This. Was. So. Magical. And honesty? Sorcery of Thorns just might be one of my favourite fantasy standalones of all time. Come to think of it, I don't think I've been this smitten with a standalone as such since The Midnight Dance.


Sorcery of Thorns 
by Margaret Rogerson 

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.



If I could give a book five thousand stars, it would be Sorcery of Thorns. Wow. Such a purely magical experience and a definite new favourite of mine. As I said earlier, I've not been quite this smitten over a fantasy standalone--not since The Midnight Dance. This book? This book takes the cake. This book also happens to be the perfect fit for fans of The Midnight Dance and, of course, Cassandra Clare's The Infernal Devices series.

(The parallels between Sorcery of Thorns and The Infernal Devices are endless.)

Sorcery of Thorns has the it factor when it comes to magic and literature. Every page of it is full of an electricity that not every author can accomplish; but Margaret Rogerson does so with an ease that is so admirable, there's a part of me that wants to start a fan club in her honor. If there's anything that I want you to take away from my review, it's this: I adored this book with every fiber of my being and am in complete awe over every little line within it.

There's so much good to be said about Sorcery of Thorns. The writing is exquisite and laced through an unbelievably captivating series of events. I wanted to savor every single sentence. I wanted to just scoop up Elisabeth, and keep her from harms way, high five everyone's favourite demon, Silas, and keep Nathaniel for myself.

So, when I say that this book is incredible, I don't mean that lightly.

Cracking it open felt like discovering a new home. With its intricate plotlines and incomparably atmospheric world-building, a cast of lively characters, hints of a slow-burning love story, use of magic and all the dangers/intrigues that often go hand in hand with power, it's safe to say that not a single page could even begin to leave its readers feeling unsatisfied.

While I've yet to read Rogerson's debut, this book felt like the absolute perfect introduction to her. As far as atmospheres go, Sorcery of Thorns has such a pulse to it that readers will find themselves lost to the world and, instead, wishing, more than anything, that they could experience its magic for the first time.