The Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich is a dark and disturbing story that explores the horrifying world of adolescent abuse, controlling friendships, and blinding obsession. Actually, disturbing may be an understatement: as a horror reader who is not afraid of reading gruesome stories, this one touched a nerve. Possibly because the narrator is a troubled teenager in desperate need of love and support (and getting none), and because of the constant feeling that something is just not right or not said, I felt really uncomfortable the entire time, but I was also hooked from the very first page.

Do check out TW before picking this up: I wouldn't necessarily label The Thorns as a classic thriller, there is an element of "let me figure out what really happened" but it's more similar to a book like My Dark Vanessa (Kate Elizabeth Russell) or The Girl (Emma Cline) - it's the human part of the book that I found more important, rather than the actual plot twists and revelations.

I honestly do not know how I feel about this book in this moment: I enjoyed it, but also the level of discomfort I felt can't be neglected. Not sure I would recommend The Thorns easily, but I am sure the perfect audience for it is out there. As for me, I loooved the writing and the narration by Imogen Church (absolutely amazing job), but I'm not sure the story itself worked fully for me. I will for sure read more books by Dawn Kurtagich though!

* I'd like to thank Dawn Kurtagich, Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for providing this ALC in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to the ALC and while I really liked the narrator’s performance, the storyline didn’t keep my attention throughout. I loved the premise and was intrigued by the mystery of it all, but the characters weren’t as compelling as they needed to be for the plot to work… at least for me:).

Reading The Thorns was like watching someone open old wounds.


I had to sit with my thoughts for some time before sharing.

**I’ll be vague in my review about the particulars of this book. I’ll mention one of the things that the author put in her trigger warning and one element of the story which I expected but wasn’t included.
If you’d like to go in knowing as little as possible, just know I liked this book. The story was captivating and upsetting at times. The subject matter can get dark so just keep that in mind if you decide to read this.

Full review:

Once I heard about this book, I was intrigued. Far from finding it boring, I found some parts to be unsettling. I’d highly recommend reading the author’s trigger warning at the beginning of the book.

I’ve previously read two other books by the same author (And the Tress Crept In and The Madness) both of which I really enjoyed. Although this book wasn’t quite what I was expecting, I’d still say it was a good book. Based on the description, I thought the story would have supernatural elements (it had none). The author mentioned in her author’s note that SA would be involved. Although it’s not described graphically, it plays a significant part in the narrative.

This is one of those books where terrible things happen to the main character. It’s well written but I’ll say again, some parts are definitely hard to read.

I don’t know if I can say I enjoyed reading every part of this book. I definitely enjoyed some parts. Especially those dealing with toxic female friendships, complicated relationships between mother and daughter, and the perils of being a teenage girl. Like the song says, “hell is a teenage girl”.

After finishing this book, I felt like I’d been sucker punched. Then I immediately wanted to read it again. Which I’ll absolutely be doing at some point because, and I can’t stress this enough, that ending was a lot. If I’m honest, I would have preferred a slightly different ending. In my mind, I see things working out in another way.

As far as the audio book goes, I’d highly recommend listening to it. The narrator does an excellent job in creating different voices for the characters. The narrator handled all the disturbing scenes so well. I can still hear the way they did one particular voice. Kudos for the creepy voice acting, it paired perfectly with this book.

Overall, I enjoyed The Thorns. I’d recommend to those who love thrillers, those who love or are new to horror, and those who enjoy stories about toxic friendships. In some ways this book reminded me of the movie Heathers, just more horrific.

Thank you so much to Thomas & Mercer, Brilliance Audio, NetGalley, and the author for providing me with an eARC and audio book for review.

Unfortunately, this one did not work for me at all, I was bored and the storyline just didn't resonate or work for me. I was not able to push through and I had to DNF.

The Thorns is a slow-burning, psychological YA thriller that messes with your head in the best way. If you’re in the mood for something dark and secretive—this one’s worth a listen. The narration was a standout for me. The English-Afrikaner accent was immersive, and I loved hearing a voice you don’t usually get in audiobooks.

The story follows Bethany, a bestselling author who gets an email from Stacey—her old friend from a boarding school in rural Africa. That message drags her straight back to a traumatic past she can barely remember. At the heart of their story is a creepy, childhood game about “The Glass Man”—but the book is less about the legend itself and more about the twisted friendship between the two girls, and the real horror of manipulation and abuse.

It’s told in two timelines: Bethany’s past and her present. I enjoyed the back-and-forth because it kept the pace moving, even though the overall story is slower. There is a twist at the end—one that sneaks up on you rather than explodes—but the last line was so subtle it's easy to miss, but hard to forget.

