Socery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Summary from Goodreads:

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. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. 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.

Review:

This was the book I took with me to Chicago. It was my travel book. It kept me occupied on both flights, and I’m so glad I had it with me. Traveling home back to Boston on a mostly empty flight was a bit nerve wrecking. And I needed a good book distraction. This was definitely a good distraction.

Basically, I haven’t been loving most of the YA fantasy books I’ve been reading lately. So, I was more than happy to come across this one. More than one friend had recommended it to me. And more than one harsh critic had given it a good review, so I actually purchased it a short while ago (and I’ve been on a mostly well-applied book buying ban). I’m glad I own this one though, cause I definitely think I’ll re-read it again at some point.

It’s a fantasy romance about a girl who works in a library, where the books are alive….why wouldn’t I love this? Seriously, I’ve had dreams about these libraries since reading this. I want to go there. I know the books and magic of this world are kind of evil…but I don’t care. I want to go there.  I liked the blurred edges between good and evil in this book. I also found the world building to be really interesting and unexpected. The whole thing about magicians making deals with demons and books turning into monsters. I’ve never read anything quite like this. Also the librarians are kind of a bit like nuns…Such an interesting take on books and knowledge and the power of words, and those responsible for the keeping of knowledge.

I found the magical world obviously a lot more exciting than the enclosed library world –but a lot of that has to deal with how little the main character knew about the world until she was outside in it. There’s a bit of a “chosen one” kind of trope going on, but it has to do with living among books your whole life so I accepted it, 100%. I guess the one thing I did not love was how un-flawed the main character was. She was too good. Like she always put the good of the world before herself. She killed monsters, saved the town, helped save everyone and never thought or cared about if she’d be imprisoned or made homeless or punished for her actions. And I get that some people and characters can be rather selfless, but this was overkill to me.

I did love the romance. I loved the banter between the two of them so much. I love that they both had to learn that their relationship was what it was. I loved how brave they both were. I loved all the action scenes with the two of them. There was no nonsense about her being a girl and unable to fight. She kicked butt with her sword and became known for it. I also loved the magic. I forgot how much I missed magic in stories. I need more fantasy stories with magic in them.

All in all this was a great distraction book. If you need a good distraction right now (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) this is a good one. It’s a nice slow burn romance. The magic and world building were great. Overall I really enjoyed this. I give it a 9/10.