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crose13's review
4.0
It was good, but not my favourite. The plot moved too fast. I didn’t feel connected to the characters and the romance plot felt forced, it was too quick. Loved Silas. Slay
jackiesobota's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
neglet's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I really loved the setting and the world building in this book – any work that has the phrase “feral librarian” in it is right up my alley. I found the mystery aspects of the story a bit slow going, and I don’t think there’s as much character development as I would usually like to see in a story like this. But I enjoyed the relationships and the magic, which is what kept me reading to the satisfying end.
ebac622's review
4.0
3.75… i know such an annoying number to rate but it is what it is. It’s funny, i liked the library and the magic, but it felt young and needed more sophistication?? (who am i lol) it’s a like not a love … i almost wish more time was spent on the grimoires (magical books) i wanted to know all of them!!!! haha
emmmalibrary's review
5.0
Je ? Pardon ?!
Je fais cette review à chaud parce que wow ce livre ! j'en perds mon latin !
Déjà on va être honnête dès le départ c'est un coup de coeur, clairement y'a pas de doute là dessus. Concernant les personnages Nathaniel et Silas c'est vraiment mes chouchous ! Je les aimes trop et je savais bien évidemment que Silas n'était pas si démoniaque que ça, il était beaucoup trop attachant. L'histoire est prenante dès le début, y'à pleins de rebondissements, bref tout ce que j'aime. Et même si à la fin de ce livre j'ai encore pleins de questions dans ma tête, ça reste une lecture mais fabuleuse ! J'ai passer un excellent moment, et je ne regrette pas d'avoir sacrifié quelque heures de révisions pour ce livre !
Bref, je le recommande.
Je fais cette review à chaud parce que wow ce livre ! j'en perds mon latin !
Déjà on va être honnête dès le départ c'est un coup de coeur, clairement y'a pas de doute là dessus. Concernant les personnages Nathaniel et Silas c'est vraiment mes chouchous ! Je les aimes trop et je savais bien évidemment que Silas n'était pas si démoniaque que ça, il était beaucoup trop attachant. L'histoire est prenante dès le début, y'à pleins de rebondissements, bref tout ce que j'aime. Et même si à la fin de ce livre j'ai encore pleins de questions dans ma tête, ça reste une lecture mais fabuleuse ! J'ai passer un excellent moment, et je ne regrette pas d'avoir sacrifié quelque heures de révisions pour ce livre !
Bref, je le recommande.
jgalewska's review against another edition
4.0
Chyba najbardziej w tej książce podobała mi się kreacja świata, w którym to książki były ożywione i magiczne. Poza tym jednak nie było to nic specjalnego, było sporo banałów i łatwo byłoby przyrównać tę historię do mnóstwa innych książek YA. Ale bawiłam się na niej świetnie, akcja była wartka, wątek romantyczny aż nadto przewidywalny i słodki, a zakończenie trochę okrutne. Za emocje jakie we mnie wzbudziła przyznaję „Magii cierni” ocenę 4.
hellobookbird's review
4.0
"Never forget that knowledge is your greatest weapon. The more knowledge the better, so you can hit the sorcerer over the head with it and give him a concussion. That's why I chose such a big one."
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.
"You like this place?"
"Of course I do, it has books in it."
Sentient books, magical libraries, broody sorcerers, (secretly) soft demons, as well as whimsical and flirty banter...I can't decide what I liked the best out of all of those elements.
Let's start with the six Great Libraries! Imagine being surrounded by the ink-and-parchment smell of magical tomes...tomes that mutter and wrestle and have minds of their own. As spells can't be written using ordinary materials, grimoires—classed on a ten-point scale based on order of risk—are a sentient record bound to book with human (or demon) parts. Class Four and above require special confinement and it is up to the librarians to safeguard them all—no matter how foul—in case there comes a time when the spells they contain are needed.
Books, too, had hearts, though they were not the same as people’s, and a book’s heart could be broken; she had seen it happen before. Grimoires that refused to open, their voices gone silent, or whose ink faded and bled across the pages like tears.
Great Libraries usually take in orphans roughly the age of thirteen. Elisabeth, however, was an exception...having been raised in the library since a baby. There is nothing she loves more than the soft whispers of the grimoires and the level of respect and adoration she has for them makes me ache. I absolutely love how Rogerson develops this later on in the novel. (Spoiler: I cried. You will, too.)
However, she's grown up being known for being a bit of a troublemaker so it comes as no surprise that when a sorcerer finally comes to pay a visit to the Vault, Elisabeth dares to sneak a peek with her best friend Katrien...and accidentally dumps a bookshelf over in his presence.
"I was warned I'd see some strange things in the countryside, but I admit, I didn't expect to find a feral librarian roaming the stacks."
Enter Nathaniel Thorn, broody sorcerer extraordinaire with such wonderful quips. After the incident that leaves Elisabeth ousted from her library, and another incident that leaves her out on the streets, she's lucky enough to be rescued by none other than Nathaniel's demon servant, Silas. (Between Nathaniel and Silas, I can't decide who I like more. They are both extremely precious and to be protected at all costs. I was honestly caught off-guard by how strongly I felt about this.)
"Of course I would be happy to join you in a life-endangering act of heroism, Scrivener. You must only say the word."
I never had a chance and neither did Nathaniel. Elisabeth steamrolled over the both of us and swept us up into one minor or major disaster after another.
"My days' plans didn't include traipsing down a squalid alleyway to dispatch a handful of second-rate criminals. Not in a clean suit, and certainly not in a new pair of shoes."
Also, Silas cannot be properly explained...he can only be experienced. I just want it said that his sweet, cinnamon roll center is well guarded by expressionless, polite mannerisms...which tickles me to no end.
Recommended for fantasy fans and those that love hilariously nonchalant quips with their action.