Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

35 reviews

arshiya_amreen90786's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense 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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rorikae's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

'Sorcery of Thorns' by Margaret Rogerson is a fun standalone fantasy full of libraries, magical books, and a dash of romance. 
Elizabeth Scrivener grew up in a great library, surrounded by the magic of books. Her life is turned upside down when one of the books escapes, causing chaos that she is blamed for. The one person who can help her is Nathanial Thorn, a sorcerer. But Elizabeth has been taught to never trust sorcerers. As she and Nathanial search for the truth behind the attack on the library, she begins to learn more about him as she starts to question if what she has been taught about sorcery is all wrong. 
Sorcery of Thorns is the perfect blend of fantasy, romance, and fun. As someone who loves books set in libraries, the setting and main plot of the novel were perfect. Add in likable characters, a fun if not too complicated plot, and a shapeshifting demon and this adds up to a page turning romp. The audiobook is fun and I would definitely recommend it. I'll be checking out more of Rogerson's books as it's clear from Sorcery of Thorns that she has a way of creating fun and engaging fantasies.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

haexelhasel's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

katievallin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-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

2.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

bexi's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I have a few minor gripes with the writing but I simply love the story, the world, and the characters too much to give this anything other than 5 stars.

I was excited to read it every night. I didn't want it to end and I'm low-key sad that I finished it. There's a companion novella and yes, I am going out to the nearest bookstore tonight to purchase it.

Shoutout to booktubers for putting this book on my radar. And for comparing it to Howl's Moving Castle - that was the selling point for me. If you enjoyed HMC (book or movie), pick this up because I agree with the comparison.

Now somebody please adapt this into a miniseries for television because I wants ittt 😭

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

moonchild_cos's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

inkdrinkers's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

This was everything I hoped for and more.

Elisabeth Scrivner has grown up in the halls of magical libraries. Left on the steps of one as a baby, she's grown up with the sincere desire to be like the wardens overseeing her librarian apprenticeship - stalwart, true, and with swords strapped to their sides, ready to protect the world from the magical grimoires caged in the halls of the library. She knows magic is horrifically terrible, something to be protected from, but when a grimoire is released from a library, transforming into a monster and leaving Elisabeth implicated in the crime of setting it free, she must turn to Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer she knows better than to trust, but the only man who can help her stop the very end of their world.

LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK. Funnily, this entire thing took me a year to read. That's unheard of for me, and I feel weird even putting that in writing because this isn't a bad book. In fact, it's so good I couldn't bear to pick it up again because I knew it would end. Is that dramatic? Maybe a little, but I found myself so completely captured by this story and the characters inside of it that I just couldn't fathom not having them after I was done. Then I got word there was a sequel coming as a novella and I rushed to pick my copy back up, realizing I could finally finish it without going, full-spiral, into a post-book slump. This is my first book by Margaret Rogerson and I think it's solidified her as a favorite. This is YA in its truest form, wonderfully adventurous, heart-wrenchingly emotional, and full of characters that you can't help but love.

I LOVED Elisabeth. My big (6'0 feet!!!!) bull-headed angry girl. She does so much in the span of these pages and grows into a beautiful character that I just want to grab her and kiss her forehead at the end. I've never read a book where I felt so feral and protective over the main character, but this one did it to me. Nathaniel is truly one of the best book boyfriends in current YA, he's grumpy and sarcastic and entirely too snappy for his own good, but he melted my heart with every twitch of a smile he had in these pages. And SILAS!! There is nothing more to say than Silas is the absolute best demon there ever was, and I would 100% ruffle his little white cat ears.

Finally, I really can't write this review without saying how quickly it brought tears to my eyes. There's something so healing about the way representation in young adult has grown from side characters to open discussion about sexuality. It's not a major plot point, there's no grand reveal or silly plot tied to it about secrets or hiding, it's just there on the page and accepted so easily. You can claw this book from my cold, dead, hands - I love it dearly, and I really, truly would recommend it to everyone.

Content warnings: forced institutionalization/confinement, violence (with swords!), body horror (light, in regards to demons), death of a parent/grief, misogyny (sprinkled throughout), panic attacks (briefly on page around 70% through), gaslighting (present throughout, done by the villain) 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

jaimc's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous 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? No

3.25


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sydapel's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful slow-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? It's complicated

3.0

Really wanted to love this a little more, as I was a big ol fan of Elisabeth's story and character arc (more tall women with sword skills in YA pls!!). However, I didn't feel like the world building was done as well as it could have been and Nathaniel was a little confusing as a love interest. Hoping for a second book though. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings