When Bethany’s mom is essentially abandons her at a South African boarding school, she feels lonely and unwanted. But she finds solace in her friendship with Stacey, someone she develops and almost codependent relationship with. At some point, Bethany returns to her native England, and 20 years later is a successful writer. But the past doesn’t stay in the past, when Stacey returns into her life for the first time in years. Suddenly, Bethany’s questioning her life choices. But is it a good thing?

TW: sexual assault (it’s not necessarily graphic, but very physiologically twisted, which makes it very difficult to read, especially so if it’s something you have been through, I imagine.)

This book is told along two timelines: the past, when Stacey and Bethany are in boarding school, and in the present day.

Ok, onto the book itself:
This book was a creepy, suspenseful, wild ride through both the past and the present as we, the readers, watch two friends fall apart through a toxic mixture of obsession and control. It’s both hard to stomach and fascinating. I had to really had to hold myself back from skipping ahead to see how everything ended. But I (just barely) held out. And man, it was worth it.

The twists and turns were amazing in this one. I think my jaw dropped like three times during the final chapters. I was so fascinated and taken by surprise. Trust me, Dawn Kurtagich knows how to craft a great story.

It’s best to go in completely blind, so I won’t say more, other than, you will get frustrated with the characters, but remember that they’re teen girls, so they make stupid decisions, like doing dangerous things to impress their friends. But in this book, everything is done for a reason. Ugh, it’s perfectly set up.

If you love thrillers, pick this up!

70/100 or 3.5 stars

This was an intense read. There were plenty of things that I enjoyed about the novel, but there are also a few things that I didn't care for. I liked the writing style and thought the story and plot flowed well. I don't want to spoil anything, so that makes saying the good and bad things about a little difficult.
I will say this was better than I was expecting, and I will be intersted in reading more by Kurtagich in the future.

10/10 recommend checking the content warnings with this one...it is very intense for a YA/teen story. It does read more like a thriller with horrible things mixed in rather than horror, so I would say it is slightly mislabled/marketed as horror.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I had to DNF this book after about 6 chapters because I wasn't drawn into it. Maybe it was the mysterious writing style, but it was not for me. I would try other books from this author in the future though.

Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

unfortunately, as much as the premise sounded absolutely up my alley, the writing style just didn't work for me. I'm all for a descriptive narration, but this was too much for me, and I found it very confusing at first, which is not a vibe I look for in a horror.

As teenagers at boarding school in South Africa, Stacey was the center of Bethany Sloane’s world: The older, prettier, more vivacious best friend whose every word was law. But Bethany is an adult now, disabled, but also a celebrated author with a doting husband and a new life in London. When Stacey unexpectedly reaches out after moving to London herself, Bethany is shocked by how quickly they reconnect more than half a lifetime later. But with Stacey comes the ghost of their mutual past and dark secrets left unspoken.

Told from the alternating POV of young Bethany and present-day Bethany, The Thorns dives into childhood trauma and the way it ripples through one's entire life.

When we first met Bethany, she’s already established at her boarding school and deep into her obsession with Stacey. The novel doesn’t really show how or why Stacey has such a stranglehold on Bethany or their other friend, Bernie. We don’t see their toxic friendship develop, we just have to accept it as-is. Young Bethany, abandoned by her mother and without a real sense of purpose or direction, defines herself through other people. Adult Bethany hasn’t really managed to move beyond that. It’s poignant and devastating, at times hard to read. But this novel isn’t so much about character development so much as reckoning with your past. I understand that one never simply outgrows trauma, but The Thorns focuses on the trauma so starkly and we almost never see Bethany exist outside the moments related to it. It made me feel like I only had a partial understanding of the characters.

This novel wasn’t really for me, and part of that is on me: I mistook the vibe from the description (along with associations to the author I saw suggesting it) as something a little more metaphorical and less literal. The first half or so of this novel is just... really fucking bleak and matter-of-fact. This is not a horror in the spooky, eerie, murder-y sense. It is horrific because there's several scenes focused on child rape and manipulation. There is a Bloody Mary-esque figure in the books that's teased in the description, but it's featured very little in the novel while the actual abuse is featured more heavily, so you know from the get that the MC is dissociating when it's mentioned. I didn't think it added much to the novel overall and its use in the description will mislead some as to what the novel is actually about.

It does pick up and emotions fluctuate beyond sheer, broken hopelessness as the story begins to unravel toward the end, but I found myself just wanting to get through it and be done at several points in the novel. The big revelations and sliver of catharsis at the end weren't quite enough to negate that feeling.

While I recognize that POV preferences are very subjective, I didn’t love present-day Bethany’s POV, which is in the second person and fully directed toward Stacey. It’s meant to show Bethany’s lingering reverence toward Stacey, even after years apart and well into adulthood. I suspect it was meant to be disorienting, though, so maybe I just have to give it credit for doing its job.

This is barely scraping by with 3 stars for me, because I appreciate the author's vision, despite finding some fault with the execution, and am reflecting a lot on how she said it was inspired by her own experiences. But it’s a truly heavy read that has literary merit for the right audience, but it just didn’t sit well with me overall.

