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madalina0_0's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Death, and Violence
bree_h_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Violence, and Sexism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Sexual violence
Minor: Physical abuse
literarypenguin's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I loved everything about Sorcery Of Thorns!!! The cover and the blurb enticed me so much and I am glad that I took the dive into this amazing fantasy!
First off I have to say the magic system in this book is perfection! I was so intrigued by it and everything that I learned about it made me more and more interested. I loved that every sorcerer had a mark representing their magic and each of their magic had different spells they could perform. Such a great magic system, a book with a great magic system has my full attention!
The characters, the characters were so amazing!! Each and every character was a good one and not one of them was unlikeable to me. Elisabeth was such a strong character, her story was engaging and I loved the change we saw in her from the beginning to the end. You could see a visible change in her and she continued to change even when the story ended. She also wasn't a stereotype of didn't drift toward any typical female stereotypes which I greatly appreciated Margaret Rogerson for! Nathanial was also a great male character and foil to Elisabeth. Learning his tragic story about his family and why he was so closed off to people made you understand him a lot more as the book went on. Even Silas was a great character, I loved learning about him and why he was so indebted to Nathanial and his family.
The writing and setting were superb, everything about this book was great! I look forward to reading the next short book based in this world and I have a feeling I will enjoy that as much as I did this one!
First off I have to say the magic system in this book is perfection! I was so intrigued by it and everything that I learned about it made me more and more interested. I loved that every sorcerer had a mark representing their magic and each of their magic had different spells they could perform. Such a great magic system, a book with a great magic system has my full attention!
The characters, the characters were so amazing!! Each and every character was a good one and not one of them was unlikeable to me. Elisabeth was such a strong character, her story was engaging and I loved the change we saw in her from the beginning to the end. You could see a visible change in her and she continued to change even when the story ended. She also wasn't a stereotype of didn't drift toward any typical female stereotypes which I greatly appreciated Margaret Rogerson for! Nathanial was also a great male character and foil to Elisabeth. Learning his tragic story about his family and why he was so closed off to people made you understand him a lot more as the book went on. Even Silas was a great character, I loved learning about him and why he was so indebted to Nathanial and his family.
The writing and setting were superb, everything about this book was great! I look forward to reading the next short book based in this world and I have a feeling I will enjoy that as much as I did this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
blingokitty's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Gaslighting, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Forced institutionalization
sinaprst's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
this book was not at all what i expected
really, really loved the beginning and still very much liked the middle, but unfortunately the ending fell flat for me
the vibes however were imaculate, as was the writing and i loved Elisabeth and Nathaniel and their relationship, though Silas might be my favorite character all over
all in all, i wish i could give this more stars and throughout i seriously believed that this could be a 5 star read, but due to my dislike for the ending i can only give it 3.5/5, i'm so sorry
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/PgUbNrgUwP0?si=USD7pkIunvo-8LRw
really, really loved the beginning and still very much liked the middle, but unfortunately the ending fell flat for me
the vibes however were imaculate, as was the writing and i loved Elisabeth and Nathaniel and their relationship, though Silas might be my favorite character all over
all in all, i wish i could give this more stars and throughout i seriously believed that this could be a 5 star read, but due to my dislike for the ending i can only give it 3.5/5, i'm so sorry
recommended reading ambience: https://youtu.be/PgUbNrgUwP0?si=USD7pkIunvo-8LRw
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death
barda's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Blood
Moderate: Violence, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual harassment and Sexual content
sarahsbooklife's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a book that I've wanted to read for ages, especially after loving Margaret Rogerson's first book so much, but I've been putting it off because I feared I wouldn't like it as much as her debut novel or that it wouldn't live up the hype surrounding it. But I am glad that I did read because I loved it.
It's such a good book.
It has magical books, sorcery, demons and a girl that wields a sword. For me that's a perfect mix of things I love to see in a story. Oh, and with a sprinkling of romance on top.
Great book. Highly recommend.
It's such a good book.
It has magical books, sorcery, demons and a girl that wields a sword. For me that's a perfect mix of things I love to see in a story. Oh, and with a sprinkling of romance on top.
