An amazing epic fantasy according to my heart: it's well written, fast paced, interesting and well written characters, and a great world building.
I can add that it's engrossing and entertaining and you cannot put it down.
There's not a lot I can add because I loved this book and I look forward to reading other works by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This is the YA fantasy about libraries and living, breathing books that I didn’t know I needed. I fell in love within like 20 pages and then just sped through the rest.

I absolutely loved the the premise of this book as soon as I read the synopsis. I mean, books that are alive and have personalities? COUNT ME IN. It sounded so promising from the summary and completely lived up to my expectations and more.

I know I won’t be the only reader who sees a little bit of themselves in Elisabeth; for being able to relate, on such a personal level, to her love of books, seeing them as companions, and forever feeling at home in their company. This story is every bit deserving of having such a remarkable character.

There is so much balance to this story that I honestly couldn’t have asked for anything more. Elisabeth’s fierce loyalty is a match for Nathaniel’s charm and humour. And, I LOVED Silas. Honestly Silas is a demon I could die for. He’s too precious. And even though he really is a savage, soulless and selfish creature, he’s still a cute fluffy kitten. I would kill for a friend like Silas.

The plot itself is very good. It flows so well and it’s interesting to see how certain ideas are put into place and how they’re going to turn out. With magic involved, one could never be more careful, am I right? Sorcery is unpredictable and so it makes the plot a bit more complicated, which is amazing because who likes a lame plot?

This story is perfection for lovers of books and sorcery and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Sorcery of Thorns was a Spellbinding Success!

***I was given this by Netgalley in exchange for review- but the unabridged gushing is all me***

Set in a magical library, with the promise of plenty of drama and danger, I had a feeling I was bound to love Sorcery of Thorns… and I was right! Last year, when this came out, I was blown away by the sheer number of positive reviews. Just last month, I was delighted by Enchantment of Ravens and saw for myself the author’s potential- but nothing could’ve prepared me for the pure pleasure of this book. A perfect escapist read, I was instantly lost in this world of grimoires and demons.

The main character, Elisabeth, was in equal parts charming and quirky. Her perspective felt refreshing and fun- and it certainly didn’t hurt that her ambition is to be a warden of the Great Library (let’s be real- I wish this was my life!) I didn’t just feel a connection to her, however- the love interest stole pieces of my heart and (surprisingly) a side character managed to run off with the rest!

And while the world is easily one of its biggest draws, it’s no question that the plot also delivers a punch. Pacey from the enigmatic opening to the turn of the last page, I felt like I was leafing through the layers of this story with every chapter. Part murder mystery, part coming of age tale, part romance, this has a little of everything to satisfy readers of all stripes.

For me, the writing held just the right level of enchantment. Lovely and refined, it made me laugh and hit me in the *feels* when it had to.

The narrative also manages to raise interesting ideas- which I also appreciated in Rogerson’s previous work. Here, she doesn’t just explore the wonder of books themselves, but how they make the reader stronger and more resilient. This is penned into the protagonist’s development in such a way that makes her feel simultaneously special and relatable. It bookends the beauty of libraries in an exceptional way.

As you can tell, my love for this book is no fiction. There’s something simply joyous in this YA fantasy. If you’re looking for a little time away from our world right now, I highly recommend stepping into this book about books!

Rating: 5/5 bananas

Really enjoyed this book!
I loved reading about the Great libraries and the different Grimoires, and I thought the world-building was fantastic! Every time I thought I had it all figured out, something happens to tip my theory on it's head! It was exhilarating!

I'm sad to part with these characters, but I'll definitely be rereading it in the near future!

Margaret Rogerson has an amazing writing style and I look forward to reading her other works soon :)

Rating: 4/5
~Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 5/5 STARS (one million stars if possible) ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Elisabeth (my favourite YA heroine), Silas (the best morally grey character), Nathaniel (the sweetest bookish boy ever) and Katrien. ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Ashcroft, Lorelei and Warden Finch.⁣⁣⁣
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𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦:⁣⁣ The plot was intriguing and I loved the library setting for the story. It really resonated with me and mixed with magic system was perfect. This is the exactly the fantasy job I wish I could’ve had. ⁣⁣The characters are heartwarming. I loved the relationship between Silas, Nathaniel and Elisabeth. It was hilarious, loving and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Silas was a wild character; I loved his demon background and the intricacy of the world that is crafted in this story truly captures you and refuses to let go. ⁣⁣⁣
I found out this was a stand-alone which I simultaneously love and hate because I would kill for endless books about Silas, Nathaniel and Elisabeth. ALSO THAT ENDING?? So wonderfully evil on Margret Rogerson’s part. ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦: Nathaniel and Elisabeth. I was kind of exhausted with whole “bad boy” YA character but Nathaniel defied all of it. His sass? His good looks? His magic? The bookish boyfriend I didn’t know I needed. And Elisabeth’s wit was the greatest match to his; her determination, power and general love for books made her one of my absolute favourite heroines. 100% OTP material.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥: readers who love a story filled with magic, books, demons and love. ⁣⁣⁣

This book is just delightful - an adventure that makes me grateful I got into reading and the magic (no pun) of books :)
The characters are deliciously written, Elizabeth is a strong willed lead, Nathaniel is a wonderful equal and Silas, well I can guarantee you’ll love Silas, snark and all! The pace is well plotted and flows easily, this is a book you could sit down and read in one sitting. The only criticism of this book is that it’s a one off, this could easily be a duology, even a series, with the wonderful world that Rogerson has created and the promise of all the characters. And the cover is stunning!

If you want to escape for a while to a different world, this is the book for you!

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.