Cover Image: Sorcery of Thorns

Sorcery of Thorns

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

What more could a book lover ask for than a fantasy novel about a magical library filled with books that come alive? Following Elisabeth and Nathaniel on their quest to reveal the plot of an evil sorcerer against the magical libraries and the demons they hide was an epic ride from start to finish. From the first few pages, it was astounding how quickly you could get enveloped by the rich, atmospheric descriptions of the setting and the magic system that Rogerson has created among the libraries. Not only this but while there are many secrets hidden among the world, this fantastical world is easily understandable, yet complex in its unique way. Furthermore, the author uses this world to comment on the state of our own, making clever commentary about the workings of powerful people in society and how their ways of thinking and methods of deception impact the public.
More than anything, however, the characterization of Silas is what got me the most. While Elisabeth definitely undergoes a solid character arc with positive growth throughout the novel as she learns more about her past, I love how Silas' character stays stagnant yet aware. In other words, from the beginning, we know that he's evil at his core and he's aware and communicative about this side of him that is unable to be changed. This said, Rogerson does an incredible job at humanizing his character and making you feel for him throughout the novel in the way that he cares for both Elisabeth and Nathaniel.
Ultimately, I would definitely recommend this to anybody who enjoys an effective fantastical analysis of good vs evil and an immersive magic system that captivates you from the first chapter.

Was this review helpful?

If you ever dreamed of visiting the Hogwarts library and seeing books like the Monster Book of Monsters then this is the book for you! Full of dangerous books, witty exchanges and romantic moments, Sorcery of Thorns delivers a fun adventure in a world I found fascinating. A stand alone novel (almost unheard of in the genre!) that I will likely revisit one day. This made my book nerd self very very happy.

Was this review helpful?

Elisabeth is a child of the library. She has spent her days surrounded by books; the bad ones. The ones that rattle against their chains and demand to be set loose. Finally an apprentice, Elisabeth looks forward to the day she will become a warden, protecting the library and guarding it as well. When she wakes in the middle of the night unexpectedly to find the Director dead and one of the grimoires released from its chains and ready to wreck havoc, Elisabeth makes a decision that propels her into a world of magic and demons, of sorcery and ancient plots.

Elisabeth’s story hooked me from the beginning and pulled me into a world of vivid magic. I could smell the old books and feel the vastness of the ancient library shelves. Between the writing style and the story’s depth, I felt myself wanting to reach for a paintbrush to take down the images that sprouted from my imagination through this book. The plot was fast paced and constantly changing, taking me in to a new part of the world and the adventure. Structurally, I really enjoyed the way that everything built together and the way the demons and old families left a feeling that you already knew these characters, that the reader was a part of the community gossip and privy to all those secrets.

The characters were fantastic. There were three main characters: Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas. Each felt like their own person with their own story and not merely revolving around the protagonists journey. Elisabeth felt a little clueless at first, which made sense in a worldly nature but not in the common-sense portion, but you really feel her grow as a character throughout her story arc. She was strong and vulnerable, making her feel real and worth rooting for. Nathaniel had some excellent lines and felt very Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle to me. I would have liked to see more of him because it felt like his story had so much depth that never really got the spotlight. Silas was by far the most interesting character. He was a fancy grandmother/butler figure, a doting best friend, and the scariest monster in your nightmares all wrapped up in one. His story existed so beneath the surface, adding to the mystery of who he was and making the reader fall in love with him and fear him in the way that Elisabeth and Nathaniel had. Each character had their own arc and seeing the snippets through this book felt like you knew them enough to be enticed but not so much as to take away from the main story line.

