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.

Picked this up for the toxic friendship dark academia vibes and was just uncomfortable for the entire thing.

I picked this up because the synopsis sounded really interesting; it gave off strong urban legend vibes (an entity called "Glass Man," invoked through a mostly made-up game, starts haunting two schoolgirls), it involved supernatural shenanigans of the kind made popular by well-known authors such as Stephen King (the two girls meet again in adulthood, one is an author, and they have to face the entity again), and it promised some nice moments of friendship, several instances of coming-of-age situations, and warned of some "adolescent abuse".

The book does not deliver any of those things. Nothing of what I said is vital to the plot. "The Thorns" is simply not the book the synopsis describes. First of all, there's no "Glass Man," not in any meaningful way - forget games and hauntings; the (very rarely mentioned - four or five times?) words "Glass Man" name simply a vague threat which plays absolutely no role in the novel. Second, there's nothing supernatural in the book: there's just plain old girl angst, girl cliques, and lots of bullying. Third, what happens in adulthood has nothing to do with any "Glass Man" or whatever happened in the school: the 'friendship' is purely toxic and destructive, it involves mental issues (NB: not psychological horror!), and the fact that one of the women is an author, is nothing but mere lip service to standard literary tropes - to spice things up a bit in an otherwise dull story of female infighting. Finally, and far more serious than anything else, the book's "adolescent abuse" is the extended descriptions of intimate sexual relations of a 28-year-old man with a thirteen year old girl. The descriptions are not graphic or violent - but they are disturbing, mostly because the author takes great care to portray the girl as giving consent. Those moments were chilling and really horrific: the girl is no Lolita, she's a traumatized, intelligent and caring little girl (her body hasn't even matured fully) who allows herself to be manipulated into (yes, I see the contradiction as well) a very sick sexually abusive relationship. She's also confused enough to start a sexual relationship with a boy at the same time, but I won't go into that. Perhaps this kind of experiences explain why the same girl, as a woman, never sounds any different in adulthood: she's always acting and speaking as if she's mentally stuck in early adolescence, sounding like a 13yo girl throughout the book.

So what's the book about? It's about mental instability and toxicity among women. The ending has a very predictable 'twist' about the relationship between the two girls, a turn of events not worth the investment (this is a big book, after all!). Noone who's read a healthy number of psychological thrillers is going to be shocked by the ending. So be warned: unless you enjoy sentimentalist displays of adolescent confusion, on multiple levels, don't pick up this book.

Somehow, I neglected to write a review for this book. Must have been a bad week for me because I finished this on October 28, and I really enjoyed The Thorns.
Told in the past when Bethany’s mother sent her to boarding school, and in the present. She is now a successful writer, struggling with a disability and an awful case of writer's block.
Stacey was her best friend, possibly her only friend when she was in school. Yet something tore them apart. When she receives an email from Stacey, she is thrilled to reconnect. But as their shared past is revealed, it seems that their relationship was not all sunshine and roses.
I don’t want to divulge too much, but I will say I was very surprised at how this story came together. Lots of potential triggers, but if you can get beyond them, a gut-wrenching story lives between these pages.

This was a really interesting look at how toxic friendships form, thrive, and shape the adult lives of women. It took me a while to get into the story, but the writing was well-done and well-paced.

I couldn’t put this thriller down, constantly on edge as the story twisted and turned with every chapter. The suspense kept me guessing, and just when I thought I had it figured out, another shocking revelation changed everything. It was a wild ride from start to finish, leaving me wanting more. A must read before the year is out!!!

I can’t really say this story was for me. I didn’t care for the writing style and the twist at the end didn’t do it for me. I will say that it did keep you on your toes whether you were enjoying it or not and there’s something to be said of that. Some parts are uncomfortable and felt like the writer wanted to shock the reader but if you like that kind of thing, then this is just for you! Thanks NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC!

“She makes things out of other things—she turns them into something better. I wonder if that’s what she did with me. Took what I was and made me better.”

I’ve said this before, but if you are a fan of psychological horror, Dawn Kurtagich is the author you NEED to read. I’m not sure why she floats under the radar, as all of her books are creepy, disturbing, and oh so DARK!

The Thorns begins with a note from the author that the plot for this book is written from many of her own experiences at boarding school. It includes trigger warnings for the reader, so I will include them for you before my review:

Trigger Warnings: Darker themes, specifically bullying, sexual violence, gaslighting, self-harm, chronic pain, minor alcohol and drug abuse, reference to animal harm, and mental health crises.

Bethany is an award winning author of the Sally Chronicles. She is struggling to write the last book in the series to make her deadline when her husband is unexpectedly called away for business in South Africa. Despite the fact that she relies on his constant help to remember to take her pills and to get around on crutches and a wheelchair, she tells him she will be fine while he is away.

However, as soon as he is gone, she stops taking her pills and begins to remember her experiences at boarding school seventeen years ago.

Told in alternating perspectives between past and present, Bethany is forced to confront the truth about her obsessive and abusive friendship with Stacey, the inspiration for her FMC in the Sally Chronicles.

Visceral and deeply personal, The Thorns is a heartbreaking story that sheds some light on the author’s inspiration to write Horror novels. I truly hope that the most brutal parts of this plot are fiction. Kurtagich grabs ahold of the reader and doesn’t let go until the shocking twist is revealed at the very end. This would have been a five star read, but I was left wanting a bit more from the ending.

Highly recommend!

4.5/5 stars rounded down

Expected publication date: 4/1/25

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publishing for the ARC of The Thorns in exchange for an honest review.

Touch a line, you break your spine.

Stacey is the dusty air, the cracked soil, the drought. To fourteen-year-old Bethany Sloane, she’s everything.

Abandoned by her mother at a remote African boarding school, Bethany will do anything to stay in Stacey’s good graces. And that means learning the rules of each twisted game.

Touch a crack, you break your back.

Seventeen years later, Bethany is a bestselling author. Disabled now, she can’t remember what happened back in the bush. But there’s no mistaking Stacey Preston’s name in her inbox.

Glassy, glassy, cut my arsey.

That email brings Bethany’s childhood rushing back. The Glass Man was just a story the Thorns invented, a game of wits. But every game has its rules—and consequences for breaking them. To stay alive this round, Bethany needs to play right into Stacey’s hands.

Dark and disturbing, The Thorns explores the horrifying world of adolescent abuse, controlling friendships, and blinding obsession.

Interesting concept. Really enjoyed the story. The characters were amazing. will recommend to others.

PROVE YOU LOVE ME

I completely went in blind and I think that is the best way when reading thrillers. After reading The Madness I needed more from this author immediately!

I felt on edge the entire book. I didn't know what was real and what wasn't. The twist towards the end was not was I was expecting at all! I was close with my theory but nope I was wrong! I ended the book feeling giddy. I don't know what that says about me but I do know I am obsessed with Dawn Kurtagich now.

3.8 stars rounded to 4 for this story of toxic female friendship.

In a timeline split between “then” and “now” author Bethany Sloan who is disabled in some way we aren’t quite certain about and who is suffering from writer’s block is being lovingly tended to by husband Bruce when her old friend from boarding school, Stacey, re-enters her life. They’ve had no contact for many years but Bethany’s life is quite isolated and she is both thrilled and conflicted about having Stacey in her life again…

Because according to the “then” sections Bethany’s friendship with Stacey was obsessive; Bethany idolized Stacey who could be cruel to her as young girls so often are. We learn things adult Bethany may have blocked. Why is Stacey back now?

Oh, how I wish I had gone to boarding school! I think it would have been a TOTAL disaster for me and within two weeks I would have had no friends at all and would have ended up a pariah and likely far more psychologically damaged than I already am. I know myself well enough to know that I am best in small doses. But some books make it all look so very cool!

Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this dark book of controlling friendship (I had some unhealthy friendships in my own young life) but I can see this might not be for everyone. The setting is quite interesting too; the author captures the thirsty, barren landscape well and it mirrors Bethany’s want. Good stuff.