Great book. Highly recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
This is a book that kept coming up in my recommendations. I recently saw it on the shelf at my local library and vowed to track down the audiobook. It is a nerdy fantasy aimed at teen readers, about a girl who is an orphan raised in a magical library filled with sentient grimoires.
The first part of the story, that introduces us to the idea of dangerous books locked up to keep people safe felt reminiscent of Terry Pratchett's libraries in the Discworld. I had a laugh-out-loud moment when the novice is quizzed by the Director as to the first magical safety precaution one would use when handling a dangerous book and I said out loud "salt!", and the novice exclaims "salt". The way the magic works in this world is not precisely derivative, but enough like other fantasy novels (and Pagan texts) that it seems familiar to the point where at least one of the big reveals is a little predictable. I don't hate it though.
The particular bestiary of this world includes Maleficts which are malevolent monsters that are released when a book is unbound, Book-lice which are oversized arthropods that thrive in magical libraries, altered by the omnipresence of magical energies which make them resistant to magical spells, and Demons which Sorcerers contract with for use of magical powers. I really did hope it would go into the idea of indentured servitude, and power dynamics of demon slaves.. there was a whiff of the idea, but maybe it was too big for a book like this?
I think there is some criticism of this book for being "token LGBT" as one of the main characters is bisexual (and one is asexual now I think of it), but this is only mentioned in passing, and the primary relationships in the book are M/F. Personally I feel like it's respectfully done and I like that I'm feeling represented.. but it has no real queer narrative. I do think it's more important to the plot than some readers perceive. Similar things could be said for the depiction of ethnic diversity. Some characters are brown, but there is no narrative of identity, minority, or oppression, and Class is only vaguely mentioned.
As someone who is not a fan of "battles" I think the tension is held well and the boss fights (always more palatable than army engagements) are tense and exciting. Our main character is a girl who is big and strong and wields a sword.. or a crowbar if that's all she can get.
The story is really more character driven than anything, and it's got some nuance so I'll let it slide on some of the simplicity of plot. Lots of ideas to play with, and I expect it is the sort of world that fan-fiction would spring from.
The first part of the story, that introduces us to the idea of dangerous books locked up to keep people safe felt reminiscent of Terry Pratchett's libraries in the Discworld. I had a laugh-out-loud moment when the novice is quizzed by the Director as to the first magical safety precaution one would use when handling a dangerous book and I said out loud "salt!", and the novice exclaims "salt". The way the magic works in this world is not precisely derivative, but enough like other fantasy novels (and Pagan texts) that it seems familiar to the point where at least one of the big reveals is a little predictable. I don't hate it though.
The particular bestiary of this world includes Maleficts which are malevolent monsters that are released when a book is unbound, Book-lice which are oversized arthropods that thrive in magical libraries, altered by the omnipresence of magical energies which make them resistant to magical spells, and Demons which Sorcerers contract with for use of magical powers. I really did hope it would go into the idea of indentured servitude, and power dynamics of demon slaves.. there was a whiff of the idea, but maybe it was too big for a book like this?
I think there is some criticism of this book for being "token LGBT" as one of the main characters is bisexual (and one is asexual now I think of it), but this is only mentioned in passing, and the primary relationships in the book are M/F. Personally I feel like it's respectfully done and I like that I'm feeling represented.. but it has no real queer narrative. I do think it's more important to the plot than some readers perceive. Similar things could be said for the depiction of ethnic diversity. Some characters are brown, but there is no narrative of identity, minority, or oppression, and Class is only vaguely mentioned.
As someone who is not a fan of "battles" I think the tension is held well and the boss fights (always more palatable than army engagements) are tense and exciting. Our main character is a girl who is big and strong and wields a sword.. or a crowbar if that's all she can get.
The story is really more character driven than anything, and it's got some nuance so I'll let it slide on some of the simplicity of plot. Lots of ideas to play with, and I expect it is the sort of world that fan-fiction would spring from.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Blood, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
kayceeisbookish's review
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
lisavandonselaar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual content