This is a dark, Contemporary Adult romance. The novel contains mature elements, including but not limited infidelity, death/bereavement involving the loss of a child, and an explicit sexual affair between a student and teacher. It is intended for readers 18+ only.
They say that bad news comes in threes – and for Emilia Tóibín, this is an understatement.
The anniversary of her son's death, her husband's affair, and a scathing separation. All on her 30th birthday.
In sorrow's wake, she leaves her editorial job behind, packs a single suitcase, and exchanges Manhattan – and the past twelve years - for her long-abandoned and deceivingly idyllic hometown of Montauk.
There, on the beachfront, she meets a boy. They share a single night together. And she believes, like everything else, that she'll never see him again.
When she takes accepts an impromptu position as a Creative Writing teacher at the local high-school, she sees a way to begin picking up the pieces. A new life chapter. A chance to heal.
But when a familiar face appears in her classroom – the boy from the beach, Bryan Thorn – everything changes.
She is broken. He is troubled. And despite the whispers, pain, and the shared pasts that threaten to destroy them both – neither can keep themselves away.
******SPOILER ALERT****** The synopsis tells you that things come in threes.
For Emilia Toibin they did.
On the the anniversary of her son's death and her 30th birthday she walks in on her husband, in bed with another woman. Despite his sorrow and his “I’m sorry’s” she walks out on her 12 year marriage and heads to her hometown of Montauk. A new start is what she wants and a chance to grieve.
On the first night she meets a stranger on a beach and they back to her house, they share a bottle of wine and she lets him have her. Her excuse? Their paths will never meet again.
When an impromptu position comes up as a Creative Writing teacher in the local high-school, she sees a way to begin again, a new chapter and a chance to heal.
On her first day a familiar face appears in her classroom – the stranger from the beach, Bryan Thorn 18 years old and a student in her class.
I, like a lot of readers sat on the fence with this book and I hoped that it would turn out much different than it did.
I didn’t like Emilia, I found her hypocrisy with her husbands affair off putting. Considering she walked out on him for that reason, she walked right into the same situation with an 18 year old student and began a relationship whilst still married. She was so absorbed in her self pity she actually made my blood boil due to her selfish behaviour.
Her to-ing and fro -ing between her husband and Bryan was not something I was comfortable reading about, nor was her habitual lying and her constant “I love you” that she threw around between her husband and Bryan. Then around 78% her behaviour sickened me and I could not longer go on reading this book and it was a DNF.
SPOILER:
She slept with her husband, got pregnant and went back to continue having sex with Bryan telling both of them she loved them.
Grief is a very personal thing, but for these characters grief made them sick. Ultimately making wrong choices instead of starting the process of finalising a separate life or making the decision to work out their issues, especially dealing with their grief.
For 12 years Emilia had loved Jack but she let Bryan Thorn fall into her hands like a apple and she bit into the forbidden fruit and became his poison.
So not just your usual student/teacher forbidden romance. This book dealt with so much more. Despite being strongly written it was not for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
A realistic depiction of one woman's struggle with grief and depression and the effect that it has on her marriage, career and life in general. There were parts of the book that I found a bit repetitive and I felt that the ending wrapped up a bit too neatly but, overall, I really enjoyed it and would recommend reading it.
The MMC betrays his wife in the worse way possible after she's morning that they lost their 7 year old son the year before. She comes home on her birthday 🎂 and finds him in bed with a random skank. She finds out that there's been multiple random shanks since the death of their child.
The husband was the love of her life since being married at 18. She's never been with anyone else and couldn't imagine life without him.
After that incident she's out of there very quickly. She's heads back to her hometown to live in her house in New Jersey which was left to her. She's stunned from the betrayal.
During her first day there she goes to the rock cliffs and thinks about ending it all there she meets a younger man who talks her down and she recklessly has unprotected sex with him.
Then she sets up shop at the house ( her husband does help but she asks him to leave). She takes a teaching position then she finds out the guy she's met is her student.
At that point we get to the reason why I will state, ' The MMC screwed up but the FMC broke ethical barriers. He's vulnerable and her student but she keeps sleeping with him and forms a bond.
She becomes pregnant but because there was a one time with her husband ( they started the divorce process but call it off) is unsure whose it is.
What a tangled web we weave...
Its a well written, angsty story but I couldn't justify wither main characters actions at all. Which led to me not caring if they got back together or not. Very angsty though so right up my alley.
