In theory this book should have been a 5 Star read. In reality sadly not so much. I liked the idea and the library setting. The banter was also really entertaining but sadly the protagonist was really naive and the story had a lack of consequences. The writing style was not for me and really repetetive.

We are definitely living in a golden age for the fantasy genre. There are just so many great fantasy novels out there at the moment and Sorcery of Thorns from Margaret Rogerson continues this trend with a story that is packed to the rafters with action, magnificent world building, great characters and above all brilliant magic.

The book comes out swinging from the outset as we are thrust straight into the action. For all us book lovers, a library rammed full of magical, sentient grimoires all with their own personalities is a a dream come true and a great place to start. The library is sabotaged and one of the most dangerous grimoires released. Elizabeth Scrivener our plucky heroine is implicated in the crime and so begins her adventure to clear her name but also discover a conspiracy that threatens all the great libraries. Along the way she meets infamous sorcerer and potential love interest Nathaniel Thorn and his demon side kick Silas. I loved the subtle humour and sass that imbued these characters and this sets them apart from being stereotypical fantasy heroes.

Sorcery of Thorns definitely straddled the line between familiarity and freshness perfectly giving me all the things I love about fantasy but delivering them with originality. The tone and feel of the book strongly reminded me of Garth Nix’s quirky style of writing especially his Old Kingdom books, so if you love these as much as I did then I am sure you will love this.

A perfectly crafted stand alone fantasy.

‘Sorcery of Thorns’ is the first Margaret Rogerson book I read – and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It features a fantastical world of books that have feelings, fearsome magic and easy to like characters.

I loved the setting. The idea of books that are alive and libraries as dangerous places because a book could bite you was original and I’m all for it. Beautiful details of this world are mixed with a plot constantly pushed forward by action. The novel is paced well and grips the reader from the first few pages. There is tension, romance and mystery sprinkled throughout. It’s a perfect YA fantasy to get lost in.

The only reason I did not give this book five stars are the characters. Protagonist Elisabeth was active, smart and strong in many ways. She was written well – but it was when I was introduced to Nathaniel and his personal demon Silas that I started to disconnect from this book.

Everything was strangely reminiscent of Black Butler. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you should check it out right now. It’s a manga with incredible art and writing. And it also happens to feature a young boy with a personal demon. There were a lot of parallels I could draw from the two, the most strange I found was the name connection between Elisabeth and the secondary female character Lizzie from the manga. Thankfully, they were nothing alike in character because Lizzie is insufferable. Nevertheless, the whole thing made me wonder if Ms Rogerson had drawn strong inspiration from the work of Toboso Yano.

The writing style is good. It’s simple and easy to read. The only thing that bothered me was the overuse of adverbs and dialogue tags. But that is a personal preference and might work well for other readers.
I would be interested to check out the author’s previous book ‘An Enchantment of Ravens’, following ‘Sorcery of Thorns’s bittersweet ending. I need more magic in my life!

I requested this book based off of the fact that it was about magical books, and that's what Sorcery of Thorns is, it is a truly magical book.

Rogerson really does write the balance between good and evil very well, leading you to question whether things are really simple or is it just a lot of grey in between?

At times I really wish that the back story had been expanded on a little more but overall most things were explained or at least hinted at.

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've been in a bit of a reading slump recently, I haven't read any particularly interesting or exciting new YA releases lately so to say my expectations were low going into this would be an understatement of epic proportions.

Just as well then that this book perked me right up.

What I thought I'd get: Generic badass magic girl who is better than all the other girls. Every heterosexual male character falls in love with her despite her having the personality of a mouldy potato. She has a rivalry with some bitchy, but beautiful, female character. All the actions takes place in an utterly blah, generic world.

What I got: A totally awesome (TALL!!) heroine who is witty, clumsy and completely adorable. A story with oodles of imagination. A toe-curlingly perfect slow burn romance. A demon cat. Subtle and effective world building. An interesting magic system. Strong friendships. Girls getting shit done. MAGICAL BOOKS.

This book was basically what I wanted Uprooted to be. I took my time with it, where most YA can feel like a tequila shot - it's fun and it will get you drunk but isn't particularly enjoyable, this was a fine cognac - something to be savoured and enjoyed.

