Magical and Entrancing: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

The Gist: An entrancing standalone epic fantasy; it brings the magic of books to life through the Heroine’s journey to discover who is attempting to sabotage the Great Libraries and made all the more enjoyable by its adorable enemies to friends to lovers romances and themes of friendship.

Series: Sorcery of Thorns, #1

Release Date: June 4, 2019

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.75-stars

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Sorcery of Thorns was pure magic. The book follows the Heroine, Elisabeth, after she’s believed to be guilty of the death of her beloved Library Director. Elisabeth is blamed for letting loose the grimoire–a magical book imbued with sorcery that allows it to turn into a destructive monster, if not contained–that killed the director. However, once Elisabeth is taken into the custody of the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn to face justice in the capital, it becomes evident a larger and much more sinister conspiracy is afoot.

The book was slow to get moving at the start. Elisabeth was initially a bit judgemental and ignorant, considering her job as a librarian (she consumes knowledge that she doesn’t believe in absolutes all day). I found it annoying (for example, her belief that all sorcerers are super evil). However, I appreciated Elisabeth’s bias, allowing the world and its politics and magic rules to be slowly introduced. Also, her child-like fear of sorcerers created quite a few laugh-out-loud scenes when Elisabeth believed Nathan’s sarcastic quips about his habits (bathing in the blood of virgins, for one).

The Magic of Books

Sorcery of Thorns celebrates books and the joy and comfort they can bring to readers. For Elisabeth, the library has been her only home, and when she was young, the grimoires were her only companions; they got her through her very lonely childhood. For Nathan, they provide the knowledge to use his family’s gift of sorcery: only through the grimoires can spells be recorded and passed down.

The most unique and arguably enjoyable aspect of Sorcery of Thorns was how Elisabeth communicated with the grimoires. They understood her and actually spoke back to her! The grimoires’ personalities also felt magic come to life (and, in the book, that’s true), with personalities ranging from the snobby to the down-right creepy. I also love how Elisabeth’s connection to the grimoires and magical libraries led Elisabeth on a secondary quest–how can Elisabeth communicate with grimoires and libraries in a way no other librarian does?

Excellent Action-Driven Plot

The novel’s pacing was superb. It kept the plot moving at a clip yet didn’t feel too rushed. The plot didn’t try to be overcomplicated, which helped. The plot’s simplicity allowed for a high-quality story with maximum action since the reader didn’t have to divert their attention to figuring out how the details fit the story.

I loved how Elisabeth’s discovery of the conspiracy’s mystery and reveal was a slow buildup. Her separation from Nathan allowed her to discover some details about Nathan’s traumatic past and the more unsavoury parts of sorcery. Both allowed her to see the politics of the capital from an outsider’s perspective and see threats (and motives) where Nathan couldn’t.

The rules of sorcery in Sorcery of Thorns were fascinating. I loved how magic–all that power–wasn’t “free.” To obtain the ability to perform magic, sorcerers exchange decades of their lives with a demon, whom they bind to them in a ceremony that requires the sorcerer to know the demon’s true name. You can understand why becoming a sorcerer is a birthright for many people since knowing a demon’s true name, especially a powerful one, is typically only known by passing it down through the generations. Most importantly, though, there is no loophole to this trade-off between the sorcerer and the demon–even if they become friends and almost family.

The Swoon Inducing Romance!

I seriously loved the slow-burn romance in Sorcery of Thorns. Elisabeth and Nathan’s relationship evolves from enemies to reluctant partners to friendship and eventually more. The best part about their relationship, however, was how accepting they were of each other. This is also a sign of how far Elisabeth has come since her initial bias (and fear) of sorcerers.

I also appreciated how Nathan was always quick to assure Elisabeth of his feelings, especially when someone attempted to throw in his past “dating” history. (I’m pretty sure both he and Elisabeth are virgins.) He understands it’s not about jealousy but about respecting your partner’s feelings and ensuring they know the truth about your dating history. I love representations of healthy romantic relationships in novels, especially since they’re so rare!

While not a romance, I have to mention the amazing friendship between Nathan and his demon, Silas, as well as the friendship between Elisabeth and Silas. Both relationships explore how love can transcend so much, and in the case of this book, world-ending power and a complete lack of humanity!

Finally, I liked how Elisabeth never just assumed Nathan was straight–she didn’t know him, so she couldn’t make any assumptions about his love life. Never mind the fact that she was too stressed; he’d kill her when they first met. Sure, Nathan brings up his bisexuality by passively saying he was once into a now asshole guy, but I liked how there wasn’t backlash for being queer in this fantasy world. However, many in the sorcery community were worried Nathan was gay because that meant he wouldn’t have kids. Only his kids (by blood) could access his ancestor’s grimoire on necromancy. It all goes back to having access to power for the political savvy in that world (and every world).

In Conclusion

Despite how much I enjoyed the book, Sorcery of Thorns wasn’t a 5-star read for two reasons. The first is that, while I know setting up the big finale was vital, the consequences of the (many) fighting-to-the-death scenes felt repetitive. I would’ve liked to see more originality in either of those scenes.

Finally, my last critique isn’t really a critique but just a book hangover. I can’t believe the book ended that way! Since Sorcery of Thorns is a standalone novel, I won’t be getting any answers, and while everything worked out OK, I’d like that confirmed by the author, please!

Sorcery of Thorns was magical. The sentient grimoires and the ode to libraries elevated the novel to enchanting–Elisabeth’s love of books was so relatable. If you love books, Sorcery of Thorns will have you grinning every time Elisabeth speaks to a grimoire.

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