Addicted to YA discussion

This discussion will be lead by Stone_Assassin. The discussion leader will be here to help keep the conversation going. Look out for comments and questions the discussion leader might make and respond back to them!

Adela wrote: "Soph wrote: "I literally just finished the first book. I really can't wait to start this one."

What do you mean by the first book? Isn't this a standalone?"

You are correct I was thinking of another book this group is reading called "A Heart So Fierce And Broken". I had finished the first book yesterday called "A Curse So Dark and Lonely". Thanks for realizing my mistake

Hi everybody! I’m Stone :)
To kick this off let’s try a question.
What made you want to read Sorcery of Thorns? Did the synopsis intrigue you? Did the cover make you wonder what it was all about?

I have finished the book already so DISCUSS AWAY and let’s get some conversations going.

I hope you all enjoy :)

-Stone

Hey! So I decided to give this book a try because the cover is quite nice. I had seen the book posted or talked about here and there and thought I would pass it up, but I ended up seeing so much hype for it that I thought "why not give it a chance?!" So here we are. :)

Hi! I read this book last month and really love it! Can't wait to join the discussion! When I heard this book is about a library with magical books, I added it to my TBR without hesitation. Fantasy has always been my favorite and I've always wanted to live in a library. This book is just for me and I turned out to love it very much indeed!

I had saved this book on my "to read" shelf a long time ago and couldn't remember what it was about. So after reading the first few pages and finding out its about a library of magical books, I was super excited. I'm 20% done now and absolutely loving it.

This book is definitely one of my favorites! It really took me by surprise and I loved the characters :)

l loved the characters as well and all the magic and books.

So many awesome answers! I’m glad everybody was actually excited to check out the book and not more like “ehhhh should I?” , you all know what I mean haha!

Now my next questions..... without any spoilers please.


What do you all think of Elisabeth?
What do you all think of Mr. Thorn?

I hope you all are enjoying the book! I absolutely loved it. I mean a book about magical books?!?! C’mon!!!!

-Stone

I read the first half of this last month for a buddy read and ended up getting sidetracked. I'm excited to get back into it!

I added it to my TBR because I read Margaret Rogerson's first book and wanted to give her another chance. I didn't totally love An Enchantment of Ravens, but I think the author's writing is beautiful.

I rather like Elisabeth. She's fun and spunky, but she's also a fighter. I love female characters that are someone I can respect but not at the expense of having a personality.

I hear a lot of people say they don't like Nathaniel and that Silas is so much better, but I like them both a lot. It's really interesting how the magic system in the story affects them both.

I'm about 65% of the way through now and am gonna try and finish up tonight. I am loving the story so far!

I quite like Elisabeth. She is strong and smart. She has a good, respectable personality that is not obnoxious or overdone like YA heroines can tend to border on the line of.

Nathaniel is mysterious and moody. Don't mind that at all. But really I can't get enough of Silas. He is just so intriguing and you don't know how/what you're supposed to feel about him which makes it that much more interesting.

The main characters are solid. No complaints from me. Can't wait to finish up and have more complete thoughts on everything!

I really liked the book! My friend lent me her copy at a sleep-away camp. I would secretly read it without her knowing sometimes, until I finished. Anyway, Elisabeth was amazing, her change from a librarian to a fighter was great as well.

I read this last year because it had good hype, but also Emily May wrote a positive review on it that made read it. Also a magical library is always a plus. Unfortunately it was too long for me and I got bored with the characters and plot throughout the book. It was still a 3 star for me.

Okay... I just finished and I have so many thoughts, I couldn't possibly put them all down here. I wrote a lengthy review if anyone wants to read all my gushing.

Put simply, I loved it and I think I may have just found my favorite literary character ever in Silas.

I love Elisabeth and Nathaniel. Especially Nathaniel. He is a person with good heart and trying to hide his weakness to protect others. I love his consideration and generosity under his cold disguise. I also like how Elisabeth grows in the hardships throughout the book.

One question though: Why do you guys love Silas so much? I like him enough but not crazy about him.

I read this book last year and really enjoyed it, I like Silas character the most because since he is a demon way down I feel he has a soft spot for Nathaniel.

Laurel wrote: "I love Elisabeth and Nathaniel. Especially Nathaniel. He is a person with good heart and trying to hide his weakness to protect others. I love his consideration and generosity under his cold disgui..."

I personally love Silas because he is such a complex character. I have a weakness for morally grey characters, particularly anti-heroes who have a great redemption arc. But yeah, Silas embodies a lot of the lessons I believe Margaret Rogerson is attempting to bring forth in this book. He is what Elisabeth considers the epitome of evil based on her upbringing and what she has been taught, but he really isn't. He is just a complex being with multi-layered depths, as all humans usually are (although he is a demon haha). My review of the book goes into more detail on why I love him so much, but that's more or less it in a nutshell. He's just wonderful. A sweet cinnamon bun underneath it all.

I really am loving the interaction and discussion you all are bringing to the table!

Does anybody have any favorite quotes that sticks out in their head? Is there any line you just “had a moment” over?

I personally love this one...
“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 before.”

-Stone

I think Silas is a fun character because he is a demon but bound to be decent. That makes him a wildcard that the author can use and the character won't be 100% predictable.

Stone_Assassin wrote: "I really am loving the interaction and discussion you all are bringing to the table!

Does anybody have any favorite quotes that sticks out in their head? Is there any line you just “had a moment”..."

For me, this line caught my attention immediately. I felt like it captured so much of the message behind this book. It represents the shift in Elisabeth's understanding of how the world works and how she views people and their actions. So good.

"But there is always more than one way to see the world. Those who claim otherwise would have you dwell forever in the dark."

Cassie wrote: "I personally love Silas because he is such a complex character. I have a weakness for morally grey characters, particularly anti-heroes who have a great..."

I totally agree that Silas is a complex character, interesting in a way that promote our thoughts. I love the moral lessons that Margaret Rogerson is conveying through Silas, but not that much Silas himself. I like him as a side character and would like to know more about him, but I feel I still know too little about him to love him. Nonetheless, he is a pretty unique and unforgettable character.

(p.s. I read your review and love it <3)

Stone_Assassin wrote: "I really am loving the interaction and discussion you all are bringing to the table!

Does anybody have any favorite quotes that sticks out in their head? Is there any line you just “had a moment”..."

There are too much good ones to choose! I love all the quotes you guys mentioned. Another one I really like is "Knowledge always has the potential to be dangerous. It is a more powerful weapon than any sword or spell."

There are a ton of great quotes throughout the whole book!!

I am so happy you all are enjoying the story as much as I did!

Without any spoilers.....
Tell us something that surprised you about the book.

Was it the characters transformation? Was it the plot itself? Were you surprised by the villain?? I want to know what you thought!!

-Stone.

Hi everyone! I just started reading Sorcery of Thorns last night. I’ve been looking forward to it, it seemed to be right in my wheelhouse. I enjoy reading more fantasy books, and after reading other reviews and the description, I was hooked. I am about 25% in now and I am definitely loving it.

After reading the first few chapters, I have a serious question though, does Finch remind you of Filch from Harry Potter at all? I mean I had a little bit of a struggle with this for a second. Other than that, I am loving this book. I mean magic and magical books and demons and the list goes on.

Now for my thoughts on Elizabeth and Nathaniel, I’m really digging them both, she has some character flaws she is working through and her dialogue is realistic, and he makes jokes and is witty. Love it! Silas is also interesting for sure and definitely adds to the story.

I'm looking forward to reading on and will keep you all posted :D

I hope everybody is having a good time reading the story!!

If you could invite any ONE character from the story out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Personally I would invite Elisabeth. Of course, I would want to discus all things bookish with her! Another thing I would want to talk about, would be the changes she went through during the whole story. I would want to know more in depth of her feelings and how all the events impacted her!

Tell me what you all think!

-Stone

Stone_Assassin wrote: "Hi everybody! I’m Stone :)
To kick this off let’s try a question.
What made you want to read Sorcery of Thorns? Did the synopsis intrigue you? Did the cover make you wonder what it was all about?

..."

Honestly, the beautiful cover did really caught my eye at some time in January (before the I saw poll for March), then read the synopsis here in Goodreads, loved it then shelved it to 'want to read'.

Then viola I saw that it won the poll here in the group for the month of March and I was so happy about it :) and decided I would start it a month ahead.

I don't know if I was intrigued by the synopsis but I know that this is the kind of book that I didn't even know I was waiting for until I read a bit of the synopsis on Goodreads. You learned that the story is about books that have their own life, soul, emotions, can talk, take revenge on you etc., and big magical libraries too plus the romance between two young adults. Then, I realized and said to myself with hearts on my eyes "Whoa, I've been waiting for this kind of plot! ". While reading it, I can't help but feel like I am also inside the pages, or rather in the story, and that I could see the grimoires and touch them.

Sara Marshall wrote: "Hi everyone! I just started reading Sorcery of Thorns last night. I’ve been looking forward to it, it seemed to be right in my wheelhouse. I enjoy reading more fantasy books, and after reading othe..."



Hahaha.. Now that you mention it, Warden Finch does remind me of Filch from HP series.. :))

Stone_Assassin wrote: "So many awesome answers! I’m glad everybody was actually excited to check out the book and not more like “ehhhh should I?” , you all know what I mean haha!

Now my next questions..... without any ..."

Elisabeth - I think she's quite naive, but then she grew up with little knowledge of the real world. Sometimes I can relate to her, like how she cares for the books as I myself have emotions for my books too (especially if it's YA). And I love that she is courageous and brave to fight with a sword.

Nathaniel - I like that he doesn't want to be like Baltasar and he is a good guy. But I have to admit that he is like most of the male leads in other YA. For now, I can't find anything exceptional about him except for his emerald sparks and sorcery. If there is, please let me know.

