I'm annoyed with myself for taking so long to pick this book up! It had everything I love! Great world-building, great characters and the tension between Elisabeth and Thorn - ahhh! Actually gutted there isn't a sequel!

This was an absolutely beautiful book. It was a great magical fantasy book with strong friendships and an interesting romance. This book exceeded my expectations and I loved it. It is now one of my favourite books. I would recommend this for anyone who likes fantasies with cute romances and an intriguing mystery.

Okay but this book. This book. It was just so! Freaking! Good!!!!!!! 

I don’t know what else to say?? I simply adored EVERYTHING! God. Wow

I received with thanks an ARC copy of Sorcery of Thorns from Simon and Schuster UK Children’s and Netgalley.

This is my review of Sorcery of the Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. This was published on 1st July 2020.

This was my 1st book by the author and will not be the last one that I will read. This had everything a fantasy should have. It had romance, magical libraries and a brilliant storyline. This was an enjoyable read and I cant wait to purchase a physical copy for my own magical library.

Would recommend if you love a Fantasy

Lovely self contained fantasy that moved at an even pace throughout and had fantastic characters and character growth. Full review to come.

This was such a wild ride! The writing is absolutely beautiful and I loved the characters. The story was reallly action packed and had no real open spots, where it got too boring. I loved the magic system aswell! Really the only thing that disappointed me was the slightly open ending :( and no mention of a sequel

This was a truly enjoyable YA fantasy. I didn't even mind the romance! A little slow in places, this standalone fantasy ticks so many boxes for me: fantastical libraries, an awesome protagonist, books that turn into demons.

Content warnings: Blood, blood magic, death of child (discussed), grief, brief depiction of a Victorian-style asylum.

You ever have those books you put off reading because you know you ought to love them, but you’re worried they can’t possibly live up to your expectations? Sorcery of Thorns was one for me, but I bit the bullet and luckily, was rewarded with something even more perfect for me than I’d hoped!

I really loved Margaret Rogerson’s first book, An Enchantment of Ravens, which offered pretty much exactly what I wanted from a Fae romance – I loved the way she wove proper folklore things like fairy politeness and rules into the world-building. So I knew I would be on board for a book centred around magical libraries, but I still wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this book as much as I did! Somehow, though, it managed to pack a whole bunch of my favourite things – fantasy of manners, flirting that’s more or less indistinguishable from bickering, bi rep, even cats! – into a story I found myself engrossed in. There’s even a ball, for goodness’ sake!

This is actually a book of fairly narrow scope, which I think really works for it. We don’t meet an enormous amount of characters, and we don’t see an enormous amount of the world – this keeps things highly character-driven and lets the plot race along nicely. Elisabeth, the protagonist, has had a very sheltered and specific upbringing, so it’s really nice to feel fully in her head as she has to deal with leaving the library where she grew up. Things are a little overwhelming, and that comes across really well. It also allows you as the reader to really soak up the clever magic and the atmosphere of the world – the prose is a little flowery, but it all works in the semi-Victorian context. I loved the concept of the Great Libraries and the grimoires, with their individual powers and personalities, plus the way that demons, who provide the magic that sorcerers use, are a necessary but distasteful part of upper class society.

Elisabeth strikes a good balance between capable, special, and woefully naive, and it’s really easy to end up rooting for her. Her love interest, Nathaniel, is a great verbal sparring partner for her, and a perfect addition to the eligible bachelor list of hot, tall, snarky sorcerers (what do you mean you don’t have a list?). I’m a real sucker for chemistry as expressed through sniping at each other (until it’s crunch time and suddenly ‘you nearly got yourself killed, idiot’ has an unspoken ‘and that would be terrible’ after it), so I loved their romance. Their character arcs are separately great too, though obviously I can’t say too much. I actually don’t think there was a single side character I didn’t love, from wardrobe-obsessed valet/demon Silas to Elisabeth’s nerdy but trouble-making best friend Katrien – and there’s a cat! Plus, there’s on-page ace/aro and bi rep (yep, if Nathaniel wasn’t perfect enough, he’s also openly bi and it leads to some of the most adorably awkward dialogue!).

My one complaint would be that there is absolutely nothing tying this book to the YA age limits it has imposed on the characters. Elisabeth is 16, and Nathaniel 18, and I would have believed you if you’d told me they were both ten years older. Neither acts like a teenager, which personally, I didn’t mind at all, but given the recent discussions around fantasy with characters in their twenties, I feel like this would have been the perfect fit! Still, their ages aren’t made an enormous amount of, so you can do as I did and just imagine them a bit older if that works for you… It feels like it inhabits a similar niche to Stephanie Burgis’s Snowspelled or Charlie N Holmberg’s The Paper Magician – romantic fantasy that has crossover YA/adult appeal.

