Heart of Thorns

Thornwood Fae, Book 1

By: Nicolette Andrews

Narrated by: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

They told her the fae weren’t real. She pretended she couldn’t see them. When she met him, everything changed…

Catherine’s first memories were of the fae and the misfortune they brought. No one believed her and told her she was insane. When Catherine arrives the country estate of Thornwood, she is determined to put her past and the fae behind. That is until she meets Ray Thorn. He challenges her prejudices and sways her heart. But can she trust him?

Ray introduces her into his world of the mesmerizing and deadly faery. Then a woman is murdered by one of the fae. She knew she shouldn’t have trusted a fae. But as more bodies turn up, Catherine realizes they’re targeting women like her, and she is their next victim.

She cannot find the killer alone, but is trusting Ray worth the price? Can Catherine find the killer in time, or will she lose her heart?

Dive into the slow burn romance of Heart of Thorns, the first in this gaslamp romantic fantasy trilogy. Fans of Carnival Row and Jane Austen will not want to miss this tale steeped in fae intrigue, romance, and mystery.

©2020 Nicolette Andrews (P)2022 Nicolette Andrews

A great start to a fun series

I enjoyed listening to this after finishing the prequel and was excited to find out what happened next. Some of the topics are pretty dark, but the author offers great sensitivity in how she discusses and interacts with the topics. I will definitely continue and can’t wait to learn more about the faerie and her magic!

Baskerville Book Reviews

I’ve spent half my day trying to figure out how I want to word how I feel about this story. It’s a good story that I didn’t enjoy. The difficult part is explaining why without spoilers. I previously listened to book 0.5, it seemed like a fantasy romance to me. The protagonist married out of desperation, but her guy seemed genuinely interested in her.

It was a lot darker than I expected. I’m totally fine with dark stories, don’t get me wrong, it just felt like it took a drastic left turn from where I thought it was going. Maybe I’d have known that if I read the summary prior to listening (I still haven’t read it). The whole reason I avoid summaries is to avoid spoilers, misleading summaries, and to not have expectations.

I enjoyed the psychological aspects of it. I was wondering what was real and wasn’t as much as the protagonist. When she was in her home, I was getting some heavy Dracula’s castle vibes where nothing was as it seemed. Everybody seemed to have an agenda and you never knew who to trust. I think more than anything, I liked it as a story but not as a sequel. I found myself wishing there was another book with a different ending so I could choose the version that most suited me.

One thing to add is I’ve previously listened to and absolutely loved the prequel. I will say to anybody reading this, do yourself a service and read that first. I had context for this story. I totally forgot to listen to it and try to put myself in the shoes of somebody who hasn’t read the prequel. I can’t really say much in that regard, I don’t know how it works as a book 1 without the context.

The narration was excellent. I didn’t take any notes which for me, means the narration was great, without issues. I never had trouble telling who was speaking or anything else.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

Great story, Terrific narration!

Heart of thorns was engaging from the start. The story had a good arc and got even more engaging as it progressed.

Narration by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw was stellar. Keep an eye on this narrator, as she will be going places! Her accents were spot on, her characters had depth, and felt true. I felt connected to their experiences and inner thoughts. In that way that I hope for in audiobooks, her performance had me forgetting that I was listening to a book and instead had me totally immersed in the story.

Looking forward to more by both the author and narrator.

Enjoyable

I've newly discovered Nicolette Andrews, and I love her storytelling skill. Looking forward to listening to more of her work.

Narrator does an excellent job.

Fascinating Gaslamp Fantasy

I enjoyed this Gaslamp fantasy written by Nicolette Andrews. I found the juxtaposition of a historical setting populated with paranormal beings to be interesting and engrossing. I liked the character of Catherine from the prequel titled, "Pricked By Thorns". This continuation of her story was entertaining. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. I recommend this book to others who enjoy this genre. Mia Hutchinson-Shaw's narration was vivacious and added to the story's enjoyment. I was given a free copy of the audiobook and I have voluntarily posted this review.

Amazing

This book made me look into the author more and I’m now hoping the book will continue on !

Loved it

This was a great story and I loved the narrator. Catherine had always seen things. She also was put into a mental institution because of it. After she got married to Edward, she hoped for some normalcy. But it happened again. A dead body & a ghoost giving her a warning. She tried so hard to tell herself it wasn't real . Over and over. What happened after that was very interesting. Maybe she wasn't crazy, or was she? A story full of fae, insecurity & lies. I loved the rest of the story, surprise ending as well.

Good story!

This was a good story. I enjoyed the charters and their interactions. The narrator does a wonderful job telling the story as well.