storiesdontcare's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
This is really a review for the entire series, which I positively devoured. I spent the last week as consumed by this world and these characters as they are by one another.
I'm sure someone out there has already taken the time to quantify the percentage of these books that deal with plot versus smut, so I won't bother trying to do that, but there is a LOT of smut. Like a lot a lot. But layered in there are relationships, interesting characters, and fantasy elements, and for me at least, there was a good balance of the smut and the literary.
This series deals with themes of physical and sexual assault, adult incest, ritual murder, ritual suicide, faith crises--it's a lot. It is not for the faint of heart. Bearing all that in mind...I absolutely loved it. I can see how this series is not for everyone, how it could be divisive, how some would rate these books lower. But for me, I was obsessed. Thornchapel worked its spell on me.
Fairy lore, ancient rites, dark academia, angsty bisexuals (all of the characters are bi, which is just...yes, please), ethic diversity (four of the six main characters are white, one character is black, and one is Latino), plus size representation, gothic atmosphere--if this combination appeals to you and the content warnings aren't too much, check the series out.
Some more specific thoughts:
These books do have multiple POVs and shifting first/third person narration. I wasn't too distracted by this most of the time, but there were a few instances throughout where I had to look back to the beginning of the chapter to see whose POV I was in.
Of the six, Becket felt like the least developed character to me and he is the only one who didn't have a first person narrative. A Lesson in Thorns introduces us to his zeal for the cloth and rituals, but as the books progressed I still didn't feel like I knew him in the way that I knew the others. The connection to his intensity within Catholic priesthood and its relationship to his enthusiasm for the pagan feasts the group decide to embrace is obvious and makes perfect sense as far as his chatroom development, but his particular obsession with Poe was one of my least favorite things about the series. It worked, but I feel like if we'd had a first person POV from him for a bit, then it would have better served him.
Delphine and Rebecca I also felt could have used a bit more development. A lot of focus was given to the physical and D/s aspects of their relationship, but most of the emotional work seemed to happen within themselves and not with each other (lack of/miscommunication tropes are not my fave). I didn't feel their relationship as much as I would have liked. While Harvest of Sighs (book 3) featured them on the cover and does give them some more presence, for Rebecca especially it's not really until Door or Bruises where she truly becomes more fleshed out for me. Here is where she finally allows herself to be vulnerable.
Poe, Saint, and Auden are the primary protagonists and relationships at the heart of the series. I found Auden to be more sympathetic in A Lesson in Thorns and Door of Bruises (his first person narration book) than the middle two books, but that works with his development overall. His role is to come into his own, and that happens through the course of the series. Of all the characters, Poe is the most constant for me. She doesn't have the qualms about showing her vulnerability that many of the others do, and because of that she helps the others awaken those parts of themselves that they've kept at bay. Saint is probably my favorite character--I just want to wrap him in a hug and never, ever let go.
A Lesson in Thorns contains a piece of information that ties Thornchapel to the New Camelot series--this didn't do anything for me in particular, and it's not really relevant except that a character is mentioned who knows Poe, but who she isn't familiar with. How he comes to know her name and recommend her ultimately isn't important, but it did stick out as a piece of unresolved information in-series (there's a crossover novella that explains the connection, though I haven't read it).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed (i.e., became absolutely obsessed with) this series, these characters, this world. Door of Bruises resolves things to the point where there's not much else to say, yet I still want MORE.
I'm sure someone out there has already taken the time to quantify the percentage of these books that deal with plot versus smut, so I won't bother trying to do that, but there is a LOT of smut. Like a lot a lot. But layered in there are relationships, interesting characters, and fantasy elements, and for me at least, there was a good balance of the smut and the literary.
This series deals with themes of physical and sexual assault, adult incest, ritual murder, ritual suicide, faith crises--it's a lot. It is not for the faint of heart. Bearing all that in mind...I absolutely loved it. I can see how this series is not for everyone, how it could be divisive, how some would rate these books lower. But for me, I was obsessed. Thornchapel worked its spell on me.
Fairy lore, ancient rites, dark academia, angsty bisexuals (all of the characters are bi, which is just...yes, please), ethic diversity (four of the six main characters are white, one character is black, and one is Latino), plus size representation, gothic atmosphere--if this combination appeals to you and the content warnings aren't too much, check the series out.
Some more specific thoughts:
These books do have multiple POVs and shifting first/third person narration. I wasn't too distracted by this most of the time, but there were a few instances throughout where I had to look back to the beginning of the chapter to see whose POV I was in.
Of the six, Becket felt like the least developed character to me and he is the only one who didn't have a first person narrative. A Lesson in Thorns introduces us to his zeal for the cloth and rituals, but as the books progressed I still didn't feel like I knew him in the way that I knew the others. The connection to his intensity within Catholic priesthood and its relationship to his enthusiasm for the pagan feasts the group decide to embrace is obvious and makes perfect sense as far as his chatroom development, but his particular obsession with Poe was one of my least favorite things about the series. It worked, but I feel like if we'd had a first person POV from him for a bit, then it would have better served him.
Delphine and Rebecca I also felt could have used a bit more development. A lot of focus was given to the physical and D/s aspects of their relationship, but most of the emotional work seemed to happen within themselves and not with each other (lack of/miscommunication tropes are not my fave). I didn't feel their relationship as much as I would have liked. While Harvest of Sighs (book 3) featured them on the cover and does give them some more presence, for Rebecca especially it's not really until Door or Bruises where she truly becomes more fleshed out for me. Here is where she finally allows herself to be vulnerable.
Poe, Saint, and Auden are the primary protagonists and relationships at the heart of the series. I found Auden to be more sympathetic in A Lesson in Thorns and Door of Bruises (his first person narration book) than the middle two books, but that works with his development overall. His role is to come into his own, and that happens through the course of the series. Of all the characters, Poe is the most constant for me. She doesn't have the qualms about showing her vulnerability that many of the others do, and because of that she helps the others awaken those parts of themselves that they've kept at bay. Saint is probably my favorite character--I just want to wrap him in a hug and never, ever let go.
A Lesson in Thorns contains a piece of information that ties Thornchapel to the New Camelot series--this didn't do anything for me in particular, and it's not really relevant except that a character is mentioned who knows Poe, but who she isn't familiar with. How he comes to know her name and recommend her ultimately isn't important, but it did stick out as a piece of unresolved information in-series (there's a crossover novella that explains the connection, though I haven't read it).
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed (i.e., became absolutely obsessed with) this series, these characters, this world. Door of Bruises resolves things to the point where there's not much else to say, yet I still want MORE.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Sexual assault
More...