This book, it is so good. This author absolutely knows how to throw a curveball….or two into the books to have you wondering what is going on. I loved reading this story and hearing the two MC stories. I loved reading a good enemies to lovers and JT brought her A game with this one. Such amazing writing and I was hooked from the very beginning. Couldn’t put the book down!

Firstly, thank you for the sec net galley.

Definitely read the trigger warnings before reading. While this has the insane plot twist I love about JT’s writing this book and story line I found to be almost too scary and uncomfortable at times. It’s definitely a thriller/fantasy romance book, super high on the spice but again, read triggers beforehand.

Maven and Ronan are absolutely amazing together! The twists and turns caught me completely off guard—especially the reveal about her aunts and the mystery around her father, which was brilliantly done. The gothic, spooky, creepy atmosphere was nailed perfectly. The pacing was spot on—I flew through it! Geissinger’s writing is addictive, with just the right amount of teasing at the end of each chapter to keep me hooked.

WTF - this was like weirdly not what I thought it would be but oddly I was obsessed with it. We got witches and magic and demons and some serious gas lighting which is wild to me. I really liked the plot line but wished there was more detail on the types of magic and the history of the magical creatures. Overall thought this was an addicting unique read!

Wow! I am not a fan of supernatural books, but this book was amazing! All of JTG’s excellent storytelling with all the banter and spice! Cannot recommend highly enough!

I hate giving negative review but I guess this is one. I was so excited when I heard this was coming out. I’ve read her Mafia series, Pen Pal, all that stuff, devoted it. It is scrumptious. This, not so much, for me, anyway. I don’t like how the two love interests talk to each other. It’s supposed to be banter but it’s just cringey. And then I didn’t quite buy the supernatural stuff either. Good gothic vibes though, we got that down. I’m not a big second chance romance person so maybe that pre-poisoned the waters for me. Or maybe this was just not great. Go read her others! They are fantastic and sell like hot cakes.

First I want to say thank you so much for allowing me to read this book early. I am completely blown away with the story. Maven and Ronan are absolutely amazing together. There are so many twist and turns that I wasn’t expecting. Her aunts surprised me so much. The ending with finding out who her father could be was absolutely brilliant. I will definitely recommend all my friends to read this in November. Again thank you for letting me read this amazing book..

Review from ARC received.

What an absolutely enthralling read this was and what an ending….yet again I’m sitting looking at the last page with that WTAF feeling that I have come to expect from a JT book.

I absolutely loved the climb into the dark side with witchcraft at the centre, my kinda storyline!

Dark gothic fantasy with a twist!

Persecution over the generations leads to the Blackthorn women to be outcasts within the community of Solstice, not that they care, they seem to thrive from it.

Maeve Blackthorn had escaped from Solstices hold until she and her daughter have to return for her Grandmother funeral.

Once Maeve is back home the place digs its claws in and everything takes a turn and it’s not pretty.

The biggest issue being Ronan Croft, from a family who’s ensured the persecution back to the time of the witch trials, also the love of her life, not that she’ll ever admit it.

Ronan is obsessed and there isn’t anything he wouldn’t do to ensure she stays this time.

Beyond the turmoil and turbulence their rivalry and love story there is so much more going on, something very dark!

However……we know JT’s books are never what they seem and this one was right up there with the gahhhhhhh WTAF. I need more, I know what I should know, but but but! You kill me woman!!! 🤣🤣

It was gripping and feckin brilliant…

So firstly if you're at all sensitive please do check over the CW for this one, this was delicious, honestly I'm having a hard time describing it without sounding like I'm giving a food rating 😂 it has the gothic / spooky / creepy atmosphere nailed, the pacing was perfect, I raced through this because I find Geissingers style addictive, peppering chapters with little teasers to keep me hooked,!

The perfect dark, gothic romance with the twists Geissinger is known to hit us with that we never see coming. I read this in one sitting and honestly could not have predicted 90% of it. The last 25% of Blackthorn is so fast paced I couldn’t look away.

The chemistry between Ronan & Maven was absolute fire. The ending?? It’s semi open-ending and leaves a lot to interpretation, but I love it.

Blackthorn is everything. The characters are intense and flawed, the chemistry is fire, and the plot twists will keep you turning pages all night. If you love dark romance, this is a must. I knew going in I was going to love it, but it had me in a chokehold up until the last page!!! 10/10 for sure!

Oh blackthorn... i didnt want to finish this book. I wanted the story to keep going forever. I fell in love with Maven and Ronan from the beginning. The dark, witchy vibes were just perfect. The turns had me on the edge of my seat. At one point I laid my ipad down on the cabin balcony and had fo walk away because I was to stunned to speak. @jtgeissingerauthor
You have written such a great book! I can not wait to read more from you!

Definitely add this to your TBR for the spooky season! It will not disappoint!!

10/5 ⭐️
Spice- 🌶🌶🌶 the scenes were chefs kiss.

This was so different from anything I’ve read before. While a lot of the parts were really promising, there were a few aspects of the story that just didn’t quite work for me. I loved the atmospheric setting, and the mystery kept me going. There were some big surprises towards the end, especially with the monster elements. Now I wonder if this will be the start of a series.

This was a pretty normal dark fantasy book and then we get to the 80% mark where those content warnings come in. I have no idea what's going on yet I'm kinda into it like the main character. But I wish some of the plot stuff made more sense or was explained a bit more in depth. If there's a sequel, I will read it.

Thank you Tor Publishing Group and Bramble for the chance to read this early. 

