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  • A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone book cover
  • A Lesson in Thorns by Sierra Simone book cover
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A Lesson in Thorns

by Sierra Simone

Old bonds and buried rituals at Thornchapel

$20.60 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Ella James calls it her “top read of the year”

    Ella James calls A Lesson in Thorns her top read of the year and praises its mystery, lust, and angst.

AlbakiReads Editorial

Old bonds and buried rituals at Thornchapel

Proserpina Markham’s return to the isolated Thornchapel manor reopens a history shared with Auden Guest and Saint Sebastian Martinez. Its overgrown gardens, locked chapel, and lingering secrets anchor a contemporary romance that also draws on gothic atmosphere, dark academia, ritual magic, and a centuries-old story. The relationships are presented as tangled and forbidden, with old friendships, rivalry, and desire all part of the same web. The description also signals adult, high-heat content and themes of obsession, pleasure, pain, and prophecy.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Adults interested in contemporary romance with explicit, high-heat content.
  • Readers who enjoy gothic manor settings, dark academia, and ritual magic.
  • Those interested in forbidden relationships, love triangles, and old friendships entangled with romance.

Themes

Forbidden love and desireRitual magic and prophecyOld friendships and rivalrySecrets tied to place and history

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

They were never supposed to want each other--but Thornchapel doesn't care about rules.

From the author of the USA Today bestselling Priest and New Camelot series comes a high-heat, gothic, dark academia fairy tale full of lantern-lit rituals, foggy moors, and obsessions that last for a lifetime.

Twelve years ago, Proserpina Markham walked away from Thornchapel, the eerie manor tucked deep in the moors, and the two boys who split her heart in two: the golden and commanding Auden Guest, and his broken, brooding enemy, Saint Sebastian Martinez.

Now she's back.

The gardens are still overgrown. The chapel still locked. The house still full of secrets and shadows. And so are they.

But nothing about Thornchapel is ever simple.

As Proserpina is drawn back into a tangled web of old friendships, ritual magic, dark lust, and forbidden bonds, she finds herself caught between Auden's sharp dominance, Saint's aching loneliness, and the centuries-old story they've unknowingly stepped into.

The house wants something.

The land remembers everything.

And Thornchapel is ready to bloom again--with pleasure, pain, and prophecy.

Delicious tropes:

  • Dark academia
  • Gothic vibes
  • Forbidden love
  • Enemies to lovers and friends to lovers
  • Secret rituals
  • MMF love triangle (and then some)
  • Found family
  • Lush, literary vibes

Rave reviews:

"This stunningly evocative novel is a triumph. A masterpiece. A tour de force. I'm spellbound by her lyrical prose, incredible characterization, and the pure steam coming off the pages. No one writes romance like Sierra Simone." -- K.A. Linde, New York Times bestselling author

"It's evocative, sumptuous, and downright filthy. AND I AM HERE FOR IT." -- Kendall Ryan, New York Times bestselling author

"Literal literary porn. Breathtaking." -- Emma Hart, New York Times bestselling author

"A Lesson In Thorns is an utterly breathtaking masterpiece with its poetic prose and unimaginable details. I'm transfixed. I'm addicted. And I'm in love." -- Carrie Ann Ryan, New York Times bestselling author

"Sierra Simone is a genius who will have you believing in love, longing, kink and pagan magic. Not only are her words beautiful, but her characters are equal parts raw, real, magical, and kinky. Two words for you, Auden and St. Sebastian!" -- Nana Malone, USA Today bestselling author

"A decadent web of mystery, lust, and angst--A Lesson in Thorns is my top read of the year!" -- Ella James, USA Today bestselling author

"Ms. Simone, you filthy, dirty, brilliant woman. This was so enrapturing and stunningly sexy." -- ★★★★★ Goodreads review

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