Thorn Jack

This book, the first in a trilogy, ticks off several of my favorite genres and tropes. It’s a retelling of the Scottish ballad of Tam Lin (which I love), it’s set in a small college town, and it deals with a strange otherworld community beneath the surface. Following her older sister’s suicide, Finn Sullivan and her father relocated to upstate New York. Here, Finn’s path crosses that of the powerful, mysterious Fata family, and gets herself pulled into a strange new world that’s as beautiful as it is threatening. 

I will never understand why this trilogy isn’t more widely read. Amongst all the titles in the list, this one has the most fleshed-out fae mythology, bringing to vivid life creatures and legends that aren’t commonly known. I don’t know how much research Harbour did but the fact that she knows her fae is very evident in the way the story unfurls throughout the three books. Every time I think of this series, I think of a dark night lit by fireflies, with the scent of clove and cinnamon in the air, and an anticipation of danger. This is good… show more.