A stunning photo by @thesimple.booklover
It’s day 4!
Welcome back to the readalong for Sorcery of Thorns!
As you might know, every time a readalong takes place we host a bit of a hush-hush competition, to give really good chances for those participating to win! it’s really easy to enter and you can win your next box for free! After all, reading together should be rewarded 🙂
All you need to do is:
- Take a photo of Sorcery of Thorns with the beautiful character art print from our June box
- Include a hashtag #FairySorcery (very important)
- Do all of this by the end of the 21st of July
- Mention down below in your comment today that you have entered and include your Instagram handle (also super important, as we really want to make sure a person from the Readalong wins this!^^)
As always, let the odds be ever in your favour! The winner is selected entirely randomly so everybody has a good shot at it!
Today we’re reading chapters 19-24. Shall we dive straight in and see how Elisabeth gets on in the Royal Library?
Let’s go!
Please be warned, the following will include spoilers for chapters 1-24 of Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson. Read only if you’ve finished those chapters!
-!SPOILERS!-
First things first, how amazing does the Royal Library sound?? Statues moving the ladders and so many books! It sounds so magical and I would love to visit!
I love that Silas is now a cat! He’s a demon in a cat’s body and that very much amuses me.
Oooo a forbidden section…sounds exactly like the kind of place a book that needs to be stolen would be kept…
Yep, there it is, how’s Elisabeth going to get in there? I’m sure she’ll be able to come up with a great plan!
Elisabeth is a lot more understanding of bleeding walls than I would be! I feel so bad for Nathaniel though, having dreams about the deaths of his family over and over! Especially since Silas still lives with him and ‘works’ for him, he has a constant reminder!
Silas acts so nice most of the time that I kinda forgot that demons are supposed to be bad! 20 years is such a long time off of your life! I wonder, if Silas was to be banished, would Nathaniel get those years back?
Ahhh she has a key!!! Let’s go get that codex and stop Ashcroft!
I’m getting really ‘restricted section from Harry Potter’ vibes here what with all the most dangerous books being locked away in the one place! Elisabeth will need Harry’s invisibility cloak to get in there!
Where did Ashcroft come from?!?! Did Silas betray her?
Okay so the figures obviously aren’t real but it’s being done to distract her so who’s doing it and why?
So many faces sewn into a grimoire! That can’t be pleasant! How many people haven’t made it through here? There is definitely a connection between Elisabeth and the library! What with the book of eyes and this grimoire saying there’s something special about her…it can’t be a coincidence she was left at the library as a baby and the director just kept her.
It’s lucky there’s a known saboteur about as she got away with stealing the grimoire without raising too much suspicion!
Elisabeth somehow manages to get inside the grimoire where she meets Aldous Prendergast, the author of the grimoire, and we discover that he’s not hidden a code within the pages of the grimoire but instead hidden himself! It’s so frustrating that he won’t trust Elisabeth and help her as she’s just trying to help him!
Has she just destroyed the only evidence she has against Ashcroft??
Yay Nathaniel is back! I’d missed him and thankfully he can reverse the maleficit!
We finally get answers as to why he’s closed himself off for so long, he’s worried that Baltasar’s evil lives inside of him and anyone that gets too close to him will get hurt.
Elisabeth finally manages to convince him to team up with her though and I’m so ready for this.
I would not have guessed that the reason that Elisabeth has a connection to the grimoires and library is because their magic soaked through her while spending so much time there as a child. Do you think this will come in handy at any point?
They may not have Prendergast’s assistance but they have another plan! Do you think Ashcroft will react in the way they are hoping and reveal who he really is or do you think he’ll manage to get away with it again?
And that’s us for day 4! SO much happened today! What was your favourite bit and what are your feelings on the characters so far? Who do we trust and who do we not?
I’ll see you tomorrow to find out if their plan works!
love,
Amy
I have seen a lot of people saying that they don’t like Elisabeth so far because she is naive. I really like her and feel like she is a character that is very easy to connect to as I spent most of my life with more books for friends than actual people.
I really want to trust Silas but I feel like that is a bad idea. He just has this aura around him that makes me want to trust him. But he keeps reminding us that he is a demon and can’t be trusted.
Silas is so good at acting like we can trust him but I’m just not sure! Who knows, maybe he’ll prove us wrong but he is a demon so at the minute I’m unsure!
What if Nathaniel is gravely hurt trying to help Elisabeth, so Sir Fluffington, I mean Silas, gives him back his 20 years? He would be a proper monster.
Has the book mentioned female sorcerers/ Sorceress? Maybe she is the first?
I wish magic would soak into me at the library.
Hi fairylooters ??
Aah I really liked the action part of these chapters! Sp refreshing and we got more from Nathaniel, biiig plus for me.
As for Elisabeth… I really wanna like her, especially since she grew up with so many books it’s understandable that she is diffrent. However I hope her character grows a littlw. So for I really enjoy her friendship with Katrien.
Hope everyone has a good time reading.
(My insta is: ellas_world_of_books)
Any chapters with Nathaniel are my favourite!
Elisabeth and Katrien have the best friendship, I love it!
I love these chapters! It makes total sense that Elisabeth’s gifts come from being raised in the library – “a true child of the library”.
I was very tense while she was breaking in to steal the Codex, but so pleased that Silas went with her to keep her safe.
I think Ashworth’s aim was to get all of the Class 10 grimoires into the same place, so he can steal them all in one go. And now they’ve moved the Chronicles of the Dead to Harrows, he’s got everything in place. If only he could crack the Codex…..!
I’m so worried about Elisabeth’s plan to out Ashworth – I can’t see this going well at all ?♀️
I’ve entered the competition, my Instagram is tinasparkle04
Oooo that’s a good theory! Yeah it seems like things are going to smoothly…hmm who knows, maybe it’ll work!
I want to work in a library with grimoires. Its really nice to see Elisabeth in her right environment again. And now we know why she is so resilient. She is a booklouse, well sort of. I really like this explanation about why she is diffrent. My theories about sorcerers and even demons blood running through her veins feels silly now… But its fun trying to figure out things in advance.
We also found out more about Nathaniel and I feel sorry for him, and I like that Silas think of him. That he doesn’t want Nathaniel to be left alone.
Can barely wait for the Royal Ball now, I have a feeling that it won’t end well…
And I will enter the competition before deadline – @mellsageek
I love coming up with theories even when they end up so far from the truth! It wouldn’t be fun if we managed to guess it all! I’m so excited to read about the ball!
Haha I seriously want a Sir Fluffington! ? I LOVE the huge opera butterfly book! This author has Such a fun imagination! The house weeping blood and the dream about necromancy! Omg! So ominous and yet a vulnerable Nathaniel has my heart! YES! *pumps air* She gets her sword back! Some good fighting will happen soon! Poor Nathaniel hearing his story! ?I want to know what it means to be a true child of the library! Omg the sorcerer inside the book is SO interesting! FINALLY we know why she is special! She is a human booklouse ? I personally think everything will go wrong when they attempt to confront Ashcroft bc that would just be too easy right?
I will post my photo on @bookish_princess!
I LOVED HER GETTING HER SWORD BACK!
I get Silas. I would be pissed too if I was named THAT even as a cat. I liked this part a lot and I love the characters and how everyone is sarcastic often including Katrien.
I will add my entry before the deadline on my account chronically_bookish
I am living for the sarcasm!
Okay so I know Silas is a demon and he keeps saying he can’t be trusted, but I can’t help but love him! I need a Sir Fluffington! ? ?
My favorite part today was Nathaniel accusing Silas and Katrien of plotting to take over the world. I wonder what bedtime stories with Silas was like lol. Anyone else feel like Katrien is that little devil on your shoulder hyping you up to do something that’s not entirely legal or safe lol.
I am very nervous about Elizabeth’s plan at the ball, but I guess we’ll see how it goes.
Yay competition time!
@conniemarie_me_my shelf_and_i
Katrien is definitely that little devil! The best kind of friend though! Can’t wait to see how their plan goes!
I really like the explanation why Elisabeth is different! It makes a lot of sense too (and it was right under my eyes and I never saw it… they did elaborate on how she was an example when she was raised in the library, after all). The walls crying blood would freak me out a lot more than it did her ;). Maybe being somewhat naive and believing in book stories has its advantages (I like that she is like that, btw! It makes so much sense)
Silas is growing on me more and more, even when he keeps repeating he’s a demon and because of that bad. Taking twenty years off a life is a lot… I’m curious if we get to see more of that later on.
Confronting Ashcroft seems a bit too easy for me… but I’ll see tomorrow how that will go!
I did enter the giveaway, my handle is @mlein1980
As soon as the walls started crying blood, I would’ve been straight out of there!
Me too, not a second of doubt.
That was a wild ride. So much happened in the last chapters. I enjoy this book.
By the way:
I want to win the competition!!!
@wolfgang8347
I hope, that is my Instagram Handle. At least that is my instagram name.
Ahhh, so hard to not read on…
Anyway~~
… If I ever adopt a cat, I’ll be sure to name it Mr. Fluffington in honour of Silas! ?? hahah, it was really funny, I love how Elisabeth thinks! Although, I hope Silas won’t turn into someone evil… (as he’s hinting?) this story can’t end without a fluffy cat, right???
The scenes in the library were awesome! So much detail and action! ???