Overall, Sorcery of Thorns is every fantasy book lovers dream, blending a love of the fantastical world with the love that exists within the power of books. Elisabeth grew up with books as her friends and many of us can relate. This is a story I will think about, one that will vividly stick in my mind… at least until I can get to a piece of paper to draw it.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson much more than her first book. I felt it was more complete and the world was better explained. I absolutely loved all the characters (Silas ❤️) and their evolution. There were some longer chapters but otherwise it was full of action and not centered around romance. Great book! I loved the ending. Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook in exchange of an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

There is a reason this book is on the top recommended YA lists! This book was incredible. The writing was fluid and quick, and the descriptions were extraordinary. And hello - it was set in a library! Need I say more? Elisabeth was such a relatable character and the friendships and even romance, were the perfect edition. 10/10 recommend.

Was this review helpful?

I was provided an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5 Stars ♥

I went into Sorcery of Thorns knowing essentially nothing about the book, and I ended up really enjoying it. Sorcery of Thorns is a YA fantasy standalone novel that follows Elisabeth Scrivener, a young woman raised in a library who gets framed for a crime and finds herself having to team up with a sorcerer to stop an evil plot.

I really liked all the characters in this book. Elisabeth frustrated me a bit at first, but I really warmed up to her. Nathaniel, the love interest (who is also a sorcerer), didn’t appeal to me too much at first but I grew to like him. I didn’t care about the romance in this book, however, I rarely care about romance in books (and the plot was strong enough on its own to keep me engaged) so it didn’t really bother me. My favourite character was definitely Silas, Nathaniel’s demon servant. His character was so interesting to me and I love him so much.

The magic system was really cool! Libraries in this world aren’t normal, the books are magical and some almost seem alive. Librarians are tasked with basically guarding these books. The way sorcery worked was also super interesting to me, I really liked the idea of the demon servants that each sorcerer has to draw their magic from.

I did find the world building kind of weak and it did take me some time to warm up to the two main characters, which I why I took away half a star from my rating. I also didn’t like how so many people called this an enemies to lovers romance when it definitely wasn’t, but that’s not really an issue with the book itself. Otherwise, it was a solid read and I would highly recommend it, especially for someone who wants a good YA fantasy without having to commit to an entire series.

Was this review helpful?

4 stars

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed this book. The magic was very interesting and I thought the fantasy world was well executed and explained.

My favourite character by far was Silas. He was such an intriguing character and I just wanted to spend the whole book with him instead of the main characters.

I liked the main character Elizabeth well enough, but I do feel like too much of her arc was centuries on her relationship with Nathaniel, which I was disappointed by. I felt that their relationship wasn’t developed as well as I’d have liked and they went from hate to love a bit too quickly for my taste, with no real reason to it.

That said, I really enjoyed the plot and where it went. Overall I enjoyed this book a lot.

Was this review helpful?

Dear book: it's not you, it's me.
I wanted so badly to love this: from the gorgeous cover to the enchanting world and lyrical writing, I feel like I should have fallen in love. Instead, I found myself more on the ambivalent side; I liked Sorcery of Thorns well enough, but I didn't find it particularly memorable. I just wasn't able to get into this book like I wanted to, and no one is more disappointed than me.



It isn't something I can pinpoint, one of the reasons why I wasn't super invested in this book is that I felt really distant from all of the characters. Characters are the backbone of a story for me; in Sorcery of Thorns, I liked them, but I didn't connect with them like I wanted to. The writing made me feel more distant from either Nathaniel or Elisabeth than I had hoped for - oh, the world around them is described beautifully, but I didn't feel like I was immersed in the characters. 

Elisabeth was still a wonderful heroine, though: book-smart and physically badass. I found Nathaniel to be, in many ways, a fairly typical love interest with a troubled past, but I could relate to him more than most love interests because, hello, bisexual disaster. I'm really glad to see a bisexual love interest in a historical-based fantasy, anyways, because it's something I rarely see in books. Both of them have PTSD: Nathaniel from childhood, and Elisabeth develops it over the course of the story. For a society that has no words for post-traumatic stress, it was written and communicated fairly well. Special mention also goes to Silas, Nathaniel's demon servant, who - despite being a literal demon with, apparently, no feelings - manages to be one of the most charming and heartwarming characters in the entire book. 

