Fae, folklore, and post-WWI Scotland -- I immediately thought I would love this book. Unfortunately, it never captivated me, and reading it was a slog. The pacing was off, the character development was almost non-existent, and I was even trudging through the climax because it lacked depth. What most disappointed me is that we never got a deep dive into anyone or anything in the story. While the first few pages felt like character name-dumping overload, we never end up learning anything of significance about any of these characters. Furthermore, we learn absolutely NOTHING about the "villains," one of which is only in ONE scene. I hoped the book would improve as I kept reading, but the climax scenes seemed like a mishmash of the author trying to slap in just about anything and everything. While this book wasn't for me, it might appeal to younger readers. Both the writing and characters were quite juvenile, and it read much more YA than I expected.

There were many things I loved about this book. I adored that the main character is the antithesis of the “not like other girls” trope and I loved the world building. The author does a great job giving you enough information to understand the story but keep you guessing and thinking. That being said, It did take me a little longer to “get into” this book than it typically does. It was a little slower paced than I think it needed to be.

Thank you to Harper 360 and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this ebook!

JJA Harwood’s The Thorns Remain tells the story of 19-year old Moira Jean, grieving her lost love and struggling with the never-ending daily tasks of farm life in a small Scottish village of small-minded villagers. When she and her friends sneak off one midnight for a dance and drink in the woods, all but Moira Jean are abducted by fairies, and she must make a bargain with a manipulative Fae lord called The Dreamer to rescue her friends from the Land Under the Hill.

The book does a wonderful job of immersing readers in the mindset of Moira Jean. But throughout the story she is haunted by the ghost of a lost future with her first love Angus, treated with coldness and suspicion by her neighbors, and overlooked by her family, making the mind of Moria Jean a depressing place to be. The glum tone pervades, even after she meets a fairy lord, with the constant descriptions of her toiling away at mundane farm tasks alone, and I felt the book struggled with injecting much energy or magic into the plot. There was also little depth to the characters around Moira Jean. Her friends are barely given enough characteristics to tell one from the other before they’re kidnapped, and I had been hoping for at least a little spark with The Dreamer to enliven things, but their interactions only barely hint at any chemistry. The bargains she must make with him to recover her friends feel repetitive by the third round, much less the fourth. I believe this novel could have benefited from being at least a third shorter; when the author finally takes readers to the Land Under the Hill to see the strangeness of the fairy realm near the end of the book, it’s too little too late.

That said, I would still be interested to read what Harwood writes in the future; her writing style could really shine with a more dynamic plot or protagonist.

Love the setting in the Highlands during war time in a small remote self sufficient town. Moira Jean is the only one of her friends who everyone remembers after a night in the forest. The deals she has to make are tricky and I swear I would fail miserably in the same situation. Things I've learned wear iron for protection, make sure to give offerings to the forest, be careful what you trade away, and don't join in the fairy dance. Enjoy!

Thank you @netgalley and @tlcbooktours for the arc for my honest and voluntary review.

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for the ARC. Here is my honest review. I don’t know if I was just in a mood when reading this book, but I wish it was better for me. I loved how whimsical the book was but also felt like i disconnected at some point of the book. The magic system was great for me, and i love the descriptions of the Fae. This book was a back and forth for me. But good.

3.25
This book had such a strong start! I'm a sucker for creepy forests and sinister fae, so I was hooked. Sadly, the plot did not keep the momentum going and I got a bit bored.

The story begins Moira Jean grieving her fiancé but still enjoying a night drinking in the woods with friends. It all goes horribly wrong when the fae join the dance and snatch her friends away. To earn her friends back, she must make a series of deals with the fae lord. This is where things got dull for me as I really wanted the book to lean into the spooky elements and imagery, but it did not. It also is pretty static as most of the book takes place in Moira Jean's village and I really wanted to see more of the fae world than we did.

Honestly I tried to like this book. I don't know if it was just coming off of reading a book that I really enjoyed or if the writing style is just not for me. I got maybe 30 pages into this book and just couldn't get into it. I might come back to it later because I believe this book has so much potential.

Thank you to the Author for allowing me to view the Arc of this book. I have recently found my love for Fantasy and I always look forward to reading a new one. I liked the synopses of this book and that's why I found this story intriguing. This book follows a girl named Moira who lives with her mother. When she and her friend go into the forest to hang out, strange things are afoot. The head fae from a strange world takes her friends and Moira has to bargain with him to get them back. At first it was a little slow but the more I got into the story I was intrigued. By the time it ended I was hooked by these Characters. I really liked it. I gave it 4 stars on good reads. I would be interested in reading more from this Author.

This story follows Moira Jean whose fiancée died during the war and now seems unsure about her future. One evening, along with her friends in their village, they go out to drink and dance around the fire, when suddenly more people, or beings, appear that Moira Jean realizes are the Fae. And then she suddenly wakes up and wonders what happened and whether it was a dream, when she finds out her friends have been spirited away by the Fae and now it's up to Moira Jean to get them back.

This is a lush and dark fantasy. Darker than I was expecting, especially with Moira Jean and the loss she is clearly still grieving. The Fae are also darker than you would read for example in ACoTaR. And so I would definitely term this as a lush gothic fantasy.

I overall enjoyed this book aside from it having a rather slow start and me being a bit confused about everyone's past and just little details like that. If you love dark gothic fantasies with Fae, then this one is for you!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I was provided an arc from NetGalley, this review is my own.

“The village was as soft and familiar as an old blanket, and it was only since the war that she had started to notice how faded and worn it was becoming.”

From the beginning of Thorns Remain the author does a wonderful job of wrapping you up in this secluded village. The familiarity, the smells, the rhythm and the characters of the novel wraps around the reader like a warm blanket. Then the frayed edges begin to show. The jealousy of others, the judgment, and the losses all culminate in moth ridden holes in our warm blanket but still, even with the holes, it’s comforting because of its familiarity. I think anyone with an imperfect family can relate to that. You love them but there’s always a but…

“There was an itch under Moira Jean’s skin. It was not enough. She needed more.”

Moira Jean has suffered the loss of her childhood sweetheart and watching her deal with the trauma and sadness of that was another layer of this novel. So when the Dreamer is introduced I was torn between being intrigued of him as a love interest and wanting Moira Jean to hold onto her childhood love forever.

Possible spoiler coming up:

“”It is not a game”, the Dreamer said, his voice low.”

I did love the back and forth of Moira Jean and the Dreamer quite immensely and while I was hopeful of their relationship I will say it was never meant to be. I love love stories. I especially love enemies to lovers and this has the delicious start of that. But the Dreamer never learned to change and Moira never let Angus go enough to be open to him.

I’m rating this 4 out of 5 stars and would recommend it for those looking for a fae fairytale retelling and wants the fae to learn a valuable lesson which he desperately needed …

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the idea of this book and the folklore behind it, that Moira Jean bargains with the Lord of the Fae to save her friends. The overall story was charming but not particularly happy, and the pacing was a little slow and repetitive. I wasn’t expecting so much of the book to be about Moira Jean’s grief, but it did push the plot forward for the most part and you see her persevere. Overall, I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a fantasy coming of age story about loss but it wasn’t quite for me.

What was only suppose to be a night of dancing and fun turns dangerous when Moira finds herself now having to bargain with a fae lord in exchange for her friends lives... and the price is high. Moira Jean and her friends live in a highland village in 1919 and when they venture into the forest at night for fun before parting ways... but things soon become very strange as the Fae begin to join the dance and Moira awakens and finds herself alone and her friends missing. She confronts the Lord of the Fae who tells her that she has to bargain him in exchange for her friends, but the more time she spends with him the more she begins to question her entire life and the more the villagers become suspicious of her. Every friend she has to save will cost her something, something precious, and she begins to question her own feelings for the fae lord she might be falling for who has a twisted way of getting her to stay with them. This one was an okay read for me, I was hoping for a bit more romance or more action however the story really does focus on the fae and bargaining with the fae. If you are looking for a story about fae bargains and not a lot of romance then give this one a go.

*Thanks Netgalley and Harper 360, Magpie for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book was so good! I really enjoyed that it was based on more traditional fairy lore with the mischievousness and cruelty and was able to have character development while still maintaining those aspects

I was looking for more stories in the same vein as A River Enchanted and The Fire Endless by Rebecca Ross, which happened to be two of my favorite books from 2022 and all-around an excellent duology full of magic and folklore. So I was intrigued by the way The Thorns Remain was described by its synopsis.

This book wasn’t exactly what I was looking to read at the time, and I found the story to just be fine. And though the synopsis claims that it’s “sparkling with dark romance,” it didn’t really feel very romantic, even as the story was heading toward its conclusion. Instead, Moira Jean’s story was more about manipulation, grief, and co-dependency. Where even the fantasy/folklore aspects kind of served the purpose of highlighting the way her life had stopped moving after a death left her grief stricken and prone to lamenting wistfully for the past. In that regard, the story did work. And Harwood really delved into the themes by presenting a situation where being surrounded by the familiar was almost like a curse in itself. And the relationships Moira Jean still had left (especially with her neighbors), was more often than not marred by a feeling of transaction—particularly with the endless amounts of monotonous and increasingly difficult work being fostered on her. It wasn’t healthy and carried its own bitter cost. And at several points though, I wanted Moira Jean to be angrier for herself, and it took a long time for her to finally admit what she really wanted.

Regarding The Thorns Remain having a romantic subplot—as hinted about in its synopsis—it didn’t really work for me. However, if you look at the story instead as a melancholic character study, it can be appreciated for its exploration of toxic relationships.

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Harper360 & Magpie) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you!

I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author continues to write more books in the future. I can't wait to see what this author releases in the future.

"The Land Under the Hill is full of dreams. Real things are worth more."

I don't think I can properly put into words how much I loved this book, and how eager I am for its publication so I can put it on my shelf.

Admittedly, I had different expectations when I requested an eARC of this. From the cover and the blurb, I'd assumed this would end up a love story. You know, in the way many fae x mortal stories have gone, just with less human-like representations of the fae. I suppose, in a way, this story still is a love story, the lesson being more about self-love, at least for the FMC. Our FMC, Moira Jean, has to learn that she needn't sacrifice herself for love; The Dreamer, on the other hand, has to learn that love doesn't come without self-sacrifice. One sacrifices too much in the name of love; one sacrifices too little. Will they learn to help each other figure out how to balance these two extremes in order to find true happiness? Or will they be each other's downfall?

So, you see, this book has some rather heavy themes. The cover might convince you this is a light read, but that's a bit misleading. If you're wanting a story about a mortal woman who gets saved by a handsome fae and whisked off to a better world, that's not this story. But it's no less moving. I laughed and I cried. I loved Moira Jean and her strength and her charm and her fire. I loved the memory of Angus, with her, for all that he brought her joy. I even felt Moira Jean's dedication to her village, despite how awful they could be to her. In the end, I empathized with The Dreamer, who, for all his faults, really wants to learn to be human, or just to be better than he was.

As for other aspects of the story: The settings were vivid- both the real and the fantastical. Some of the fae were endearing, others downright creepy. The relationships between friends and neighbors felt realistic.

I have a couple complaints, but that's just me being nitpicky. The ending left a couple loose ends. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil anything, but I don't feel like I've gotten total closure with how it all ended. That said, it was still a mostly-satisfying ending, and strangely heartwarming. Bittersweet is the word I'm looking for.

In a way, this book is everything I wanted 'The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue' by VE Schwab to be. There are similar themes and concepts.

If you like your FMCs headstrong and full of heart, villains with redemption arcs, stories about healing and growth, all while reading about characters who are equal parts charming and irritating, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, JJA Harwood, and the publisher for my eARC. This review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own.

This has all the right ingredients to be a very enjoyable and captivating story, unfortunately it fell short (for me)

The pacing of this was INCREDIBLY slow, and the way it is split up into parts rather than chapters made it feel even slower. I was unable to get sucked into the story because of the pacing, and it left me never fully engrossed and constantly checking how much longer I had until the next book. I spent the book waiting for it to end rather than enjoying the book itself.

The book did evoke great imagery and the story and characters itself were lovely, they just weren’t put together in a way that kept me hooked. 2.5 ⭐️ for me.

3 stars.

I enjoyed the story and the characters, especially the unexpected character growth. However I had issues with the pacing in parts and the story does get repetitive in places.

I received an ARC from NetGalley and Harper 360, Magpie in exchange for my honest opinion.

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Cozy Fantasy Adjacent
Setting: Post WWI, during the Spanish Flu epidemic
Representation: LGBTQ rep (less than I expected from the dedication—a reference to a gay couple and a kiss)

I was interested to see how the author, JJA Harwood, wove the Fae into this world instead of a medieval setting.

Moira Jean, the main character, is grieving while trying to maintain normalcy in helping her family and community for the coming year. Her friends will leave, and she will remain behind.

But then her friends are taken by the Fae, while she escaped. Even worse, no one knows the others are missing. Only Moira Jean can try to rescue them. Unfortunately, I felt like the only emotion Moira Jean expresses is anger. Anger is her armor. I would like to have seen more emotions from her.

While I enjoyed this story, I kept waiting for some connections to be made that never were. *Slight Spoiler* ***** Moira Jean is told to try to discover the Dreamer's actual name—and she tried once. That's it. Why did she continue on this? *Slight Spoiler* is over. ******

The relationships are dysfunctional, and I'd hoped to see some of these heal. And I guess one does, but I wanted a bit more here too.

Yes, I recommend this book for an interesting time in history and to see the dysfunction splayed. It's a novel I continue to think about. Also, the title is perfect because the thorns do remain.

Happy reading!

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the writing style was captivating and well paced. The main character, Moira Jean was easy to relate to and I really enjoyed reading her inner dialog and learning more about her as the story went on. I thought the folk lore like stories were a nice touch through out the over all story. The Dreamer was also super well written, at points I was scared of him but at others I felt myself drawn to him just like Moira Jean was. Overall the story was incredible, my only wish was that it was little longer. I felt like I wanted to know more about the Queen at the end and more about what happened to the Dreamer. Looking forward to more from JJA Harwood!