Suffice to say I enjoyed it. If you like YA fantasy and don't like this book I don't even know what to say. Plus if Charlie Bowater drew the cover art then you know what's up.

I requested this one from NetGalley a while ago – long enough that I’d forgotten what it was about. There are a few recent books around with similar titles, so by the time I came to read it, I’d got it muddled with those and didn’t know what to expect. I ended up enjoying it a lot. It’s a great one if you like either the Bartimaeus series by Jonathan Stroud, or the Great Library series by Rachel Caine, because it reads a little bit like a cross between the two. Admittedly, I probably like both of those individually more than this one, but when it comes to Bartimaeus, my standards are incredibly high since it’s one of my all-time favourite series, so my saying that should be taken more as a comment than a criticism.

The book centres around Elisabeth, an apprentice in one of the Great Libraries of the kingdom. The books are magical, sentient, and often dangerous – but it’s home to Elisabeth, who grew up there, and she wants nothing more than to be a warden, one of those tasked with the dangerous jobs of slaying the demons that emerge when books are damaged or when sorcery is otherwise misused. Throughout Elisabeth’s upbringing, she’s been taught to fear sorcerers as evil beings incapable of doing anything good, but the first sorcerer she meets in the flesh is Nathaniel, eighteen years old and sarcastic with it. You can probably see where this is going.
In that sense, the story is maybe a little predictable – I knew it would be something of an enemies-to-lovers situation from more or less the first moment they met. But it was the kind of book where I knew what I was getting myself in for and I was looking forward to seeing how it panned out – the predictability of the trope didn’t make it less enjoyable. And there were enough other twists and plot points that I didn’t feel cheated by the lack of surprise when it came to that aspect of their character development.

The main characters of the story are Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas. Silas’s development/identity is a secret to Elisabeth for the first part of the book, but it’s fairly self-evident to the reader, so I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that he’s Nathaniel’s demonic servant (demons being where sorcerers get their power). Again, it was more a case of waiting for Elisabeth to find out and wondering how she’d react, rather than being surprised myself. Silas is delightful, though. He’s such a mumfriend, and it’s both sweet and somewhat sad when you see how and why that’s developed.

As for Elisabeth and Nathaniel… they are disaster children. Nathaniel is a tormented magician, haunted by his ancestor’s nature, terrified of his own potential for evil. It’s very angsty and dramatic. I like it. Elisabeth thinks the solution to most problems is to whack them with a massive stick, and/or knock a bookcase on them – including Nathaniel. And to be fair, she’s usually right. I liked them both a lot, and while their romance didn’t particularly do much for me (it felt a little too predictable without the depth of emotion I’d need to get invested), I liked seeing how they grew closer to each other, as well as Silas’s role in this unlikely trio.

One of the things I liked most about the book is the moments of humour, of which there were quite a few. A lot of it is just wry understatements about the nature of these magical libraries, humorous because in our world, books don’t usually eat people’s fingers, and libraries generally aren’t potential death-traps (except for those with severe dust allergies). But there were some good moments of banter, too. Some of Nathaniel’s early pronouncements reminded me strongly of Magnus Bane – that casual, flirty sarcasm that makes the recipient blush without ever feeling genuinely uncomfortable or unsafe. I highlighted quite a few lines just because they entertained me.

The rest of the prose was okay, perhaps a tiny bit clumsy in places but never in such a way that it took away from the story. Generally, though, I was in it for the worldbuilding and the book-related humour – I enjoyed that there was a character called Ingram at one point, although that’s a joke I imagine a fair few readers would miss.

Anyway, if you like books about people who love books, with overtones of Rachel Caine, Jonathan Stroud, or Cassandra Clare, try this one on for size. It isn’t rocketing to the top of my favourites list, but it was very enjoyable and managed to entertain me on a day when I was feeling miserable, and that’s enough to make it a firm recommendation.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved Elizabeth#s connection to the books and how her view of the world changed throughout her journey.

Also, Nathaniel and Silas's relationship really reminded me of the dynamics of the anime/manga Black Butler - though I've only read the first book and seen the live action film [ BUTTER KNIVES!] they both had the same vibe, as well as most of the same components.

I was anxious of Elizabeth being accused of the crime she didn't commit, because of who accused her and the world she lives in. It's mentioned in this book several times how the word of man trumps that of a woman and that always makes me so ANGRY! Especially, especially when it's a clever woman and a stupid man.
However, luckily in this case the exact right person was the one to transport her to her trial.