The romance between Elisabeth and Nathaniel was cute as well. This is, to my knowledge, one of the few books where the female main character is actually taller than the love interest, which I found super adorable? I'm always here for HEIGHT DIFFERENCE, folks. They also have an element of slow burn enemies to lovers, which is certainly something to take note of - personally, I thought that it wasn't enemies enough, just mild discontent with each other, which isn't quite the amount of vitriol from each side to be entertaining for me.  

I liked the world a lot: in many ways it's your standard fantasy world, yes, but the grimoires were so magical and enchanting. If anything, the aesthetic of this book was completely on point, because it was so atmospheric. Margaret Rogerson's writing is beautiful and lush, with vivid descriptions of her world, inspired by Victorian England. I certainly went into this book expecting another generic medieval fantasy setting, so a more modern setting was a pleasant surprise - it's always nice when fantasy is taking out of a generic medieval setting. 

However, the main reason for my disengagement with Sorcery of Thorns is the pacing, which I found to be somewhat inconsistent. There were times where it was slow for far too long, which had me reaching for other things to do rather than read. It definitely picked up towards the end, but there quite a few moments that fell flat for me. It also frustrated me because I saw where the main villain, Ashcroft, was going far before Elisabeth and Nathaniel figured it out. That slowed down the book a lot for me, honestly. And there a couple of times I felt the emotional impact of the plot didn't land as well as it should because of the magic system. 

I'd definitely recommend reading Sorcery of Thorns despite the fact I wasn't as into it as I'd hyped it up to be. I think I may go back and reread it and see if I like it when I'm in a less hectic headspace - but it's definitely a very whimsical, magical fantasy with two intriguing main characters.

Was this review helpful?

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2846239258

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, but in no way whatsoever did that influence my opinion in the end!

This book begins with Elisabeth, an apprentice to one of the many great libraries in the kingdom of Austermeer. One night, a grimoire being held in her library turns into a Malefict, a magical bookish monster hell-bent on destruction. When Elisabeth saves the day, she's blamed for causing the situation in the first place. Being whisked away to the city, she then undergoes a quest to find the true reason behind her sabotage.

Sorcery of Thorns brings together magic in Sorcerers, Demons, and magical books while remaining a sort of cozy, warm, fall vibe read.

The story itself felt like I read it before, thus the reason for the 3/5 stars. I did really enjoy the story, but it was very much the usual plot fantasy novels face, in which a character is sent on a quest to clear their name, and they fall in love and save the day. I wanted a bit more.

But to say that, there are some redeeming factors, the character Silas is interesting, the world itself is pleasant, and the main character is one of the few tall girls you see playing a protagonist role in fiction.

The love in the novel felt obvious from the get-go, and there was no slowburn or a whole lot of want for the characters to be involved together. I was happy that they were, but it felt super meh.

So do I recommend it? Sure. It's a light, easy read, for a rainy day sort of book.

Was this review helpful?

I loved reading this book so much! I knew I was going to because there's libraries that are important, libraries that have books that can eat peoples hands. This world of sorcerers and magical grimoires and demons, yeah, it was so interesting to read about!

What I didn't expect for was for this book to be pretty hilarious. From more background bits like books eating peoples hands being common place, to Nathaniel and all his quips, this book was an unexpected font of hilarity!

Elizabeth was pretty bad ass. I guess I should've expected it from the cover having her hold a sword, but I guess I'm just so used to the guys being the ones using the weapons. Sure, Nathaniel had magic, but Elizabeth was the one with the sword and yeah, I really enjoyed that dynamic!

I kind thought the whole bit where she was thought to be working with the bad guys was going to last longer, so I didn't expect the direction that this book went! There was almost a bit of a historical spy air to the middle portion of this book where she's investigating the bad guy's plan and how to stop it was was really fun to read!

Elizabeth was a child of the Library, and yeah, that turned out to be incredibly useful! With Nathaniel's magic and Silas, they were a pretty significant powerhouse group, and I enjoyed how the final confrontation went, it was so unexpected and creative and amazing to read! Such a wonderful ending!

