BLACKTHORN by JT Geissinger-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 4, 2025

You never forget your first love. Especially when he’s also your worst nightmare.

Twelve years ago, Maven Blackthorn fled her small hometown, leaving behind the wreckage of her mother’s suspicious death. But now, drawn back for her grandmother’s funeral, Maven steps onto Blackthorn soil once more, only to find herself thrust into a fresh nightmare: her grandmother’s body has vanished.

The Blackthorns immediately suspect the Crofts—the ruthless titans of Croft Pharmaceuticals, whose bitter blood feud with the Blackthorns has spanned generations. But when Maven comes face-to-face with Ronan Croft, the son of her mother’s suspected killer and the only man she ever loved, she discovers the forbidden passion they once shared is as alive—and dangerous—as ever.

As long-buried family secrets claw their way to the surface, betrayal lurks behind every whisper, and old vendettas ignite anew. The deeper Maven digs for answers, the more treacherous the game becomes. And the one man she can never seem to escape is hiding a truth that could burn their whole world down.

In a town where the dead won’t stay buried, is love salvation…or the deadliest game of all?

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REVIEW: BLACKTHORN by JT Geissinger is a contemporary, adult, gothic, fantasy thriller focusing on museum curator Dr. Maven Blackthorn, and billionaire heir to Croft Pharmaceuticals Ronan Croft.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there WILL BE triggers for more sensitive readers.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Maven and Ronan) BLACKTHORN follows in the wake of the death of Maven’s beloved grandmother. Returning to her hometown of Solstice Vermont, with her daughter Bea in tow, Maven is about to discover the reality of the world in which she grew up. When her grandmother’s body goes missing from the morgue, Maven begins a search for the truth, a truth that will reveal the secrets that are buried in Solstice Vermont beginning with the man she once loved, a man who is more than he appears to be.

The world building follows Maven Blackthorn upon her return to Solstice, wherein she will come face to face with the demons from her past and the present. Having loved Ronan Croft, then finding herself pushed out of his life, Maven is struggling to come to terms with the truth, and a reality that is more fantasy than real life. Researching the history of Solstice, and her own family past, the converging secrets and lies are tied to centuries of suspicious deaths.

The relationship between Maven and Ronan is one of second chances but Maven is unable to trust Ronan’s intent, and once again, our hero will push away the woman he has always loved. The Sex scenes are aggressive and intense.

The secondary and supporting characters include a diverse cast of questionable residents of Solstice Vermont. We are introduced to Maven’s dowager aunts Esme and Davina; Ronan’s father Elijah Croft, as well as PI Cole Walker, and Maven’s former boyfriend Ezra. The requisite evil has many faces.

BLACKTHORN is a story of power and control, betrayal and vengeance, secrets and lies, murder and magic, family and relationships, forgiveness and love. The premise is dark, dramatic, edgy and gritty but there resolution leaves many questions and plot points unanswered resulting in some confusion as to the what, how and why-was everything real or was it all the result of something else ; the rekindling romance is limited but unconventional; the characters are eccentric and controversial.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy