I found A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone to be a dark, sensual, and utterly captivating read. The story’s gothic atmosphere, set in the mysterious Thornchapel manor, immediately drew me in with its blend of ancient secrets, complex characters, and taboo desires. Simone’s writing is both eloquent and raw, weaving a tale that is as twisted and grimy as it is beautiful and poetic.

I especially connected with Poe, the dreamer, whose quest to uncover the truth about her mother’s disappearance adds layers of intrigue and emotional depth to the story. The dynamic between Poe, Auden, and the other characters is intense and charged with both pleasure and pain, making their relationships feel authentic and compelling.

While the plot can be complex and the themes dark and sometimes unsettling, I appreciated how the story explored these elements with intelligence and emotional honesty. The pacing took some getting used to, but once I settled into the rhythm, I was hooked by the rich world-building and the intricate character dynamics.

Overall, I’m giving A Lesson in Thorns four stars. It’s a daring, provocative read that combines dark romance with gothic mystery, perfect for readers who enjoy stories that push boundaries and linger long after the last page.

Thank you Net Galley and Sierra Simone for the opportunity to read this book. The following review is my own thoughts:

This book was a solid three star read. I found it entertaining at times but slow at other times. I found myself more interested in the side characters than the main character Poe. I saw further books in the series are from different POVs so I might enjoy those more.

The concept of the book was intriguing and the spice was on point. I found myself really suspending belief around the ritual in the book as it didn't feel really realistic. Perhaps because we didn't really get to develop into the relationships between and among characters before the ritual.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger which is intriguing to me so it will be interesting to see where the plot takes us in the next books.

Unfortunately this isn’t for me. I think it’s more of a personal thing as I’m very unfamiliar with this genre. I know this author is beloved by many though.

Books like this makes going into books blind SUCH a trip. I also don’t know what I expected from the author of Priest. 😂☠️

In this book, we mainly follow Poe: who’s now a librarian. But she finds herself back in some small town in the UK (she’s American) working for one of the guys she grew up with. BUT, she spends her time with the group of kids she grew up with (Auden, Becket, Saint, Rebecca, and Delphine); each of them have their own ties together, work together, etc.

She was hired to catalogue and basically fix and organize the library in this castle-like house, that Auden inherited since both of his parents are dead.

There was a hidden passage to a creepy chapel covered in thorns - and Auden, Poe, and Saint “married” each other when they were teenagers. Could that marriage have been something more and is that why they’re all 3 drawn to one another?

Because as Poe continues to go through the books and works through some the history, it lowkey sounds like their parents (which used to hang out together and is how they know each other) were in a cult that had them all in interchangeable sexual relationships with one another.

Like I said - this brings you on a journey and now I’m so curious, I need to read books 2 through 4.

Dark, decadent, and utterly hypnotic—this book is like wandering through a fever dream laced with secrets, lust, and ancient magic. Poe is the perfect lens for this hauntingly seductive world: curious, determined, and just reckless enough to dive into the twisted web of Thornchapel. The vibes are gothic and moody in all the best ways, and the tension between her, Auden, and St. Sebastian? Chef’s kiss. It’s a slow unraveling of mystery and desire, with lyrical writing that feels almost like a spell. It gets a little heavy with symbolism at times, but if you're into forbidden romance, dark academia energy, and ritualistic obsession, you’ll be hooked. 4 stars for this sultry, strange, and beautifully broken tale.

This was so good. I loved the plot and characters. It was paced perfectly. I didn't wanna put it down and was on the edge of my seat

For Fans of:
- Evocation/An Education in Malice
- The Raven Cycle (very adult toxic version)
- All for the Game (for Kandriel fic lovers)

Poe has been drawn to Thornchapel from her childhood. The old gothic mansion with its complex maze, sprawling grounds, and even the vexingly charming Lord of the manor. When Poe gets the chance to return to Thornchapel to perform a full audit of its ancient library, the librarian in her thrilled, but her fascination with Thornchapel isn't only born from her fond childhood memories. It is also the last known location of her mother before she disappear forever.

This book includes:
- Dark Academia
- LGBT
- Group Love
- Catholic Iconography
- Second Chance Romance
- Friends to Lovers/Rivals to Lovers/also none of that

This book holds elements of so many of my favorite themes. This book combines catholic imagery with the occult and pagan. The mystery that shrouds the Thornchapel is captivating and hints as the supernatural without ever really diving into the fantasy genre, which I appreciated as something new.

What really is the heart of this story is the group of friends that Poe reunites with when she starts working at the library. Their mutual obsessions with each other are somehow co-dependent, toxic, and lovely all at once. I particularly love Auden, which is unsurprising since I love a greedy man who runs his friend group like a cult (a la Gansey, Andrew Minyard, David Aristarkhov, iykyk). Like the rest of the "A Lesson in Thorns" gang, Auden is fierce, and flawed, and brave, and cowardly. He is a complicated mess of humanity. I don't blame Saint for decades of pining tbh.

