I first read Sorcery of Thorns as an eARC (gifted by Simon and Schuster Canada) and I absolutely loved it. However, I could put my thoughts into words to actually review it. So here's my review three years later, just in time for the novella release in January!

I'll be honest, I still don't really have the words review this properly. I feel like the book has put a spell on me in a way. I think about Sorcery of Thorns and I think light, funny fantasy about a librarian and a magician saving the world. However, the book itself has some very dark themes - demons, torture, violence, murder. And yet I think of the book so fondly, one might think it's a cozy, bright fantasy. That, I think, is a testament to Margaret Rogerson's writing, her characters, and the world she built in SOC that makes this book so loveable despite the absolutely reprehensible actions of her villain.

Elisabeth is an absolute delight. She has an air of mystery around her - why are books friendly to her? How did she survive the attack on her library? - but she also has an element of chaotic badassery to her that makes her so much fun to read about. Her adventures, while grueling, are so interesting and intense, you can't help but be sucked into the story. Despite her upbringing and the events of the books, Elisabeth is a ray of sunshine that can't be knocked down.

On the flip side, Nathaniel is a loveable grump and he hesitance towards CARING ABOUT PEOPLE gives me so much pain, but also I love him. His appreciation of and entertainment from Elisabeth's chaos is the best and he won my adoration through just jumping on the chaos train with her. Like if she's going down, he's going down with her.

Silas remains my favourite character. That is all I have to say about that.

Magical books. Like does magic get better than that? I loved how there's a whole world of book magic within this world of demonic magic and outlawed magic. The books have their own diseases, pests, and personalities and it's so comprehensive and descriptive that it felt real and natural. It's honestly one of my favourite elements of the story and I kind of wish it was expanded on a bit more (but it also makes sense that it wasn't cause they were always on the go).

As a whole, this story is a magical train wreck full of fumbles and errors and lost broken people who find love and win wars together and I enjoyed every minute of it.

TW: death, torture, gaslighting, blood, violence, forced institutionalization, confinement, misogyny, panic attack, mentions child death and death of a parent

Rep: bisexual MMC, aroace secondary character

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book, even if I didn't love Nathaniel Thorn's character. The very beginning & the middle were a bit slow, but otherwise the pacing was decent. I liked how Nathaniel's trauma manifested in the mansion, and how it was explored. I thought the ending was okay.

I loved this book so much! I'll pretty much buy anything from this author at this point and will reccomend customers in my store do the same!

I tried multiple times, but this book is just not for me. I never felt attached enough to the characters to care about what would happen to them. The MC is not very smart and I was getting annoyed about everything having to be explained to her.

4.5 huge stars!! What a little gem this book was! This is a fun YA standalone fantasy novel with magical libraries, sorcerers and demons. This was such a good novel and I'm so sad it's over. Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an unbiased review.

I thought I would enjoy this one but I was actually very pleasantly surprised by how much.
Of course, I loved the library-esq setting. I was super into the intrigue with the mystery villain and demons and such.

Absolutely adored this book! The world building was amazing and it became an instant favourite for me. Can’t wait for the next book by Rogerson

A great YA fantasy, definitely something I will be recommending to customers and friends. This was really the ultimate fantasy for diehard book lovers. The idea of books really coming to life made me so happy. I wish there had been more of a focus on the relationship between Nathaniel and Elisabeth, but that's because I'm a cheeseball. Great read.

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!

4.25 stars

*I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for a review*

I read this book almost a year ago but the experience of reading this book has stayed in the back of my mind. I didn't read the author's previous book but I was extremely interested in the fact that the story has a magical library. Elizabeth is a great main character who has been raised in the library all her life and has great passion for being a warden. Then she meets a sorcerer named Nathaniel and is told by everyone that sorcerer's are not to be trusted but has to put her trust in him when disaster strikes. The library is broken into, her mentor is killed and some of the magical books are released and Elizabeth is named as the prime suspects and has to go through a trial to prove her innocence. While in town she has to stay with Nathaniel and his demon familiar named Silas. She is proven to be innocent but also discovers that a very important person is behind the attacks and is essentially locked in that persons house. This where the story started to drag I feel like the the pace could have been sped up a bit. I did like that her best friend from back at the library was able to communicate and help them plan how to solve the problem. Silas was a great character but I was not a fan when he was unbound from Nathaniel showing his demon side. I know this book is considered a standalone but the ending has a sort of cliff hanger ending so I'm wondering if she may do another book set in this world.

SORCERY OF THORNS is a book that had been on my TBR from the moment I first read its synopsis, months and months ago. So, when I received the opportunity to be able to read an ARC of it, I was absolutely THRILLED.

It definitely did not disappoint.

Rogerson is a master of her craft, a brilliant voice in the ever-expanding land of YA fantasy. Her novel - and its writing style - hit all the right points: the world-building was flawless, the dialogue flowed normally (a nice contrast from the ever-so-common awkwardness of mediocre fantasy dialogue), and the characters were engaging (um, we need a Katrien spin-off ASAP!). I found protagonist Elisabeth extremely likeable and fell in love with brooding, sarcastic Nathaniel from the moment he first appeared as the mysterious Magister in the Great Library. Plus, THE GRIMOIRES WERE INCREDIBLE! Aside from bringing lightness and fun to the story - I had a huge smile pasted on my face whenever one appeared - they were so unique, so unlike any magical item I'd read about before, that they upped the creativity of Rogerson's fantasy world even further, bringing it from "fantastic" to "unparalleled."

SORCERY OF THORNS is, without a doubt, one of my favourite reads of 2019 so far - a fun, new fantasy unlike any seen in the genre before, it will without a doubt be one that will stand out to me throughout the years (and fantasy titles!) to come!

This was a delightful young adult fantasy book that really drew me in from the beginning! The book follows Elisabeth Scrivener, who is an apprentice at a library.....but the books are not as ordinary as they seem! They contain magical powers and demons and other forces, which is such a cool idea! Elisabeth wants to become a warden of the library, but after a magical attack, she gets thrown into an adventure that could change things forever!
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I really liked the character of Elisabeth! She was easy to get to know, but also interesting and complex and loveable all at the same time! I also thought that the world building in the book! The author did a great job of setting up the context of the story without overly explaining what’s going on, which was nice! It was dark and brooding, but with a flare of positive light! Definitely recommend this one if you’re a fan of fantasy!

Eek! I took shamefully long to read this book because not only did one of my good friend Samm (I loves her) score the physical arc for me, but it was one of my top three most anticipated this year.  I'm so glad I wasn't disappointed!

Margaret's debut novel, Enchantment of Ravens, was really polarizing for many.  You either loved it or were really unimpressed.  I personally adored it and thought it read like a beautiful, sweet fairy tale.  Sorcery of Thorns has an entirely different feel and if you weren't a huge fan of her first - don't worry.  I have seen so many people who weren't a fan of her first book, give this book five stars and so much praise.

This book is honestly a reader's dream - it's literally all about books and protecting them with your life.  The story starts in a library with our main character,  Elisabeth is studying to become a Warden - which is someone who basically gives up their lives in order to protect the grimiors (books) that live inside the library.  You might be thinking this is because they don't want people using the magic inside, I mean that is the trope we see so often - but no.  It's protecting everyone from the actual grimoirs.  All the books have very distinct personalities and abilities.  Some are incredibly dangerous and must be kept safe - the only people who are meant to use these are sorcerers.  If the books get out of hand they can actually transform into a kind of creature that is a whole other level of scary.

Elisabeth has lived at the library her entire life, it's a part of her but most people see her as an odd bird and steer clear of her.  Her mentor has a soft spot for her though.  The story really gets off its feet when one of the higher level books is transformed into a creature and kills her mentor and Elisabeth is blamed for her murder.  Enter Nathaniel and Silas.  Nathanial comes to get Elisabeth to escort her to her trial, but a lot of crazy stuff happens in between the library and the court house and the adventure takes quite a turn and adventure ensues.

I really love the chemistry between Elisabeth and Nathanial - it's slow burning and I swoon a little whenever he calls her a "menace" - yes that hate to love trope is going strong here and we get some amazing banter back and forth between these two.  I completely ship this relationship and it felt so authentic and just natural.  Love everything about it - pacing on point.  We also have Silas - who is Nathanial's servant, who just happens to be a demon that gives him his magic in return for twenty years of his life.  Silas is the star in this book for me, he is the heart of the story and I can't even express my love for this demon.  He's not just a wise-cracking, little side-kick - he's caring and intelligent and just wonderful.  Honestly, I'd be tempted to trade twenty years to have a Silas in my life too.  I don't want to say much more about him because his story is such a treat to watch unfold.

Overall this story is quite a dark fantasy with a very strong and capable female lead.  The villain is horrible - he feels a little too real and will give you some scary political vibes - current.  The stuff he is dabbling in in no joke - chills just thinking about it.  Sorcery of Thorns is a stand alone and there will not be a sequel.  I'm happy about that because I think it ended perfectly.  It made me cry and then it made me smile - I'm good with it.  However, Margaret has hinted that there may be a companion novel someday - maybe even a Silas novel - now that I could get behind.

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.

Another excellent standalone from Margaret Rogerson. She's becoming a staple recommendation that I give my fantasy-loving students. Her writing style is crisp and fun, even when tackling darker content.

The cover of this novel is beautiful, its what drew me to the book in the first place. Being a librarian myself, the premise of the novel sealed the deal for me. A young woman who lives in the Great Library and dreams of one day being a warden-- an individual who protects the kingdom against sorcery.
For Elizabeth, sorcerers are evil and magic is the work of demons. The library in which she lives is full of grimoires, evil books that have minds of their own and must be contained in order to protect the realm. However, Elizabeth finds herself questioning everything she ever learned once a grimoire is released and wrecks havoc on the kingdom, and the only person willing to help her is a sorcerer, Nathaniel.

The premise was what really drew me into this world and I did enjoy the novel as a whole. Some parts did drag a little an Elizabeth had a tendency to come off a little childish and very innocent. That being said , the author does intend the novel for middle grade kids ages 9-12, which I find to be a perfect fit

It took me almost a month to finish this book and it was worth it! This books was one of the best YA fantasy books I have ever read. Margaret Rogerson’s writing style was flowery and eloquent while also being concise and structured. The premise of the story was what brought me into this book in the first place, imagine living in a library where all the books are magical and sentient. Sign me up! There were some weaknesses in the story, which I will get into, but they are vastly outweighed by the positives.

The first positive was the wonderful characters. Every character changed significantly throughout the story as it progressed. The main character, Elizabeth Scrivener, travels across the land and encounters many challenges along the way. Her story was so action-packed and filled with intrigue, about the very nature of her character. Silas was another character that was done extremely well, in addition to the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn.

The magic was done pretty well in this book, it was easy to follow who was doing what from the unique color of each person’s magic and the source of the magic, the demons, were explained fabulously. I wish that the limits of magic was explored a little more because often the sorcerers would collapse after magic, but then regain their strength and keep fighting with was a little confusing at times. Also many types of magic was forbidden and only used in emergencies and then this was supposed to explain away why they didn’t use it sooner.

The premise and the plot were amazing for most of the book. I felt really connected with the characters as they fought against evil, but the ending was really open-ended. The story just ends on a cliffhanger, but there is not expected to be a sequel to the story, so that is supposed to be the natural end. I did not like having almost no closure to the story, but I hope that a sequel is planned for this otherwise great read. I would definitely read it. I also added Ms. Rogerson’s debut novel, An Enchantment of Ravens to my TBR and hope to read it in the next few months.

I received an ARC of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much for that.

4.5 stars

Were you guys as excited as I was for this book? Did you enjoy it as much as I did? Leave a comment down below. Happy Reading!

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.

I quite enjoyed this one! I must say, it took me a while to read it though. I found the beginning engaging, but then it dragged a bit in the middle, despite the fact that the book isn't that long. The ending made up for it though - it was one of those endings that is wonderfully bittersweet, and the final line was chill-inducing, full of mystery and hopefulness.

Elisabeth was a good main character with a lot of agency. The (unapologetically bisexual!) love interest was charming and funny and sassy, and therefore I liked him as well. The best character, however, was the demon side-kick Silas, who was complex and interesting and (in my opinion) made the story.

I really enjoyed the concept of this story - books that are "alive" and classified by danger - and I'm always up for anything demonic in nature. I wasn't a big fan of the villain, and I can't quite say why, but he just didn't feel very impressive or important to me. Again, I can't explain it exactly.

The ending, like I said, was clever. I enjoyed this more than Rogerson's first book (An Enchantment of Ravens), and would recommend it to people. For me it was a three-star read, simply because I didn't have that *drive* to keep reading it. That's just my opinion though, and I'm quite hard to please with YA books lately.

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. **