I don't even really know how to review this. Because it took a while to get going. But when it did go, MAN DID IT GO. There's so many characters and backstories that we dont really get into, and there is so much drama dripping from practically every one (Becky seems the least dramatic) There is a lot of diversity in this book. LGBT, mixed race characters and black characters, also religious diversity. Just what I've come to expect from a Sierra simone book, I find here. And I'm so gripped by each of the characters (except Poe who annoyed me a little) and I find I do actually want to know every little thing about them. Sierra has me hooked and ready for the next 3 books in this series. Bring it on.

Even though I found this book a bit too flashy with words sometimes, after finishing it I understood why it was that way. This book has a lot of characters and a lot going on so it's something to take your time with and drown yourself in the story! it feels slow at times, but you are dealing with a lot of different things going on so don't rush it, it's worth the read, it's worth the patience you should give it, and I can't wait to get to book 2.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Grab a water 💦 hose before opening this book!!!

A Lesson in Thorns is definitely one of those books that leaves you breathless and desperate for more. Sierra Simone’s writing is lush and evocative, and the way she weaves together mystery, sensuality, and deep emotional connections is masterful. The Thornchapel setting adds this eerie, almost gothic atmosphere that makes everything feel even more intense.

Beyond the romance and tension, I was completely hooked on the mystery these six friends are trying to unravel. The secrets buried in Thornchapel’s past kept me turning the pages, and I loved how their childhood memories intertwined with their discoveries in the present. The combination of passion, intrigue, and an almost mystical sense of fate made this such a captivating read!

I can't wait to continue this wild journey. This series needs to be talked about more!

Spice: 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5
Plot: 3/5
#whychoose #darkromance #kink #darkromance

I have had this series on my TBR for so long, but for some reason just hadn’t picked it up. So thank you Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the eARC in preparation of the rerelease!

Truthfully, I don’t even know where to begin with this review. I didn’t dislike it, but I did love it either. I am still kind of in the “what the heck did I just read” mindset. I struggled keeping the characters straight and to find any of their relationships actually believable rather than just convenient. Idk, I might continue the series to learn more about the Poe’s mom, but I am undecided.

This book was wild and I loved it from start to finish to be honest with you. It was fun, flirty, sexy, and oh so spicy. Brain off, head empty kind of reading for this book.

This is erotica with a storyline. I went into this completely blind, and I suggest everyone should. This was not my introduction to Sierra. I’ve read the New Camelot and Lyonesse series. I’m familiar with and love her writing style. It’s unique, eloquent, and different, and I know it’s always going to be a good read for me.

Sierra could teach a master class in show, don’t tell. Her use of descriptive language is eloquent and beautiful. This book drew me in from the prologue. As with every book of hers, there is incredible world building. Every book I read plays like a movie in my head while reading, but Sierra’s books take that to a whole new level. Thornchapel is a character in and of itself and you want to uncover all its secrets.

This book is sensual, captivating, intriguing, and addictive. It can be hard enough to develop two main characters you connect with in a book. This has six, and you fall in love with every single one. They are all incredibly well-developed with layers upon layers. I just don’t have enough good things to say about this book.

If Sierra Simone writes it, I’m going to read it. This was SO GOOD! I will be rereading in audiobook format as soon as it is available. 5 stars! Super spicy, super fun. Love this! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I definitely love this author don't get me wrong but this was just not for me and I will leave that at that, almost to much smut/erotica going on.

When I pick up a Sierra Simone book, I'm never really sure what I'm going to get. This was one of those times when I wasn't thrilled with the book.

There were too many people involved in the romance; while that may be interesting for other readers, it's just not my cup of tea. The backstory was mysterious enough to be suspenseful, but there was very little payoff in the end.

I wasn't sure why all the characters came together or how, despite their completely different beliefs and traits, they got along. It felt like a messy plot that never quite got straightened out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was another win for me. I loved the characters and how they were so confident in their sexuality. Which is RARE with bi characters usually they are conflicted or confused stilll. The taboo feel while some of the characters were still virgins was a wildddd ride. But the way Sierra writes it just keeps me entranced.

Sierra has crafted an intricately woven tale full of angst, suspense, intrigue, mystery, lust and love. The prose with which Sierra writes cannot be matched. She reaches into you with her words and they wrap themselves around your moment you open the pages until the very last word.

“But I’m susceptible to this kind of touch; I bloom like a rose when I’m handled like a weed.”

If you’ve read Sierra before than you know how intensely passionate her stories are. She holds nothing back and takes you on the most erotic journey you could think of. Her books should come with a warning: will produce heart palpitations and hot flashes, store extra panties! I could not get enough of this utterly sensual world that she has created and the character’s with in.

“Thornchapel knows my name and the crooked corners of my heart, and it wants me to make promises that I’m going to keep.”

This story surrounds 6 childhood friends who come together years later because they are all inextricably drawn to Thornchapel and its secrets. This book builds the backstory a little as to how they all know each other and how the all came to be at Thornchapel again. Sierra has so many layers to this story you don’t know where it’s going to go or what secrets your going to find.

“My heart tumbles around all over my chest; if I thought I was breathless before, it’s nothing compared to now. The word mine out of those charming, crooked lips, the word mine murmured against my skin.”

Sierra has out done herself with this amazing creation. Every page, every word has new emotions being pulled from you. She taps into your inner most desires and drags them from you. Her books are carefully crafted Erotica that will leave you breathless and wanting. Do not hesitate to read this you will not be disappointed. This is book one in this series so don’t be surprised that it ends on a cliffhanger.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an Arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'd give this 3.5 stars. Though it was certainly not my favorite Sierra Simone book (cough, Priest, cough) it was still entertaining and well worth the read.