Currently catching up on reviewing my arcs so I will give a more detailed review in the future!

Very heavy read so please check the trigger warnings before starting!
It was however...also very much up my alley, will definitely be purchasing a physical copy

The Thorns is a richly dark coming of age story told through dual time lines.
Bethany is a successful author who is struggling to finish her very popular series of books. Meanwhile we get a look into her past when she attended a boarding school where she was obsessed with a classmate named Stacey.
Difficult to read at parts, this book kept me guessing as we waded towards the final twists.
For a more indepth, spoiler free review check out my youtube review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GdIMsRjbXY

So sorry but i dnfed this pretty early on. I did not have time to read it and went into a slump and this was the victim haha. Probably just not for me. I was very interested after reading the synopsis but starting it was very not for me.

Dawn Kurtagich is incredible at psychological horror. This is my second novel by her and both were twisty, disturbing, and dark.

The Thorns is a story about Bethany Sloan, an award winning author who is struggling to write her next novel. At the same time, The Thorns is also about what happened to Bethany while she was away at boarding school.

This story is dark: Bethany’s childhood is traumatic. And it’s exacerbated by an obsessive relationship she has with Stacey, a manipulative mean girl at her school. The details are what truly made this story: the harshness of the thorns, the descriptions of the boarding school, every single encounter Bethany has with someone else. Truly fascinating.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the eARC.

I don’t want to give too much feedback as I DNF’d this
I’m just not sure it was for me honestly. There is nothing specific to really feedback, I’m just not really sure I vibed with the writing style.

The Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich is a dark and unsettling psychological thriller that delves into the twisted nature of adolescent obsession and manipulation. Thirteen-year-old Bethany Sloane, abandoned at a remote African boarding school, becomes entangled in a dangerous and controlling friendship with Stacey, whose games and rules define Bethany’s every move. Years later, as a bestselling author, Bethany is forced to confront her traumatic past when an eerie email from Stacey brings her childhood back into focus. What seemed like innocent games now reveal the terrifying consequences of breaking Stacey's rules. With its chilling atmosphere and intense exploration of control and obsession, The Thorns keeps readers on the edge of their seats, offering a haunting reflection on the psychological scars of abuse.

The premise of this book really fascinated me. I love the idea of a suppressed past coming to light.

This book is told in then in now timelines. The then timeline of Bethany’s time in the boarding school was the more interesting of the story in my opinion but the content of the storyline was disturbing in a way I didn’t like. Check your trigger warnings.

The now timeline was written in a way that was quite confusing to me which albeit was exactly the point but I just wasn’t really sure about it.

While I was confused and disgusted for the bulk of this story, I absolutely loved the way it all came together in the end. Completely blindsided me.

DANG, @dawnkurtagich has hooked me again!!!! 🖤

I started this book late last night and I’m really really enjoying it!!! My first foray into Dawn’s writing was this past summer when I ARC read The Madness, thanks to @htpbooks !!! that book was a 5⭐️ for me and this one is looking like it’ll be that same. After I finish this book I’ll be reading @dawnkurtagich ‘s entire backlist because her writing is just…

D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S ✨

Thank you to Thomas Mercer for the review ARC of this book!!!

I love this author so much. I'm so glad I was able to read the story in advance. Its just amazing. I can't wait for everyone to get their hands on this story.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

This was a darker read that really makes you consider your own childhood. I enjoyed the character dynamics and their complexity.

I think this book was so relatable we have probably all had toxic friendships or all have someone in our lives that we could see in Stacey. Perfectly paced and full of tension and suspense so electric that it made the hairs on my arms and neck stand up. I loved it

This book was unlike any other I’ve read by this author. In a way it felt like she cut herself open and bled onto the page. Please, please be mindful and take seriously her trigger warning at the beginning of the book. Usually, as someone who often reads dark romance and obsessively watches horror movies, nothing sets me off. But this book did. I probably should have stopped reading at some point but the author (who is my favorite author and will remain so) has such a beautiful way of writing that draws you in that you don’t want to put it down. I’m not sure I’d call this horror exactly. Most of the present day sections are a little more psychological thriller than edge of your seat horror. The past timeline sections were the parts I found hard to read. There is a twist at the end, well rather several, that I found quite clever. One was quite sweet and the other one I had wildly thought earlier in the book “what if…” and was smugly satisfied to see that I was right. Overall, I would read anything this author writes… but this book definitely will not be for everyone. Again, be mindful of the trigger warnings and don’t lob them off like I did.

I have a weird relationship with this author, some of her books I love and some of them are just okay to me. I absolutely loved her last book. The Madness, so I was very excited to dive into this book, but unfortunately it’s one that I struggled with. I do think it’ll be widely loved among readers, it just wasn’t a ‘me’ book.

I was so excited for this one, the synopsis and premise had so many appealing things. Unfortunately for me it was just missing that extra spark. I feel the book is advertised as something it is not and I believe that is what is the most disappointing. There were many missing elements and the ending just didn't do it for me.