While I did wish we got more of The Glass Man (he barely appears!), the choice to keep him in the background kind of makes sense when you see how the story unfolds. Still, horror fans might be disappointed if they’re expecting a full-blown urban legend.

Heads up: this book includes serious topics like physical, emotional, and sexual abuse—so go in with care.

DNF @ 19%.
Though The Thorns has an interesting premise, sadly I wasn’t fully engaged.
The beginning started strong, and the narrator did well creating atmosphere, but as I continued I found I didn’t particularly care for the characters or the relationship between the girls.
Though this didn’t hit the mark for me I’m still interested in reading some of the author’s other work — perhaps in a different format too.

Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Wow, this book had me a bit off kilter trying to figure out what was going on! Stacey is Bethany's friend in a remote African boarding school where Bethany's mother left her. Bethany follows everything Stacey does including playing her games, which are not usual. I would absolutely say that Stacey is manipulative and a bully. Years later, when Bethany is married, Stacey comes back into her life and she begins to remember the horrible things that occurred while at the boarding school. This was a dark book that had me yelling at Bethany not to do the things she was being told to do. To say the ending was a twist would be spot on! I knew there wasn't something quite right, and the trauma that Bethany endures is awful, especially for a 13-year-old! This was a great read!

🎧 The description of the book sounded like something I would get into and I did! The audiobook was really good! This was a creepy, haunting & disturbing story that kept my interest. The narrator did a great job at bringing the characters to life and enhancing the overall story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brilliance Audio.

I finished The Thorns by Dawn Kurtagich, and honestly? I'm a bit of a mess of emotions about it. There's definitely something about Kurtagich's writing that pulls you in – the whole Blackwood Manor setting is creepy in the best way, and that constant feeling of something being off was definitely there. She can paint a seriously unsettling picture, and I was hooked on trying to figure out what was going on with the house and the people in it.
But here's the thing, and it's a big one for me: this book made me really uncomfortable, and not in that fun, spooky way where you're on the edge of your seat. Some of the stuff that happened just felt… icky, you know? Like it was dark for the sake of being dark, and it left me feeling more disturbed than thrilled. Seriously, if you're thinking about picking this one up, I'd highly recommend checking out trigger warnings beforehand. There's some heavy stuff in here.
The way the story jumps between Cassandra and Audrey was interesting at first, and I liked trying to piece together their connection. But sometimes it just added to this overall feeling of being unsettled without really making the story clearer for me.
So yeah, The Thorns is a tough one for me to rate. There's a definite talent in Kurtagich's writing and the atmosphere she creates is undeniable. But personally, the level of discomfort I felt throughout kind of overshadowed everything else. If you're into really dark and disturbing reads, and you've checked those warnings, you might dig this. As for me? I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the whole thorny experience.

The Thorns was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025, so it pains me to say this—but I don’t think the audiobook format worked for me. And that’s a first. I usually love audiobooks and prefer them over physical or digital copies, but I really struggled with this one. The narration just didn’t click with me, and the frequent timeline shifts made it hard to stay grounded in the story. I want to thank the publisher for the advance copy, and while I’m bummed it didn’t hit the mark for me, I know others might connect with it in a different format.

Dnf at 15%
I really wanted to like this one, I did enjoy the writing style and I liked the narration on the audio. I loved that it was set in South Africa too and the story of the glass man really intrigued me. I’m just really not liking the bullying that is going on, I’ve tried pushing through but it’s not sitting right so clearly this isn’t the right book for me. I will be reading all of her other books though and If you like dark books set in schools give this one a try.

I would like to thank the author and publisher for this audiobook. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me, I loved the start and the narration. The premise was good too, but I reached 20% and I had to stop due to encountering a trigger.
I have read the content warnings before starting, but I didn’t think I would be this affected, so for my mental health I decided to stop.

I will not be posting my review anywhere else because it wouldn’t be fair since I didn’t finish the book. Netgalley unfortunately requires a star rating.

Therefore, if you are okay with the trigger warnings please read it. This is just my personal experience.

I was sent this copy of the book from dawn
Kurtagich in my email

The narrator is incredible at telling the story but I’m not really a listener of books I love to read them.
I've always been a fan of dawn and I’ve reread the dead house numerous times and still love it
For a fan of dawn they will love this book

Unfortunately, this book didn’t capture my attention and I wound up DNF’ing it around the 10% mark. It wasn’t anything in particular, but neither did the current day nor the past settings entice me, and I simply wasn’t invested in the relationship between the main character and the “top” mean girl, and found them both to be unrealistic and annoying - both as children and adults.

I did think the narrator did well creating the atmosphere in this book and adding emotion into the text, but I found the text to be so uncomfortable and awkward that I couldn’t continue to listen.

Thank you to Netgalley and Brilliance Publishing for providing me a copy for review.