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The Last Thorn
Not yet published
Expected 1 Mar 27"The Last Thorn is Hibbert’s début fantasy novel. Hibbert, a New York Times bestselling author, is best known for her romance writing, including Get a Life, Chloe Brown, while her latest novel is pitched as a spicy magical Beauty and the Beast retelling."
Hardcover
Expected publication March 1, 2027
About the author
Talia Hibbert
29 books34.9k followersTalia Hibbert is a New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author whose books are available in 15 languages.
Best known for her Brown Sisters series, Talia writes spicy, inclusive romance novels starring complicated characters who make readers feel seen. Talia's debut romantasy will hit shelves in Summer 2026.
A typically cantankerous Brit, Talia's hobbies include chugging cups of tea, eating too many biscuits, and complaining bitterly about the weather.
Best known for her Brown Sisters series, Talia writes spicy, inclusive romance novels starring complicated characters who make readers feel seen. Talia's debut romantasy will hit shelves in Summer 2026.
A typically cantankerous Brit, Talia's hobbies include chugging cups of tea, eating too many biscuits, and complaining bitterly about the weather.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
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September 14, 2026Talia Hibbert is one of my favourite romance writers, and by that I mean “all time top 5”. I love her wit, the sharpness and the kindness, the physicality and specificity of her writing, the way she does intense emotion without tipping into sentimentality. I lunged for this ARC the second it was offered.
(I should note I’m writing here as an entire novice to the romantasy genre, it's not my usual reading and I'm not familiar with the tropes and beats. I should also note that we share an agent, for the record. As ever I don't leave enthusiastic blurbs if I don't mean them.)
The Last Thorn gives us a fantasy kingdom of Albion that feels like a very very alt Britain (I got the impression that Casimir, our hero, is sort of Scottish-ish) although with the majority of characters being brown. It’s been deliberately cut off from the rest of the world by magic. The previous king, our heroine’s father, was attempting to break the magical isolation by fairly catastrophic means that gave him the nickname The Mad King, which you can probably guess is not a good sign, and led to rebellion, civil war, brutal repression. We start with a 16-yo Casimir as one of the rebels while his home and family are attacked, and jump to the aftermath of the war, when the Mad King is dead at an older Casimir’s hands. However, he made a dying curse that will kill Cas unless he gets soul bonded to one of the Mad King’s bloodline. Which means Serenia, hidden changeling daughter (she has fangs!) and loyalist supporter of said Mad King. Who Casimir killed.
It’s an all-in enemies to lovers set up, and also a Beauty and the Beast set up except they’re both beasts. Serenia has fangs and is largely uncivilised thanks to a brutal upbringing; Casimir has a lot of blood on his hands and is pretty damaged by war and loss. This could have gone pretty dark. It does not, because when he gets custody of her as a prisoner of war, he may detest everything she stands for but he treats her with honour and decency all the same. That allows Serenia room to learn just how twisted her upbringing and values were, and them both to start un-beastifying.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. The main characters are strong, flawed, sympathetic, the romance lovely, the sex hot, and the feeling intense. There’s a fun ‘who’s the hidden villain’ plotline, and a good array of war-damaged secondary characters. I didn’t feel the worldbuilding was as elaborated as it might have been in a fantasy novel: I'd have liked more on the politics of the isolation, why the Mad King was so keen to break isolation, what its continuation entails for Albion. TBH I would have been here for a full-on riff on Japan's sakoku period because I am a nerd, but that is not at all what the book is trying to do (duh) and it instead focuses much more on the central relationship and characters.
For me, this was very much a romance in the end: a story of two damaged people building trust, starting to heal, daring to love despite all the pain around and inside them. I cared about them both; I really loved that they are at heart decent people. This couple are put in what could have been a very dark-romance set-up and they choose the light. Wow, it’s good to have Talia back.
(I should note I’m writing here as an entire novice to the romantasy genre, it's not my usual reading and I'm not familiar with the tropes and beats. I should also note that we share an agent, for the record. As ever I don't leave enthusiastic blurbs if I don't mean them.)
The Last Thorn gives us a fantasy kingdom of Albion that feels like a very very alt Britain (I got the impression that Casimir, our hero, is sort of Scottish-ish) although with the majority of characters being brown. It’s been deliberately cut off from the rest of the world by magic. The previous king, our heroine’s father, was attempting to break the magical isolation by fairly catastrophic means that gave him the nickname The Mad King, which you can probably guess is not a good sign, and led to rebellion, civil war, brutal repression. We start with a 16-yo Casimir as one of the rebels while his home and family are attacked, and jump to the aftermath of the war, when the Mad King is dead at an older Casimir’s hands. However, he made a dying curse that will kill Cas unless he gets soul bonded to one of the Mad King’s bloodline. Which means Serenia, hidden changeling daughter (she has fangs!) and loyalist supporter of said Mad King. Who Casimir killed.