Tell us something that surprised you about the book.

Was it the characters transformation? Was it the plot itself? Were you surprised by the villain?? I want to know what you thought!!

SPOLERS AHEAD
The fact that Nathaniel was bisexual did surprise me, but I don’t have prejudice against it, I just didn’t see it coming. Also, I find it surprising that the story wasn’t limited to just one setting. It went beyond Summershall and so much events had happened that it’s surprising it’s a standalone.

If you could invite any ONE character from the story out to dinner, who would it be and why?

SILAS! SILAS! SILAS! I would invite Silas! I would ask him a lot about history. I think it would fun to talk to him as meticulous he is. I would probably not ask him directly about his affections toward Nathaniel but I would ask him some questions that could give me a hint about it (even though he might suspect my ntentions). Questions like, ‘How did he continue to have patience with Nathaniel as a child’ And besides, I think it’s an opportunity to talk to a demon who would also respond properly, like a good conversation.

Hi Y'all!

What made you want to read Sorcery of Thorns? I had heard good things about it and love sorcery-related books with witches etc

Did the synopsis intrigue you? I think I read the synopsis awhile ago but definitely not recently so I don't really remember what the synopsis said and I was more interested because I'd heard good things

Did the cover make you wonder what it was all about? Yes I liked the cover!

I listened to the audiobook! I gave this book 5 stars, I really enjoyed it.

I started liking it right away because it reminded me a bit of A Discovery of Witches which I read in January and also gave 5 stars. The girl who loves old books, sorcery, demons, a brooding love interest. But that’s all they really had in common. The rest was much different. I liked the pacing, I liked the characters and character development, some things I expected to happen but didn’t mind and some things surprised me. A great read and would definitely read more in this universe if the author decides to write more.

I like these two quotes:

“When terrible things have happened to you, sometimes the promise of something good can be just as frightening.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns

“She now understood that the world wasn’t kind to young women, especially when they behaved in ways men didn’t like, and spoke truths that men weren’t ready to hear.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns

I did feel that the book could have been even longer and dove deeper into the world-building but I know sometimes the publisher might want it shorter to appeal to more people. I think she could write more and make it a series and maybe she will if enough people want it. I would love to read more in this world, especially more about the other books and maybe more of the high born demons.

Anyone read books similar to this that they would recommend?

witches, demons, old books, etc?

From my previous comment, you'll see I found a few surface-level similarities between this and A Discovery of Witches but they are both very different just a few similarities that if you liked this book I think you'll like that one as well and it's a three-book series. I've only read the first one so if anyone wants to read the rest of the series with me, I'd love that.

Otherwise would love to hear any similar book recommendations.

Ruthie wrote: "I like these two quotes:

“When terrible things have happened to you, sometimes the promise of something good can be just as frightening.”
― Margaret Rogerson, Sorcery of Thorns

“She now understoo..."

Try The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith. It's about the library where all the books that were never written reside. It is not YA though so I don't know if you were looking for more YA.

This question has been helpful for me to pinpoint why this was only a 3 star book for me. The writing style and some of the lines were amazing. However, I would not have dinner with any of the characters because they seemed less real/interesting than the books in the libraries.

Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll look it up! I like most all genres not just ya!

With the month coming to an end soon, I just want to say how completely honored I was to lead this post!

You all were fantastic with the discussion questions and participated wonderfully. I think it really showed a lot of range from the book and definitely showed me some different view points I did not notice when I read Sorcery of Thorns originally.

For this post I encourage everybody to share some of their favorite aspects of the book. Share with us what you absolutely loved. Tell us something you maybe did not care for so much. I want to know what YOU thought of the book. Please remember that everybody is entitled to their opinions and this is a discussion not an argument :).

I enjoyed doing this with you all and I hope I get to lead another group soon.

HAPPY READING!

-Stone.

I felt like the pacing was really good too! World building without sacrificing action or things happening

I liked this book because it had a good concept, some excellent writing and the MC wasn't the same as every other YA book. I doubt though that I'm ever going to read it again.

I finished the book and it was pretty good. It wasn’t my all time favorite but it wasn’t too bad. My favorite character was Silas although I wouldn’t want him over for dinner. Lol

Just finished it... meh

I thought it was pretty good. I feel like the ending made a sequel possible.

Loved it! Would love a sequel and feel luke the ending definitely left that as a possibility. A sequel that delves further into Silas' history as well as Nathaniel's family would be awesome!

@Cassie I totally agree with you!!!!

I just finished and I really loved this book. I loved that the fantasy was the focus and not the romance. I really enjoyed the characters and the way the author blurred the lines between good and evil and figuring it out. I also thought her pacing was perfect.

For my birthday last year, my friend gave me Sorcery of Thorns. I sat down right then, and started reading. Loved it! But was unhappy with the ending. Another friend felt the same way after reading it, so we are writing our own continued endings. :P If I could take one of the characters to dinner, I would probably choose Katrein. She's got a good sense of humor, and she's different from the other Apprentices.