Sorcery of Thorns follows Elisabeth Scrivener, an apprentice who dreams of becoming a librarian, to protect the world’s most powerful and volatile grimoires. However, one night, Elisabeth finds herself in the middle of an awful plot to upend the Great Libraries, and her life is turned upside down. Elisabeth must get to the bottom of who and what is threatening the world as everyone knows it, all the while navigating whether to trust the sorcerers she’s been taught to consider evil all her life. 

I’m not going to mess around, this is a good YA standalone fantasy read. The story took me on an adventure that had me wondrous and wanting more. 

Without being too corny, this is a bookworm’s dreamworld. Sorcery of Thorns embodies all this bookish, because Rogerson brings books and libraries to life. The descriptions of libraries, aged and worn books and the personality of books was utterly joyful. I absolutely loved the books (grimoires) being living breathing things; they had different temperaments and talents. They are, in essence, contributing characters to the story. This is an easy pull for any bookworm, and thus makes it all extremely immersive and imaginable. This really is a world made for a bookworm’s appreciation. 

“Elisabeth was assigned to care for a Class Two called The Decrees of Bartholomew Trout, which developed a habit of wiggling provocatively every time it saw her coming.”

Elisabeth and Nathaniel are likeable characters, and the author cleverly connects them through their similar upbringings. Elisabeth is that type of character who has prejudicial thoughts early on, and grows as the story progresses, to be more open minded. And Nathaniel Thorn easily sweet talks the reader into adoring him for his humour, old style vocabulary and his tortured soul. 

I was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea with the book’s romance. It wasn’t developed enough for me to feel like it was worthwhile, because I think the story would have felt the same if Elisabeth and Nathaniel’s relationship was strictly platonic. This would have been fine (a friendship instead), however, the characters were portrayed as love interests, with one of them being rather swoon worthy. So I couldn’t help but want the romance aspect at the same time, which is the dilemma I had here: it simply wasn’t explored, expanded or emotional enough for me to root for it. 

I don’t think I’m alone here, which naturally makes me feel better: Silas was my favourite character and the true star of Sorcery of Thorns. His demeanour - as a heartless but not heartless person - really captured my attention. I desperately want a sequel centred on Silas, or at the very least, another story set in this world, where he features as a main character again.

Some events, for me, were just too much like writing overkill. The need to have Elisabeth in continuous peril was rather over the top with the dramatics. As well, I’d of liked to see more of the villain beyond the reasoning of a family legacy and thirst for power - I like things like this (i.e. the character’s background too) fully explored, perhaps even with a full on villain speech, which Sorcery of Thorns didn’t deliver. 

I enjoyed the magic of this world; where warlocks, grimoires and demons were essentially interconnected. Rogerson wrote all of this with an air of magic that I’ve just not encountered recently, and I simply adored it. It’s been one of my favourite story’s with world building that is successfully ensnaring I’ve read this year. 

All in all, Sorcery of Thorns was thoroughly enjoyable. I read it in two days, and I’m rating it 4 stars. It’s full of humorous moments that you can’t help but smirk at, or full on chuckle at. The personification of books was my favourite part of this book, and I won’t be forgetting it anytime soon. I definitely recommend this to anybody who wants to read an ode to all things bookish and get lost in a world where your books are a little bit more than what they appear.
Thank you kindly to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an e-ARC, in exchange for this honest review.

I know, I know, I'm so late to the party reading this but I did enjoy it greatly! I decided I couldn't let 2019 pass without having read this. book. It is so delightful, the magic and its system are so much fun to read and the style of writing of Rogerson is absolutely thrilling to read. Silas and Magister Thorn were hands down my favourites but Elisabeth had so much heart and sincerity it was impossible not to care for our protagonist. 

The only reason I did not rate this five stars is because, despite how much I absolutely LOVED this book, I just felt like something was missing from Nathaniel and Elisabeth's interactions and relationship in general. I just wanted them to have a more genuine connection than we got. I did feel as if Silas and Elisabeth had better interaction, not romantically, just for a genuine friendship.

As many have asked, why is this a standalone?! I NEED MORE!

I was so excited for this book and I wasn't let down in the slightest! I really really enjoyed An Enchantment of Ravens and when I found out that Margaret Rogerson was bringing out another book I just HAD to request it!

