Elisabeth has lived all her life within the library walls. However instead of normal books, the occupants of it are grimoires, artefacts created by sorcerers to hold incantations within. When provoked, those magical tools can turn into monsters of ink and leather. Wardens are what stands between grimoires and the kingdom and Elisabeth hopes to become one of them.
However one day, an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Due to strange coincidences, Elisabeth becomes implicated in the crime of killing a warden. All her life, she was taught that all sorcerers are evil, but Elisabeth starts to question everything she knows about the matter, when the only person she can turn to in the time of need is a sorcerer, Nathaniel Thorn and his demonic servant.
The storyline is intriguing and imaginative. The fact that it is based primarily in the library and it concerns books is especially pleasing to read about.
For these were not ordinary books the libraries kept. They were knowledge, given life. Wisdom, given voice. They sang when starlight streamed through the library’s windows. They felt pain and suffered heartbreak. Sometimes they were sinister, grotesque—but so was the world outside. And that made the world no less worth fighting for, because wherever there was darkness, there was also so much light.
I was always kept on the edge of my seat, this novel is filled with amazing adventures and exceptionally creative pieces of writing. Each grimoire that was mentioned in details, had different physical attributes but also unique personality traits. It feels like the author has put a lot of thought and consideration into world development and it paid off big time.
Books, too, had hearts, though they were not the same as people’s, and a book’s heart could be broken; she had seen it happen before. Grimoires that refused to open, their voices gone silent, or whose ink faded and bled across the pages like tears.
Elisabeth is a relatable and most importantly, believable character who is trying to find her place in the world after her dreams are crushed. She goes through so much and as a reader, we are there every step of the way. Nathaniel was alright, there wasn’t as much insight to him as maybe there should be. As well as that, I feel as if his personality changed very rapidly when him and Elisabeth started to grow a bit closer together. It didn’t feel as if he is the same guy anymore that we start off with. However, his demon slave, Silas, is a phenomenal side character – witty, intelligent and simply irreplaceable. Other than those three characters and a villain, none of the other side characters are developed enough to be worth mentioning and I think I’m happy with that. Even with Nathaniel not being a satisfactory character, I’m glad the author focused on a lesser amount of people and did it well instead.
Engaging read that I cannot recommend enough! It does not read as long as it actually is. It can be enjoyed by everyone but especially us bookworms. Just as Elisabeth was accompanied by books in her library, “Sorcery of Thorns” is a good companion in its own right.
Have you read it, if so, what did you think? Let me know down in the comment below!
Thank you for reading this review, and as always, Dream On, Dreamers!
The Wolf Pad 