I loved the chemistry that Nathaniel and Elizabeth had from the start. You could feel it, even when Elizabeth didn't like him. I do love a good hate-to-love storyline. And banter! They had great banter, could have done with more to be honest, because there can never be enough banter.
The best way to describe this book is cute. It was nice and soft and comfy. Which is probably not the kind of descriptions you want your book to have - especially when it's got monsters. Yes, the monsters could have done with a little more GRRR! But I really enjoyed not being super anxious, these guys were very competent and they were able to get stuff done.

I loved that Elizabeth's past was a mystery and that her importance wasn't to do with who her ancestors were but with who she was specifically. Also, her surname really tickled me - it's also the name of a writing program!
Nathaniel's back story was interesting too and it explained a lot about his character and I liked his arc too.

This book heavily focuses on our three main characters and thus Elizabeth's other friends don't get as much development as they could have - but then this IS a standalone and you always have less space in those to get to know people. Anyway, it was only the main 3 I cared about - I really enjoyed seeing them become a family without they really realising it. It was so lovely.

I know there's a lot of mutterings about the epilogue, but I really liked it, I don't care. I wish it was longer even! What was different? What did it mean? What was going to happen next? So many questions I want answered that aren't necessary at all.

I want more of this world! More of these characters!
I also want one of these libraries....

I was really eager to read this--hello, libraries--but unfortunately it fell short of the mark. I think Rogerson has great concepts but the execution and plot isn't what I'd like it to be to give the story the depth I personally like from my novels.

It's a case of "me, not you". Sorry.

This honestly is one of the best books I have not only read in 2019 but maybe ever.
I was slightly reluctant going into this because I hadn't heard great things about Margaret Rogerson's other novel An Enchantment of Ravens.
While this book took a few pages to really suck me in, once I was in, boy was I IN.
The characters in this are incredibly believable. Elisabeth and her journey was so smooth I almost wasn't noticing it. She goes from being a child in a library with a naive idea of the world to a girl who has her own ideas and opinions on what is good and what is bad. Nathaniel was swoon worthy and Silas made an excellent companion.
This book felt really unique to me and I should have known anything with books that can come alive and questionable magicians would have been right up my alley.
I'll definitely be checking out Rogerson's other and future works.

5/5 Stars!!!

The premise of this book was amazing and had me hooked through out. I could really visualize every aspect of the libraries to the point of what they must smell like. Likewise the characters were great, their banter amusing and the romance slow burn. If I could change one thing it would be that the ending was a little less haphazard. It dragged a bit and could of been tidied up to give it more of a grand climax. I cant wait to read what this author does next because with each book so far she has gone from strength to strength so I can only imagine how much I will adore her next release.

I’m really not sure how to go about reviewing this; not because I particularly loved or hated the book, altogether my feelings are pretty middle ground. I loved the cast of characters, the romantic subplot and the world building, but the plot was a major letdown in my eyes. It felt very disjointed, with moments of great action interspaced with a lot of dull, uninteresting and mundane plot that I feel could have been picked up during editing. The reveal of the villain so early in the novel also made it lose a lot of tension.
I’d say I was more disappointed with this book in the end, rather than disliking or hating it, as there were aspects I really enjoyed but feel the novel as a whole could have been so much better. I liked it, just not as much as I would have hoped to.

Such a treat for book fiends who daydream of being library rats. With it's unique magic system, lovable cast of rogues and more dreamy libraries than you can poke a stick at, it is a must-read for all bibliophiles! Actually, probably best you don't poke any of these books, they bite back. Sure you can nitpick some of the plot inconsistencies and convenient coincidences, but it is just sooo much fun.

Intro:
I wasn't so sure on this story when I first started the book, it seemed like it would be too predictable, and the introduction just didn't stand out for me. Elisabeth was an okay protagonist, though seemingly a little useless and flat at times, though what did intrigue me was the grimoires. And I particularly liked the way the library felt so alive, it's almost a book lover's dream; though maybe without the monsters.
Nathaniel was supposed to be the mysterious and intriguing character but having read so many YA books recently, I knew which way that was going to go. Though admittedly I was pleasantly surprised with where his story ended up.
One of the real positives about this book is that the reader is thrown into the action very early on, and the pace of this storyline is maintained throughout.
Middle:
I'm glad this book moved on quickly from the introduction, I think partly due to the fact I wasn't entirely captivated by Elisabeth or Nathaniel, I preferred when the other storylines began to weave their way in.
I particularly liked the backstory between Silas and Nathaniel; this made for some fantastic scenes later in the book and only furthered my intrigue to know more about the magic in this world. It became much darker than I thought it would too - bonus point!
Half the disappointment was that Elisabeth herself didn't poses magic and so our insight into this side of thing was limited to her conversations and interactions with Nathaniel. But overall the world in Sorcery of Thorns is beautiful and contains a love-hate relationship with magic that gave it the edge over other YA fantasies.
Ending:
The ending of this book has a fantastic twist, and really brings out the internal conflicts of many characters. Silas in particular - who was a favourite of mine throughout most of the story - has a fantastic arc which is concluded towards the end of the book in expert fashion.
Characters:
Elisabeth: An overall likeable character and I had to admire her heart and fearlessness, to me she just wasn't a stand-out protagonist. It wasn't a negative point in terms of the overall story, I just wasn't entirely connected with her.
Nathaniel: A character who had a little bit of a predictable storyline; not unlike Elisabeth. Though I liked their interaction and felt that they complemented one another well. He's a bit of a cinnamon roll kind of person.
Silas: Well this guy is great. He has a fantastic storyline throughout Sorcery of Thorns and provides a level of intrigue separate to that of the main plot.
Narrative:
This is an easy read, and flows well. The descriptions of both character and scenery have a good balance with action throughout the story though it is work noting here how beautiful those scenery descriptions are particularly of libraries - calm down fellow bookworms.
Rating and General Comments:
This book was a pleasant surprise, throughout the first few chapters I wasn't completely blown away and I expected it to be relatively predictable. In some ways it was, but I liked the darker turn it began to take, and I loved the captivating storyline (once it got started). There was a good cast, and their development both as individuals, and as a group was really excellent.
Overall I'm awarding this book 4.5/5 - I loved the world and the magic and I think the only thing I would've preferred is more of an insight into the world of sorcerers. Though the idea of the grimoires was insanely satisfying as a storyline anyway.

<b>“Ink and parchment flowed through her veins. The magic of the Great Libraries lived in her very bones. They were a part of her, and she a part of them.”

CW's: Violence/Blood</b>

<i>Thank you to Margaret K. McElderry Books and Netgalley for providing me with a digital Arc in exchange for an honest Review! All quotes featured are from the Arc and therefore subject to changes.</i>

💖 <strong>Nefelibata (noun) One who lives in the clouds of their own imagination; An unconventional person</strong> 💖

<strong>My first love with this book were the characters</strong>. I loved them all, because they were all complex, flawed and yet so understandable. Even the secondary characters basically leaped from the page and had a distinctive personality that made some of them (but especially Katrien) a scene stealer.

<strong>Elisabeth</strong> 💖 A <strong>young librarian</strong> who grew up an orphan in the library and has not known anything else her entire life. She's a bit more wild and 'feral', but I prefer to call her untamed. She has a passion for books deep inside her and a great bravery that comes out several times in the book. Even with everything crushed to pieces she fights on so no one else gets hurt. I also liked how the book explored some of the grief and trauma she faces and how to calls out young women being demeaned and disbelieved by powerful men. <strong>Elisabeth is a strong person, but she also struggles with where she belongs as the path, she was fighting for the most is suddenly banned</strong>. Where do you belong if suddenly everything you know turns upside down? The book does a great job of answering that question and showing someone wondering about their dreams.

<strong>Nathaniel</strong> 💖 Sorcerer from an old magical family, that has gotten a bad representation. He is very isolated, having no surviving family and only a demon to rely on, so he tends to distance himself from anyone showing that they care. <strong>Nathaniel has secrets and some deep scars from his past, but never uses that as an excuse to be cruel to Elisabeth or anyone else</strong>. However, he does want to escape close relationships and try not to care, even if it doesn't always work this way. Keeping people from his dark corners works until someone tries to tear down these walls, he built around himself. But on the surface Nathaniel is witty, cocky and the master of flirty banter. You cannot help but love him and laugh along with his amusing attitude. He displays confidence without coming across superior and instantly stole my heart, because deep down he is a loyal person who would do anything for those that manage to earn his trust.

