Review: TRIAL OF THORNS by Stacey Trombley

Trial of Thorns by Stacey Trombley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In a ruthless competition of blood and magic, attraction to the enemy may be the biggest weakness of all.

I am Caelynn of the Shadow Court, banished to the human realm for killing a fae prince in my youth. But when I learn my homeland is in peril, I strike a bargain.

The Trial of Thorns will decide a champion to save the realm from a terrible plague, and secure the winner fame and fortune. I could care less about the money or notoriety--I'm playing for freedom. If I win, I will earn a full pardon. And I intend to win.

But I don’t account for Reveln being one of my opponents. We've got...history. And ten years later, he's even hotter than I remember. Oh, right, he also hates me.

Only one of us can win, and Rev will do everything in his power to make sure I don’t make it out of the trials alive.

Because ten years ago, I killed his brother.

And Reveln never forgets.


TRIAL OF THORNS is the first book in the WICKED FAE series, featuring kick-ass women, fated mates, and a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance. Readers of Holly Black's Cruel Prince, Sarah J Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses and Audrey Grey's Evermore Academy will love this book!
I was lucky enough to read an ARC of TRIAL OF THORNS by Stacey Trombley, and I really couldn’t read it quickly enough.

This is a smart and sexy Hunger Games, told in dual POV by the heroine and hero. Caelynn and Rev are both excellent narrators. I always worry when I hear a book is duel POV in case the narrative voices sound the same, but Trombley doesn’t have this problem. Even without the chapter headings indicating who the narrator is, it was clear simply by the writing style itself.

The worldbuilding is amazing. I just love this world--and the backstory is woven into the narrative and plot so seamlessly. There's no heavy info dump.

There's also a great female friendship/romantic relationship in this story too, so points for LGBT+ rep here.

Overall, this is a great story. Super fun and engaging, and I love Caelynn's dark past.

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