And YAAAS! We got some answers! Elisabeth is basically a child of the library, like literally! (Can we just take a moment to appreciate Margaret Rogerson awesome way of thinking and her creative mind!?).
And I’m pretty sure Silas and Katrien could rule the world! World domination!!!! (And when Nathaniel actually discussed how tiresome that would be?? Pffffft haha ???) Nathaniel and Elisabeth’s sarcastic conversations are the best, can I have some (lots of it actually) more please?! ??
I will also join the contest before 21st, my instagram is: @bookskies
I love Silas as a cat, gave me Salem vibes from old school Sabrina, also am I the only one who had flashbacks to Edward Cullen trying to show he was a monster when Silas reminded her he was a demon, I think there might be some human feelings in there even if he says otherwise
Hadn’t at all figured out her affinity for books was due to her time there, although doesn’t explain why she was instantly accepted by the library
I’m not convinced about there plan, I think Ashcroft is too quick for that to work on him….also I’m still confused why he’s changing all the grimoires into maleficts what’s the end aim, I’m assuming we’ll find out soon ?? But loving that all the way through it’s been keeping me guessing ??
I’ll be joining the Instagram contest, I’m @nashart11
Oh yes, there must be something about Elisabeth – before the Library. I also think her mother or the person letting her in front of the door must have known. Hope we’ll find out!
I love Silas.
I’ll be posting a picture @better.among.books.
I liked today’s section the best overall! I don’t think there was one part I didn’t like. I felt like it took a long time (the past three days) to get everything flushed out and explained and it finally all came together today!
My Instagram is @dqnelson 🙂
I have to say that the book of faves situation was one of the most disturbing parts of this book for me– and there are a lot that stuck with me <and even more that are freaking me out again on reread ?) but I was so impressed with Nathaniel in this section. I know we're supposed to believe Silas is different and then not and go back and forth and I still haven't decided, even in a reread… He's a character that has my whole heart because he's so well developed, but he's also so ambiguous at times and I adore it.
(@madamepincers)
I’m really loving this book. I love all the characters, especially the grimoires like the opera one.
My Instagram is @michellerae6
I don’t think their plan will go to plan because Mr Hob saw her escape and knows that her mind isn’t “broken” by the sorcery done to her so Mr Ashcroft knows she’s still alive and her mind is in-tact
I never even thought of that!!
All I have to say is -Sir Fluffington ???
(Also, now I am in need of a new cat to use this fantastic name on)
Also will be entering by the deadline- my insta is tiffys.book.adventures
I love that each section of this book gives depth to the grimoires themselves. They have each become a secondary character in their own right. It is so clever to have their personalities & behaviors based largely off their titles like when Madame Bouchard’s Harmonic Cantrips bursts into operatic song or when Lady Primrose’s Complete Handbook of Historical Personages sticks her “nose” up at her dusty surroundings.
Now that Nathaniel has shown some vulnerability, I find myself liking him more. He actually reminds me a bit of Snape– he has a sad past and an acerbic wit.
Unfortunately I am still not sold on Elisabeth. Other reviews mention she is naive, which I agree with to a degree, but my bigger issue in these pages is her recklessness. To me there never seems to be much thought put into her plans. She rushed to tell her secrets to Ashcroft’s doctor just as she rushed to break into the Royal Library to steal the Codex Daemonicus. I feel like it is only through sheer luck that she has made it this far.
[I did laugh when Katrien called her a human booklouse though. I didn’t realize just how prominent booklice were in the story until it all came together.]
Questions after today’s chapters:
-Is anyone else worried there will still be some loose ends when the story is over? We have only two sections left in this readalong and I feel there are still so many unanswered questions that there can’t possibly be a satisfying conclusion to them ALL. Here’s hoping the ending to the book will blow our minds.
-What happened in the past for Silas to be ‘notorious’ in the Otherworld? Lorelai gave me some very creepy vibes but Silas is seems completely unconcerned by her. Despite his repeated reminders to Elisabeth that he is an untrustworthy demon, I also wonder if he serves with Nathaniel willingly because he’s found a kindred spirit after hundreds of years of service. Perhaps he has an equally tragic past.
I am loving this book. All of the detail is incredible. Does someone have a travel agent that books tours of the Great Libraries with Airbnb stops in between that I can schedule? ?
My handle is @dhyani.goddess_of_fire
Well, I’ve read a few comments befor writing one myself – a bad idea for most the time.
Anyways I’ve read that most people think Silas is a proper demon. I think, he has the best intentions with Nathaniel and he is supporting the bounding between Elisabeth and him. But he needs to be fed, and demons are fed by the life energy of their owners. So no turning Silas into more human – especially since he is destructed as potential love interest so much!
