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Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson [arc review]

“Knowledge always has the potential to be dangerous. It is a more powerful weapon than any sword or spell.”

What a delightful read! Margaret Rogerson left me with a smile at the end of An Enchantment of Ravens and yet again here. This was a nice sweet read for fans of easy read young adult fantasies. Although very different than  her first book it still carries the same light hearted style of writing. 

The Blurb:
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.

The Review: 4 Stars

I absolutely adore Margaret Rogerson's writing. Her stories are easy to read, full of wonder, and have amazing and impossible not to love characters. 

I was only a few pages in and I already knew I would love the book. What is not to love about a story where the main character can talk with the books and is in training to some day protect the library? I thought it all super sweet and clever.

Elizabeth is a library apprentice, sort off.... the library in question is not your usual library. There are good books, bad books, and they are all somewhat alive. She is fierce while at the same time a tad clueless. She grew up in the library you see... More than once she is referred as a true child of the library because she really didn't have much contact with the outside world. I actually really liked her. At no point any excuse was made for the way she acted or was she called plain yet amazing (I despise most 'mary sues' of the ya world). She just... was! 

Nathaniel was utterly adorable. A powerful sorcerer but young and with much to learn about life still. Him and his servant are as important to the story as Elizabeth and I dare you not to fall for both of them. Sure, his servant is creepy, but it is obvious that he cares, and he cares a lot.

I really can't say  much more without giving the story away. I think there is a good chance that those that did not love An Enchantment of Ravens will love this one. Although the style of writing and the way the story unfolds still carries the same light hearted and witty feel they are very different books. The previous was a fairy-tale romance really, while this one is fantasy with a romance story as a subplot. 

It only isn't a 5 start for me because there were sections that dragged a little. Not enough to make me love the story any less though :)

GO READ

Release Date: June 4th 2019
Find the book at: GoodReads - Amazon - Inklings Bookshop


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