I absolutely love JT Geissinger and her Queens and Monsters series is my mafia roman empire. This book fell a bit outside my normal reading genre, but with promised vibes akin to Pen Pal, I knew I had to give it a chance. JT can craft a compelling story no doubt, but for me, the romance here was not particularly a favorite. I love banter and sharp jabs, but honestly a few times, these characters hurled huge insults that bordered on cruel and unforgivable. They remain enemies for most of the story and all was forgiven in a few pages at the very end. I just wanted more from this aspect of the story. And as for the twists and monster elements. Yeah, I'm not sure. The envelope was definitely pushed. If you are looking for a 'The Hills have Eyes' type of spooky season read, this one could work for you and may be worth checking out.

2.75 stars.

Love love LOVED this book. JT is an auto buy author. I loved the gothic feel and vibe in the book especially. This was everything I could’ve hoped for. And I am definitely telling everyone to read it.

I devoured this book!! The banter and enemies to lovers mmm chefs kiss!!

May and Ronan had a forbidden romance that they kept hidden from everyone due to a rivalry between their families. Years later when May comes back to town, her daughter Bea in tow for a funeral crazy things begin to happen.

The whole book I thought I knew what was happening but nope never seen that coming 😂😂.

The characters in the story are easy to love and hate all at once. I loved the spicy personality of May and even the arrogance of Ronan!!

Another amazing JTG book!

ᴍᴇᴀ ᴇs. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦.

I mean...where do I even starrrrt!!!??? What in the hell did I just read?

Maven returns to her hometown to attend her grandmother's funeral and help her aunts make arrangements- only, her grandmother's body has disappeared.
I wont say much so I don’t spoil, but I was CONSTANTLY trying to figure this one out from the beginning.
The Gothic vibes were vibing and when the spice hit, it was fire.
Maven and Ronans banter gave me life- the snarky back and forth was SO GOOD- the tension was palpable.
Blackthorn was a fast-paced read with a suspense/mystery plot line that had me on the edge of my seat til the very end.

𝘍𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘴 👇🏼

ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ғᴏʀɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ғɪʀsᴛ ʟᴏᴠᴇ.
ᴇsᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟʟʏ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʜᴇ’s ᴀʟsᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴡᴏʀsᴛ ɴɪɢʜᴛᴍᴀʀᴇ.

ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ sʜᴇ ɪs. ʜᴇʟʟᴏ, sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇʀ. ɪ’ᴠᴇ ᴍɪssᴇᴅ ʏᴏᴜ sᴏ ғ______ ᴍᴜᴄʜ.

ʜᴇ’s ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴜᴏʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’s ᴋᴇᴇᴘɪɴɢ ᴍᴇ ᴀғʟᴏᴀᴛ … ʙᴜᴛ ᴀʟsᴏ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀᴍ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛᴇɴs ᴛᴏ ᴅʀᴏᴡɴ ᴍᴇ.

ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ʜᴀᴛᴇ, ᴛʜᴇʏ’ʀᴇ ɴᴏᴛ sᴏ ᴅɪғғᴇʀᴇɴᴛ. ʜᴀᴛᴇ ɪs ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴘʟɪᴄᴀᴛᴇᴅ.

ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴛᴏ ᴍʏ ʜᴏᴜsᴇ ғᴏʀ ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʜᴀᴛᴇ ғ___?

ɪ ᴋɴᴇᴡ ʜᴇ ᴡᴀs ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ʙᴇғᴏʀᴇ ɪ sᴀᴡ ʜɪᴍ.

ᴇʀᴀsɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsᴛ ɪs ᴀ ʙɪɢ ᴄᴏᴍᴍɪᴛᴍᴇɴᴛ.

ʙᴇᴛᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴠɪʟ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ.

Holy crap on a cracker! This was a phenomenal paranormal monster romance! Perfect read for spooky season with a twist I didn’t see coming! Ronan is the stuff dreams! Swoon!!! Super hot spice and lots of it and a plot that keeps you guessing! Great character development. I sure hope there’s a sequel cuz I have some major questions that need answers! (And more of Ronan.) I can’t wait to have the trophy version on my shelf! Highly recommend for anyone who loves their romance a little on the darker side. Perfect for fans of Harley La Roux.

Just finished Blackthorn by J.T. Geissinger and I’m still reeling! This book was so unhinged—and I can’t lie, I loved it. Even when I was squirming in my seat, I couldn’t put it down. I was too invested in how this story would play out, so I just hunkered down and enjoyed the ride. That said, I do wish there had been a little more. Some parts didn’t feel fully connected, but it’s hard to explain without spoilers. You’ll just have to take my word for it and pick it up if you’re into these tropes:

Tropes in Blackthorn:
Enemies to lovers
Touch her and die energy
Alpha antihero
Morally gray MMC
Reluctant heroine
Forced proximity
Banter
Dark, gothic

Maven and Ronan’s dynamic was magnificent. Both are prickly and stubborn, but the way Ronan’s walls crumble when it comes to her? Ugh, chef’s kiss. The banter, the spice, the intensity it all worked so well.

I wish the magical/paranormal thread had been explored more…..or maybe it wasn’t magic at all? I’m still trying to piece it together. Honestly, it feels like my first true fever-dream book, and I kind of loved that.

And the writing? Absolutely unhinged in the best way. J.T. writes so disgustingly good that I don’t even care if I’m the problem for liking it this much. Doesn’t matter—we’re both perfection in my mind.

This book was wild, and I’ll definitely be thinking about it for a while