Loved this book so much, and I wouldn't mind another book set in this world!

Was this review helpful?

I loved that this fantasy story was set in libraries. These libraries weren’t like the ones in our world. They were full of grimoires that could do things, such as speak. However, they could also turn into “maleficts” which were dangerous creatures. It made the library a potentially terrifying place.

I was glad that this story is a standalone. So many fantasy books turn into long series, so it is nice to have the complete story in one book.

I didn’t feel as much of a connection to Elisabeth as I wished I did. If her origins were described, I could have related to her more. All that we know is that she was an orphan and didn’t know who her parents were. I think her mysterious parentage could have created a great plot twist. There was an interesting relationship between a sorcerer and a demon, which was great to read. They became more like family than master and servant.

This was a great fantasy story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

This is a whimsical tale full of wonderful prose set in a fascinating world where magical books are at the center.

<i>“I knew you talked to books. I just didn’t realize they listened.”</i>

Elisabeth is a true child of the library. She grew up in a great library surrounded by books. She’s an apprentice and wants to be a Warden, a person who protects the books.

In this fantasy world, books or grimoires come alive and can be dangerous creatures. One night there’s an attack on the library and a very important grimoire escapes. Elisabeth tries to defend the library but ends up caught in the crossfire and written off as the only suspect. She’s forced to travel with a Sorcerer named Nathaniel Thorn and his demon companion/butler of sorts, Silas. In this world demons give their powers to sorcerers, but at a price.

Elisabeth is trying to prove that she’s innocent and comes across a conspiracy theory about what’s going on in the libraries. Secrets unfold and evil lurking. Elisabeth and Nathaniel have to work together in an attempt to defeat it. They're both such strong characters on their own and match together perfectly.

There’s also a slow burn romance that’s satisfying to see unfold.

I would have liked to know more about Katrien. She was an intriguing character and it would have been neat to see more of her story explored.

I know this is a standalone but I would happily read more stories set in this historical fantasy world.

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it was worth it.

<i>Disclaimer: I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley, however; I didn’t have a chance to read it before the publication date and purchased my own copy. </i>

Was this review helpful?

Whimsical, magical, bringing books to life on the pages in a way that, dangerous and forbidden, makes the reader want to explore even further into the story.

Was this review helpful?

I thought Elisabeth was brave and selfless, but having been raised in one of the great libraries with very little experience with the outside world, she starts off the story sheltered. The keepers of the libraries strongly believe that all magic is evil so thats all shes knows. As she gets to know the sorcerer Nathaniel and his demon servant Silas during their efforts to stop the attacks on the magical libraries she starts to question those beliefs. She even starts to question whether becoming a warden charged with protecting the libraries is truly what she wants. We really get to see some great character development. I do think her skills with a sword werent very believable for someone who's never trained, but I guess she does have other advantages helping her out. The whole booklice comparison was pretty funny. I just loved her connection and empathy for the grimoires.

I loved the slow burn romance. The way Nathaniel would call Elisabeth a menace was adorable. There was a lot of great chemistry and tension between them. Nathaniel has been through so much and as a result has cut himself off from almost everyone which makes me want to protect him at all cost. His demon servant Silas is the only person who's always been there for him. He's been taking care of Nathaniel since his lost his family at young age and thats brought them closer together. I absolutely adored their unconventional friendship. Silas is such a complexe character with his century old wisdom and insatiable hunger. The way he's upfront about what he is was refreshing and heartbreaking all at once. We also spend a bit of time with Elisabeths spunky best friend Katrien and I loved how she wasnt just there to support the main character but had her own thing going on. I do wish we had gotten to know Mercy better since she seemed like a fascinating character.

The world with its magical libraries and grimoires turned monster was fascinating. Sorcerers get their powers by summoning a demon and having it agree to serve them in exchange for the a certain amount of the sorcerers life. The demon can only obey one master at a time, but its never really explained if the ability to use magic is given to the entire family or if each member has to summon their own demons if they want magic. That would be difficult considering they need a demons true name to summon them and those arent easy to come by. Id love to know what happens to the demon when their master dies since technically they would be set free but it seems like they probably vanish to the otherworld. Its also not explained why some sorcerers have abilities like commanding an army of the dead, but others do not. Despite all that I still loved the concept.

The plot was a little slow when the characters was sitting around researching and waiting for the villain to make their next move, but it was realistic and it did give us time to get to know the characters. I loved how the villain actually thought they were being the hero. Those are some of my favorite villains. I do find it frustrating when a character waits too long to make a move and the enemy gets the chance to out maneuver them. I also had a difficult time wrapping my head around Warden Finchs actions, but I guess his jealousy blinded him to the truth. I noticed the time line was a little off. I think we went through 3 seasons in about 12 weeks. I was torn with the way things left off because I love a happy ending, but they arent always realistic. Overall I adored this book and totally recommend it. Now Im even more excited to read her other book Enchantment of Ravens.

Was this review helpful?

Elisabeth Scrivener is an apprentice at the Great Library of Summershall, and dreams of one day becoming a warden, to safeguard the kingdom from the grimoires that the Libraries house. Sorcery is evil, Elisabeth is quite sure of it, having grown up in the library surrounded by various magical grimoires – the spell books that sorcerers use, several of them extremely dangerous should they get out of hand. Yet, when a dangerous grimoire gets loose with disastrous consequences, and Elisabeth manages to stop it, casting suspicion on herself, it is the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn and his demonic servant Silas that she has no choice but to turn to. It was no accident though, but an act of sabotage – of sorcery – that caused the grimoire to be released, and Elisabeth quickly finds herself caught up in a far deeper and grander conspiracy that puts their entire world at risk.

Finding good books about books is surprisingly hard. One that immediately jumps to mind is the Inkheart trilogy which I read way back in middle school. A more recent one is the ongoing Great Library series. Sorcery of Thorns is definitely a magical addition to that list. I absolutely loved that the books had personalities and attitudes that reflected their contents, and this was such a unique and fantastical tale. This was my first time reading one of Margaret Rogerson’s books, but after this, An Enchantment of Ravens is moving up to the top of my backlist. I really enjoyed the writing style and narration, especially the fact that the story started right away and there was no dawdling around for the purposes of world-building and introducing characters – who by the way, were very well fleshed out over the course of a moderately long story. I also liked the somewhat historical setting of the tale, which was helpful in drawing attention to how easily dismissed women’s opinions were in those times, labelling them as mad or hysterical. It was quite satisfying to see Elisabeth overcome these kinds of odds along with the more magical side of things.

Elisabeth’s naiveness with regards to the whole ‘all sorcery is evil’ thing is a bit extreme and takes longer than it should to wear off. Nathaniel was amazing of course, witty and a little dark, but I liked Silas even more. To be honest, apart from the grimoires, Silas was my next favourite part of the story. He spends most of the book trying to convince Elisabeth (and himself) that as a demon bound to Nathaniel’s service, he doesn’t see humans the same way and definitely does not care for them. It’s actually kind of hilarious and adorable at the same time to watch him act at times like an exasperated parent, then a terrifyingly powerful being and at others as a loyal protector – one who definitely does care for humans, just not in a human way, and Margaret Rogerson has captured this portrayal perfectly.

With most fantasy novels these days being part of a series, it was a refreshing change to read this standalone – and even better that the story was so well put together and felt complete by the end of it. The easy banter and light humour between Nathaniel and Elisabeth makes this a delight to read. I would highly recommend this, not only for fantasy fans, but book lovers in general who will definitely be able to relate to Elisabeth and lose themselves in a new world of books.

Was this review helpful?