Also it was my assumption that the mmc is the husband but technically there's 2 mmcs as the student/ teacher romance does take center stage for a majority of the book.
This was a gritty read. Words I would use to describe it were desperate, painful, grief-filled, opportunistic, forbidden but with various shades of love.
I have read some other books that would come under a similar genre of student-teacher but I would say they sometimes 'dress-up' and idealise the situation. This book did not portray anything other than a realistic narrative. The heroine, Emilia, is a bereaved, ill and desperate woman who seeks solace in a chance encounter. She's newly separated from her husband. She's not warm or whole. She's broken and making poor decisions. The lead male character Bryan demonstrates an infatuation and love appropriate for his young adult age. There wasn't real depth to their love, and I'm not sure there was meant to be.
"I had become an impossible woman driven only by incalculable insanity and grief."
This was an interesting story that kept my attention whilst making me feel consistently uncomfortable. The narratives of Emilia's grief were very well written.
"Grief is a peculiar thing. It's the kind of thing we never fully understand until we're drowning in it."
Whilst this book invokes strong feelings of discomfort, it has a realistic story. I admire the author's decision not to sensationalise the story or character development and I enjoyed her writing.
4.5 stars. I just finished this book and I have to say I loved it. Beautiful writing, and such a realistic story. Poor Emilia and Jack were so deep in the throes of grief over their loss that they both made some awful choices. Emilia's were much worse than her husband's and while reading I almost forgot how wrong her relationship was. And then I'd remember, and it was just so forbidden and wrong and cringeworthy. This story was like a slow moving train wreck and even when the inevitable crash came, it was still so heartbreaking. I highly recommend this one if you're a fan of forbidden love stories!! I'll definitely be reading more from Liv Hayes in the future.
This book is very beautifully written. It plays with your emotion and you find yourself grieving along with the characters. But Bryan's and Emilia's relationship did not sit well with me.
Don't get me wrong. I love student-teacher romance but this one is too cringe-worthy. The clear abuse of power was..... too glaring that I had to stop. It wasn't working for me.
But to me this went above formulaic trope.The writing immediately drew me in and I just went with the tide.I found it beyond poignant,believable ,quite touching and beautifully written. I could relate to each fallible character as their mistakes were symptomatic of the relentless angst of their life situations. Anyone who has similarly tasted the horrific pain that life can offer would not err to judgment but would rather celebrate the ability to overcome and rise above such overwhelming circumstances. Well done Liv Hayes.
There are some authors that can write a novel and have you immersed within seconds. Liv Hayes is one of those authors. I read her first book, Star-Crossed and absolutely loved that. Give me a student/teacher novel and I'm sold.
After losing their son, Emilia and Jack become distant. There is no love, no happiness. A year after Mattie's death, Emilia tries to be alive again only to end up majorly devastated by the actions of her husband. Moving out of her apartment into her childhood home, Emilia feels like she can somewhat breathe.
Meeting Bryan Thorn at the beach where the two are contemplating life or death, they share a connection that ultimately becomes more. Emilia knows she shouldn't continue to see her student but he makes her feel alive.
Bryan Thorn was the problem for me. Not the whole time just for like...two minutes. It was this one scene that he followed Emilia to a park and everything turned upside down that made me want to beat him with the flowers. Like, I don't even know what he was doing there but he pissed me off. It is described throughout the book that Bryan has his childish ways because he is younger than Emilia but ohmygod, he should have known better! Not sure if I'm making any sense there. What I'm trying to say is the dude should have stayed home. But it had to happen so...
Anyways, Emilia's story touched me. I was torn between wanting her to be with her husband again after what he did, or forgoing the relationship she was having with Bryan. Both men gave Emilia something she needed. Both men were her poison.
If you're looking for an emotional, thought provoking, well written novel, I'd recommend this to you. It's not everyday you'll come across a student/teacher novel where the teacher is a female. ;)
This is an interesting story about grief and betrayal. I honestly couldn’t connect with any of the characters and the ending felt very abrupt. The story is interesting, but the characters are so flat and dull they bring nothing interesting as characters in the story. The h’s grief is so thick she’s numb to everything, and that includes walking in on her husband with another woman in their home. I often found the dialogue stilted and unusual considering the extreme angst both MCs are going through. The author does a good job of conveying the numbing grief the h is experiencing due to the death of her son. That’s perhaps why I kept reading because you really do want her to find some peace. This flowed well, so I read fairly quickly w/out skimming, so that is also a plus.
I thought it was simply about the story of an affair between a student and a teacher but it was more than that. This story was about second chances and healing. A woman found solace in a boy and it was bittersweet. I found myself shedding my tears a couple of times from the beginning towards the end. It was a journey that I did not want to end because it was written painfully beautiful. I closed the book with a heavy sigh. Also I was torn between the husband and the student it was so confusing. The ending was perfect alas I was secretly rooting for Bryan and Emilia but all is well.
I know things like this happen and humans are selfish but later in the book I really despised the heroine. I feel on some level she was also trying to recap her youth. I know she was grieving but she was super selfish she knew what she was doing and continued to do it till the wheels fell off . Which wouldn't have been so bad I'd she didn't keep on pushing things. Decent book made me feel all the feels just not the proper ones. Good author tho story was super engaging
Thorn by Liv Hayes *I was given a copy of this book by the author in return for an honest review*
This book was brought to my attention by a couple book buddies of mine who had marvelous things to say both about the book and the author. The synopsis sounded good, and I always enjoy a book with a warning label!
Synopsis: They say that bad news comes in threes – and for Emilia Tóibín, this is an understatement. The anniversary of her son's death, her husband's affair, and a scathing separation. All on her 30th birthday. In sorrow's wake, she leaves her editorial job behind, packs a single suitcase, and exchanges Manhattan – and the past twelve years - for her long-abandoned and deceivingly idyllic hometown of Montauk. There, on the beachfront, she meets a boy. They share a single night together. And she believes, like everything else, that she'll never see him again. When she takes accepts an impromptu position as a Creative Writing teacher at the local high-school, she sees a way to begin picking up the pieces. A new life chapter. A chance to heal. But when a familiar face appears in her classroom – the boy from the beach, Bryan Thorn – everything changes. She is broken. He is troubled. And despite the whispers, pain, and the shared pasts that threaten to destroy them both – neither can keep themselves away. One thing is certain: some affairs prick like thorns.
Honestly, I was on the fence with this one for most of the book. It started off slow for me and Emilia wallows a tad bit too much in self pity for my liking. She was raw and vulnerable and weak. Not exactly a character I can relate with, nor admire. I was downright angry with her for most of the book. Actually angry. That anger is what made me realize what a truly amazing writer Liv is....... she made me FEEL. Reading about Emilia's emotions as she felt them was as close to feeling them as a reader can get. And even tho I completed disagreed with Emilia's decisions, the way her thought process was portrayed on paper was phenomenal. Liv has a unique style and I really enjoyed that about this book. I started out thinking this was going to be a 3 star read for me, but upon reflection, I realized it was definitely at least a 4 star. Like I said before, the beginning was slow for me and I didn't really get sucked into it until after the 60% mark. But her writing was phenomenal and that definitely compensated for the slowness factor for me.
As always, please don't form your opinion based solely from mine, this book definitely deserves a a one-click and a read from all of you! Liv Hayes is definitely an author to watch!
4.5 Stars! l just finished Thorn by Liv Hayes and I am overwhelmed with emotions. Thorn is like nothing I have read before. This is not your typical forbidden romance. It's content is disturbing, thought provoking and emotive. I found myself empathic and thinking what would I do?? It did not feel like fiction.... It was so realistic, it could have been a true life story. The experiences and emotions the characters went through felt so REAL. Liv's writing style is not only unique, it's poetic and descriptive. I found myself seduced by her profound words. The vivid details in which she writes had me mesmerized. I was transported into the world of her characters... I was able to smell, see, taste and FEEL, everything she described! This isn't a sweet romantic book... it's very RAW. Everyday people dealing with insurmountable grief, despair and tragedy. Two lost souls who found each other, when they needed each other the most. A troubled 18 year old boy and a broken 30 year old woman. They gave each other what they both needed so desperately, HOPE... Things get complicated and lines get blurred, but who are we to judge? This book had it's share of sadness but it's not overwhelming. It is a story that will stay with you forever and is so worth the ride....
Some people come into our lives for just a moment, while others stay for a life time.... is one more important than the other?? No, not if they play a significant roll.
Teacher/student forbidden romance,, two broken and lost souls searching for an escape from reality. Both seek solace in one another right or wrong only they can decide that. An emotional, real, well written story. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.