I could go on about this for hours, but I think I’m just going to say that if you like your fantasy smart, romantic, atmospheric, and bookish, you should just pick this up now. It’s utterly wonderful! It was the perfect tonic for someone a bit burned out on samey YA fantasy, because it feels original but comforting at the same time. It’s definitely going on the comfort reads shelf. Obviously it gets five out of five stars!

This was the story of a young girl who grew up amongst the shelves of one of the great libraries, surrounded by grimoires and magical books. We follow her as we learn she wants to become a warden, someone who protects the world from the power of the books. Elisabeth is implicated in a heinous crime - releasing one of the worst of those books. Nathanial Thorn, her sworn enemy, along with his demonic servant, are the only ones Elisabeth has left to turn to. Her journey has her questioning everything she has been taught and thinks she knows.

I enjoyed this book - it was well written and the characters were well fleshed out with some depth to them. The setting being libraries is an obvious bonus as well. The world that was well done although I do feel like it could have done with another 100 or so pages just to give it more depth and round it off. There was a LOT of background to it with some centuries old conspiracies and legends and myths. It would have been good to have even more on those. The main character of Elisabeth was, again, well written but i didn't like her, I found her a little insipid and angsty which grated on me. I found myself much more drawn to Nathanial - he was a very intriguing character and I would love a book that focused on him rather than Elisabeth. I think its a very YA 'thing' to have a female protagonist and it felt a little in this book like the author was trying to write a typical YA when actually the main character being Nathanial I personally think would have worked better.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this as a good read and I'll definitely pick up another book by the same author!

3* out of 5* for me

A worthy follow up to an Enchantment of Ravens! This story had it all- a great adventure, unique magic, and a wonderful romance.

Before starting Sorcery of Thorns, I knew it was a book that took place in libraries and had magical books. That sounded very interesting and I have to say in that aspect this book didn't disappoint. From the start I was sucked into this magical world and it took off running! It's clear our main character Elisabeth had a passion for her work and the books. She grew up in this place and can't imagine doing anything else.

Sorcery of Thorns is one big roller coaster ride. The libraries are being attacked and whoever is doing this is trying to release the most dangerous grimoire! I loved that this book was filled with twists and turns. It took me awhile to figure out how this would all play out and the magic that held everything together. I really don't think I've read anything like this.

It was interesting to see that even when books come alive, magic is still seen as something evil. The socerers are painted as bad and they need to keep the grimoires away from them. This was an interesting aspect of the story and I liked the journey Elisabeth takes in this part of the book. I don't want to give away too much, because this is a story you need to experience for yourself.

Even though I flew through this book, there were a few things that bugged me at times. A lot of plot points went really fast and were resolved really easy. At a certain point it even felt like the story could've ended and I still had about a third to go. Also, some of the characters definitely deserved more time and development.

Elisabeth is an interesting main character! At first she's set in her own world and believes everything she's been told and learned. She grows a lot in this book and in a really good way. I loved how she really let herself be open to things she didn't know and to fight for what she believed in. Even if no one would stand behind her. For her time she was very independent and definitely won't take no for an answer. I don't know if I would've been as strong as she was in the same situation.

Silas is my favorite character of them all! He's a demon and Nathaniel's servant and I loved him to pieces. He's sarcastic, evil and more caring and loving than any demon should be. He was so much more than I expected and the author brought him to life in a way I wouldn't want any different! I would've loved to have read a few chapters from his POV!

Nathaniel is a mysterious one and I honestly needed more. It's clear that he's trying to live with everything his father started, but he's not really sure how to deal. He knows it's his job to continue on, but it's not easy on him at all. I think he could've been such an interesting character, but I felt that we didn't see enough of him. Maybe just a bit too mysterious?!?

Sorcery of Thorns is a dark fantasy and I loved getting this in YA! The villain was so evil and felt really realitic. I loved her take on this story and how she gave us a villain we just want to hate. That definitely helps a story just a bit more. And last, but not least, I would've loved to have more of Elisabeth's friend Katrien. She ends up helping a lot, but it felt like the author just forgot her at times. That's a shame, because she could've been an amazing aspect in this story.

