BOOKS | Review: The Thorns Remain by J.J.A. Harwood

Name: The Thorns Remain

Author: J.J.A. Harwood

Publisher: Magpie Books

Date published: February 2023

Genre: Fiction, adult, fantasy, historical

Pages: 410

Rating: 3/5

A dance with the fae will change everything
1919. In a highland village forgotten by the world, harvest season is over and the young who remain after war and flu have ravaged the village will soon head south to make something of themselves.
Moira Jean and her friends head to the forest for a last night of laughter before parting ways. Moira Jean is being left behind. She had plans to leave once but her lover died in France and with him, her future. The friends light a fire, sing and dance. But with every twirl about the flames, strange new dancers thread between them, music streaming from the trees.
The fae are here.
Suddenly Moira Jean finds herself all alone, her friends spirited away. The iron medal of her lost love, pinned to her dress, protected her from magic.
For the Fae feel forgotten too. Lead by the darkly handsome Lord of the Fae, they are out to make themselves known once more. Moira Jean must enter into a bargain with the Lord to save her friends - and fast, for the longer one spends with the Fae, the less like themselves they are upon return. If Moira Jean cannot save her friends before Beltine, they will be lost forever...

- From Goodreads.

This book had a great use of folk tales and mythology and it was fascinating to learn about all the different creatures included in the story and to see what the faerie realm looked like. The atmosphere was created very well and you could really feel the fear and tension build throughout the story. I was definitely kept in suspense and was hooked until the end to find out what was going to happen.

The characters were all interesting and distinctive, I think the Lord Under the Hill was especially well written and really felt like he was not human and saw the world differently.

Unfortunately I did not end up feeling completely satisfied by how some of the plot threads wrapped up, not that it was a bad ending, and it was fun to read, but it did not feel like quite the right ending from the way the story had been building up, and some parts never felt fully explained.

Overall while I did not completely love it, I still think that there was a lot of good to it and I could see why other people might enjoy it more than I did. I think it is definitely worth a try if you enjoy stories using folklore and stories about fae.