Every character in Margaret Rogerson’s Sorcery of Thorns got due diligence from the author, which I love. The world-building was tight, and the plot focused.
A synopsis:
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.
There were a few other plotlines I could see a different author pursuing (the story of Elizabeth’s lineage, for example), but I’m glad Rogerson didn’t distract us with those tangents.
This might be a funny comparison, but the dynamic between Elizabeth and Nathaniel reminded me a little of the movie Tangled. An intelligent, sheltered young woman who proves to be more resourceful and willing to expand her mind than might be expected. A wisened, life-weary young man who comes off as arrogant but is definitely more tender than he appears.
And then there’s Silas. I would read an entire book from his perspective! Love, love, love him.
I also loved the world of the libraries and the books – I felt like I could smell the dust and hear the pages murmuring.
And the ending…perfection. So many fun questions left unanswered. So many directions to imagine.
I’m in a strange spot where I’m really glad this is a stand-alone, but I would also happily read more from these characters and this world.
EDITED TO ADD: Hold up! Since reviewing this book in 2020, Rogerson published a sequel novella to this book, called Mysteries of Thorn Manor. I need to check it out!
BOOK:30 