This boo was perfection. The writing was beautiful and evocative, the characters were well fleshed out and had so much charisma.
I was so enraptured by this that I feel like I lost all track of time when reading.
This was a masterpiece in fantasy writing.

3.5 stars

in the kingdom of daradon, a rare few are born as wielders - people with the power to extend themselves beyond their bodies in strange, dangerous ways. a flicker of energy that can pick a lock, a whisper of touch that can comfort, or a deadly coil that can strangle before it’s even seen. feared for this gift, wielders are hunted

alissa paine, the daughter of a powerful hunter family, is also a wielder - a secret she’s kept hidden her whole life. but with her eighteenth season approaching, she’s summoned to the glittering and treacherous royal court for rose season. here, she’s pulled into a dangerous game of politics, caught between a ruthless king who would destroy her if her secret were known, and a charming foreign ambassador with his own hidden motives. in the palace, beauty masks danger… and survival means being the sharpest thorn

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i have to admit… i liked this more than i thought i would. i went in expecting a typical ya court story - clear main love interest, some enemies-to-lovers tension, and done. but nope. this one kept me on my toes, constantly second-guessing who the mmc actually was

we meet three possible candidates: the king, erik; the foreign ambassador, keil; and garret, alissa’s hunter best friend. for a while i thought garret might be in the running (he’s protective in that bff-but-maybe-more way), but as the story unfolded, it was definitely between erik and keil. and are we even shocked that i was rooting for the shadow daddy? absolutely not

the plot twists kept coming, and the final 20% of the book was just… shocking, heartbreaking, and honestly left me speechless. and that ending?? you’re telling me that’s it?

my biggest gripe was the lack of world building. i get that this is only book one, but the heavy focus on dialogue and inner monologue meant we didn’t get as much background or political detail as i think would’ve made this book even stronger. still, for a start to a series, it hooked me enough to want to see where it goes next

TLDR; Initial thoughts on this book 4 minutes after finishing? The last 25% was jam-packed full of action, twists and betrayals and I miss Kiel.

✨Synopsis✨

In the Kingdom of Daradon, people with magic, known as ‘Wielders’, are feared and hunted.
They can channel powerful Spectres, ethereal extensions capable of anything from a tender touch to throwing a knife.

Hiding her own Wielder identity, 18-year-old Alissa Paine—heiress to a family of Hunters—is summoned to the dazzling yet perilous royal court for Rose Season. There, she finds herself ensnared in a dangerous web of intrigue and romance.

Three men vie for her attention: a captivating yet ruthless king whose affection could bring ruin, a foreign ambassador with cryptic motives and a childhood friend turned enemy.

With discovery a constant threat, Alissa must decide how far she’ll go—and whom she can trust—to survive and protect her secret.

✨Tropes✨

🌹Hidden Identity
🌹Dangerous Romance
🌹Court Intrigue
🌹Coming of Age/Self Discovery

My review ⭐️

Okay, so Thorn Season was fast-paced right from the start, and I was living for all the betrayals and twists… until suddenly the last 25% hit and it felt like the author dumped the entire plot twist budget in one go. 😅

As a hopeless romantasy fan, I wanted more from Alissa and Kiel—there was chemistry there, but I just wanted it dialed up a notch (or ten). This definitely leans YA, and honestly? Teen me would have given this six stars without blinking.

That said, the world building was pretty light. It also took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what a Spectre actually was—my brain kept picturing some kind of spiky weapon when in reality it’s this ethereal energy thing.

Fun, twisty, and very YA—just be ready for a lot to happen all at once near the end.

I was really excited for this one.

Tropes include love triangle, enemies to lovers, politics etc.

We follow our fmc Alissa who is a wielder - which she has spent 18 seasons hiding from the public as wielders are hunted by the Hunters. She agrees to enter the Rose Season at court for her 18th season in order to find out who has the compass, a tool used to identify the Wielders. She is torn between two mmcs, the prince who intends to have her hand in marriage and Kier, a forging ambassador with whom she has a connection.

I found it a little bit confusing to keep up with at times, I felt there was a lot going on in terms of plotting etc but it wasn’t fully explained properly to the reader, even if our etc had worked it out. I also would have liked the main character to be a little bit more likeable, as I found character depth overall slightly lacking.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well, this might be an example on the hype playing against me. I was pretty excited to read Thorn season since I kept hearing how deep and elaborate were the plot and the character development but honestly, this felt just like any other YA romantasy out there. Entertaining? Kinda, yes. Outstanding? Not really.

