Review by karin_cc - Sorcery of Thorns

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karin_cc 's review for:

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

“Hello, you menace.”

When a book calls, your only choice is to answer – I just didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Sometimes, it’s the unexpected visitors who end up knowing you the best. They find you at exactly the right time, and only when they’re leaving do you understand why they came.

“For all the girls who found themselves in books.”

I remember picking up this book at midnight (pretty magical timing, if you ask me), crackling with excitement. I’d hit a mini reading slump – started something else that just wasn’t clicking – so I had to scroll through my TBR list, searching for that spark. The moment I saw “Sorcery of Thorns” on that list, I lit up. I’d put this book off before, thinking not yet, but that night? It felt right. I was beaming as I finally yanked it off my bookshelf and held it in my hands. I just knew – this was it. And I wasn’t wrong.

I’d already read “An Enchantment of Ravens” by Margaret Rogerson, so I had a pretty good feeling that I was in for another magical ride. A young adult high fantasy story with a charming romance subplot? Uh, sign me the hell up! Sure, they’re very different books, but Rogerson writing romance and fantasy? I don’t have the words for it. I’ve always had a soft spot for stories like this. They just feel right.

“What is the point of life if you don't believe in anything?”

For me, this book was an invitation to believe again. Fantasy books like this just know how to speak to that part of me that still believes in the whimsical and magical. It feels like dipping your head underwater to witness a whole other world – only to pull back up and find traces of it lingering on the surface. Not gone with the wind, but somehow still intangible. It was so easy to melt into the world of Austermeer, where Elisabeth, Nathaniel and Silas reside. They still exist there, but I think pieces of them came back with me, just as parts of me stayed with them. With each page, I felt like I was a little less mine and a little more theirs. I was so inspired, practically beaming sparkles as I read. Every time I updated my reading progress, I sounded like a love-sick poet. It’s the kind of magic that sparks you to life, leaving you with something you didn’t know you even needed.

“When terrible things have happened to you, sometimes the promise of something good can be just as frightening.”

I’m not saying this book changed my life, but it definitely gave me something I hadn't felt in a long time – comfort. Not the kind you get from other people or things, but the kind that comes from within. I felt so free, like my heart and mind were finally given permission to just... exist in this world. I couldn’t stop grinning at the chaos and banter the characters threw at me, only to turn the page and be struck with sadness. Yes, it was magical, but it was balanced by suffering. No one was left untouched by the beauty and the tragedy alike. I’m pretty sure at one point Elisabeth was running purely on hopes and dreams. My girl was surviving, no matter the odds. She had every right to lose her mind, but she was stronger than her circumstances and anchored by her beliefs. Iconic, really.

Pause 💘

Alright, enough of the feels, let’s rewind for a second, and I'll finally get to tell you about the book!

Elisabeth Scrivener is raised in Summershall, one of Austermeer’s six Great Libraries, and grows up amongst powerful tools of sorcery – grimoires. This is where she belongs, between bookshelves of whispering books full of knowledge that sorcerers have put down. The most dangerous grimoires are bound by iron chains or locked away in vaults; if provoked, they transform into monsters capable of great destruction. Elisabeth also knows that all sorcerers are evil… right?

That is, until one night, everything changes. Summershall Library’s most dangerous grimoire is unleashed, and Elisabeth is soon tangled in the chaos. Desperate to prove her innocence, Elisabeth has no choice but to turn to Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer, and his demonic servant, Silas, for help. Soon, they find themselves involved with bigger dangers than they could’ve imagined. As secrets unfold, Elisabeth is forced to question everything she thought she knew. Along the way, she grows closer to Nathaniel and Silas, but one thing is clear – saving the world is never a one-person job.

“It's an honor to fight by your side, Elisabeth, for however long it lasts. You've reminded me to live. That's worth having something to lose.”

If one does not expect, then there are no expectations to meet. Yet somehow, this book shattered that bar. I genuinely thought: “young-adult fantasy with a sprinkle of romance, ok!” and started reading.

Right from the start, it's clear that the atmosphere is shifting. It’s an emotional carousel – there’s magic, sweetness, chaos, and fun, but also sadness, injustice, and a flicker of horror. I was pleasantly surprised by the darker elements and the way it dared to go to these places, while holding up the magic of it. A setting where, on one side, we have libraries with magical grimoires that have personalities and powers, and on the other, a world that resembles our own. It's dangerous and dreamy, a constant push and pull between light and dark, safety and chaos.

The story progresses at a steady pace. A lot happens, but it never feels rushed. That’s what makes it as addictive as it is immersive – slow when it needs to be, but always moving forward. There are normal folk, librarians, and sorcerers – let’s include demonic beings under them – all with distinct roles that work together. The dynamics make sense. You are right there along the journey, and every moment counts.

That flows over into characters and their relationships too. We start to see a relationship blossom in the chaos of their world. It's like a reward, a flower that slowly grows until we see it bloom in the end. It was wonderful, soft and fierce at the same time. Like every rose has its thorns, it complemented the story perfectly, making every exchange and conversation packed with meaning and emotional depth. Elisabeth’s determination and strength balance Nathaniel’s porcelain warrior image – charming and sarcastic on the surface, but underneath, he’s broken glass. Silas is the perfect frame for this mirror – a demonic gentleman who is unapologetically not human, yet his presence is what truly makes this a perfect little found family.

“Life is like the oil within a lamp. It can be measured, but the pace at which it burns depends on how the dial is turned day by day, how bright and fierce the flame. And there is no predicting whether the lamp might be knocked to the ground and shatter, when it could have blazed on a great while longer. Such is the unpredictability of life.”

Life works in mysterious ways, and it is indeed unpredictable. For example, this is the part where I hit a wall. I love this book and my unending thoughts are proof of the praise I sing, but I feel hollow. I recall how the end made me screech from joy, and then, just like that, it was over. Hope is one hell of a drug, but even that can’t conquer the falling curtain of an ending scene.

I did start “Mysteries of Thorn Manor” (a companion piece) right after finishing “Sorcery of Thorns”, but it felt like I wasn’t ready yet. I couldn’t read it. I think it's a sort of grief, a loss that isn’t real, but leaves a mark nonetheless. I will definitely finish “Mysteries of Thorn Manor” soon too. It was like medicine after sickness, but I needed to give this book a little while to settle before moving on.

If I couldn't write my opinions down before, then now the situation has changed - I can’t stop! It makes sense, it’s a beautiful book and a well-written one at that. I really loved that sometimes I would stop and reread sentences or whole sections, because I wanted to experience it again. I would often find feelings, emotions or thoughts that were so accurately described, despite being able to only feel them. I didn’t mean to hit such highs only to fall at the end, but what do you do when a book pulls you like this? A book calls, you answer, but I can’t guarantee what will be left of you in the end.

“Was that what it meant to lose someone? The pain never went away. It just got... covered up.”

Content Warnings