If you love fantasy and strong female heroines along with romance then you will definitely enjoy this one. I received this through my LitJoy crate subscription, and it took me a good while to get around to reading it. My 12-year-old son, who is a huge Harry Potter fan, was actually trying to find a book to read, and I handed him this one because it was so late, and he didn't want an e-book. He read it, and immediately told me that I need to read it as well.
The story begins with Elisabeth, who is an orphan, helping the warden at the library transport a grimoire to the vault of the library. In the world Elisabeth lives in, the majority of books are grimoires, and they have the ability to turn into maleficts (monsters). At this same time the library receives a visit from a sorceror, Nathaniel Thorn, whom Elisabeth believes is evil. However, she meets him while spying on him, and she is left with the impression that maybe he is not as bad as she assumed.
After a few weeks, Elisabeth wakes up in the middle of the night, and she realizes that something is wrong. She rushes to the vault, and she realizes that the grimoire she put there weeks before has turned into a malefict, and she discovers the warden is dead. Elisabeth fights off and destroys the malefict, but of course, she is accused of killing the warden because she was the only one who was awake during the time.
Elisabeth is locked up, and the Collegium sends Thorn to escort her back to the city for her trial. Along the way, she learns that Thorn is not the evil person she thought he was, but she also realizes that his servant is a demon, so there must be some evil to him. Eventually, Nathaniel and Elisabeth reach his home in the capital, Brassbridge, they are attacked by fiends outside of his home. Fortunately, Silas, the demon, helps fight them off, and they are sheltered safely inside Thorn's home. From Thorn's home Elisabeth is taken to the home of Oberon Ashcroft, who is the Chancellor of Magic. Nathaniel leaves assuming she is safe because she has been exonerated from the accusation of murder since another library was attacked while she was in custody. However, while at Ashcroft's, Elisabeth is manipulated by his demon, and she learns that he is the magician who is attacking the libraries.
Fortunately, Elisabeth escapes and makes it back to Thorn's where she convinces him to join her in the fight against Ashcroft. While they are preparing, Elisabeth learns about sorcery, and she and Thorn of course develop a relationship. In addition, Elisabeth becomes friends with Silas, the demon, and she starts to see that there is more to sorcery than she as grown up believing. As they work together to learn what Ashcroft's plans are, Elisabeth learns about some of her own powers, and she is determined to stop Ashcroft no matter what.
The story builds up to a climactic end where Elisabeth and Nathaniel both almost lose their lives, and Silas shows that he may not be the evil demon he is always telling Elisabeth that he is. The end actually ends with the reader not being sure about Nathaniel, Elisabeth, or Silas's futures, but it does end with a hopeful ending. My son tells me that it ends in such a way that there has to be a sequel, but in my mind, it ends with a happy ending. The reader is left to decide what really happens, and it would be nice if there were a sequel, but it's not really necessary.
Overall, the story is a great fantasy that lovers of books will enjoy. I loved that the setting was in libraries and in a world that basically worshiped literature. I also enjoyed the power that books had, and the fact that they were able to transform into monsters and also communicate with Elisabeth was so much fun! For those who have often thought it would be fun to live in a library, this story makes it seem even more unbelievable. As I read about Elisabeth and the books, I couldn't help but wish that I were there with her taking care of the books and learning from them.
Another thing that I really loved was the character of Silas. Yes, he is a demon, and he reminds Elisabeth of that many times, but he is also so much more than a demon. He becomes, in my opinion, the hero of the story, and he is so lovable and easy to accept. I love how he works to help Nathaniel as a servant, but also as a friend. Rogerson creates the relationship between Nathaniel and Silas almost as a child and parent relationship. I couldn't help but cheer for Silas, and throughout the story, I agreed with Elisabeth when she kept thinking that there was more to Silas than he was letting on.
The final part of the book that I of course loved was the relationship between Nathaniel and Elisabeth. The fact that she starts out not trusting him, but quickly learns to love him was a little bit cheesy, but also, so fun to read! I loved that the two of them worked together to save their world and the libraries, and Elisabeth wasn't always the damsel in distress. There were times where she saved Nathaniel just as much as there where times where he saved her. I actually thought the romance would be a detraction for my son, but he told me that he enjoyed the fantasy part of it so much that the romance wasn't a problem at all.
This is one that I am excited to share with my students after this whole Covid 19 quarantine is over. I know that fans of Harry Potter and other fantasy books will definitely love Sorcery of Thorns.
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