<strong>Silas</strong> 💖 A demon bound to Nathaniel and his friend. <strong>Silas is such a fantastic morally grey character that was written with such nuance</strong>. He never downplays that he is dangerous and kills people if they threaten his master, he doesn't pretend to be a good person or even close to human nature. In general, he is a very controlled person, not often letting his emotions show, even though he is closer to humans than any other demon we see in the book. He genuinely cares for Nathaniel, even though he also stays because his master owns him 20 years of his life that he craves and feeds off. It's not black and white with Silas. He does care, but he is also selfish and well ... a demon, especially in his true form without any humanity left. Silas could technically annihilate you, but he chooses to fight for his humans.

<strong>Katrien</strong> 💖 Elisabeth's best friend and fellow librarian, who does everything to bring down their unfair new superior and support her friend when she is wronged. Katrien is more of a minor character and doesn't appear that often, but I loved her so much that I needed to talk about her! I need a companion book about her life, PLEASE I'm begging you, someone make it happen! Katrien is such a positive force and instantly made me melt by being such a carefree and accepting person. <strong>She isn't put off by Elisabeth when they meet as young girls, even with all the rumors about her being odd. Instead she reacts totally chill and wins Elisabeth's friendship</strong>. Katrien is not to be underestimated either, because she would do anything for her friend and will not let injustice stand. It is also mentioned that she doesn't experience romantic attraction, another reason I want to have a book about her, we need more aromantic lead characters!

<strong>✨ Vagary (noun) A whimsical, wild, or unusual idea</strong> ✨

Sorcery of Thorns truly does worldbuilding right. Once again Margaret Rogerson shows that she can <strong>create a truly magnificent new world within the span of a standalone fantasy book</strong>. Like always I want MORE, her books could make  for such fantastic duologies, because she has so many fantastic ideas that could fill whole Series, please someone make that happen. For real, the magic system and world was so lovely and vivid, I was immediately immersed. I LOVED<strong> all the book appreciation that was conveyed by Elisabeth's love for books and the central role of librarians in this world</strong>. They are not only the guardians of books (and strictly forbidden from interacting with sorcery), but can become wardens, who resemble warriors and are tasked with handling more difficult grimoires. In general, I loved the grimoires and how they are actually ALIVE in this book. There's nothing better than living books, that each have their own quirks and abilities. In this world books are classified from 1 to 10 in order of how dangerous they are, 10 being the deadliest. The more dangerous books usually contain dark spells or knowledge and can turn 'evil' aka destructive if not properly handled. I did like the less dangerous books too, because I would love to befriend one of them and talk to books all day. However,<strong> as then title suggests there is also sorcery and I like that here it's not really hereditary, as you gain magical powers by bargaining part of your life to a demon from the Otherworld</strong>. The 'magical' families still exist as they usually all make deals with the same demon and hand down magic that way. However, demons are dangerous as they are bound to their Master and would like to find a way to be free. All in all, this book was a masterpiece of engaging and interesting worldbuilding.

<strong>💕 Serendipity (noun) Finding something good without looking for it 💕</strong>

What truly impressed me about this book were the <strong> close, flawed relationships between the characters, romantic and platonic in nature</strong>. Of course, I was awed by the slow burn romance between <strong>Nathaniel and Elisabeth</strong>, I'm always drawn to couples with lots of chemistry and banter. They delivered on that end and were such a realistic couple, that came naturally, and every person still had their own struggles and character Arc. I love that we got to see their bond deepened, but that it never overtook the story. It just naturally got integrated into the flow of the plot. [In slightly less coherent words: AHHH I loved these two so much, they were very cute and flirty and funny, my favorite type of couple! 😍💖💕] The platonic dynamics stole my heart as well. We didn't see that much of <strong>Elisabeth and Katrien</strong>, but I loved them as best friends who never abandoned each other and were always partners in crime. Katrien didn't mind that Elisabeth was a bit odd and accepted her for all her flaws, that's true friendship. In addition, I <strong>liked how Silas was a demon</strong> - and therefore dangerous in nature - <strong>developed such close relationships to humans</strong>. He is like a family member for Nathaniel and truly cares about him, even though he made a deal for him, that will take 20 years of his life. When he had no one else, Silas cared for him like he was his child. Then, he doesn't know Elisabeth that long, but immediately sticks up for her when he sees that she's a good person. I liked how they became friends against all odds!

