Review: Jack of Thorns | A.K. Faulkner (ARC)

This review is spoiler free.

“You must seize the moment. You are alive now. The past can always be walked away from, and the future is nothing more than a choice of different paths, but the here and now?… This is where we live. This is where we experience joy, happiness, love, heartbreak. You must do what you can to make your now a better thing.” 

Series: Inheritance
Published: 2019, by BooksGoSocial.
Pages: 402
Format: eBook/ARC from Netgalley
Genre: Romance, LGBT, Fantasy, Paranormal
Contains: Violence, Strong Language, Trauma, Blood/Gore, Crude Humour, Sexual Content, Abuse, Sexual Assault, Drug Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Drugs/Alcohol

I received a copy of this book from BooksGoSocial through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

‘Jack of Thorns’ tells the story of Laurence Riley, a florist struggling with an addiction he has no control over, the mind games of his ex-boyfriend, and his ability to see into the future. Jack claims he can help. However, unable to meet the terms of the agreement, Laurence falls for another, who just so happens to be struggling with his own supernatural abilities.

I wasn’t sure about his title at first, not really feeling up to reading something with as much Sexual Content as the summary suggested online. However, desperate to keep up to date with my Netgalley bookshelf, I knew I had to delve into it sooner rather than later. So, I decided it would be my next read. I just didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did.

The characters themselves are wonderful to read. Laurence and Quentin are further apart than they could possibly be, but it’s their differences that draws them to each other. Laurence is an addict, struggling on a day to day basis, yet Quentin has his own problems too. They work together, with addictive dialogue and interesting history that makes me just want to keep reading.
Laurence is a personal favourite, even though I wasn’t sure about his personality at first. He has his faults, yet isn’t one to hide away from them; he owns up to his mistakes and manages to overcome them throughout the story.
Quentin however, was a character who irked me at first. With the repetitive use of the third person in his dialogue (“one”), he was a stereotype of the British culture. However, he eventually overcame his snobbish personality trait halfway through the novel and was eventually easier to handle reading about.

The story itself felt a little slow-paced at first, yet quickly sped up to an interesting climax. Although, it felt more like a completed story, there are a few unanswered questions which are presumably explained in the sequel to the series. The novel uses elegant language, with detailed description and a simple format, allowing us to follow the story easily. The use of the two point of views was interesting, allowing me to understand Quentin and Laurence a lot more with closer range into their lives.

Overall, I enjoyed this introduction to the Inheritance series. Laurence and Quentin’s story was interesting to follow and I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment.

4/5

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What’s your favourite supernatural read?

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