A book about a magical library? You know I'm interested! This was actually all I knew about the story before I started. I'd seen some good reviews and heard something about demon books. And I guess that's all I really needed to know. It took me a while to get to this eARC and buy then the audiobook was on Storytel so I ended up listening to the audiobook.

The book starts with a suspenseful action scene and sucked me right in. I really enjoyed the pacing of the book in general. We get quite some action which got me through the story super quick. You get thrown into this world filled with magical libraries and evil sorcerers. Along the way you learn more about the world and the rules of magic.

I especially loved the library and could've used an extra 100 pages just set in the library haha. The books play such an important part in this story and I think that's pretty unique. I'm absolutely putting all the books with magical libraries or anything similar on my wishlist right away. It would've been nice if this was a duology though. While this standalone did a good job at creating an interesting contained story while still giving us a developed world, some plot points went by really fast. Especially the ending felt a bit rushed. It might be because of the adult fantasies I've been reading recently but I would've liked to see everything developed a bit more and I think splitting the story up in two book would've given the opportunity for that.

There weren't that many characters present in this story. Elisabeth is our main character and I think there are about 4 or 5 truly important characters beside her. I really enjoyed reading about Elisabeth. She grew up in the library and loves books like nothing else. At first she seems a bit naive but she quickly shows that she can think for her own and won't back down no matter what anyone else says. While I also enjoyed the romance she finds, I did think that went a bit fast. It's another part I would've liked to see developed a bit more.

Silas was my favorite character! He is sarcastic, funny and so caring, while still being an evil demonic servant. His scenes were wonderful and I laughed out loud at his comments. I would love to read another book just about him. There are some other demon servant we get to see, but not nearly enough in my opinion. They were one of my favorite parts of the story.

Nathaniel is Silas's master and our 'evil' sorcerer. We quickly learn that not everything is exactly as Elisabeth is always told. And not all sorcerers are evil. I did like Nathaniel although we didn't fully get to know him. He had an interesting backstory and I really felt for him. Nathaniel is another part of the story that could've used a bit more developing. The same goes for Elisabeth's best friend Katrien. I really liked her but she kind of disappeared for a while in the story. This is something we see in so many YA books, a best friend that is forgotten as soon as the story truly begins. While Katrien did have some important scenes, I would've liked to see even more of her.

In the end I really enjoyed this story and this world. We got to read about some interesting and lovable characters even though I would've loved to see some more. Especially after that ending ;)

Maybe 4.5 stars but whaTEVER I loved it so much??

This review is so many months late so I'm going to keep things extremely short.

The story was very intriguing and I couldn't stop reading. It's a book about magical libraries and different kinds of magic and sorcery, and there are demons and it's just as cool as it sounds.

What really shone for me were the characters, and as always I have a non-MC favorite: Silas!!! I really couldn't get enough of him and he's always one of the first things I remember when I think about this book. Of course I also loved Elisabeth and Nathaniel, and I was immediately interested in their romance.

But speaking of this point, I now realize that the main reason I was ready to like the romance right away was the fact that I had already seen from earlier reviews that Nathaniel is bisexual (or pansexual, labels aren't used and he only says he likes girls and boys). His being queer is not something you immediately know when you start reading and there is not a big "plot twist" around it, it's just very naturally shown. I personally really liked this because it was seamless and pretty much how it would happen in an ideal world where making your queerness known is no more than a sentence, a neutral statement.

However, I came to it having known since the beginning and I know it made me enjoy the story much more. Should the book maybe have made it clear earlier? I don't know, but I'm making sure I write it here because I know I personally (probably) wouldn't have been interested into this book if I hadn't known before (kudos to early reviewers).

So yeah, I recommend this if you're interested in casually queer fantasy YA with great characters and an interesting worldbuilding.

4.5 stars

Orphaned at a young age, Elisabeth was brought up in one of the Great Libraries of Austermeer. The libraries are filled with magical grimoires that are used by sorcerers, who are evil. These grimoires contain different spells and can change into terrible creatures when they are damaged. Elisabeth dreams of becoming a warden, someone that defends against the grimoires.
But when a dangerous grimoire is set free from Elisabeth's library and she is implicated, Elisabeth's dream lies in tatters.
To make things worse, Elisabeth finds herself involved with sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, whose servant is a demon.
Can Elisabeth trust Nathaniel?
Together can they save the Great Libraries?

