Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - O feitiço dos espinhos

I don't think I was entirely in the right frame of mind for a book like this but also as I was reading, I got the sense that it was aimed for a demographic significantly younger than me. That isn't to say it isn't good at all, rather that it's a perfectly fine book that would be better suited to people either getting into fantasy or are just new to reading in general.

Things I liked:

It was suitably descriptive and was easy to imagine the kind of world the characters inhabited.
No awkward sexual content for the sake of sexual content. Disclaimer that I have nothing wrong with smut being in books (I've written smut fanfic myself) but it feels like there's an expectation in books these days - especially ones that booktok focuses on - to have sex scenes in them, and they end up coming across as gratuitous rather than the evolution of a couple's relationship. The closes thing that happens is a sexy makeout session that gets stopped by another character.
On a related note, the romance was pretty good. I still think we didn't get much of what Elisabeth sees in Nathaniel compared to what he sees in her, but they're a cute, slightly chaotic couple. It especially felt like the romance was more of a side plot rather than the main focus, which was nice.
Speaking of romance, we have some good representation in the form of Nathaniel who mentions he's bisexual in a very natural way, and it's just accepted before moving on.

Things I didn't like:

The pacing felt a bit all over the place, and as a result some things felt like they were over before they had even begun. Sometimes it felt that Elisabeth and other characters were going through a checklist of things to make the plot progress rather than it happening organically. Two spoilery examples come to mind:

Elisabeth being institutionalised and her subsequent escape felt like it happened way faster than it should have. It felt like the author had plans for it to be longer but couldn't find the appropriate research or changed her mind last minute but didn't take out the scene because otherwise it would have ruined the progression of events.
Silas' first death is supposed to be treated as this massive stakes raising moment forces Nathaniel and Elisabeth to think for themselves instead of having to rely on him constantly... or so I thought until Nathaniel essentially goes "right, let's go to the basement and re-summon him; I'll just bleed on the old pentagram and he'll be back in a jiffy", which really killed the stakes for the remainder of the book.

Your mileage may vary heavily on this point of contention, but some of the foreshadowing was very obvious to me. This is one of the main reasons I feel like the book was definitely aimed at younger/less experienced readers than myself.
A very minor thing but I got annoyed at the author's use of the Noodle Incident trope for funny moments involving Nathaniel. It happens a lot in another one of my favourite series - The Gallagher Girls - but that series is aimed at a younger demographic, and the protagonist of that series is often telling noodle incidents that she has only heard of instead of directly participating in.

In contrast to here where Nathaniel is describing things that happened to him to make him seem charming, I think there could have been moments where instead of Nathaniel describing a Noodle Incident that happened to him, Elisabeth could have either witnessed an incident or come in partway through/at the tail end of an incident.
The ending felt extremely rushed and anticlimactic. It felt like the author got bored of writing the story and just wanted to wrap it up as soon as possible. And I still have no idea why Nathaniel lost his powers at the end.

And something double-edged I both liked and didn't like:

We have some decent aroace representation - and a Black aroace character to boot! I'm grateful that Katrien's sexual orientation is alluded to but not dwelt upon. Again, it ties back to the idea that the romance was a side thing rather than a big focus of the story.

...Unfortunately Katrien is barely in this story, and feels more like a token Black Best Friend that Elisabeth occasionally communicates with for updates on the Summerhall Library, rather than a fully realised person.
It was especially annoying that Katrien supposedly single-handedly investigated the new director and documented his crimes so that he could be punished off-screen. I believe the author wants this to be a standalone story, but I would like to have a short story or just something about Katrien's off screen chronicles.

There were a few other Black characters that felt more like they were there for token representation, but it didn't irk me as much as it did Katrien.

Content Warnings

blingokitty's review against another edition

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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

sinaprst's review against another edition

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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

Content Warnings

barda's review against another edition

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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

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mayas's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

I really loved/enjoyed this book, especially the majority of it. It was really fun and exciting and tense. I really couldn’t put this down and it surprised me that I read almost all of it in 5 days, which is a lot for me for a book this size.

And the characters were really cool and I enjoyed there interactions, personalities, and banter. I would have loved to explore more about Katrien and even Silas.

I found the ending a little confusing. I didn’t really understand what specifically Silas did/how he did it. And there were some things I questioned regarding the last act and stuff. I also took a little longer getting through the last 10-20% but I don’t think that really was the book - maybe just personal circumstances.