I loved this book! The author loves her descriptive words which at times feels overdone, but not too distracting from the story. It's got all the favourite clichés, like the clumsy heroine with powers she was unaware of, and the broody and mysterious love interest with a dark past. I loved the world and magic that the author created too! Overall this was a fun read, and I would definitely recommend it!

Was this review helpful?

Talking books! Sassy strong female! Magic! Demons! What doesn’t this book have? I loved it. Libraries have souls and will do anything to protect the books within them.

Elisabeth is an orphan who has been raised in one of the Great Libraries among magical talking books. She’s a wonderful witty and clever feral librarian who knows how to wield a sword.
Then we have Nathaniel, a magic user whom Elisabeth has been taught to fear. Nathaniel has a dry sense of humour and little use for Elisabeth. They are great foils for each other. I can’t decide if I want them to get together or be partners in crime.

“Scrivener,” he said carefully, “I don’t mean to be forward, but is that a -”
“A sword hidden underneath my dress? Yes, it is.”
“I see. And how exactly is it -”
“I thought you didn’t mean to be forward.”

Gah, that ending!!! Give me more!!!!!! Not really a cliffhanger but the desire to have so much more of Elisabeth and Nathaniel's story.

This book is a quick read because it sucks you right into the story and you want Elisabeth to beat the bad guys. Put your plans on hold before you start as you’ll want to finish it in one sitting.
4.5 stars. Deducting half a star because there are a lot of fantasy tropes in here. That doesn’t stop this from being a fun and wild ride.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

- I go back and forth between 3 and 4 stars -

I really enjoyed the idea of this book. It has a strong and compelling beginning, and for a little while I thought this would be a 5 stars read. I loved the concept of books being alive and the magic system being intertwined to demonic energy. Also, great dialogues - the banters between characters were so fun to read!

However, I found the writing quite flowery, sometimes even cliché with eye-rolling tropy moments. Sometimes the writing felt a bit confusing to me (ie sometimes I thought they were running but then they would just talk like they were walking). I lost interest in the plot 2/3 in, as nothing truly captivating and deep was happening. It slightly picked up in the end.
Moreover, at the beginning of the book, the main character did not directly picked up on something that was SO obvious, which I guess kind of annoyed me haha (Silas being a demon). Also, the characters were not super original and had stereotypic personalities.
The magic system got confusing mid-book with the demons and the rules for summoning them and bargaining...which could have been fixed by developing the world a little bit more.
Finally, a very predictable ending with a final fight scene that dragged on but also unfortunately did not impress me whatsoever. I don't know how to explain it, but it just felt too easy somehow, or something was missing... It wrapped up way too nicely like a good fluffy book, nothing heart-wrenching or very deep happened and I was quite disappointed with that ending.

TLDR; I loved the setting and the plot, maybe the pacing was a little bit off and the character a bit cliché, but I would say it's worth checking it out if you like YA fantasy. Definitely an author to follow.

Was this review helpful?

For my full review on my blog follow this link: https://extraordinarystardust.blogspot.com/2019/06/review-sorcery-of-thorns-margaret.html

I’m just going to say it: This book was phenomenal. The story was immensely captivating, the characters were wonderfully complex (and loveable), the world building was magnificently done - I felt like I was literally sucked into the story, and the magic system. Omg, the magic system. It was some of the best magic I’ve ever read about. There were rules and costs and limits but the magic still maintained its sense of wonder (since we didn’t know too many logistics). So well done in my opinion. Our main character, Elizabeth is so bold, inquisitive, and quick-thinking. And if you love books, you’ll definitely love Elizabeth. The secondary characters are equally as compelling and complex. (I love the trio in this book with Ann my heart) Basically, just read Sorcery of Thorns right now. (If you want to. I’m not telling you what to read or anything... but seriously read this book).

Did I I mention it’s a standalone fantasy novel?????? Because it is. And it’s amazing because I can only think of one other fantasy standalone. (Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller, I also LOVED that book).


Okay this review has come to an end. So what are you waiting for? Go and get Sorcery of Thorns and make it your new current read!!