Sorcery is evil. Books have distinct personalities. Elisabeth was raised inside of a library. These three elements are combined to make an adventurous story-line which bore its genesis with Beauty and the Beast but became something entirely all of its own.

Elements of this I absolutely adored. The discussions concerning books who need their spines stroked, snore at night, and mutter to their owners, could not fail to appeal to any bibliophile. All that surrounded this, however, didn't gel with me in quite the same way and I found myself continuously longing to return to the library and the solace I found there.

I was captivated by the cover of Rogerson’s debut, An Enchantment of Ravens, but was ultimately lukewarm on the book itself. Despite this, I perked up when I heard about the release of Sorcery of Thorns. Not only does Sorcery have a great cover as well, it sounded like my exact cup of tea where Enchantment did not -- who doesn’t love sword-weilding librarians, sentient grimoires, and sassy magicians? I’m so pleased to say that I really, really enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns and am so happy I gave her writing another chance.

You know what I haven’t done in awhile? Read a book that’s just pure fun. That’s what Sorcery gave me -- pure fun. I read the majority of this book while I was stuck at home with a cold and it’s the perfect read for a sick day. It reminded me in many ways of The Princess Bride -- the ultimate sick day film -- with it’s swaggering hero and delightful banter. Although it has some dark moments -- it does, after all, feature a necromancy and conspiracy -- I found this book to be an absolute delight. If you’re a little burned out on super grim fantasy books, I couldn’t recommend this one more highly.

The characters are at the heart of what makes this book so fun. I absolutely loved their relationships and the connections they forge as the story progresses. I will admit that Elizabeth was probably my least favourite of our three main characters though. It took me awhile to warm up to her and she initially came across as, ahem, not the brightest bulb in the chandelier. I understand that she grew up in isolation and didn’t have a lot of worldly experience, however I still had trouble connecting with her until the second half of the book. Although I'm not often a huge fan of YA heroes, I found Nathaniel totally charming and delightful.

However, one character stole the show for me, and that was Silas. The demonic servant who takes on the form of an adorable fluffy white cat (a reference to Mogget from Sabriel, perhaps?)? The quiet, non-human caretaker who looks after our bumbling humans from the shadows? Of course he was my favourite character. I would love a novella that takes place before Sorcery of Thorns that just follows Silas. Actually, I’d love a whole spin-off series about Silas. More Silas is required.

I was so surprised and impressed by Sorcery of Thorns. If you didn’t enjoy An Enchantment of Ravens but like the sound of this book, I’d highly encourage you to pick it up. Sorcery of Thorns is the perfect book to read in a single sitting -- you’ll tumble into the pages and lose yourself in the story.

First off, I want this to be known: This book broke me. It broke me in lots of wonderful, poignant, emotional, gut-wrenching, shattering ways. After the very last line, I was consumed by All. The. Feels. It was that good.

Sorcery of Thorns is a fast, magical read which keeps the action moving throughout. Rogerson has a beautiful writing style, lyrical and flowing, and the world of Austermeer is well constructed and beautifully presented. I loved the idea of the Great Libraries scattered throughout the kingdom. Great Libraries, designed to hold books who have thoughts, feeling, and personalities of their own. These are sentient grimoires, books of magic both dark and light, and range in both power and threat.

The protagonist, Elisabeth, is an orphan who has grown up in the Great Library of Summershall. Her one desire is to become a warden of the Great Libraries — librarian-warriors, sworn to protect the books at all cost: a “duty unto death”. The downside is that trouble naturally seems to find Elisabeth, usually alongside her fellow apprentice librarian and friend, Katrien.

One night, Elisabeth is the only member of the Great Library who is unaffected by a sleep-spell designed to hide a heinous crime. In her efforts to thwart this act, she unwittingly becomes ensnared in a web of deceit, lies, political machinations, and terrifying magic. Whisked under guard from Summershall to Brassbridge, Elisabeth doesn’t know who — or what — to trust, especially when faced with demons and magisters (sorcerers) who challenge all her views and beliefs about the world. As she uncovers more of the mystery around the crime at Summershall, Elisabeth must grow out of her views and dreams and discover more about who she is — and who she could be.

