Book Review: Thorn Season by Kiera Azar
Thorn Season by Kiera Azar
ARC Review: Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books | Storytide for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Date of Publishing: September 2, 2025
Series: Thorn Season
Genres: Young Adult // Romantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️ (Glimpses & Kisses)
Quick Thoughts: Thorn Season is my latest obsession. It has everything I want with a morally gray, competent FMC, complex side characters, incredible banter, and lots of juicy court politics. This was an addictive, unputdownable read.
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Death of a parent (Murder)
Grief
Torture
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Multiple love interests
Morally gray heroine
Court Politics
Debut season setting
Magic
Back of the Book Details
With the irresistibly compulsive quality of Fourth Wing and the rich world-building of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Thorn Season is sharp, funny, sexy and dangerous, and packed full of irresistible twists – an unforgettable novel that marks the introduction of a major new YA voice and will be the romantasy debut of 2025.
In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders – able to exert a physical power that extends beyond her visible a shimmering tendril that can pick a lock, a gentle coil that reaches out to give a loving caress, or an inexorable rope that will kill a man before he knows it is around his neck. Feared and mistrusted for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.
Alissa Paine – heiress of a noble lineage, daughter of a Hunter family – is also a Wielder. And as she approaches her eighteenth Season, Alissa knows she has escaped execution so far only through painful self-control, and the fragile efforts of her beloved father.
Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself trapped in a web of hidden intentions – and caught between two equally dangerous men. One is a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairytale prince, who would see her destroyed in an instant if the truth were known – and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.
It’s Rose Season at the palace, but Alissa knows that survival will depend on being the most vicious of the thorns…
Initial Take
Thorn Season captures everything I want in a book: richly described characters with tense emotional dynamics, excellent political intrigue and court drama, and of course, magic. I stayed up until 3 in the morning (which I never do). I just could not put this down.
My Review
I am completely and utterly obsessed. What a stunning debut novel.
I have read countless books set around debut season. Kiera Azar’s writing breaths life back to a setting I thought was far past it’s prime — debut season at a royal court.
Setting, World Building, & Plot
The world building is straightforward, maybe even a bit generic. It's the author's vivid imagery and clever way with words that transported me into the story. It’s impossible to not picture the setting and feel the emotions of the characters when the book is filled with lines like this:
"In a gut-wrenching flash, I imagined my own bedchamber deserted like this: a half-empty glass of pomegranate tea sweating onto my vanity, the dark strands of my hair straggling around a wide-tooth comb. The last pieces of me, outliving the whole."
The plot twists and betrayals scattered throughout kept me on my toes. To be honest, I feel like some authors throw in plot twists just to have them, but these felt meaningful to the overall story and added genuine tension between characters.
My main gripe is that the early chapters are very info-dumpy. There are politics between courts, background on Daradon's persecution of wielders, and secrets being revealed between family members. It's a lot to learn quickly and hard to keep track of all these details throughout the book. It made the story much more interesting, but this is definitely not a "brain off" book!
Characters
Our FMC Alissa is the FMC I've been looking for—witty, competent, and self-aware. What I loved most about Alissa is that she not only questions Daradon's power structure and the fear tactics used to persecute wielders, she recognizes that she is uniquely positioned her to save wielders as both a member of the Hunter family and a wielder herself.
"‘After all, power was only deemed dangerous when it couldn't be commandeered by those in authority.’"
This perspective makes her decisions more believable throughout the book. Alissa knows she is spared from the Hunters because of her family and position at court. It's that understanding and sense of indebtedness that pushes her to sacrifice herself again and again to protect those she loves. Having this perspective on Alissa makes her reckless moments more understandable and less frustrating as a reader. I could not help but root for her!
All the side characters have their own distinct personalities and hidden agendas at court. The relationships between some of them made my heart ache in the best way. By far, my favorite side character is Alissa's lovable best friend, Tari. She brings levity to tense moments in the book and is Alissa's number 1 supporter.
"‘I don't agree with the path you're choosing...But I'll walk beside you, every step. Even if that means watching you tie yourself to a ship on fire.’"
I mean 😭❤️ If she's not in the next book, I'll riot.
Romance
The romance definitely took a backseat in this book and it has no spice, but gosh, does the author know how to write tension and banter. I'm not a "smiling and kicking my feet" kind of girl, but Alissa had even me in a chokehold with her clever quips with all the male love interests.
"‘Someone's popular.’ I nodded toward the lipstick marks crowding his face.
‘Don't worry. . .I can find an exclusive place for you.’
‘Is that place in your dreams?’"
I can't say much more without spoiling, but this book is probably one of my all-time favorite examples of great banter. There’s also sort of a love square going on and I can’t wait to see where that goes.
I will mention that the marketing for this book leans hard into labeling it a romantasy. I definitely see the series going in that direction, but don’t expect this book to have a ton of romance.
Overall
I highly, highly recommend this book. I still can't believe this is a debut novel. Pick this up if you want an addictive and unputdownable read that'll keep you guessing from the very first chapter!
See this review on Goodreads or Storygraph!
Happy reading!
Kim
Thorn Season FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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No. Thorn Season is the first in the Thorn Season series. As of writing this post, book 2 has not been announced yet.
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No, Thorn Season is not spicy. There are not spicy scenes or chapters.
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No. Although Erik proposes, Alissa does not end up marrying him in Thorn Season.
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No. Keil and Alissa left things on a positive note when Keil had to return to Ansora, but their romantic future is still a mystery.
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Yes. By the end of the book, Alissa has the compass in her possession.