Sincerely from his help and caring he would be the more interesting partner, but it is said other and other again he isn’t interested in human bodies that way and can’t have feelings. But he deeply cares about Nathaniel. My guess is that Ashcroft will use his -if you want to call it- love or care to make Silas serve him and then get the grimoires. Because Silas is a demon even Lorelei heard of – think of the informations from the grimoire about the Otherworld, why is he so known?
And I guess that Ashcroft is desperate longing for something. Maybe be wants to become demon himself? He is very powerful from the amount of demons serving him. Maybe he is longing to get a few years of life back? Or he has something for Lorelei?
@furandpaper
Still really enjoying this book! So happy to finally have Nathaniel more involved, even if he was a little reluctant at first.
I still feel like maybe Silas isn’t as bad as he wants us all to believe? Like maybe he is a big softy really deep down…
shall be posting my instagram entry tonight ~
Handle = @grexcarolinii
I’m a bit behind on the reading but am entering the giveaway over at @eldritchfae anyway if that’s ok!
Why is it so damn irresistible when guys in YA novels say things like “You menace”…
This book gets more and more exciting!
Silas reminds me of Raven the demon butler from the manga/anime “The Earl and the Fairy” only raven would look like Edgar and vise versa.
Ive also had a dream about blood running down the walls. I love that this book has so many things to identify with.
I fall in love with Nathaniel more and more as the story continues?
Entered the contest, my instagram is xxninnixx
♡♡♡
WAAAAHH! I really love the flow of this story.
I felt like dancing since Nathaniel finally joined the club! ?
I’m so excited to know what will happen to they’re so called plan. ??
I also love how bright Katrien is! Like her theories and all. I want to have a friend like her!
And eventhough I am so left behind with the readalong. I can feel that I can be able to finished it on Day 6. The book is so good that I don’t want to close it.
I’ll be entering the contest. My bookstagram account is @shorthairedbibliomane
I’ll be entering the contest and my instagram. is @bookwyrmbella.
I still love Mr. Fluffington, I mean Silas?. He is just so adorable as a cat and his attitude just makes me smile. He keeps warning Elisabeth that he is a demon and that he doesn’t really care but I just find that so hard to believe. He had to do what he did to survive. but on some level I still think he cares about Nathaniel’s well being and that he is starting to care for Elisabeth too.
I also love Nathaniel. He is so sarcastic and loveable. I know he tries to be standoffish but Elisabeth brings out his lighter side. I am glad that he has finally agreed to help her against Ashcroft.
Speaking of Elisabeth, her abilities just keep getting more amazing! I want to be able to travel inside a book!!! But seriously, if Katerien’s guess is true about how Elisabeth got her abilities, imagine what that could mean for future Librarians and Warden’s.
We still don’t know exactly what Ashcroft is after but I imagine we will find out soon. To bad Prendergast won’t trust Elisabeth. Although, I suppose it is unpresidented for someone to get inside a book like that.
I hope the groups plans for the Ball work out but odds are something will go wrong. Excited to read more!!!
Entered! My Instagram is @thebookerina
Entered ?
@charlottes_books1
Hi, I have entered the photo challenge. My Instagram handle is @j.a.z.mc ☺
I really like this book! When fairyloot said “broody banter” they DELIVERED!
I like that all the characters have a bit of sass/sarcasm etc but they arent just constantly bickering. The “banter” is all in good humour and really strengthens the relationships between all three main characters!
Also, I joined the photo challange @wearyhobo_
I had posted the pic on my feed @leslecturesajigoku78
I really loved this book, to the point I couldn’t stop myself from reading til the end of the book… Oops XD
These chapters are so great. I can sense a 5 stars read!
Thanks Fairyloot for choosing this book for this month!
Also entered today ? @darlene_saw on Instagram
I really liking seeing how Elisabeth fit into another library, even one that wasn’t the library she knew so well, and it was fun to see her and Silas interact a lot more. I like Nathaniel but he’s far more enjoyable as a side character for me.
I don’t think this Ball is going to go very well, considering Ashcroft is a master of manipulating his image but we’ll see.
I’ve entered the challenge @redlulu18
I am absolutely in love with Sorcery of Thorns. Seriously, I could not find a single fault in it! Also, I have entered the competition – insta: @cinnasbooks
*excuse me as I re-read the story and think about Nathaniel*
I entered. @love2dazzle
Ooo i love the library I was fascinated with it from the beginning with al the books that are alive and the way it is described so grand and awesome
Silas is so good at leting us think hes really good so that we forget that he is a lifesucking demon
Oh yess Nathaniel and Elizabeth finally working together so exciting
My id for the photo challenge is danica.brnot
I am finally catching up. I think that Ashcroft is going to use some form of trickery but I am excited to see them team up.