A review by atrailofpages
The Thorns Remain by J.J.A. Harwood

4.0

This story follows Moira Jean whose fiancée died during the war and now seems unsure about her future. One evening, along with her friends in their village, they go out to drink and dance around the fire, when suddenly more people, or beings, appear that Moira Jean realizes are the Fae. And then she suddenly wakes up and wonders what happened and whether it was a dream, when she finds out her friends have been spirited away by the Fae and now it's up to Moira Jean to get them back.

This is a lush and dark fantasy. Darker than I was expecting, especially with Moira Jean and the loss she is clearly still grieving. The Fae are also darker than you would read for example in ACoTaR. And so I would definitely term this as a lush gothic fantasy.

I overall enjoyed this book aside from it having a rather slow start and me being a bit confused about everyone's past and just little details like that. If you love dark gothic fantasies with Fae, then this one is for you!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the free digital copy to read. All thoughts and opinions are my own.