Review: Sorcery of Thorns

At this point, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have read this book if it wasn't in my tbr. I was kind of pushing it back but then I realized, eh, better get it over with.

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.

QUICK THOUGHTS AND REVIEW: 3.8/5, SILAAAAAAAAAAS, I LOVE YOU MY DARLING. 

Possible Trigger Tags:

1. Misogyny

2. Gore

3. Violence

4. Major character death

WHAT DID I FEEL ABOUT THE  BOOK'S: 

1. Writing Quality: I really enjoyed the writing style and what made it even better was that it was centered around libraries, which, by far, is the most important human invention other than the wheel. And I really love it. The book started off really strong and the vibes around it were completely dark academia. And as we all know, I dig dark academia. Wait, I don't think I've ever mentioned that before. Anyways, my point is, love the vibes, love the writing style.

2. Character Development: Why isn't Silas real?

Silas: I swear to fricking god why isn't he real. Like literally, he is the entire personality of the book. I mean, a handsome and fussy demon butler? Like count me the fuck in. Plus his personality makes me crack the fuck up because a. he's a benevolent demon that literally finds his pleasure in not doing demon stuff b. he cooks and c. he has an immense fashion sense. Not to count his humour and wit which he literally just delivers with the straightest face he has. And to top it off he's in love with his master.  WHEN HE DIED TWICE IT COMPLETELY BROKE ME OKAY? I kept imagining him as a lovechild of Undertaker and Sebastian Michaelis and Ash Landers because he operates the same way as the three of them. Except I expected him to look completely like the Undertaker. 

Elisabeth: I really like Elisabeth personally because a. she's an apprentice librarian and she loves reading and libraries, and b. because she seems awesome at first sight. But other than that I don't find any good things about her. Surely she does seem mysterious as to why the libraries only react to her and no one else, but since that mystery really doesn't get solved, it's kind of sad. Oh wait, I just realized a second book's on the way, hopefully, by then this problem gets solved.

Nathaniel: Sir, you are flatter and Oikawa's ass. And Oikawa literally doesn't have an ass. No hate on Oikawa though, I literally love that man and I am really proud of what he has become. Anyways, I like that Nathaniel is a sorcerer and he had a very nice promise for his character growth but I can't see anything past an edgy teenager who's so drowned in his own troubles he pushes everyone away. Relatable, but I think I'd have liked to see  more development from him. Disappointing, really. The only good thing was when I found out he was bisexual. 

3. Couldn't put it down- Ness: 6/10. 

4. Plot Twists:  For a fantasy novel, the plot twists went a bit flat for me. When I'm delving into a fantasy novel, I'm expecting them to the fullest. Like hit me with the best shot that you've got. Though I know I complain sometimes about the wave of plot twists that happen but that is a good rant. A very good rant as to how it scarred me and how it probably be my comfort book from now on. But this book fell too flat for me in this case. I'm sorry, I just didn't feel the pull on it.

5. Plot: The plot in my opinion was quite interesting and quite original if I dare to say so, but I do feel like that the ending was quite dragged out in some places. Not in the writing sense style, but somehow I would like to think that there were many points in the story where the book might have ended on a spectacular note but it kept on going on and on and ended on a very weird and anti-climatic note in my opinion. I mean, it definitely wasn't anti-climatic in any sense, but for a fantasy novel, it seemed a bit off to me.

OVERALL, A MEH READ, Gonna make a blog just to appreciate Silas.