Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. The novel opens with a flash-forward of Blackthorn Manor burning down. How did this opening shape your expectations for the story?

2. What did you think of the author’s choice to blend classic Gothic elements with the conventions of modern dark romance? Did you feel that one genre dominated the other? Why or why not?

3. The Epilogue introduces the possibility of a rational explanation for Maven’s experiences. What was your reaction to this ambiguity? Was Maven’s experience just the result of carbon monoxide poisoning, or is the Epilogue merely a way for the townspeople to explain supernatural events?

4. J.T. Geissinger is known for writing across various romance subgenres. For those who have read her other books, how did Blackthorn’s intense, supernatural tone compare to her other work? What signature elements of her storytelling did you recognize?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Maven’s return to Solstice is driven by obligation, forcing her to confront a past she deliberately fled. Think about a place from your own life that holds powerful or complicated memories. How does the novel’s depiction of a hometown as both a prison and a place of origin resonate with you?

2. To escape her family’s legacy, Maven dyes her distinct red hair black and builds a career in science, a field of logic and reason, recalling common tropes about children rebelling against parental control. Have you ever felt a pull to suppress or alter a part of your identity to create distance from your past or fit into a new environment?

3. Maven’s decision to keep Bea’s true paternity a secret is motivated by a fierce desire to protect her. What is your perspective on keeping secrets for what seems like a good reason? Do such secrets ultimately cause more harm than good?

4. How did you react to the volatile dynamic between Maven and Ronan? What does their relationship suggest about the ways people can be drawn to connections that are both passionate and painful?

5. Throughout the story, Maven struggles with who to trust. Who did you find yourself trusting as you read, and did your allegiances shift as more secrets were revealed? How does Maven’s experience relate to your own interpersonal struggles?

Examine the book’s relevance to societal issues, historical events, or cultural themes.

1. The story roots the Blackthorn-Croft feud in the historical context of the New England witch trials, framing it as a continued battle between female autonomy and patriarchal control. How does the novel use this history to comment on contemporary anxieties about gender and power?

2. How does the novel explore both the strengths of the Blackthorn women’s self-sufficient system and its potential to become as tyrannical as the patriarchy it resists?

3. Solstice has the highest rate of unsolved missing persons cases in the United States. What does the town’s collective silence suggest about real-world communities’ complicity in hiding dark truths? What concerns tend to motivate such silence?

Dive into the book’s structure, characters, themes, and symbolism.

1. The guide describes Blackthorn Manor as an antagonist in its own right. How does this use of a manor as a character reflect the tropes of Gothic literature?

2. Ronan Croft is presented as a modern Byronic hero who is brooding, handsome, and tormented by a dark secret. How does this archetype fit within a dark romance fusion? How does Geissinger use Ronan to cross between these subgenres?

3. Maven’s perception of reality is systematically destabilized through memory lapses, hallucinations, and gaslighting from her aunts. How does this unreliable narration affect the novels portrayal of the town’s mysteries?

4. What purpose do the occasional shifts into Ronan’s point of view serve? What does Ronan learn or see that contradicts Maven’s predictions and perceptions?

Encourage imaginative and creative connections to the book.

1. If you were in charge of casting a film adaptation of Blackthorn, which actors would you choose to play Maven, Ronan, Esme, and Davina? What specific qualities would you look for to bring these complex characters to life on screen?

2. Imagine you’ve discovered a lost page from the journal of Megaera Blackthorn, the ancestor who first cursed the Croft family. What might she have written on the day of her execution? How would her perspective explain the feud’s origins?

3. The novel has an ambiguous ending. If you were to write the next chapter, what would happen to Maven, Ronan, and Bea? Would they find peace, or would the dark legacies of their families continue to haunt them?