I highly recommend this read for those looking for a messy, kinky, catholic reading experience.

I received this ebook as an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Sierra Simone, and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for the opportunity to review this book. This review has been posted across my socials under the username @tinynightingales, check out my GoodReads profile https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/62314863
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I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I loved this book. It will be our month read after it is published. She did a great job with the story line and the characters all the way through.

A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone is a dark, erotic romance with our main character Poe being the main character of the story, but not the only one. There are six people who were childhood friends that are drawn to Thornchapel as adults. It's hard to put into words my feelings on this story, as there were many elements that were great, but a few that were not so great. Overall, I think this was a good story that was well written and I would recommend to those who are afraid of a little smut. This is not one to listen to the audiobook version with your kiddos in the car!

This is a spooky, spicy novel that I devoured. I'm a huge fan of Sierra Simone, and A Lesson in Thorns was incredible. The first in a new series, so be prepared for a cliffhanger. Dark Academia Alert!!

Let me start by saying: this is not your grandma’s gothic romance (unless your grandma is secretly a witchy, ritual-loving, emotionally damaged goddess with impeccable taste in erotic tension).

A Lesson in Thorns is sultry, spooky, and smart, the literary equivalent of wandering through a candlelit cathedral while clutching a forbidden love letter… in lingerie.

We meet Poe Markham, a librarian with trauma in her tote bag and a thirst for answers. She accepts a position cataloguing books at Thornchapel, a crumbling estate tucked into the mists and mysteries of the English moors. But Thornchapel isn’t just haunted by the past, it devours it. And Poe? She’s just delivered herself right into its hungry hands.

Poe’s mother vanished from this very house twelve years ago. So yes, she’s here for closure, but she didn’t exactly plan on falling into the moody orbit of the estate’s emotionally-wounded heir Auden Guest, his ridiculously attractive frenemies, or (gulp) his sultry rival, St. Sebastian, a man so gorgeously tormented, I needed a moment to fan myself every chapter.

What to expect:


- Steamy slow-burns so intense you’ll think your Kindle is overheating

- Sexy library time (yes, it’s a trope and yes, it delivers)

- Pagan rituals that are part midsummer maypole, part Eyes Wide Shut

- Sacred kink, deep pain, and a whole lot of soul-stripping intimacy

- The delicious feeling that something ancient and slightly unholy is watching

This isn’t a love triangle. It’s more like a lust pentagram, and each character in this book is carrying secrets, scars, and an ever-deepening connection to a mystery that goes way beyond missing persons. As the tension ratchets up, so do the stakes: emotional, physical, magical, and existential.

If you like your romance deliciously dark, with characters unraveling like sacrificial silk in a storm, then A Lesson in Thorns will absolutely ruin you in the best possible way. It’s gothic, it's horny, it's mythic and by the end, you'll want to light a candle and whisper secrets to the moon.

4 Thorn Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5
“Yes, oh.” He pushes his face farther in, burying his nose in my neck. “I want to touch you as if you were mine.”
This book made me go, "What the hell did I just read?" I was confused for a majority of it, but it wasn't the kind of confusion that made me upset or dislike the book. If anything, it was that very confusion and sense of unknowing that drew me in deeper.

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨:"
When Prosperina (Poe) was a little girl, she spent a summer at Thornchapel with a group of friends, and during that time she had a fake wedding where she married two people, Saint Sebastian and Auden. Not long after, her mother vanished and the last place she was seen was Thornchapel. Now she’s returned as a librarian, hired to catalogue the estate’s library, but really hoping to uncover what happened to her mom.

𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨:
I’ve never read a book like this before. There is a plot, but it’s pretty loose. A lot of it is left up to the reader to infer based on the clues and little aspects written into the story. You don’t always know what’s going on... you’re just kind of there, going along for the ride. It has this eerie, unresolved energy, where you’re meant to feel like something is always lurking under the surface. BASICALLY IT'S JUST VIBES. The main thread is that Poe is at Thornchapel trying to find out what happened to her mother, but we don’t actually see her doing much digging. It’s more like the group just sits around in the library, eating and talking about rituals. I wanted to see a bit more detective work. But at the same time, I think that’s the point, everything is hazy and confusing and you’re not always meant to get concrete answers. You’re supposed to be speculating.

The writing in this is absolutely beautiful. It’s lyrical, poetic, and full of metaphors. It’s vivid and descriptive in a way that’s almost unscripted poetry. The flower and nature descriptions alone were stunning and there must be at least 50 of them. If you don’t enjoy purple prose or metaphor-heavy writing, this might not be for you, but I was hooked. It just hit differently. AND I LEARNT SO MANY NEW WORDS FROM THE BOOK!

