Initially self-published in 2023, Bonded by Thorns is a fantasy romance novel by Elizabeth Helen, the pen name for Canadian sister duo Elizabeth and Helen, who keep their last names private. This first installment in the Beasts of the Briar series, a modern retelling of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale with reverse-harem elements, follows Rosalina O’Connell, a young woman who feels trapped in her small Pacific Northwest town. When her father is imprisoned in the magical Enchanted Vale for stealing a rose, Rosalina sacrifices her own freedom for his, becoming the captive of four fae high princes. She soon discovers her captors are cursed to transform into monstrous beasts each night and bargains for her release: If she can help them find their fated mates to break the curse, they will set her free.

The self-published version of the novel gained significant popularity on the social media platform TikTok before being acquired by a traditional publisher in 2025: a common trajectory for successful romantasy titles. As Rosalina navigates the complex relationships with her four captors—the icy Keldarion, the stoic Ezryn, the flirtatious Dayton, and the gentle Farron—the novel explores themes such as Embracing Psychological Autonomy Within Captivity and Desire as a Complicating Force in Power Imbalances. Thrust from a life of passive endurance into a world of constant danger, Rosalina’s journey becomes a process of Forging Identity Through Confrontation and Crisis as she uncovers her own hidden strengths.

This guide refers to the 2025 Sourcebooks, Bloom Books edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide feature depictions of physical abuse, emotional abuse, graphic violence, sexual content, suicidal ideation, and cursing.

Plot Summary

Rosalina O’Connell is a 26-year-old who works at a bookstore in the small town of Orca Cove, where she has lived all her life. She feels like a social outcast because her father, George, who is known as “Crazy George,” tells everyone that faeries stole his wife 25 years ago. Rosalina endures gossip from locals and verbal abuse from her boss, Richard, who claims she can’t do anything right. One evening, she finds her little free library, a gift from her father, vandalized with the words “THE FAERIES DID IT” (11). Her ex-boyfriend, Lucas Poussin, returns from university and accidentally runs over the ruined library. He demands she have dinner with him at his family’s lodge the next evening.

At the Poussin Hunting Lodge, Rosalina discovers that Lucas has thrown a party for the whole town. He reminds her of the scar of his name, which he carved into her arm years ago when they were dating. In front of everyone, Lucas announces that he is taking over the family business; he then proposes to Rosalina out of the blue. Before she can answer, a local boy bursts in with her father George’s bloody jacket, which was found in the nearby Briarwood Forest.

Distraught, Rosalina leaves to find her father. Lucas follows, and they discover an unnatural, overgrown rosebush with blood on it. They crawl through the bush and emerge in the Enchanted Vale—a dark land filled with massive purple briars. They are attacked by grotesque creatures called goblins, who reveal that George was taken by “Keldarion and his beasts” (36). Lucas fires his rifle, and the goblins flee. Rosalina and Lucas move back toward the portal, but Rosalina slips and falls over a cliff, where she dangles by her scarf that has snagged on a thorn. Lucas sees her in distress, but since he is already nearing the portal, he leaves her behind and makes his own escape. Rosalina’s scarf rips, and she falls. Just before she loses consciousness, she is saved by a mysterious man with purple eyes.

Rosalina awakens in Castletree, a castle built into a giant tree. Believing that her father is inside, she enters and is drawn to a dungeon tower. There, she finds a young fae man, Farron, who is chained to the wall. He warns her to leave. She keeps searching the castle and finds her father, who also begs her to flee. Keldarion, the master of the castle, appears as a tall, white-haired fae. He declares George a thief for stealing a rose. Rosalina offers to take her father’s place, and Keldarion agrees, freeing George and imprisoning her. The next day, the window of her cell magically widens, allowing her to escape. On the castle bridge, she is confronted by Prince Ezryn, a knight in full armor, who accuses her of being a spy for the Prince of Thorns and chokes her. A servant named Astrid intervenes, revealing Rosalina is Keldarion’s prisoner. Surprised, Ezryn takes her to a luxurious room in the castle’s Spring wing.

Rosalina meets the other servants, who explain that the castle has four wings for the four fae realms, each with its own high prince who resides there. The castle is cursed by the thorns of Caspian, the evil Prince of Thorns. In the Summer wing’s hot springs, Rosalina meets the flirtatious High Prince of Summer, Dayton. That night, she picks her lock with a thorn that magically forms from the briars in her room and returns to the dungeon to free Farron from the dungeon. When she removes his oversized collar, he transforms into a monstrous wolf-like beast as the sun sets. He attacks her, but three other beastly wolves appear and subdue him. Rosalina realizes the other beasts are the other three high princes, Keldarion, Ezryn, and Dayton. Keldarion carries her back to her room in his mouth.

Rosalina learns from Astrid, who can transform into a rabbit, that all castle residents are cursed to become beasts at night—the result of a curse from an Enchantress 25 years ago. The curse can only be broken when each prince finds his fated mate. Rosalina proposes a bargain: She will help them break the curse in exchange for her freedom. Keldarion accepts, and a magical bargain bracelet appears on both their wrists. Rosalina and Farron begin researching mates in the library and become close friends. One night, Dayton invites Rosalina to the Summer Realm, where he challenges her to find a fae man to seduce. When one of the attendees of the Summer court disrespects Rosalina, Dayton brutally attacks him, cutting off his hands. Back at Castletree, Dayton and a very drunk Rosalina share a passionate kiss that escalates into a sexual encounter. When they’re interrupted by the other princes, a furious Keldarion carries Rosalina to his room in the Winter wing to watch over her as she recovers from drinking potent fae liquor.

Rosalina proposes a grand ball in the Winter Realm to help the princes find their mates, and Keldarion reluctantly agrees to attend. At the ball, he dances only with Rosalina and gives her his mother’s necklace. He refuses to seek his mate, declaring he would rather die than have the curse broken. Heartbroken, Rosalina flees to the garden, where Keldarion’s vizier verbally abuses her. Ezryn defends her, calling her the “Lady of Castletree” (332). Suddenly, Caspian, the Prince of Thorns, crashes the ball and taunts each prince, revealing their deepest insecurities. Rosalina confronts Caspian and agrees to dance with him, and he tells her the princes are hiding a secret in the High Tower. Keldarion attacks Caspian, and a riot breaks out among the Winter nobles. Farron sends Rosalina back to Castletree for her safety.

At the castle, Rosalina finds a secret passage to the forbidden High Tower, where he discovers four wilting, enchanted roses that represent the remaining time before the curse becomes permanent. A magical memory plays for Rosalina, revealing that the Enchantress cursed the princes as punishment for their failures as rulers. When Keldarion finds her in the High Tower, he flies into a rage, tearing at the briars and causing the castle to crumble. He yells at her to leave. Rosalina flees into the Briar and is ambushed by goblins. Keldarion, in his wolf form, saves her. To protect her, he breaks the ice on a frozen river, plunging himself and the goblins into the water. Rosalina feels a magical pull, her mate bond, leading her to Keldarion. The briars respond to her will, helping her pull him from the river.

Keldarion carries her to a supply cache to recover. That night, she has a dream revealing Keldarion’s past. She awakens naked in his arms, as he has inexplicably returned to his fae form. They share an intensely intimate moment. The next morning, Keldarion is determined to send her home to protect her from Caspian. He takes her to the rosebush portal and breaks their bargain. Rosalina confesses that Castletree is her home and that she feels the mate bond to him. They share a passionate kiss, but Keldarion does not formally accept the bond. He pushes her through the portal and destroys it with his ice magic, trapping her in the human realm.

A month later, Caspian visits Keldarion, who has been stuck in his wolf form ever since he sent Rosalina away. Caspian taunts him, revealing a secret bargain between the two of them, which will grant Rosalina to Caspian if Keldarion accepts the mate bond.