You can always count on Sierra Simone to turn up the spice level and get your blood boiling.
I loved the diversity representation such as different races, culture, and sexuality. There is a lot of bi-awakening in this book and I feel as though it did it justice.

Very alluring, very spicy, and yummy!

Well done, Sierra.

I knew Sierra Simone was known for her bold storytelling, and when I read the tropes, high-heat, gothic, dark academia fairy tale filled with lantern-lit rituals, foggy moors, and obsessions that last for a lifetime, I knew I needed to read it, so I didn't hesitate to request the book.

This story starts when twelve years ago Proserpina Markham left Thornchapel and the two boys she gave her heart to behind. Now Proserpina has returned, hopeful and wary, drawn back into the world of the seductive and elegant Auden Guest and into the orbit of his worst enemy, St. Sebastian Martinez. The beautiful and brooding St. Sebastian is as irresistible as ever, and Auden is just as handsome and arrogant, leaving the three of them hopelessly entangled by the hasty promise they made all those years ago. As Thornchapel slowly tightens its coil of truths and lies around them, the reluctant threesome starts unraveling into a mix of filthy, holy pleasure and pain, awakening a centuries-old fate that will either bloom like a rose or destroy them all.

The story grabs you and will not let you go. I loved the pace and the angst between the three main characters, and I would recommend not starting this book at night because it kept me up reading late (and I love my beauty sleep), but I simply had to know what happened next.

I do, however, feel a little deceived. From the book description, I knew there would be three characters entangled in a love story, but I did not expect another three to join the party. As the story progresses and Thorne Manor casts its magic over the characters, a lot of things happen, and in my humble opinion, the other three characters felt a little extra.

I love thrilling stories that combine mystery and spice, and this book knows how to keep you entranced until the end. Fair warning, this is not a standalone and it has cliffhangers, so think twice before picking it up at night because I found myself starting book two at midnight with no regrets.

Thank you so much to Sierra Simone, NetGalley, and Bloom Books for sending me this ARC.

Great spicy slow burn. Really enjoyed it, specially the relationships between all the 6 characters and all the ways they share love and their relationship with the place. They are also extremely likeable characters.
The atmosphere of the location and the house and chapel in the woods in enchanting and whimsical and very much somewhere I would love to go visit.
Loved the positive portrayal of BDSM, polyamory and bisexuality as well as devotion and religion.
The plot in this one is soft, sort of speak. Not a lot happening, a lot of planing, knowing each other and exploring feelings. Also, a lot of being horny. And a lot of paving a smooth way for the next book in the series.
The book, in my opinion, was a little long and think it could be easily been the same length with more story. As it feels like the book ends when finally something is happening. And it let me a bit disappointed, I think a little more should have been discovered, we have countless questions but absolutely no answers and I think at least a tiny discovery would have worked wonders to ease the disappointment.  But I still liked it very much, and I am eager to read the next one to finally continue the story, and satisfy my curiosity.

Okay but Sierra can we talk!? ARE YOU OKAY!?
This book was AMAZING! I had all the feelings, it was spicy, it was just WOW. I cannot believe the things that came out of these beings mouth! It won't top Father Bell in my eyes, but they're a close second. St Sebastian, holy cow! Wow wow wow.

Thank you to Sierra, Bloom Books & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC!

thank you for the arc! i recently got into gothic style romance and horror and i think this was a good middle ground. it’s a suspenseful little mystery filled with smut (as expected) and the first in a series of stories like this. i’m not super into the group lusty action that’s going on here but overall a good read!

Thank you Bloom Books and Netgalley for the ARC of A Lesson in Thorns!

This was such an interesting story with very unique characters, a gothic and mysterious setting, and a captivating premise. While it did feel like the plot was being pushed aside to make way for the smut at times, I did find there was a good balance of storytelling and smut. I loved seeing the FMC find herself and see her confidence grow over the course of the book. I also loved how the characters all had very different personalities that somehow meshed well together.

This was my first book by Sierra Simone and it definitely won’t be my last!

A Lesson in Thorns
By Sierra Simone

-dark academia
-6 people
-very kinky

This is a rebrand, and the first in the series.

This gave me Cruel Intention vibes without being Cruel (so far). Poe is trying to find out what happened to her mom, and ends up back at the last place with the last people she thought she’d be with. Thornchapel. They find books about what used to happen, rituals, and they decide that sounds like a good idea. What happens after they complete a ritual? Do they remain friends? What secrets get revealed? I can’t wait

This is erotica with a storyline. I went into this completely blind, and I suggest everyone should. This was not my introduction to Sierra. I’ve read the New Camelot and Lyonesse series. I’m familiar with and love her writing style. It’s unique, eloquent, and different and I know it’s always going to be a good read for me.

Sierra could teach a master class in show, don’t tell. Her use of descriptive language is eloquent and beautiful. This book drew me in from the prologue. As with every book of hers, there is incredible world building. Every book I read plays like a movie in my head while I’m reading, but Sierra’s books take that to a whole new level. Thornchapel is a character in and of itself and you want to uncover all its secrets.

This book is sensual, captivating, intriguing, and addictive. It can be hard enough to develop two main characters you connect with in a book. This has six, and you fall in love with every single one. They are all incredibly well-developed with layers upon layers. I really just don’t have enough good things to say about this book.

A dark academia gothic erotica story about six friends who are sexually obsessed with one another. This is a start of a series and ends on a major cliffhanger. The characters read as very immature but I do think that kind of just comes with how they will grow hopefully in the next books. I do adore Sierra Simone's writing style and am curious how she will continue the story!