A review by twistykris
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.0

This was a good read! Not my favorite YA novel, and certainly not my favorite YA fantasy novel, BUT is was fun nonetheless. I enjoyed many of the characters (Silas the demon is my favorite), the setting and magic system is creative and immersive, but I felt like the main antagonist/ villain was.. meh?

Predictable reveal that lead to some things that felt unrealistic (and not in a magical-world way, more of a rich-people-getting-away-with-things-because-of-fame-and-power-and-money way..
Maybe it's the cynic in me, but I found it quite strange that these rich, powerful people were so willing to turn against another rich, powerful person.. I had thought there would be some sort of coverup, that these people were also in on this plot, etc
).

The climax dragged on way too long, and overall some of the pacing was slow. Also, some things are revealed about Elisabeth that just felt.. silly? She's the "chosen one" but it's not fully fleshed-out and feels haphazard in a way.

And a critique with the characters: I liked Nathaniel (I do love a grumpy character that starts as an enemy that develops into more) but I felt like his relationship with Elisabeth was a little shallow? I appreciate how it isn't front-and-center, but I wish we got more of their developing feelings for each other. 

But Silas is 10/10 snarky and an absolute icon and I adore him. He really brought this book up a star-rating tbh.

I felt like this book could have been like, 50 pages shorter or split into two books, but at this point it's a potential standalone (a .5 coming out this year I guess?) and I'm okay with that. Though if a second one were to come out that revolves around my demon man Silas, I am all in.
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