Was this review helpful?

Just the other day I was pouting about YA fantasy just not hitting the mark for me in 2019. And in struts SORCERY OF THORNS just to prove me wrong. I didn't really know what to expect for this one other than it had something to do with library with a hate to love (possibly) and magic and, not having read Rogerson's first novel, didn't know how that would all translate in the writing.

Well, it translated super well.

"<I>You used a demonic incantation to pack my stockings!</I>"
"<b>You're right, that doesn't sound like something a proper evil sorcerer would do. Next time, I won't fold them.</b>"

This not-quite-medieval but not-quite-steampunk world is populated by living, magical, books and sorcery from demonic bargains. Librarians are the keepers of the books and look down upon the Magisters, the sorcerers, for their alliances with demons. So naturally this is a great set-up for an orphan, raised in the library and on her way to become a Warden, to get tripped up with a Magister.. who then trips up all her pre-conceived notions, too.

"<I>I don't mean to be forward, but is that a--</I>"
"<b>A sword hidden under my dress? Yes, it is.</b>"
"<I>I see. And how exactly is it--</I>"
"<b>I thought you didn't mean to be forward.</b>"

The banter and dynamic between the two leads was great. Even during a weird lull, where I worried my experience with this one was also going to crash and burn, I was comforted by the four and five star worthy dialogue of bickering and nicknames. It was just fabulous. What I could never have suspected, though, was how much I would love a certain demon and that my love for him would have me shedding a tear or two.

"<I>Can you go on?</I>"
"<b>Of course I can. I may be useless, but my good looks might prove critical for morale.</b>"

Honestly, the mayhem and calamity that is crashing down around their ears didn't interest me half as much as the Help Save The World Adventure Squad Trio.. but, to be fair, I did like them a lot so even half of that.. isn't bad. But I'll admit I lost a wee bit of love somewhere around the middle bit. Things went in a strange direction I didn't see coming and there was an odd interaction or two I didn't quite understand, but overwhelmingly this book was just.. unexpected. Interesting, creative, funny, clever, and fun. There's one specific thing I liked so much, and liked how it wasn't really made into A Thing, but I'm not even going to remotely hint at it so that you, too, can be pleasantly surprised about it. Instead, I'll say how much I appreciated the constant reinforcement, and reminder, of shades of grey as it applies to so many things, including people. It made for a richer story that was already pretty lush.

<I>These weren't ordinary books the Great Library kept. They whispered on the shelves and shuddered beneath iron chains. Some spat ink and threw tantrums; others sang to themselves in high, clear notes on windless nights, when starlight streamed through the library's barred windows like shafts of mercury. Others still were so dangerous they had to be stored in the underground vault, packed in salt. Not all of them were her friends.</I>

I feel a little nitpicky for harkening back to this after all the nice things I've said but for all the good, there were those moments I wasn't too sold on, and definitely a few typical fantasy roadblocks as we see when the hero/heroes are trying to convince People In Charge that they are Here To Help. It isn't without some clichés or slower moments so, yeah, it's not a perfect ten. Hence the four (#math).

"<I>Tempting as the prospect is, we are not attempting world domination. It sounds fun in theory, but in reality it's a logistical nightmare.</I>"

But the moments that were good, were great. The parts that made me laugh, really tickled. And those unexpected glimpses of brilliance and emotion.. they are definitely there. I didn't always like how the perspective could be fluid but at the same time I also really loved how the narrative flowed and didn't always need us to live through the events but would still catch us up. And I love love loved the end.

"<I>I dragged you into this. You wouldn't be here it it weren't for me.</I>"
"<b>You're right. I would be alone in my study, utterly miserable, spending my final hours unaware that demons were about to overrun the world. I like this version better. The one with you in it.</b>"

SORCERY OF THORNS is definitely worth picking up. I have no idea if there's more to come and, because of the ending, I almost hope not. But I wouldn't say no to more, either.


** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **

Was this review helpful?