I found Elisabeth to be a well-rounded character who had flaws of her own, and her willingness to reconsider her abilities and assumptions about the world was refreshing. She was all at once strong but scared, determined yet uneasy, knowledgeable yet naïve. I particularly liked the way she changed her viewpoint based on her experiences and what would be best for the kingdom, because it showed a rare maturity and presence of mind. And her reactions to being thrown into “high society” were valid and real.

In terms of the other characters, I loved Nathaniel. He is easily my favourite character — droll, dry-witted, quick with comebacks and ideas, and quirky. He was so well drawn and I appreciated that. His ever-present nonchalance is shaken by Elisabeth’s troublemaking and bright personality, and his assumption of his place in society — so sure for most of his life — is tossed on its head through the actions of Elisabeth and the Chancellor. Nathaniel’s comfort and (almost) glee in keeping society guessing about his sexuality was brilliant.

Speaking of the Chancellor, I loved how creepy and suave he was. Again, someone very sure of his station and very set in his worldview and plans. And again, someone disrupted by the sheer tenacity of the protagonist. The Chancellor, his magic, and his minions brought about lots of conflict and had my brain whirring for a while. Though I did predict a few things about the plot as the book progressed, these were revealed in ways that I did not expect and this kept it fresh and alive.

Silas — what can I say about Silas? He was a ghostly presence throughout and yet was one of the most substantial characters. He had a way of getting under people’s skin — both in terms of the other characters and the reader themselves. I loved how he was portrayed and his formalities, yet the affection between Silas and Nathaniel (and, later, Elisabeth) was so real and touching that it had me in honest tears at various points.

I liked and appreciated how the other women in the book were portrayed. Even Mercy, who initially I thought would be a rather throwaway character, had her place in the end. It was a delight to return to Katrien throughout the novel. My only complaint in terms of characters was that Stefan was never seen or fleshed out, and we didn’t see enough of Parsifal.

I loved the big reveal towards the end and it again brought tears to my eyes. I was thoroughly invested in the outcome and how it all played out — the discovery of who Elisabeth is and what she could do was powerful and the final battle was heartbreaking. The aftermath was bittersweet and delicately handled.

The romance was also poignant and had its issues to overcome — a slow burn to begin with, and then challenged by expectations and assumptions on all sides. Ultimately satisfying and very realistic.

There are few books which reduce me to tears with their last lines. Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb is one of them. This, Sorcery of Thorns, is another. It completely undid me and I was so grateful to have spent some time in Austermeer — a place to which I will return gladly again and again. Highly, highly recommended.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Simon and Schuster, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book that is all about the magic of books. You can’t really get any better than that.
I loved the imagination at work in this. These magical books- or grimoires- have a life of their own, can turn into horrendous monsters if let loose, and can only be handled by the most skilled librarians. This is a world I want to live in. Our heroine, Elisabeth Scrivener, wants to become one of the people tasked with protecting the library. Instead she stumbles on a dark plot that threatens them and is whisked away into a world of betrayal and magic by sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn. Elisabeth is a stubborn, determined heroine that you can’t help but root for, and if the villains seem a trifle obvious (anybody with red eyes is definitely a villain) and the love interest falls just on the wrong side of clichéd, wise-cracking rogue, it’s still a rollicking adventure about the magic of the written word.

A novel steeped in magical world-building, atmospheric plot development and an intricate, complex collection of unsuspecting heroes, anthropomorphised grimoires and labyrinthine villains. Whilst early reviewers will correctly inform you of a novel somewhat tarnished by ostensibly rushing through to the final scene with little explanation, what remains more than makes up for this eventual flaw.

Elisabeth has been raised within the walls of one of Austermeer's Great Libraries, surrounded by books of spells and invocations she has become more familiar with the yellowed tomes rattling beneath the iron chains contrived to contain them. Elisabeth is charged with being a future warden of the library, protecting the kingdom from their monstrous secrets, but her future is sabotaged when the libraries most dangerous grimoire is released and the libraries director is murdered as part of the act. Whilst Elisabeth is simply a poorly informed witness to the crime, her presence implicates her as a potential culprit and she is escorted to the capital to be trialled for her crimes. In actuality, that's not at all what happens and so unfolds a tangled web of cat and mouse as Elisabeth tries to discover who truly committed the crime, but more importantly why they wanted a grimoire as nightmarish and wicked as that one to be set loose.

