I want to get right out in front of this review and say that the publisher's synopsis buries the lede so, so deep--a backhoe must have been involved--that it's misleading. A Lesson in Thorns is not MF romance, or MMF romance, but six-person, group sex, pagan ritual, polyam, kinky, bisexual, erotica. With a priest.

I pretty quickly realized where this was going, and I almost set the book aside for personal reasons that I will not elaborate upon here. But I kept reading, and I'm glad that I did, because against all odds, I loved it. It's got a setting I adore (big old house adjacent to a quaint village), good atmosphere (mysterious, nerdy, and horny), and not one but two librarian characters (who are actually well-written because the author is a former librarian).

Fun escapism, just dark enough to be interesting, with lots of unanswered questions. Will be reading more.