“All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire, and Elisabeth is implicated in the crime. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got an eBook of this from my library to read.

Thoughts: Although there were a lot of concepts I really loved here, I had trouble getting into this book. Part of this could have been my fault. I started reading this on vacation and this wasn’t the best pick for a light, beach type of read. This requires a bit of concentration to put together the world and what is happening here.

The story follows Elisabeth who was raised in one of the Great Libraries as an apprentice. The apprentice’s main job is to keep the grimoires happy; they contain great knowledge but have a tendency to turn into literal monsters and destroy things if they aren’t tended correctly. Then Elisabeth stumbles upon the body of the Director of her library who has been murdered, ends up slaying a grimore monster, and ends up blamed for the whole fiasco. Her only hope is the rather troubled Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer of great power, who has large problems of his own. The plot they unravel is bigger than either of them could have imagined.

I loved the idea of grimoires being living beings and enjoyed all the magic around demon summoning here. Elisabeth and Nathaniel were both amazing characters and I loved watching them get to know each other and grow in their powers and confidence. There is a sweet romance here and quite a bit of action as well. All in all it was a wonderful read and had some very creative fantasy ideas in it.

As mentioned above I just had a lot of trouble getting into the story initially. I kept putting it down after reading a chapter and wandering away to do something else. I also thought some of the side characters were a bit weak (aside from Silas who was just as amazing as Elisabeth and Nathaniel to read about).

My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fantastic fantasy read. There are some unique ideas in here and I loved the idea of grimoires that are alive and the blend of sorcery/demonology going on here. This was a bit slow to start but ended up being a solid and engaging fantasy. I continue to really look forward to Rogerson’s future books. I enjoyed this book just as much as “An Enchantment of Ravens” and am eager to see what fantasy worlds she introduces us to in the future.

Review – Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (4/5 stars)

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