A dark academia gothic erotica story about six friends who are sexually obsessed with one another. This is a start of a series and ends on a major cliffhanger. The characters read as very immature but I do think that kind of just comes with how they will grow hopefully in the next books. I do adore Sierra Simone's writing style and am curious how she will continue the story!

Hold on to your seats this is going to be a hot, steamy and wild ride!!! -Auden “Audey” Guest -St. Sebastian “Saint” Martinez -Becket “Becky” Hess -Delaphine “Delph” Dansey, -Proserpina “Poe ” Markham -Rebecca “Bex” Quartey As children, Auden Guest’s Estate at Thornchapel was their playground. As Adults it becomes something more. Proserpina wants to find the reason of the mysterious disappearance of her mother, receiving a cryptic letter it brings her back to Thornchapel. A place from her childhood and the boy she hated herself for loving. After twelve years she is back...those six childhood friends now adults; all back together at Auden’s home, but what’s the real reason they are all there? Mystery, Infatuation, Intrigue, Lust, Secrets that must be solved and so much more. That is what you will get in this book and it is only the beginning as this ends in a major cliffhanger! So many questions I have but I will have to wait for the next book to hopefully have some answers. Get Ready!

A romantic, tense, bonded group of friends returns to the house that ties them together. While they all returned for their own reasons, Poe is there because it't the last place her mother was seen alive. While the group relearns how to work together, through their pasts, filthy thought are shared amongst them. Who will be the first to cave to their desires? What is Thornechapel hiding?

A scary, yet sexy novel with intense characters and a captivating story.

I have a lot of feelings about this book and they are not all good.

First, I loved the queer rep in this book. I personally love a book where all of the characters are LGBTQ+. I also loved this setting, and the spice when it finally hit was pretty well done.

The writing in this was just odd. I received an ARC for the soon to be released Bloom books version so I thought some of the clunky writing would have been fixed, but it was definitely still there. This book is trying to be two things at once and it just didn’t mesh well. Half of this book is very flowery and atmospheric writing that will talk about a hallway for pages. The other half of this book is cheesy dialogue from a group of immature individuals who think they are the most mature people that have ever existed. It makes for a very jarring reading experience.

All of these characters are immature, and they read like teenagers talking about sex for the first time. So much of this book talks about sex, kink, and BDSM, but it is from the perspective of people without much experience in it. Our FMC, Poe, for example talks about how she has been involved in the BDSM community for years even though she is only 22 and is a virgin who has never been touched in any kind of sexual way. This translates into a bunch of inexperienced young adults trying things they don’t know much about without anyone really guiding them in any way.

I get that you need a “virgin” for the ritual aspect of it, but this was a group of six people that literally only thought about sex 24/7 (To the point where multiple characters talk about having to masturbate multiple times a day to get through the day) and yet half of them were virgins because they were all waiting for the “loves of their lives” aka the group of kids they knew for one summer when they were 10? It was a stretch.

This book read like a 90s porn but if 85% was the cheesy lead up to the deed. I love erotica where the spice is the plot, and I love books that have spice that adds to a complex plot, but this book was somehow both and neither. This was all build with some payoff. I know this is book 1 in a series and it does end on a cliffhanger, but I honestly don’t think I can make it through another book like this.

I know there are a lot of people who love this book, and I went into this believing with 100% certainty that I would be one of them, but unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me. I think I’m going to go reread Priest because that is by far the superior book from this author.

Rating: 3.0
Spice Level: 4.0

A lesson in thorns hooked me since page one with this hidden secrets, mystery filled angsty romance.

The idea of polyamory that Sierra Simone wrote worked very well in this novel, however whilst reading I discovered it’s not my favorite romance trope to read.

I loved priest by her (it’s my guilty pleasure) but unfortunately I found this one confusing with which plot type the author wanted (spicy or cult mystery vibes) and repetitive with wording, which lowered my rating.

While this personally wasent a favorite for me I think it can be for any Spicy, dark romance lovers!

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc 🤍

Binged this Sierra Simone and now have to go down the Thronchapel rabbit hole because I need to know what happens next! Poe has been away from Thornchapel for 12 years after her father made her leave but she’s never forgotten it. Now years later she returns as I librarian to go through the library achieves and see her old friends. Sparks instantly fly between the lord of the house and her former friend along with another man she was interested in.

Thank you to Bloom and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

This remains one of the horniest series I've ever read. Gothic academia vibes, love triangles, magical orgies. What happens in Thornchapel stays at Thornchapel (or does it?). The prose is gorgeous, and did I mention horny? Mysteries, and just sometimes you really are attracted to all your friends so what else can you do?

I understand that this book and the rest of the book in the series are categorized under the erotica genre. However, I wish there was more story building in the series. The first half of the book, it feels very slow and the only thing we really know is that they were not together in the past ,12 years ago and everyone is reunite again. The chemistry between characters was not there for me so it made reading the spicy scenes difficult. I wanted to like this book because I loved all the books in Sierra Simone's priest series. This as an individual book, I just wanted more out of it in terms of plot and character development.

4/5⭐️
3/5🌶️

Poe Markham is back at Thornchapel, a place which has called to her since she left over ten years ago. There to catalogue the manor’s library, she also wants to use the opportunity to find out what happened to her mother… especially after receiving a note recently which looks to be written in her mother’s hand. What follows is a reunion of acquaintances, a revelation of past secrets, and a development of a tangled web of relationships between all six friends.

This was dark, mysterious, sexy and fun! I was fascinated about how ‘behind’ I felt in this book… so much saultry yearnin’ and burnin’, thrills and mysteries I was trying to unravel, and a enticing building of numerous relationships in multiple different directions. This book was HAWWWWT and I loved every delicious moment building toward the end. And that little cliffy we were left on! Ah! Makes me need to ingest the subsequent stories STAT! I love SIerra’s writing… the build-up and anticipation was exquisite, leaving me wanting more and more.

Tropes in this story:
-Mysterious pasts & secrets
-Secret society & rituals
-Second chance of a childhood love
-Ķĩņķ representation & education
-ALL the different delicious pairings: MF, MM, FF, MMF
-“We can’t; you’re not meant for me”

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book via Bloom Books and NetGalley, but my review is all my own.

One of those books that I didn’t know…I NEEDED!!! Glad that I did grab this one and yet Sierra Simone knows how to pull you right in. SHE KNOWS WHAT YOU ARE NEEDING! Let’s go and read more books by her because she brings it all to us.

Dark, poetic, and dripping with tension this book is like wandering into a haunted cathedral where every whispered word is a temptation and every glance is an invitation to sin.

Sierra Simone does not hold back with the forbidden longing, the tangled relationships, and the kind of sensual, atmospheric storytelling that makes you feel like you’re under a spell. The prose? Lush and hypnotic. The characters? Deliciously complicated. The tension? So thick you could cut it with a dagger and still not make a dent.

TL;DR: If you love mystical gothic settings, slow-burn desire that hurts, and characters you shouldn’t want but absolutely do, this book will ruin you in the best way.

A Lesson in Thorns follows 6 friends that reunite where it all started 12 years ago. Proserpina Markham has returned to Thornchapel to help organize the library there. Poe meets both St. Sebastian Martinez and Auden Guest who is the new owner of Thornchapel. Poe hasn't seen St. or Auden since she was the bride and both men were "married' on the alter of the chapel. The three can't seem to not be drawn together as they navigate their new world of pain and pleasure. I want to thank both NetGalley and Bloom Books for letting me read an advance copy of this book.

A Lesson in Thorns begins with Proserpina, aka Poe, returning to Thornchapel, a gothic mansion in the English countryside. Right away, Simone sweeps you away into this world of old books, mysterious houses and labyrinthine gardens. Poe is looking for closure on events that happened 12 years in the past after being sent a cryptic note in her mother's handwriting that was addressed from Thornchapel. But her mother has been missing for years and she jumps at the chance to find out what happened to her. The six friends that played at this house 12 years ago are all brought back together and are determined to discover the secrets of Thornchapel.

The atmosphere Simone creates is perfect! This would be a perfect book to read on a cozy, rainy day. I can't wait to see what happens in the rest of the series!

Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loved the dark academia vibes, occultism , power of rituals, very smutty (ofc) but felt it was more so than her other books? Overall I enjoyed it, maybe not one to read in public lol

The concept was intriguing and I appreciated many of the themes but there was a trope I was not a fan of. I also had some issues with pacing for this one

Simone is a must read automatic author favorite of mine. I have read other series by her but ThornChapel was new. I enjoyed it so much. It was a bit of a fantasy story mixed with friendship and family lore. It had a lot going on but Simone's writing is captivating and it kept my attention. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I have loved everything I’ve read by Sierra, this follows along the same path. I loved the slow burn and the tension and I loved the mystery of Thornchapel . The spice was exactly what you expect and love from her and it didn’t become the entire plot which was really nice. I’m looking forward to embarking further on our journey of Thornchapel!

I'm always pleasantly surprised by Sierra Simone's prose. It's very strong, her voice is always so uniquely hers. This had that dark academia, "Sonne" by Rammstein vibe and the kinky fuckery we've come to love from Sierra's novels.

Lots of build up to the end, a bit anticlimactic but still a very good novel.

Sierra Simone killed it as usual. Bdsm, bi characters, a priest, everything you love about a Sierra Simone book and more is in this. Throw in some secrets, a sex ritual and this is a book I shouldn’t have read in public

This book felt like all smut and no plot to me. These characters were adults that felt deeply connected to a fake wedding they performed when they were children. None of them executed any self control or acted maturely. They basically all desired each other in a plethora of different ways and the reader just had to sit through every combination of people. This book wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.