The magic system sounded cool in theory but in reality it was a bit messy and difficult for me to fully visualize it as the story unfolded. As for the plot, it ticked every popular trope, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but I don't enjoy when the tropes create the story and not the other way around, I want to be surprise by them.

This book does hit the political elements very well specially if one enjoys court intrigue and conflict between different realms or governments but other than that, the rest felt developed at a very simple stage with little depth and layers within the characters and their motivations.

The writing wasn't bad either but not inmersive enough for my taste. I needed more descriptive details since the setting had so much potencial. The characters were an interesting mix but while I really liked Alissa as the FMC, the romantic interests read a bit bland and with arquetypical personalities.

Overall, this was an ok experience, nothing remarkable. It wasn't entirely for me but I would still recommend, maybe to a younger audience.

4,5 stars.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts are my own.

What a great read! I really enjoyed the story, the characters and the magic in this book, and I can't wait to get a copy for my shelf.

I loved the writing and I think the author did such a good job with all the descriptions of everything from the delicious-sounding food to beautiful decorations and majestic dresses. It created such a vivid picture that really helped immerse you in the world.

The dialogue was really well written as well. All the courtly intrigue and the hidden meanings behind sharp words. And Alissa was so good at that. She was so clever and sharp, and I loved her as our FMC. Oh, and her and Keil's scenes were *chef's kiss*. Their banter was perfect and a lot of fun, and I can't wait to read more in the next installment! I'm looking so much forward to continuing this series and for everyone to read this book. I think it will be a hit!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A gorgeous 4 star read book from me. What an exciting plot, vivid storytelling and relatable, rich characters. I couldn't put this book down – absolutely loved it.

This book is ADDICTIVE. I loved the characters but I found the world building quite bog standard to be honest. It reminded me of Riftbourne a little. I really enjoyed the court dramas and the politics of the book.

I did however find the first 20% of the book extremely confusing. I felt like there was a lot of information about lots of different characters and worlds that I struggled to remember. Which I find strange for a YA.

I really enjoyed the yearning in this book, I feel like the author is bringing back good old yearning and it’s nice to read a book without any spice in for once.

Over all I really enjoyed this and thought it was an excellent first novel!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Harper Collins for accepting my request to read and review this book early!

I saw this book marketed as THE YA romantasy of 2025 and I just KNEW I had to read it. I have occasionally in the last few years started to find the YA side of romantasy a bit too young for me, however, this book absolutely knocked it out of the park for me and I think YA and adult readers alike will devour this.

The story reminded me quite a lot of Crimson Moth, with perhaps a tad of Dance of Lies mixed in. We have the protagonist, who was an absolute badass and did not wait for a man to save the day. We have the cruel King, who adores her. We have the childhood friend keeping secrets, Garret. And last of all, we meet the mysterious foreign Ambassador, with a bit of magic up his sleeve.

Perhaps it was the enemies to lovers in me, or the dark romance fan in me, but for some reason I found myself somehow rooting for a certain character I was NOT supposed to be rooting for. Was that on purpose? I hated the man, but god, they had chemistry (in my opinion).

Unlike some recent romantasy, this book had a great balance of both plot and character/relationship focus. We weren't reliant on the romance to move the plot forward or to keep the reader engaged. I like the element of mystery to it all as well, I thought I had this book figured out but the author really did shock me at the end.

My only complaint is that the first half of the book drags a bit with court politics and not as much action, but the second half more than makes up for this.

And for this to be Kiera Azar's debut novel is an incredible achievement. What an utterly fabulous story.

An easy 5 stars from me, and I am DESPERATE for book 2.

An engaging book that drags you in and doesn't let you go!
It was a fresh take and I enjoyed it alot!

Thorn Season is a well-written story packed with engaging plot points and characters you can genuinely like. It blends court politics, romance, and high-stakes scheming in a way that’s both dramatic and entertaining.

While a few moments felt predictable, the overall experience was generally enjoyable. The author balances tension and emotion in a way that keeps things moving.

Perfect for fans of The Rose Bargain or Powerless, this book fits right into that world of intense drama.

Thank you for the e-arc. All thoughts are my own.