It’s an all-in enemies to lovers set up, and also a Beauty and the Beast set up except they’re both beasts. Serenia has fangs and is largely uncivilised thanks to a brutal upbringing; Casimir has a lot of blood on his hands and is pretty damaged by war and loss. This could have gone pretty dark. It does not, because when he gets custody of her as a prisoner of war, he may detest everything she stands for but he treats her with honour and decency all the same. That allows Serenia room to learn just how twisted her upbringing and values were, and them both to start un-beastifying.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. The main characters are strong, flawed, sympathetic, the romance lovely, the sex hot, and the feeling intense. There’s a fun ‘who’s the hidden villain’ plotline, and a good array of war-damaged secondary characters. I didn’t feel the worldbuilding was as elaborated as it might have been in a fantasy novel: I'd have liked more on the politics of the isolation, why the Mad King was so keen to break isolation, what its continuation entails for Albion. TBH I would have been here for a full-on riff on Japan's sakoku period because I am a nerd, but that is not at all what the book is trying to do (duh) and it instead focuses much more on the central relationship and characters.
For me, this was very much a romance in the end: a story of two damaged people building trust, starting to heal, daring to love despite all the pain around and inside them. I cared about them both; I really loved that they are at heart decent people. This couple are put in what could have been a very dark-romance set-up and they choose the light. Wow, it’s good to have Talia back.
Want to Read
January 7, 2026"A spicy magical Beauty and the Beast retelling," they said.
Why so many words to pitch this book to me when one word was enough? B&B. Sold.
Why so many words to pitch this book to me when one word was enough? B&B. Sold.
Want to Read
August 19, 2024"An evil autistic heroine (with fangs)" I AM SO READY
Want to Read
August 20, 2024I JUST FELL TO MY KNEES... TALIA HIBBERT ROMANTASY?????
ntg
June 22, 2025FANTASY DEBUT??? A beauty and the beast retelling??
there simply aren't any words for how ready i am for this
there simply aren't any words for how ready i am for this
to-read-so-bad-it-hurts
August 23, 2024'The Last Thorn is pitched as a spicy magical Beauty and the Beast retelling. It’s set in Albion, an alternative modern-day Britain, which is recovering from a turbulent civil war. And it’s home to a secret society of magic-users. We follow a hero after the war is won, and hope a flawed heroine can save them both from their darkness within. Featuring a diverse cast of characters, a cursed hero must form a soul bond with his enemy's exiled daughter – or lose himself entirely to the monster he hides inside.'
Ooh! Haven't really gotten into romantasy but I guess Talia Hibbert will be the one to get me into it
Source
Ooh! Haven't really gotten into romantasy but I guess Talia Hibbert will be the one to get me into it
Source
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January 7, 2026
Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026:
By the time The Last Thorn hits bookstores, it will have been half a decade since Talia Hibbert published a brand-new adult romance. She’s been republishing her indie titles (to the deep gratitude of those finding them for the first time), and of course no author owes their audience new books or material of any kind. But for Hibbert to be bringing her comedic and authentic romance storytelling to a “spicy, magical Beauty and the Beast retelling”? There's no question in my mind that Hibbert’s is a return readers will be ready for. —Trisha Brown
By the time The Last Thorn hits bookstores, it will have been half a decade since Talia Hibbert published a brand-new adult romance. She’s been republishing her indie titles (to the deep gratitude of those finding them for the first time), and of course no author owes their audience new books or material of any kind. But for Hibbert to be bringing her comedic and authentic romance storytelling to a “spicy, magical Beauty and the Beast retelling”? There's no question in my mind that Hibbert’s is a return readers will be ready for. —Trisha Brown
Want to Read
August 19, 2024SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP FOR THE TALIA HIBBERT ROMANTASY
Want to Read
January 23, 2025I am seated. The library employees are scared and asking me to leave because it's "not 2026 yet" but I am simply too seated.
Currently Reading
January 22, 2025Currently reading and ya’ll are not ready 🤭😮💨
A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST INSPIRED ROMANTASY 🥀🖤🌙
Playlist: The Last Thorn on Spotify
The Last Thorn will have:
🥀 A secret world of magic users recovering from civil war.
🥀 A cursed rebel hero who's slowly losing his soul.
🥀 An evil autistic heroine (with fangs) who's forced to save him.
🥀 The creepy, destroyed mansion they have to share.
🥀 "Oops, our families unalived each other, that's awkward."
🥀 Beauty and the Beast meets dark Rapunzel vibes.
A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST INSPIRED ROMANTASY 🥀🖤🌙
Playlist: The Last Thorn on Spotify
The Last Thorn will have:
🥀 A secret world of magic users recovering from civil war.
🥀 A cursed rebel hero who's slowly losing his soul.
🥀 An evil autistic heroine (with fangs) who's forced to save him.
🥀 The creepy, destroyed mansion they have to share.
🥀 "Oops, our families unalived each other, that's awkward."
🥀 Beauty and the Beast meets dark Rapunzel vibes.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Was very lucky to receive a Beta read of this debut fantasy novel from Talia Hibbert. I absolutely loved it and was hooked on every word. The plot 🤌🏻 the spice 🫠 the banter 🤤 the existential crisis I'm having after finishing it 🥲 absolutely unreal
Want to Read
August 30, 2024What can I say? I will eagerly devour literally anything Talia Hibbert writes. I'm just a girl.
Want to Read
January 10, 2025"Hibbert’s debut fantasy novel, pitched as a spicy magical Beauty and the Beast retelling."
Want to Read
June 24, 2026I'm seated. The book store employees are scared and asking me to leave because it's "not out yet" but I'm simply too seated
Want to Read
September 15, 2026If KJ Charles says it's good, I have to read it, no arguments.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews