Sorcery of Thorns Review

Hello, all!

I've sort of always wished that I was a librarian. I grew up spending most of my time at my local library, I still go there almost every other week. There's something about walking into a library and getting hit with the smell of all those books that instantly calms me. So when I saw Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson was about a girl who works and lives in a magical library, I was completely sold.

Pub Date: 6-4-19
YA - Fantasy

Elisabeth has spent her entire life in one of Austermeer's Great Libraries. After being taken in as an orphan, Elisabeth has grown up around magical grimoire's that rattle the shelves and whisper things to passer-bys, and turn into grotesque monsters spewing ink and leather if provoked. Despite growing up surrounded by magical artifacts, Elisabeth has been told that all sorcerers are evil and to stay far away from magic. With hopes of becoming a warden of the library in order to help protect the lands, Elisabeth's whole world turns upside down when she uncovers an act of magical sabotage that release's one of the libraries most dangerous grimoire's.

After being wrongfully accused of treason, Elisabeth is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. While there, she unravels more of the conspiracy against the Great Libraries, and the only one who believes her is Nathaniel Thorn, a young sorcerer who takes Elisabeth in. Elisabeth has no choice but to put aside her prejudices against sorcerers and allow Nathaniel, and his demonic servant Silas, to help her get to the bottom of this treason before not only the libraries, but the entire world, goes up in flames. As her relationship between Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth begins to question everything she's ever been taught--about sorcerers, magic, the libraries and even about herself. With each step closer to the truth, Elisabeth learns there's a power inside herself that she never could've imagined.

I absolutely loved this. I was hooked from the very first page. I loved learning about Elisabeth and life at the library, and especially about all the magical grimoire's and how they interact with her. Aside from Elisabeth, I adored Nathaniel and Silas. The whole dynamic between the three characters was everything, and definitely tugs at your heartstrings at times. Even Elisabeth's relationship with her best friend Katrien was so relatable and fun. Rogerson does such a lovely job developing this world and the entire magical system. The only thing that knocked this down a peg for me was I did guess at some of the plot points, but nonetheless, I really enjoyed this.

Rating: 4.5/5