Today’s review is about THORN SEASON by Kiera Azar. It’s the first book in a planned YA fantasy romance trilogy. It has politics at court, a bit of a love quadrangle, and ongoing persecution of magical minorities.
Author: Kiera Azar
Series: Thorn Season, #1
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Storytide
Publish Date: September 02, 2025
Print Length: 464
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Thorn Season Synopsis
Synopsis
Shadow and Bone meets The Selection in this first book in Kiera Azar’s sharp, sexy, and twisty debut YA romantasy trilogy!
“Dark, sexy, and completely addictive, romantasy lovers will devour Azar’s Thorn Season. With epic betrayals, shocking twists, and delicious tension, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. An absolute thrill of a novel.”—Rachel Griffin, New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches
In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders, in possession of a magical Spectre–a shimmering thread that can extend beyond their visible body to give a loving caress, pick a lock . . . even kill. Feared for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.
Alissa Paine, heiress and daughter of a Hunter family . . . is also a Wielder. At eighteen, Alissa knows she’s escaped execution thus far only due to painful self-control and the efforts of her beloved father.
Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself caught in a web of intrigue and betrayal—and caught between two equally dangerous men: one a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairy-tale prince, who would destroy her if he knew the truth—and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.
With the threat of discovery lurking around every corner—and romance becoming an increasingly dangerous temptation—Alissa will find that she has more to lose than her secrets. It’s Rose Season at the palace, but to survive she’ll need to become the most vicious of thorns. . . .
Perfect for readers who love:
- Rivals to lovers romance
- Court intrigue
- Forbidden romance
- Slow burn romance
- Forbidden magic
- Scheming heroine
- Hidden identity
- Training scenes between the main character and the love interest
- “Who did this to you?” moment
- Treating the wound scene
- Falling for you but betrothed to someone else
- Childhood friends to enemies
- Villains you love to hate (or love)
Thorn Season Book Review
I received a free finished copy of this book from the publisher. My review is my own and reflects my honest opinion about this book.
THORN SEASON by Kiera Azar is the first book in a planned Young Adult fantasy romance trilogy. In this fantasy world are Wielders and Hunters. The former have a magical specter, which is an extension of themselves that acts as another limb. Hunters are a large family web of killers born to eradicate Wielders. Alissa is a member of the Hunter family, but was born a Wielder and thus hides a vital part of herself from all but her closest friends and family. An marked increase in huntings has everyone in the Kingdom of Daradon on edge, including Alissa and her father. To stay out of the public eye, Alissa plans not to stay at court for her debutante season now that she’s 18. However, a series of events make her change her mind and she finds herself in the lion’s den with a dangerous king hellbent on the destruction of Wielders.
This is a pretty solid debut by Azar, whose public debut was as a Healer in the second season of the Netflix adaptation of Shadow and Bone. The writing style was easy to sink into. I found myself turning the pages rather quickly, at least for me, as someone who’s a rather average-paced reader. There are sentence fragments here and there, which threw me off, but I suppose were stylistic choices to convey emotion.
Alissa is the only point of view in THORN SEASON. This worked well for the most part. The reader sees how difficult, and sometimes painful, it is for a Wielder to hide their specter. We also explore her complicated feelings about what she learns about her father, her childhood friend (Garrett), and a few other political at court. She seemed a bit impulsive, though, and it was hard to tell if that’s because she’s 18 and in danger, or if the characterization is a bit inconsistent.
The reader also has the pleasure of viewing Alissa’s love quadrangle through her eyes. I personally don’t mind that trope, so I found it entertaining. She has complicated feelings for Garrett, who was her childhood best friend and knows about her secret. However, the Hunter family recruited him into their ranks, which is a major conflict of interest. Then there’s an ambassador at court from Ansora, which is where Wielders live freely. There’s a natural attraction there, and Alissa is intrigued by how easy it is for him to wield. Finally, the king has his eye on Alissa, which is incredibly unfortunate for her. Not only does he want to destroy Wielders, but he’s cruel as well.
Although there’s a bit of a love quadrangle going on, more of the book focuses on the political happenings. I always appreciate court and political intrigue. One major things to figure out is why the hunts for Wielders have quickly increased. Alissa has a vested interest, and not just because she is a Wielder. Things unfurl in a relatively fast-paced manner. However, I felt like I didn’t quite fully understand how Alissa was able to figure some things out. That could be a me thing, or that some clue finding happened off page, or an additional POV or two would have benefited the political mystery portion of the book.
Overall, though, I think THORN SEASON is a crowd pleaser for readers of this genre. It ends with a bang that opens the door for Alissa to explore more of the continent.
Rating: 3.5
Content warnings: violence, death of a parent, death, genocide
Reading format: Hardback
I’ve been considering reading this one, but I wasn’t sure if I’d actually like it or not!