And because of this little loss in momentum, I struggle to rate this book. But it’s more than 5 stars. But less than 4.5. When I was reading it (in the momentum bit), I remember thinking it was 4.3. So i suppose 4.25 will be fine :)

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febber's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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renpuspita's review against another edition

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challenging lighthearted mysterious medium-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

4.0

I rarely read young adult novels, mostly because the characters often irked me since I read them from my 30-ish PoV and apparently I forgot that I once was teenager myself, lol. Also, love triangle used to drive me nuts. But, I already smitten by the cover of Sorcery of Thorn, the sophomore novel by Margaret Rogerson. Plus, it's a book about books, especially library. A dream made book, for sure. However, before I read this, I read my mutual reviews and decide to lower my expectation when finally decide to read the book.

I'm glad that I end up liked it. Not a lot of course, and not too blow my socks off. Like I said, I usually avoid young adult titles because reasons I mention above. But, I find that right now I don't really mind since my reading taste always evolved. Sure that this book have a slow beginning, but honestly I enjoy read it from the start to the end. The strength of this book is its simplicity. The book set in a vaguely Britain Island setting or you can say it as alternate universe of England. It's also happen to set in 19th century although I don't feel the vibes, one of this book's weakness for sure.

The story pretty much straightforward. It's about Elizabeth Scrinever, an apprentice in the Summershall Great Library whom soon find herself become a key witness to the sabotage event in the library and must save the world from an egomaniac wizard. In this world, people live harmoniously with sorcerer. Yet, Elizabeth constantly reminded that magic is evil. Since Great Library also a home to many dark and malicious grimoires that the sorcerer or Magister used its spell. Although with the story unfold, not all grimoires are evil because some of them are harmless especially class 1 to 4. Elizabeth that act prejudiced toward sorcerer, magic and their demon cohort, in the end become entangled with one, Magister Nathaniel Thorn and his demon companion, Silas. Turn out that Nathaniel and Silas are the only people that Elizabeth can trust when everything fundamental about libraries that she knows are turn upside down.

Sorcery of Thorns are pretty much stand alone and perfect if you want to read a fantasy with romantic element without the fuss to follow so many books in one series. Yes, the story is straightforward, the world building is simple and easy to understand, the characters while seems mundane enough and maybe not that memorable, I find them to be okay. I'm surprised to see that Elizabeth didn't annoyed me and trust me, I'm easily annoyed by wishy-washy heroines especially in the young adult titles. Elizabeth sure act prejudiced at first, but I like that bit by bit she release all her prejudice and act accordingly to what her heart tell. I like that she's soft, and I realize that reading so many hard-edge heroine can be exhausting. Elizabeth have skill with sword, but often I see that she's so emphatic to people who dear for her and in this case, Nathaniel and Silas. I like her relationship with Nathaniel and Silas, how she slowly warmed toward them and didn't hesitate to save them when they are in the great peril. From all the characters, I liked Silas the most, maybe because it's nice to see the demon who believe himself devoid of emotion and compassion yet in the end he evolve to something much better. The romance between Elizabeth and Nathaniel is okay and for me, it's believable. I liked when Nathaniel admit that he falling first to Elizabeth and fall harder day by day. Also, Rogerson write him as a bi and Elizabeth is totally okay with that.

The strength of this book lay in the final act and my favorite scene is when the grimoire takes stand to the world-end problems. Rogerson write that the grimoire is not only book, but they also have a soul, they can feel despite their malicious upbringing. I also like the way Rogerson put her insight, how women's voice constantly unheard of. Some of ironic part happen when Elizabeth declared insane and hysteric because apparently she read so many novels! While this is pretty amusing, I remember that reading so many novels apparently considered as an ailment and must be treated accordingly. How rude! Some of the characters have surname with bookish content, like Elizabeth's surname (Scrivener) and her friend Katrien, her surname is Quillworthy. I guess, this book can't be more bookish with its library setting and grimoires, but seems that I'm wrong!

Sorcery of Thorn is one of those good young adult title I had read and I'm also glad that there's no unnecessary love triangle or a heroine with so many potential love suitor flock to her. This book is perfect to read in a cozy setting but with some internal conflict and high stakes as well. I will recommend this if you want to read a fantasy romance YA stand alone with library as its setting and characters that you will end up love.

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