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Series · dark romance

Thorns Duet

by Rina Kent

The Thorns Duet series by Rina Kent has 2 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Red Thorns (2021).

Books
2 books
First published
2021
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: Red Thorns (2021) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of Red Thorns, the first book in Thorns Duet

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. Red Thorns

    Novel

    View book

  2. Black Thorns

    Novel

    View book

About the Thorns Duet series

Thorns Duet is a dark new-adult romance from Rina Kent centered on Sebastian Weaver, a rich, ruthless star college quarterback, and Naomi, the woman who becomes the target of a cruel bet that spirals into obsession on both sides. Red Thorns opens with that bet turning into something neither of them can control, blurring the line between punishment and desire as Sebastian's need to possess Naomi collides with the damage he's already done. Black Thorns picks up after a time skip, with the bet's fallout still raw between them, forcing Sebastian to try to mend what his own cruelty broke before he can win Naomi back.

Published in 2021, the duet sits in the same dark, obsessive-hero register as Kent's Empire and Legacy of Gods books -- built around a toxic bet-gone-wrong premise, morally grey leads, and content the author herself flags as dubious-consent and potentially triggering. It's part of Kent's wider interconnected "Rinaverse" but reads as a self-contained two-book story.

How to read this series

Read in publication order: Red Thorns, then Black Thorns. This is a single continuous story split across two books, not two standalone entries, so Red Thorns' cliffhanger-style bet fallout carries straight into Black Thorns' time-skip reunion; neither book works read alone.

Frequently asked questions

How many books are in the Thorns Duet?

Two: Red Thorns and Black Thorns, both published in 2021. The duet is complete.

What order should I read the Thorns Duet in?

Publication order: Red Thorns, then Black Thorns. It's one continuous story, not standalone entries.

Is the Thorns Duet connected to Rina Kent's other series?

It shares Kent's wider interconnected 'Rinaverse' setting and dark-romance tone with series like Empire and Legacy of Gods, but tells its own self-contained two-book story with its own leads.

Is the Thorns Duet a standalone-friendly series?

No -- both books explicitly bill themselves as not standalone; Black Thorns directly continues Red Thorns' story after a time skip.

What content warnings does the Thorns Duet carry?

Both books are billed by the author as dark new adult romance containing dubious-consent situations some readers may find offensive or triggering.

Reading order last verified .