YA Buddy Readers' Corner ♥ discussion

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.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson will be our 1st GBR for March 2021.

Please read at your own pace, and hide any spoilers ☺ You are welcome to join at any time during the month ☺

Happy Reading Everybody!

Pre-Reading Questions -

Anybody got any thoughts on this one before we start?

Has anyone read anything similar to this before?

Anybody read anything else by this author previously?

Yay! I'm really excited for this one!!

I could try to join. I have the book but haven't got to it yet.

Oh, I literally just finished this - I'll be interested to see what everyone else thinks about it :) (I gave it 3 stars)

I know this one from Booktube and it is wildly loved. It is a book about books and is a light fun read. I’ll pick it up from Scribd and join in.

Edited
This is my first book by the author. Curious about her other book - An Enchantment of Ravens

I'm picking this one up today :) I heard a lot of great things about so hope I'll like it.

Finished chapter 9
(view spoiler)[I like this world and magic system. These grimoires are everything! I wonder if Warden (or Director now I guess) Finch as something to do with this attack on Summershall. (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 18
(view spoiler)[Okay, so it wasn't Finch but Ashcroft. I liked his plan to make look Elisabeth insane. It was smart and if she was anybody else it would work. (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 31
(view spoiler)[I knew it! I looked at that map before I started reading this book and beacause it's a book about magic and demons, my mind immediately went to pentagram when I saw it. (hide spoiler)]

@Aneta (about chapter 31 spoiler): (view spoiler)[I find it so difficult to refer to the maps bc I read on my phone and it's a pain to keep going back to the map page, but even so - I def felt like I should've caught that! 😅 (hide spoiler)]

Mary wrote: "@Aneta (about chapter 31 spoiler): [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I usually look into the maps before I start reading because I just want to know what this world looks like :D If I read it on my phone I wouldn't notice that. (hide spoiler)]

Wow, Aneta you flew this one. Did you listen to this? What speed?

June wrote: "Wow, Aneta you flew this one. Did you listen to this? What speed?"

I have Fairyloot edition so I read it physically. It would take me much longer if I listened to an audiobook.

Whenever I listen to audiobooks I just can't do it at anything but normal speed hahaha - I tried 1.5x but it was just Too Much for me

Finished
(view spoiler)[Overall I really liked this book. But I wasn't fan of this ending. It was too happy for me? Like I fully expected someone from main cast to die and nobody did. (hide spoiler)]

Mary wrote: "Whenever I listen to audiobooks I just can't do it at anything but normal speed hahaha - I tried 1.5x but it was just Too Much for me"

Same! I can't do more than 1.2x

Aneta wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I agree - I think the stakes were so high (the world is literally going to end) it's too bad that there were seemingly zero consequences for the main characters. As much as I liked Silas, I didn't like his sacrifice OR his return at the end. His sacrifice was just... too simple? A bit trite (hide spoiler)]

@Mary
(view spoiler)[Exacly! I love Silas but that ending didn't make sence to me. He told her all the time not to free him because he will go rampage. But he didn't a thing in the end. He just sacrifice himself. (hide spoiler)]

I started it Aneta, and I can see how you flew through it. I have reached chapter 9 - so I can view your spoiler.
(view spoiler)[ The world has a fairy tale setup but more modern. I like the contrast with the rural setting being a little less knowing but the city isn't quite a treat.
I am curious about Elisabeth's ability to see past the glamour and her role at the Summerhall in the first place.
And even though it is a romance, at least it isn't quite insta-love. (hide spoiler)]

I find I also can't listen beyond 1.2 to 1.5 speed. After that it sound like chipmunks talking.

Aneta wrote: "Finished chapter 18
[spoilers removed]"
(view spoiler)[ From the time Ashcroft was mentioned I pegged him as the villain. Predictable twist I think. But the addition of mad woman slant and not trusting just appearance was a great addition to the book. When you think about it, Elisabeth is not the usual damsel in distress waiting to be rescued. A bit dense (hide spoiler)]

Aneta wrote: "Finished
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ Agreed that the ending was underwhelming. All that buildup and then a whimper. I know the author meant to showcase love conquers all, but ummmm, nope. Not with demons. (hide spoiler)]

I started this a couple of days ago. Now just finished chapter 9. (view spoiler)[
For some reason I couldn't really get into this at first. The magical grimoires just didn't seem that interesting to me. However, after Elisabeth left the library, the story has been more to my taste. I think Elisabeth has a bit of sorcerer blood. She's an orphan after all and we don't know her parents. I'd like to know how she ended up in the library, though. And like Aneta, I also wondered whether Finch had something to do with the sabotage in the library. I think it was someone from the inside at least, if not Finch. (hide spoiler)]

Suuuper late to the party, but I'm finally getting started on this one lol

Chapter 1
(view spoiler)[ All I can picture about this book with the eyes is the Hocus Pocus spell book lol (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 5
(view spoiler)[ I don't trust Finch at all. He's too quick to put all the blame on Elisabeth (hide spoiler)]

Aneta wrote: "Finished chapter 9
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I agree! I find this world to be super fascinating. I wish we had sentient books in real life lol. How cool would that be? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11
(view spoiler)[ I don't trust Ashcroft either (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 13
(view spoiler)[ Ugghh this was such a frustrating chapter to read. I hope Nathanial and/or Silas comes back soon (hide spoiler)]

Aneta wrote: "Finished chapter 18
[spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I still think Finch is playing a part in it all. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 26
(view spoiler)[ Aww no. Poor Silas :( (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 28
(view spoiler)[ Okay so false alarm. Silas is okay after all. He's my favorite in all of this. I find him intriguing (hide spoiler)]

Mary wrote: "@Aneta (about chapter 31 spoiler): [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I'm with you there. I took a quick look at it and then just swiped my screen to the next page. I never noticed anything really significant with it lol (hide spoiler)]

I finished.
(view spoiler)[ Like you Katrina, I also liked Silas the best. He's interesting and I'm happy he's probably ok. Otherwise, I found this book mediocre. It might be I'm just not in the mood for fantasy at the moment but I couldn't really get into it. It wasn't a struggle but it wasn't mind blowing either. I did like the ending, though. (hide spoiler)]