Thorn Season

THORN SEASON by Keira Azar is a YA fantasy novel set in Daradon, a land where Wholeborns hunt and kill Wielders, people with invisible power. Eighteen-year-old Alissa is set to inherit her father’s title, as well as King Erik’s hand in marriage. The only problem is she has magic, and keeping that secret safe has cost those closest to her a lot. Moving to the palace for Rose Season puts her in greater danger of being discovered, but when her childhood friend explains how Alissa could help find the compass used to track and kill Wielders there, Alissa believes this is her chance to make a difference. If she can locate the compass and destroy it, no one else will have to live in fear anymore, including herself. The only problem is she’s not the only one searching for the coveted object, and if she’s discovered, she’ll suffer the same fate as her mom: extinction.

This novel is Keira Azar’s debut, and it’s already a #1 NYT Bestseller for good reason. In this book, Azar demonstrates her clear talent to weave a story. The writing is lush and descriptive, the pace is fast with tons of twists and turns, the characters are nuanced and believable, and the plot is entertaining on the surface with a deep social commentary underneath. This book also made me very nostalgic for the 2010s, which I consider to be the YA golden era, at least for this genre. The deceptive villain and power imbalance are reminiscent of RED QUEEN by Victoria Aveyard, and the King’s-looking-for-a-wife game reminds me of THE SELECTION by Kiera Cass, in all the best ways.

The only small critique I had in reading the book is how the character of Garrett is handled. Firstly, he clearly has been through a lot, but he obviously cares about Alissa. While he has a morally gray past and present, the way Alissa treats him feels very removed from their shared history. As such, his character feels like a missed opportunity to create more tension for Alissa, but I’m interested to see how this gets explored if he makes it into future books.

Overall, THORN SEASON was an absolute blast to read. I enjoyed every second of it, and so will anyone else who wants a bit of intrigue, yearning, vengeance, and magic. I can’t wait to see what happens next!

This is how to do a confident, grounded heroine. As a courtier and secret wielder, Alissa is aware of her strengths and weaknesses and attempts to use them effectively. She bluffs and blunders and meets strong personalities toe to toe, asserting her agency without falling into the trap of sassy caricature.

The strong characterization extends to the rest of the cast, and I've gotta say, I was taken by surprise. Just when I thought I knew it all, the story zigged instead of zagged. For example, the pattern of childhood friends divided into witch and witch hunter? Solid, we've seen that. But when the hunter openly knows what she is? That's an extra interesting dynamic, with an element of guilty obsession that took me right back to the webcomic The Hand That Once Fed (iykyk).

The danger is real; the villain is a creep. But there's nothing that crosses the line for YA.

If you're on the fence, I'd give it a shot. I think you'll be surprised.