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ClareR (5975 KP) rated Black Thorn in Books

May 22, 2024  
Black Thorn
Black Thorn
Sarah Hilary | 2023 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I found Black Thorn on my kindle, downloaded last year from NetGalley and forgotten (I’m sorry). So in recompense and quite a lot of guilt, I bought the audiobook. I’m very glad I did. Imogen Church does a great job of reading this rather disturbing story from Agnes Gale’s point of view. She’s the adult daughter of one of the men responsible for the building and sale of the houses in an exclusive development on the Cornish cliffs.

Just weeks after moving in, six people, including children, are dead. All the remaining inhabitants are told to leave their homes as they’re deemed unsafe, and the whole development is cordoned off. Agnes is sure there’s more to it, so she decides to investigate.

There’s a really unnerving atmosphere to this story, probably made more so coming from Agnes’ point of view. She’s autistic, and even though she’s adamant that something isn’t right, she’s largely ignored because of her autism. The insights into Agnes’ personality and her inner thoughts were sensitively handled and realistic, I thought.

All of the characters were really well developed: Errol, Agnes’ friend; Christie her brother; and Trevor her fathers business partner, especially.

This was a thoroughly good listen, and I’m so glad that I (eventually) found it!
  
The Bone Knife (Dauntless Path, #1.5)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Bone Knife by Intisar Khanani is a prequel to a new series, The Theft of Sunlight that is hopefully coming out in 2021. This prequel was included in my copy of Thorn, which I loved, and I thought I would also share what I think of The Bone Knife.

Synopsis
Rae knows how to look out for her family. Born with a deformed foot, she feigns indifference to the pity and insults that come her way. Wary of all things beautiful, Rae instantly distrusts their latest visitor: an appallingly attractive faerie. Further, his presence imperils the secret her sister guards. But when the local townspeople show up demanding his blood, Rae must find a way to protect both her sister’s secret and their guest. Even if that means risking herself.

My Thoughts:
Even though this prequel is only 35 pages long, I felt incredibly invested in this story. Rae is such a sweet soul, and it's no surprise that she attracted the attention of the faerie. I also loved how Rae's relationship with her sister is so strong. She will do anything to prevent people from knowing that her sister possesses magical powers.

Beautifully written with very descriptive characters, this was a lovely nice short read that made me so excited about book one - The Theft of Sunlight.
  
Best of Three is the 3rd book (shocking I know haha) in the Just Everyday Heroes:Night Shift series featuring the Dixon siblings. A sort of spin-off/continuation of Just Everyday Heroes:Day Shift

Emma Dixon is the wildest of her sisters and a thorn in her big brothers side. She doesn’t think before she acts by any stretch of the imagination. She is someone that acts first and thinks second. She doesn’t know how else to be until a car accident changes her wild streak drastically.

Dr Nate Sullivan is a single dad raising a teenage son. He has little time or patience for a woman like Emma, someone without constraints or limitations. When a car accident puts her on his operating table he literally puts her life back together. Can he handle this wild woman in his life.

Nate is the only man to ever be immune to Emma’s charms, she doesn’t quite know how she feels about that. Does it make him more mysterious to her or does she just have the hots for him rebuffs and all.

After some hysterical antics that may involving stalking Nate’s son Michael and Emma’s psuedo daughter Shannon, these 2 find they may just be more suited for each other than either one ever imagined. Together, Emma calms down while Nate looses up, a match made in the operating room.
  
SB
Storm Born (Dark Swan #1)
8
7.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
I'm a huge fan of Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy series, so I had to see what her adult books were like, and she did not disappoint. Eugenie Markham is a shaman, but unlike another shaman series I've read, she knows what she is doing and has been trained at it since she was a child by her step-father. What she never bothered to do in all that time, though, was question who her real dad was or how she could do the things she did - which I found a little unrealistic.
Her latest case forces her into entering the Otherworld for a longer-than-usual stay, which results in a few discoveries about herself, as well as some rather interesting situations with the fey, or gentry. She acquires a sort-of boyfriend in Kiyo, but I prefer her with Dorian, as he challenges her defenses and can match her in strength and abilities.
The prophecy means that just about everything male in the fey world wants to jump her bones, which gets old pretty fast. Rape is a traumatic experience for anyone, but the few close calls that Mead writes with Eugenie seemed to fall short of the mark. Eugenie's fear and defeat were there, but were understated.
On the flip side, I loved how Dorian was able to teach Eugenie about her powers, as well as play a very convenient trick on her at the end - Eugenie may not have liked it, but it was certainly better than the alternative. Now on to Thorn Queen!