OH MY WORD! I was not prepared for Red Thorns by Rina Kent. I mean, I knew the general premise of the book but yeah. Not prepared.
How to even describe Red Thorns...Sebastian, our male lead, is the captain of his university's football team, and is a popular person. He is also the grandson of a former senator. His family is well known. Sebastian also has a dark side, but he tries his best to keep it in check. He's doing well until he accepts a bet that involves Naomi. Naomi is a bit of a loner, she is asocial, an artist, a college student, and even though she hates every minute of it she's also a cheerleader. Naomi also struggles with events from her past, and the fact that she has no clue who her father is. Anyway one day Reina (the head cheerleader) comes up with this plan to eventually hurt Naomi, and she's enlisting Sebastian to take the lead. And Sebastian decides to go for it. What starts as a game of cat and mouse quickly turns into more. Naomi quickly becomes more to Sebastian. And Red Thorns tells that story. Red Thorns also has a secondary storyline going on regarding Naomi's father, and who he is. Red Thorns is the first part of a duet, so the book does end on a cliffhanger. And what a cliffhanger it is.
When I read the note, at the beginning of the book, from Rina Kent I have to admit I was a bit nervous. I can handle some dark romance, but the fact that this had consensual non-consent was new for me. I didn't know what to make of it at first. But as the story progressed, it was steamy scenes between two consenting adults, and their choices are their choices. No one else is getting hurt. While that was a lot for me to initially taken, that was just a small part of the story. There is also the lingering thought of "when is this bet/dare going to be revealed?" and "how will Naomi handle the news?". Then, when that was revealed, oofta. Yeah. That happened. Also, what does Reina and her crew have against Naomi? I'm not understanding that relationship. Moving away from Sebastian and Naomi though, who is Akira? I mean other than Naomi's penpal. I have thoughts on that, but will have to wait for book 2 for answers. Then there is Naomi's mom, their relationship, mom's health issues, things from mom's past, and mom's business. How is this all going to play out? Oh, and that black van that Naomi thought was following her? Um, yeah, what's up with that? One last thing, Reina! I need to go back and read Yellow Thorns to know her origin story, but I am also really hoping that Black Thorns answers a question for me. I really enjoyed the book, and actually liked it more than I thought I might given the darkness of the relationship between Sebastian and Naomi. I am eagerly anticipating Black Thorns so that I can know how this all ends. I will say, I chose Red Thorns because it was sports romance, but that was such a minor part in this new adult romance.
If you enjoy dark romance, the, Red Thorns to your TBR list! Just make sure to have Black Thorns on hand so you can dive in immediately. I was not so lucky, so I'm sitting here waiting for July 8.
Thank you for reading my thoughts,
Laura
𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝗥𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗞𝗨 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼!!
𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗗𝘂𝗲𝘁! 𝗦𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝗼𝗺𝗶'𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗼 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱!
#𝟭-𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!
Pre-order Black Thorns, Book 2 in the Thorns Duet, releasing July 8th!
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