Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - Sorcery of Thorns

In this beautiful fantasy that centers around the protection of books, Elisabeth is an apprentice in training to be a Warden of grimoires in the Great Library. The Wardens keep and maintain the Grimoires while providing protection against sorcerers who might try to use them to control people and lower demons. We meet Elisabeth who has the reputation as an outcast, since she was an orphan left at the library as a baby. She’s been Director Irena’s ward for 16 years. Irene is very fond of the girl, taking her under her wing and giving her the apprenticeship. One night Elisabeth is woken out of a dream, feeling as if something is wrong. What ensues is a fantastic adventure and a little romance that will keep you glued to this book. Sorcery of Thorns is a book I hadn’t heard about- my daughter put it in my hands- and I will definitely be recommending it.

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kinskinn's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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caseythereader's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

- I'll be honest, I was not sure I would like this book. Reader, I loved it. It's a great mystery and slow burn romance, but at its heart it's a love letter to libraries.
- Elisabeth reminded me of Lyra from the HIS DARK MATERIALS books, not only because she was a foundling raised in an academic setting, but for her fierceness and sharp mind.
- The world isn't super fleshed out, but I thought it was a clever magic system and I loved what I did see of the wider world beyond the library.
- There's also surprise low key bisexual and ace/aro rep, which was such a treat.
- And Silas, what can I say about Silas. I loved the little demon, I did.

Content Warnings

caidyn's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.5

This review can also be found on my blog!

CW: anxiety, grief, loss of a loved one, violence, and forced institutionalization

Goodreads was being a butt with the picture for the Owlcrate edition, so I had to use my picture from Instagram. Oh well! I think it looks prettier like this.

In other news, I liked this a lot! I don’t know how much I have to say about it, but I did really enjoy it.

The story focuses around a world where books aren’t always what they seem. Some have the souls of humans in them and can transform into deadly creatures that kill people. And Elisabeth is an apprentice, training to become one of the people who protects those books. Except one night she finds that one of the books has transformed and killed the Director. She defeats the book only to find herself being punished.

Enter her adventure.

Elisabeth was such a dynamic character! I really enjoyed reading her transformation and all of that. She was badass and likable and nice and just great. She was really enjoyable.

Along the way she meets Nathanial Thorn, a sorcerer — and librarians hate sorcerers — who has a demon, Silas, tethered to him. When Nathanial dies, Silas will eat his soul and then go on to serve the next Thorn. If there is one, of course. She grudgingly likes them, then, of course, it becomes more. Nathanial is so much fun. I loved how cocky he was and that he was so open with his sexuality, honestly saying that he’s bisexual. Which was great.

The character that completely stole my heart, though, was Silas. He was just fun and I want more of the demon lore for this! He was endlessly fascinating, how human he was yet how other he was at the same time. I thought that Rogerson did a great job of balancing him as a character, making him likable and also terrifying when we were reminded as readers that he isn’t like us at all.

The world took a bit of time for me to sink into. I blame my mood when I was reading it. I was very distracted and just needed to read, even if I wasn’t completely paying attention to it. (Sorry, book. I do that because it’s my self-care.) I was still catching up and gathering everything towards the end because of that. My fault, I know, but I should have picked a different book to read like that.

I have a feeling that I’ll bump this one up to 4.5 or 5 stars when I eventually reread it. The story just took my breath away and I ended up loving all the characters. It took me a while to really like Elisabeth and Nathanial. As I said, I liked them but I needed to get to know them more. Luckily for me, the book is pretty long and I definitely had enough time to get to know them! They were wonderful and I know that the plot was fantastic.

Do yourself a favor and check this out! I already know I’ll be trying Rogerson’s debut novel because she’s an author I’ll be paying attention to more.

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