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lizgom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed Nathaniel’s personality and I think that’s why it was an enjoyable romance. He’s witty, sarcastic, humorous and flirty. Elisabeth is probably one of my favorite heroines. She’s everything I want from a main character. I have a tendency to dislike FMCs and I think this speaks volumes about how Elisabeth was written. She’s a girl who grew up in a Library full of grimoires and builds an immunity to magic. Her courage was something admirable throughout the book, I didn’t get the “god she’s so dumb” vibe I usually get from most female protagonists. (Feyre from ACOTAR I’m looking at you.) I genuinely rooted for Elisabeth. I often get frustrated by how naïve most FMCs are written. Hands down Elisabeth is my favorite character written so far.
The romance in this book wasn’t the main plot so if you’re looking for a specifically romance book then you might be a little disappointed because this is a very very light romance. The plot had quite a few things going on. However, it wasn’t overwhelming.
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death and Panic attacks/disorders
moonchild_cos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol
mirrorcover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
raypaws's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
inkdrinkers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Elisabeth Scrivner has grown up in the halls of magical libraries. Left on the steps of one as a baby, she's grown up with the sincere desire to be like the wardens overseeing her librarian apprenticeship - stalwart, true, and with swords strapped to their sides, ready to protect the world from the magical grimoires caged in the halls of the library. She knows magic is horrifically terrible, something to be protected from, but when a grimoire is released from a library, transforming into a monster and leaving Elisabeth implicated in the crime of setting it free, she must turn to Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer she knows better than to trust, but the only man who can help her stop the very end of their world.
LET'S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK. Funnily, this entire thing took me a year to read. That's unheard of for me, and I feel weird even putting that in writing because this isn't a bad book. In fact, it's so good I couldn't bear to pick it up again because I knew it would end. Is that dramatic? Maybe a little, but I found myself so completely captured by this story and the characters inside of it that I just couldn't fathom not having them after I was done. Then I got word there was a sequel coming as a novella and I rushed to pick my copy back up, realizing I could finally finish it without going, full-spiral, into a post-book slump. This is my first book by Margaret Rogerson and I think it's solidified her as a favorite. This is YA in its truest form, wonderfully adventurous, heart-wrenchingly emotional, and full of characters that you can't help but love.
I LOVED Elisabeth. My big (6'0 feet!!!!) bull-headed angry girl. She does so much in the span of these pages and grows into a beautiful character that I just want to grab her and kiss her forehead at the end. I've never read a book where I felt so feral and protective over the main character, but this one did it to me. Nathaniel is truly one of the best book boyfriends in current YA, he's grumpy and sarcastic and entirely too snappy for his own good, but he melted my heart with every twitch of a smile he had in these pages. And SILAS!! There is nothing more to say than Silas is the absolute best demon there ever was, and I would 100% ruffle his little white cat ears.
Finally, I really can't write this review without saying how quickly it brought tears to my eyes. There's something so healing about the way representation in young adult has grown from side characters to open discussion about sexuality. It's not a major plot point, there's no grand reveal or silly plot tied to it about secrets or hiding, it's just there on the page and accepted so easily. You can claw this book from my cold, dead, hands - I love it dearly, and I really, truly would recommend it to everyone.
Content warnings: forced institutionalization/confinement, violence (with swords!), body horror (light, in regards to demons), death of a parent/grief, misogyny (sprinkled throughout), panic attacks (briefly on page around 70% through), gaslighting (present throughout, done by the villain)
Graphic: Violence and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Confinement, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body horror
hannahbailey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
There are lots of strong points to this book, including a well-developed main character. The fantasy setting and magic system were interesting and had potential, but they were never fully explained. Sadly what lost me was I felt the book was being pulled multiple ways between grimoires and libraries and sorcery and power. If the author had gone with one or the other, but kept the plot the same, I think this would be a much stronger novel. That said, the grimoires element was something I'd not seen done before and that was interesting enough to keep me reading. Another book I think would translate really well on screen as a TV series.
The love interest, whilst interesting at first, changed his tune too quickly and became a character used for comic relief throughout the novel. This felt strange and unnecessary to me. Although the book has a dark academia/fantasy vibe, it wasn't dark enough to require so many quips from the guy to lighten the mood. The situations were serious but not depressing, so the humour was unwarranted (and unwanted) for me. The trigger warnings do seem very dark, but the fantasy setting and YA genre disconnects them from reality and they are less horrific in the context of the book. This is still a very strong YA novel and a younger reader may not pull it apart as much as I am prone to do.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
tulilipz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
bookish_slagathor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Margaret Rogerson has an amazingly beautiful and flowing writing style and a knack for bringing her characters to life. It was a joy to read her novel and I will be definitely looking into her other works after this.
Not to mention that this book has a capable female MC, the sweetest romance that I've read in the past few months (or maybe even in the past year) and an exciting story with strong feminist vibes to boot. Definitely something I would recommend getting your teen child, but also something I'd recommend for adults as well. It's just so good!!!
In any case, this book convinced me to try and be a tad bit more open minded when it comes to YA literature. Some books may surprise me with their maturity.
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexism
Minor: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Silas is enjoyable as a character whose present form is unassuming but could absolutely fuck someone up if a different version of himself is let loose (Think Mogget from The Old Kingdom books by Garth Nix, but if he liked working).
I thought the first half was just fine (except for the worldbuilding, which was excellent) and then I loved the ending. I didn't enjoy the matrons speculating about Nathaniel's sexuality, and while the resolution of his identity came though his own telling, it felt a bit off.
The audiobook performance (particularly for Silas) perfectly fits each character and really enhanced the story. The plot noticeably had distinct stages (not in a bad way). It's a long enough book to have several points of tension and rest, with the danger escalating in a way that felt appropriate to the world and to what the characters had already faced. There were a couple of points in the latter half where things had been so dramatic that I thought maybe it was about to pull a cliffhanger, but the ending is very satisfying and comes at an appropriate point in the pacing.
I enjoyed this and am very excited for a sequel if one materializes. It's listed as a series so I'm hopeful.
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, and Blood
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Mental illness
erins_bookshelf_'s review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The storyline was interesting and I might need to read this again to appreciate the book properly, I think it moved kind of slow in the beginning but it picked up in the second half of the book so its okay :)
The whole concept was very interesting and I can’t wait for the sequel
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Ableism and Misogyny