1. It was set in a magical library, I mean COME ON!
2. The fact that it was good AND bad magic.
3. The pacing was just right!
4. It was just so easy to read, sometimes in books things can be a bit wordy, but there were no issues with this what so ever!

I really did enjoy this and I'm glad it lived up to expectations!

Thank you to OwlCrate and also NetGalley for sending me this book! I really enjoyed it!

Elisabeth works in a library where books hold varying degrees of dangerous or good magic. Her job is to protect them and make sure they don’t get lost into the wrong hands. However, one night the most dangerous book in her library comes to life and she is framed for the damage it has caused. Trying to fight for her cause, she and Nathanial have to fight against a powerful patriarchal sorcerer who is determined to shut her up and put her in an asylum. Will truth prevail?

I loved this book, the premise and the direction it took. It was a great read and I couldn’t put it down in all honesty. However there was something about it that didn’t draw me in. This book just kind of felt really random to me. Like the storyline is great, but yeah. So random. And for that reason I couldn’t give it the full 5 stars that I want to. 

Saying that though, I will recommend it to any who love fantasy and sarah j maas books especially.

I've been wanting to read a Margaret Rogerson book for so long and this one did not disappoint! It was so fast paced, action packed and I just loved the writing style so much.

Elisabeth was born to be a warden of books. Raised amongst the Great Libraries, she has an affinity for the dark and dangerous grimoires that whisper their secrets at night, and trick unwary librarians to their death. So when one such grimoire escapes, leaving a path of destruction in its wake, it falls on Elisabeth and the reluctant sorcerer Nathanial Thorn to get to the bottom of who is behind the deed. 

The setting for this was absolutely perfect. Mysterious libraries and dangerous books are a combination made in heaven for any bookworm like me, and the friendship and love that Elisabeth has for the books is wonderful to see unfold. My favourite scenes were definitely those centred around the various libraries of the kingdom, as well as seeing the grimoires interact with each other and Elisabeth. They each have their own distinct personalities and temperaments, some are friendly while others are malevolent and evil - luring the unsuspecting to their death. This relationship Elisabeth has with them is distinctly unique, and one that is explored well throughout the story. 

I also really enjoyed Elisabeth as a character. She’s clumsy, with her head stuck in then clouds, but also determinedly stubborn and strong willed with a good moral compass. Several times she has the chance to give up and forget her quest to bring down the villain who is destroying her beloved libraries, but she never does. She never falters from her path, rather drawing people into her plight with her shining personality and love for the downtrodden. Her relationships with both Nathanial and Silas are well done too, with a romance that never steps fully into the forefront of the story - which greatly appreciated. It’s slow burn and a little tension filled and oh so good. The morally grey Silas, with the hints of danger and ability to turn into a fluffy white cat, reminded me of Mogget from Sabriel, and helps to add an additional dimension to the characters. 

In terms of the story itself, I do think that it’s reasonably well paced given its long length for YA, however a lot of the ‘secrets’ and twists are revealed a little too early on for my liking. We discover who is behind the library attacks very early on, leaving little to the imagination and no build up of mystery or tension. At times I found myself alternating between being really invested in the storyline, and other times being a bit bored. This is especially true of the middle section, where Elisabeth is house bound with little action or development going on other than waiting for something to happen, and we see very little of our villain - weakening the overall menacing effect slightly. I would have preferred a slower unfeeling of these mysteries. 

That said, this is an enjoyable YA fantasy with a unique concept. My absolute love of the grimoires pushed my rating higher.

Highlight
the books
the book magic
the humour

Overall
I didn't realise this was a 14-15-year-old protagonist. The adults were very villainous in the true form of the YA range, but the grimoires and the idea of living books were very detailed and fascinating. I loved the library and the life of the books and all that magic.

I struggled to put the book down and laughed out loud on several occasions (which is rare to me). 

The Story
The story starts straight in and shifts Elisabeth's (the protagonist) way of life and her comfort, as most YA does. This is such a typical YA trait and it never really fails. The book had several typical elements of a YA book, but it was fine to me. It had the villainous adults, the quick shift in their life situation at the start of the book, the handsome boy/man with the dark past, and good sidekicks. 

But overall I enjoyed the story a lot. 

The World-building
lots of details concerning the books etc, but not too heavy and not that wide. it only briefly mentions other libraries etc, and the nearby village and another town, but that's it. Then as the story runs through it slowly adds information. You never really feel like its world-building as its all a part of the story. Is quite well one. I didn't notice the world-building after the first few chapters. 

The magic/science
The books have magic and their own life through the sacrifices of humans and demons as their binding is made by them, but the humans have magic based on the summoning and control of high court demons. The summoning spell is inherited and on-one outside the magic families knows this information. 

I really loved the book magic and the personalities they seemed to have. 

The characters
Elisabeth is around the age of 14-15 (at the beginning at least) and is the main characters who seem to always get into trouble. Well, trouble seems to find her, she just wants to do the right thing. 

I also liked both Nathaniel and Silas. I laughed out loud by some of Nathaniel's comeback on several occasions. And me laughing out loud from a book is rare!

LGBT+?
In the background and not frowned upon :)

The Writing
It's got easy writing as expected from a YA book. It was well written in the way I didn't notice the world-building and the smoothness of the story. I also enjoyed it so much I had issues putting it down.

It's very funny at times and I laughed out loud which is uncommon for me.

Summary
I loved it. I'm definitely picking up An Enchantment of Ravens, which is Margaret Rogerson's first book.

I loved this book so much.

I connected with Elisabeth from the beginning and while her background isn't explored much, I felt like she was such a well-rounded character. What I really liked was that despite her reservations about sorcerers and the world in general, she's open to learning and understanding and acknowledging that what she has been told might not be the truth.

The relastionship between her and Nathaniel was such a pleasant one, I liked how it developed slowly and that both characters sort of fight it until they finally admit it and then they're honest with each other. The lack of romatic conflict made so much more room for the FASCINATING magic system.

The grimoires were horrific, but so well done and I liked that they had personalities and were able to act. Sorcery of Thorns is the kind of book for book lovers but with an interesting magical plot and although the bad guy wasn't very interesting or surprising, I liked how he believed in his mission and how it played out.

My favourite character was Silas. He was quite the interesting persona and added a lot to the story.

Sorcery of Thorns was magical, and I loved how much of the world we got to see and understand before the big climatic end. It was well written and balanced and I'm looking forward to more stories from the author.

It has been an incredibly long time since a book has sucked me into its world like this book does. While the magic and stories are nothing alike, I often felt myself comparing to being sucked into the world of Harry Potter. That's how good this book is.

Sorcery of Thorns immerses you into a world where magic exists, librarians are the absolute bomb-ass people, and books being monsters is pretty normal. Elisabeth is an apprentice librarian in a Great Library - one of six institutions which house and take care of grimoires. In this world, grimoires aren't just books full of spells. Graded by how dangerous they potentially are, these books can communicate to readers and come to life in various ways depending on the book's creator and the nature of its contents.

“It was always wise to be polite to books, whether or not they could hear you.”


But when the director of Elisabeth's library is killed, in a string of attacks that is releasing grimoires as their monster forms across the Great Libraries, she is accused of being behind the crime. From here Elisabeth is swept along a story of magical corruption in an attempt to save the Great Libraries, the grimoires, and herself.

I feel like I should acknowledge that book carries A LOT of tropes. There is the "one-of-a-kind MC", the dark and brooding male character, there is the whole save the world story line. But Rogerson has managed to weave the story in a way that it doesn't feel like these plots have been done before. The world-building and the lore are so intricate and gorgeous, that the entire book is an engaging from start to finish. This book was much slower than I typically enjoy, but because of these components I didn't even mind.

“...there is always more than one way to see the world. Those who claim otherwise would have you dwell forever in the dark.”


There is so much more that I could say about this book, but I am not one for long reviews. I just want you to know that it is truly a fantastic experience and I absolutely recommend you pick this up if it catches your interest!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
To me this book was a very fun read, and was a perfect read to just sit under a blanket and read the day away, I read this book in one sitting as I was so captivated by it. There is a lot of amazing banter in this book and this made the reading experience for me, I love a book with a bit of good banter in it.
I feel the best part of this book was the characters, they just made it so much more!, from their relationships to their connections with one another. The writing in the book was also very enjoyable. I highly recommend this book, and I have recommended it to some of my friends who have similar tastes to me and they loved it too.

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....

This was such an enjoyable read! While I didn't really connect with the main character, I absolutely loved Nathaniel and Silas. The world was really nice to read about and I loved the role books played in the story. Could have been a little shorter imo, but it was a good one nonetheless. Would recommend!

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!!!