Sorcery of Thorns is a book that I'd seen a lot of love for, so, naturally, I was worried that I wouldn't like it. But I did! Thank goodness!
I loved all the main characters in this - Elisabeth was likeable and relatable and I envied that she'd grown up in a library. How cool would that be?! Elisabeth's best friend, Katrien, was so funny and I would love to find out/read more about her. Nathaniel had the best dialogue and I really liked him. I especially enjoyed reading his interactions with both Elisabeth and Silas, who was an intriguing character. The relationship between Nathaniel was very interesting and I liked finding out more about them both as the book went on.
The setting and concepts in this book were interesting and intriguing. I loved the idea of Great Libraries filled with grimoires that would spit wads of ink at people as they walked past. Some of the grimoires were actually pretty scary and I wouldn't want to annoy them! I also liked how for someone to be a sorcerer and have magic, they had to make a deal with a demon who would serve them.
The romance was just right for me - it didn't overshadow other aspects of the plot and it didn't feel forced. It was the slow-burn kind of romance that I love.
The plot was intriguing and had me hooked straight away. For the most part, I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I did see a couple of things coming.
The writing style was engaging and held my attention. 
I found myself smiling several times while reading this - usually at something Nathaniel said.
Sorcery of Thorns contains lots of my favourite things and I would definitely recommend it.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read that I would recommend.

Sorcery of Thorns is a standalone fantasy. You may know Margaret Rogerson from her other book, An Enchantment of Ravens which is about fae. 
Nevertheless, This story is set in the land of Austermeer. Magicians and great libraries exist in this world and the libraries hold some of the most powerful books in the land, which are kept there for safekeeping. Enter our protagonist, Elisabeth. Elisabeth knows that sorcerers are evil and was raised as a foundling of Austermeer’s great libraries. She has grown up around the magical grimoires that are kept under lock and key but one day when somebody releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire, all bets are off. She is flung into the situation but it implicates her in the crime, so with the help of sorcerer Nathaniel they find themselves in a conspiracy and must help Austermeer and the world to unravel the mysteries and the lies. 

Unfortunately for me, whilst I read this, there was a lot going on in my life and I fell into a reading slump whilst reading this. Whilst I can say that the writing and narrative was enjoyable, I just wasn’t in the right mind space to read it at the time. As such, that has kind of clouded my judgement on this book. Maybe one day, I will read this book again but for now I can only give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK Books for allowing me to read an eARC copy of Sorcery of Thorns. All views and opinions discussed here are my own.

I swapped between the ebook and audiobook of this one which probably wasn't the wisest of decisions because it made this feel a lot longer than it actually was... despite that though I did really enjoy this book.

I think the whole world is really well done and the magic system is clearly explained and defined and it doesn't take the whole book to come together. I really liked the Great Libraries and the grimoires and honestly I just wanted to fall into this book and explore these glorious libraries for myself. How can I not love a book that is essentially wholly about books, books, and more books. Even though there were some evil books I loved them all. It really is a bookworms dream and I can't imagine a bookworm reading this book and not wanting to be an apprentice or a warden in the Great Libraries. 

I would say that some of the reveals in this book; Silas being a demon, Ashcroft being evil, and Ashcroft knowing they were onto him and taking Silas, all did seem a bit obvious to me? I'm not sure if that was the intention or i've just read that many YA fantasy books now but I was never really shocked when any of these twists occurred. I enjoyed them, but I wasn't surprised. 

Now in terms of the characters, I have to be honest I didn't warm to Elisabeth straight away; I found her quite dense at times and a little bit annoying BUT she has been raised since birth, to hate sorcerers and demons and has been told these awful tales consistently - they're the monsters hiding the cupboard or under the bed, so I do appreciate that she's going to be very apprehensive at first of anything to do with magic it makes sense. And she does learn as the book goes on; not everything as as black and white as the world makes it out to be and Elisabeth sees that clearly for herself. I liked her relationship with Katrien as this almost humanises Elisabeth and makes it clear that she is a teenage girl and not some mystical figure; it helps that Katrien is hilarious and always out for a bit of trouble. 

Nathaniel is a good character; I like that from the off he was witty and sarcastic and didn't really have any time for nonsense. Although we learn a lot about his backstory, I would say he's probably the least developed in the book? As the book is from Elisabeth's perspective the whole way through we never really get to explore how he processes what is happening and he did seem to spend a lot of the book injured (nice change from it always being the female character).

The relationship between Elisabeth and Nathaniel was obviously going to happen and I didn't hate it,  but I was quite indifferent to it really? It doesn't really impact the book in anyway or change where the plot is going - it would have been the same had they just been friends. Which honestly makes me happy because this book wasn't about the romance, yes they build their relationship in the book but it's never the central point of the book. 