The characters within this story are without question the shining component of this novel. Elisabeth is an intelligent and resourceful protagonist; her curious nature makes her a fun character to follow. However, her companions are far more interesting. She soon couples up with an unlikely pairing with a complex past, one of which is a truly intricate and uniquely complex villain whose motives remain a mystery, open for interpretation. I adored Margaret Rogerson's development of this character throughout the entirety of the book; he fails to ever become predictable, but rather remains unchanged in his acceptance of his abhorrent nature. This is so refreshing from the archetypal villain many novels portray who can only ever be the apparent villain of the story, as opposed to a potential companion to it.

The world building was also excellent - Rogerson weaves her world together so expertly and so completely that not a single detail is missed, whilst still the reader manages to somehow avoid becoming overwhelmed with purple descriptions. The grimoires are no exception to this rule, each with their own personalities and interactions. Initially this can be jarring and perhaps a little too fantastical, causing the more believable style of the narrative to fall into a magical realism set apart from the remainder of the book, however this is a quick adjustment and isn't as "human" as you might imagine it to be (think more along the lines of The Monster Book of Monsters).

Ultimately this was nothing short of perfection for a reader like me, who loves an nontraditional and complex villain and, moreover, the idea of a magical library enveloped in a well imaged and ornate world.

Elisabeth was raised within the halls of one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, with magical grimoires on every shelf that, if provoked, transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. But, when an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire, Elisabeth’s life saving intervention condemns her to the crime and forces her to leave the only home she’s ever known. Alone and in the middle of a world endangering plot, Elisabeth turns to her sworn enemy, sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn and his demonic servant for aid. Entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy, can they stop the culprit before the Great Libraries and the world go up in flames…

This is one of those books that are difficult to review because you aren’t 100% sure what happened. If asked I would not be able to recount anything truly meaningful from this book and despite the allure of magical books and demons the entire of the books falls immensely flat.

From looking at a few reviews I can see I am in the minority in my opinion of this book, but I just don’t see what everyone else has. I found there to be little to no real description to the world (other than the map at the beginning), the characters or setting. I found it difficult to really get a picture in my head for anything, particularly grimoires. I had no idea what to picture when they went all beast-y. This made getting into the book very laborious.

I wasn’t sold on the characters. Nathaniel was probably the better one if I had to pick one, but that’s mostly due to the occasional witty one-liner. I don’t think any of the characters really had much personality, they were quite plain and one dimensional. As the book went on I found Elisabeth to be rather irksome. I don’t know what it was, she just didn’t do it for me. It feels very special snowflake, but we’re missing the special. It’s like Margaret Rogerson wanted her to be special but didn’t really give her anything to back it up. It is ‘explained’ once and even then it’s more a passing thought and then never really mentioned again.

To be honest that pretty much sums up most of the book; it felt like Rogerson was trying to build something here but there were so many missing pieces and no backbone to support it. That’s all I can say to explain the plot because I didn’t get it at all. The motive for the villain (if he’s really strong enough of a character to be called that) isn’t actually explained until about 80% of the way through and was done in a dialogue heavy scene where it was gone through point to point. By that point I really didn’t care and the way Rogerson did it dragged it out. His motive and plan could have slowly unravelled as the book went on to build suspense and intrigue, but instead was left to the last quarter and monologued.

Overall, Sorcery of Thorns lacked substance. I think Rogerson had a decent idea and good intent but just didn’t do enough to flesh anything out or actually make me care about the characters or world. It’s literally world ending stuff and I genuinely didn’t care. The ending is also poorly done. It’s such a fizzle out. Plus, something that I’m noticing a lot in YA now, is how many MC’s are bookish. I get it, we’re all bookish here, but that doesn’t mean every main character has to be too! Elisabeth’s love for books is literally pushed onto you almost every page and by the end I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes when it was mentioned. It’s too much and unnecessary. She wants to be a warden, she loves books, that’s all you needed. Don’t cross the cringe-worthy line.

Sorry if this review feels like one big bash, but it’s how I felt and it’s my review. It failed to connect with me and I still have no idea what really happened in it.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback