Every Rose Has Its Thorn

by Courtney W. Dixon

If you have ANY triggers, READ them. This is DARK.

Always remember. Never forget.

What happens to the mind when you start losing your grip on reality?

What happens when you don’t know who to trust?

What happens when you’re isolated with no one to turn to?

You’re told you have a mental health disorder. You’re told that what you know is real with every fiber of your being doesn’t exist. That the very person you love was a figment of your imagination. Your broken mind made it all up.

But I remember. He was ripped away from me. His name is inked all over my scarred skin. Theo.

I’m forced to attend Thornridge Academy, which is not only a college but also an innovative treatment facility for mental health and disruptive behavior. So why am I getting worse? 

Theo, the love of my life, is here now and has forgotten me.

He’s my father’s adopted son.

He’s my adopted brother. 

He’s my enemy.

Theo will soon learn that we exist in this world only for each other. He’ll remember, too. I’ll make sure of it. 

​​​​​​​ Every Rose Has Its Thorn is an MM dark college romance, set in a fictional town and school, with found family, obsessive characters, and friends-to lovers-to enemies-to lovers. It's a story full of twists and turns, keeping you guessing what's real or not. This is potentially part of a series, and ends on a SERIES cliffhanger, not a cliffhanger for the couple. They get their HEA.

Tropes:

🩸 Dark College Romance
🩸 Psychological Thriller
🩸 Innocence Lost
🩸 Found Family
🩸 Demisexuality Rep
🩸 Obsessive/Possessive
🩸 Grumpy/Sunshine
🩸 Psychopathy
🩸 Opposites Attract
🩸 Friends to lovers to enemies to lovers
🩸 Amnesia

Content Warning/Triggers: Almost all triggers are on page. Abuse, torture, cutting, brainwashing, manipulation, mind control, sensory deprivation, multiple suicide attempts, electric shock therapy, non-con between MCs, dub-con between MCs, gang rape against an MC, sexual assault, underaged drinking, primal play, murder, death of a mother during giving birth, death of a sibling during birth, violence, explicit sex and language.

Kindle Edition

Expected publication October 6, 2026

About the author

Courtney W. Dixon loves to write steamy hurt/comfort romance, giving her characters challenges, struggles, and sometimes trauma... Fine, a LOT of trauma. Her team teases her about charging her for their therapy bills after reading one of her books.

She loves to add variety and multiple tropes in her stories along with different types of dynamics/relationships. And she writes her characters as having flaws, imperfections, and who don't always do the right thing. Humans are sometimes frustrating, never perfect, and make a lot of mistakes in their lives. Courtney enjoys pushing her characters, making their HEAs so much more worth it when they get there. Mental health is a big feature in her books.

She loves her coffee ice cream and popcorn a little too much. And her cat, Olly, is her co-writer, where he sleeps on an ottoman under her desk as her muse. Actually, he's rather useless, but he's adorable.

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