The chapters from Poe’s POV are written in first person, and the majority of the book focuses on her, what she’s experiencing, what she’s thinking, and what she’s feeling. Then, every so often, you get a short chapter told in third person that jumps to the other characters. These read like little “meanwhiles,” almost like a voiceover that’s peeking into their lives. They’re short and scattered, but they give a glimpse into what’s happening helping you peice the story together.

The characters are all tangled together in this complicated web. They were once childhood friends, and now as adults, the dynamic is intense and messy. Everyone is kind of in love with each other but also have this dislike tension lingering in the atmsphere. It's almost like there is this magic in the air. It’s subtle, more like a haunting feeling that fate or something ancient is pulling all the characters together. It makes you wonder if history is repeating itself or if these six people are just cosmically tethered to one another?

It’s a polyamorous setup, and everyone is openly bi and sexually fluid. I loved that it was never treated as taboo. It just was. Their relationships were chaotic, magnetic, and beautifully entangled.
Auden, the "New" Lord of the Thornchapel has feeligns for Poe but he is engaged to Daphne, who has a weird love-hate relationship with Rebecca, who is working on redesigning the Manor's gardens. Then there is Becket the local priest who is just friends with everyone. And finally the outcast, Saint Sebastian, the man who is now in love with Poe used to be the boy who used to be Auden's best friend and but now the two cant stand each other.

𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨:
▶ polyamorous Relationship (3M and 3F) that leads to FF, MFM, MM and FFM interactions
▶ Virgin FMC's and MMC's
▶ Mysterious and Gothic Vibes
▶ Forced Proximity

𝙈𝙞𝙘𝙧𝙤 𝙏𝙧𝙤𝙥𝙚𝙨 and
▷ Washes Her Hair
▷ Takes Care of Her (Aftercare)
▷ Chin Lift
▷ Spicy/Steamy Water Scene
▷ Undressing Help
▷ "Mine"
▷ Came in his pants

𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙆𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙨:
➢ Edging
➢ Degradation and Praise (Good Girl)
➢ BDSM and Spanking
➢ Blood Play
➢ Voyeurism

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It gave me gothic mystery with an eerie atmosphere. The characters were complex, the vibes were immaculate, and while I didn’t always know what was happening... I was obsessed anyway. AND I LOVED THE VIBES!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Books, Sierra Simone and Netgalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Re-read, this is still as sinfully hot as the first time. Sierra Simone is the only author who can write religion as perfectly as she does. Don't sleep on this book

Thank u Bloom for the e-arc.
Only got 30% before *soft* DNFing but hope to return. Heavy on insta-lust which isn't my favorite trope so I couldn't get invested. I also think this book would be better enjoyed as a perfect angsty romance for the fall. The writing is lyrical at times and the gothic setting is heavy throughout.
I really enjoy that Sierra Simone writes complex characters (Sinner is a personal favorite) but these characters seemed more sexually repressed more than anything else. FF, MMF, and MMMFFF which I appreciate! We need more FF+ books.
Didn't work for me right now but hopefully I will enjoy it more later on.

This is the first book in a dark academia series that is filled with spice, BDSM, enemies to lovers, second chances, and FF, MMF, and MMMFFF.

If you love a world surrounded by secrets, old books, family drama, scandal, and untapped desire this might be a book for you.

Be warned that this ends on a cliffhanger. What happens next?

Just when you think you have it all figured out the last page changes everything.

My first Sierra Simone book was the first Christmas Notch book, and I was hooked immediately. This was an auto-read for me because FF books are not plentiful.

This one has a much different/darker vibe, and I loved it. It's a BDSM erotic read with lots of spice and a gothic feel. Her writing is wonderful. I've always loved her characters, and this continues to show her writing style, which I am a fan of. I look forward to more of this series.

4 stars

It’s been a long time since a book grabbed me like this. A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone didn’t just pull me in—it swallowed me whole. I’ve had to physically stop myself from bingeing the entire thing in one sitting (rude, really, that work exists). The tension? The pacing? The language? Absolutely feral-level good. It’s gothic, it’s sexy, it’s full of secrets and tangled pasts and yearning so sharp it cuts.

If you’re craving dark academia meets ritualistic obsession with prose that feels like a spell—this is it. I’m obsessed. And I already know this series is going to own me.

🖤 Auden, St. Sebastian, Poe. I will be thinking about them forever.

I’ve read multiple books by Sierra Simone and really like the way she writes complex characters. When I saw this book was being rereleased I thought I’d love it too. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The pacing was slow and the characters read as very immature. They’re all a bit sexually repressed and just need one person to give them permission to go hog wild. I could totally see how this book appealed to some readers, it just wasn’t for me.

This book was enjoyable, enjoy everything by this author. Character development, and plot and the spice was what contributed to it being a great read.Thank you for the opportunity to read it