Sorcery of Thorns - A Promising Idea That Fell Short
Sorcery of Thorns left me with mixed feelings. The novel presents an intriguing concept—living grimoires in magical libraries—but unfortunately, it doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential. While the idea of sentient books is fascinating, I found myself wishing that the worldbuilding had been more expansive, giving us a deeper dive into this unique universe.
One of the main issues I had was with the characterization. Many of the secondary characters felt flat and one-dimensional. Even Elisabeth’s best friend, Katrien, who had the potential to be a layered and compelling character, ultimately fell short. The villain also suffered from this lack of depth, coming across as rather one-note and predictable.
When it comes to the romance between Elisabeth and Nathaniel, I found it cute, with a sweet and slow build-up. However, I struggled to fully invest in it. This was largely because the characters themselves didn’t feel real or complex enough for me to care deeply about their relationship. Elisabeth, as the protagonist, was a good character, but perhaps too good. I found it hard to identify any significant flaws in her, aside from impulsivity—a trait often used to push the plot forward, but one that felt more contrived than authentic. It also struck me as odd that she could suddenly wield a sword like an expert with no prior training. A little more development in this area could have added some much-needed realism.
Nathaniel, on the other hand, was a more interesting character. His moral dilemmas added some complexity, and I would have loved to see more of the story from his perspective. However, the real standout for me was Silas. He was the most layered, morally grey, and fleshed-out character in the novel. Creating a being with such different morals yet making him relatable is a challenging feat, and here the author truly succeeded.
In terms of writing, I found that some of the prose leaned too heavily on clichés and awkward metaphors, which occasionally pulled me out of the story. The plot, too, was sometimes difficult to believe. For instance, confronting the villain at a ball seemed like a rather ill-conceived plan, and I think the story could have benefited from more well-developed characters to support the three main ones, especially given the high stakes.
Overall, Sorcery of Thorns was an easy read that helped me break out of a reading slump, but it left me wanting more. The book had a lot of potential that, in my opinion, wasn’t fully realized. Perhaps this is due to its YA classification, but I don’t see that as an excuse for the missed opportunities in character and plot development. Despite its flaws, the book does offer an engaging enough story for fans of the genre, but it may leave others feeling somewhat underwhelmed.
✦ My rating: 2.75/5 stars ✦
