" as triggers, but even those fail to prepare the reader for the relationship between a 13 y.o. girl and a 28 y.o. man and the level of toxicity it entails - or for the equally toxic female friendship. The Thorns has a lot to say about a young girl's desperate need to belong, and how the world (sometimes even her peers, sometimes even other GIRLS for goodness' sake, but mostly older men) preys on it while casting HER in the role of the villain. This is praiseworthy, but not something that makes a book enjoyable in the strict sense of the word. I have to say the main twist didn't caught me by surprise, because early reviews had me on the lookout for one, but I only figured half of it (on the other hand, there's a scene that doesn't make sense, in retrospect, even taking delusions into account), and the ending left me speechless, though I feel like it sacrifices good mental rep for a last shock (then again, that can be said for premise of The Dead House as well, and I loved that one...).

The depiction of the school setting and the land where Bethany and her friends played was described in rich detail. This vivid description significantly enhanced that portion of the narrative. The story delves deeply into some distressing events from Bethany's childhood, including instances of sexual assault. The sections of the book that recount the past are so vivid that they immerse the reader thoroughly in Bethany's experiences.

I am certainly interested in exploring more works by Dawn Kurtagich in the future. The friendship she developed between Bethany and Stacey was particularly compelling. I appreciate authors who address challenging subjects in their narratives. If this book piques your interest, I recommend giving it a try. The storyline set in the past offers a uniquely engaging perspective.

I would like to extend my gratitude to NetGalley, the author Dawn Kurtagich and the publisher Thomas & Mercer, for providing me with the opportunity to read and review an advanced reader's copy of The Thorns.

1.75 stars

I picked up this novel because the synopsis sounded interesting. It suggested a toxic friendship, a creature or entity called the 'Glass Man' and a game. While we did get toxic friendship (very much so), there wasn't really a game aspect. Also, the Glass Man was mentioned, but didn't play any part in the story. Those were pretty much the main aspects that made me excited about this book, so colour me disappointed.

I didn't mind the twist at the end, but it wasn't nearly good enough to make the rest of this book worthwhile. The characters weren't fleshed out enough for me to care and the POVs read kind of the same. You'd expect to see some type of difference between 13-year old Bethany and grown up Bethany. Looking back, I don't quite understand why the POV of adult Bethany was there in the first place.

While content warnings were included at the beginning of this ARC, I was caught a little by surprise. The author mentions sexual violence and abuse, but what she fails to mention is that this all happens when the MC is 13 years old, making it CSA. Despite the author mentioning it wasn't graphic and it's necessary to the story, I fail to agree on that first point. While it's not as graphic as it could be, it packs a punch. Especially because it's written in first person. So, definitely be aware before diving into this book.

TW: child sexual assault/pedophelia, sexual assault/rape, bullying, mental illness, self harm, toxic friendship

This book had such amazing imagery, I could see it all right there in front of me.
It kept me on my toes and had me looking behind me far to much for comfort.
It was the first for me by this author, but I look forward to reading more.