<i>"i think i was a bit dead already, before you came along"</i>

Silas Silas Silas. He was by far the best character. It took me a little bit of time to warm to him but as soon as I did I loved him. He is such an interesting and complex person; he clearly isn't as heartless as he likes to make out but I also believe that if left without that love and support of Nathaniel, that he would go on a rampage that would destroy the world. The first time we lost him I was upset, the second time I was devastated. The ending of the book leaves me very very hopeful that he is going to come back to the world and live in happiness with Nathaniel and Elisabeth for the rest of their lives, however long they may be.  

I did enjoy this book; some of the plot wasn't the best i'd say, specifically Ashcroft's intentions and reasoning on why he was doing what he was doing. Beyond it being a family tradition we didn't really get to find out his personal reasoning behind it and I think it would have benefited from exploring this a bit more, but again this book was more about Elisabeth; I do think i'd have enjoyed it slightly more if we had some other perspectives BUT it is a good book and an easy read and i'm glad that some YA books are actually capable of being stand alones!!

Margaret Rogerson's words are magic. She manages to pack sorcery, whimsy, humour, feminism, and a love of books all into Sorcery of Thorns, making it one of the best fantasy standalones I've read in some time.

The story is in parts splendid and sinister - where books are living breathing creatures that can kill if you aren't too careful. It brought me a kind of nostalgia for the fantasy novels I would read at fifteen - where book-loving girls fight evil men and devouring demons alongside tragic but witty boys - but with an added freshness to the dynamic. There is no love triangle, for one, and queerness is normalised, which is always so refreshing with fantasy. Furthermore, the male lead, whilst being both charming and self-pitying, is never cruel or overly self-absorbed. The sharp-minded Nathaniel plays brilliantly alongside the bright and bookish Elisabeth, and the affection they show for the demon Silas is so tender that it's difficult not to fall in love with all three of them.

There is also a subtle but powerful narrative about the power dynamics of wealth and gender, where Elisabeth realises that "the world wasn't kind to young women, especially when they behaved in ways men didn't like, and spoke truths men weren't ready to hear." This, again, makes the typical fantasy formula of Sorcery of Thorns stand apart from those that have come before it.

Rogerson can break my heart and heal it all in a single page, and I look forward to experiencing the same with her future books.


Diversity Note: Nathaniel is bisexual, Silas is asexual, and Katerine is aromantic

Warnings: blood, violence, gaslighting and deception, death

This was such a good premise for a book, but I found that the execution let it down on occasion. It tells the story of Elisabeth Scrivener who was brought up in the Great Library at Summershall amongst the grimoires. When she is wrongly accused of a crime, she must fight to clear her name with the help of Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer and his demon, Silas.

The Positives: The setting is wonderful. Rogerson has created a really fascinating world here and I thought the libraries were fantastic. I loved the characters - particularly Silas, who was by far, the most intriguing, but all of the characters, including the peripheral ones, were really well fleshed out and had their own unique personalities, which was great. 

The Negatives: I feel like this would have worked better as part of a series. There is a lot going on in this novel, which feels alternately rushed in places and surprisingly slow in others. The world is so complex and detailed that I think it would have been better explored in more than one book. The magic system too, needed more focus.

Overall, I think that this was a really ambitious novel that I enjoyed in part, but found frustrating at times.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Having also got a beautiful copy of this book from fairyloot, i was SO excited to dive in!  I mean, what can be better for somebody who adored fantasy books, than a story about hooks filled with magical potential and their keepers?

The story was engaging, unpredictable and so much fun whilst staying easy to read throughout. Relaxing and exciting by turns, I devoured this one in two days!

Add in the gorgeous cover and the witty and kickass characters, this was the perfect YA fantasy with a lot or originality!!

I don’t know where to start to tell you how much I loved this book!

The concept really is a bookworm’s dream! We follow Elisabeth, a girl who dreams of becoming a librarian and protecting the world’s most dangerous grimoires. 

My favourite character by far was Silas. His position as a cold ‘heartless’ character who actually does have a heart made him a fascinating character to read.

Elisabeth and Nathaniel were also really great characters and I really enjoyed their interactions with each other.  It was obvious early on that this was set up to be a romance plot, but it didn’t really feature enough in the story to be a central point.  I think it could have been a great addition if more time had been dedicated to it, but as the book is I don’t think the romance added anything to the book.

This book left me wanting more and I was genuinely upset when I reached the end!