Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar | ARC Review – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Thorn Season (Thorn Season, #1)

Author: Kiera Azar

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 464

Publication Date: 9/2/25

Publisher: Storytide

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Political Intrigue

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Storytide for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

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…

Content Warning: violence, death, grief

+ I didn’t know what to expect with this one – honestly I requested the arc because I was so in love with the cover! But I love when a book cover is beautiful and the story is just as good! The political intrigue and mystery about a certain object really kept me on my toes, especially in the second half of this book.

+ Alissa is an heiress and King Erik has his eye on her. In this Kingdom of Daradon, Wielders are being hunted because they have power that isn’t allowed. Alissa’s families are renowned hunters, but they don’t know but only a select few that she’s a Wielder herself, just in hiding, except she hasn’t done a good job at that. Alissa is beautiful, cunning, has the King’s ear, plays court politics well, and she loves her father. I found her character fascinating. She’s tough, and I can’t see what happens for her next.

+ The court politics was really what kept me invested in this book. I enjoyed the mystery and plot twists. Alissa and the King seemed to be playing a cat and mouse game. The King is a real villain even though at first, it doesn’t seem like it. But his character is written so well, that I hate him so much. He is the kind of evil that comes in a pretty package.

+ There wasn’t a lot of romance in this story but I didn’t mind it at all. In the beginning I thought it would be a love triangle, but I don’t think it will be. But I could be wrong. Garrett, her ex-best friend is an interesting character with a rough childhood. And Keil, an ambassador from another kingdom where Wielders are allowed, looks like the one who will be Alissa love interest. They do a lot of flirting in this book but not much else.

~ Alissa talks about her specter a lot but I couldn’t fully grasp what it was except that it is power. I would have loved more history about it, and to learn more about what Wielders can do.

Final Thoughts:

It took my two days to read this book and the second half of the book had me hooked. I love the political intrigue and how Alissa navigates court. The politics, the magic, the complicated characters and the beginnings of a romance was melded together in an entertaining book. The power play between her and the King kept me riveted. I can’t wait to see what happens in book two!