Really enjoyed this book!
I loved reading about the Great libraries and the different Grimoires, and I thought the world-building was fantastic! Every time I thought I had it all figured out, something happens to tip my theory on it's head! It was exhilarating!

I'm sad to part with these characters, but I'll definitely be rereading it in the near future!

Margaret Rogerson has an amazing writing style and I look forward to reading her other works soon :)

Rating: 4/5
~Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: 5/5 STARS (one million stars if possible) ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Elisabeth (my favourite YA heroine), Silas (the best morally grey character), Nathaniel (the sweetest bookish boy ever) and Katrien. ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦: Ashcroft, Lorelei and Warden Finch.⁣⁣⁣
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𝗙𝗔𝗩𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦:⁣⁣ The plot was intriguing and I loved the library setting for the story. It really resonated with me and mixed with magic system was perfect. This is the exactly the fantasy job I wish I could’ve had. ⁣⁣The characters are heartwarming. I loved the relationship between Silas, Nathaniel and Elisabeth. It was hilarious, loving and heart-wrenching all at the same time. Silas was a wild character; I loved his demon background and the intricacy of the world that is crafted in this story truly captures you and refuses to let go. ⁣⁣⁣
I found out this was a stand-alone which I simultaneously love and hate because I would kill for endless books about Silas, Nathaniel and Elisabeth. ALSO THAT ENDING?? So wonderfully evil on Margret Rogerson’s part. ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗦: Nathaniel and Elisabeth. I was kind of exhausted with whole “bad boy” YA character but Nathaniel defied all of it. His sass? His good looks? His magic? The bookish boyfriend I didn’t know I needed. And Elisabeth’s wit was the greatest match to his; her determination, power and general love for books made her one of my absolute favourite heroines. 100% OTP material.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣
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𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗢𝗥: readers who love a story filled with magic, books, demons and love. ⁣⁣⁣

This book is just delightful - an adventure that makes me grateful I got into reading and the magic (no pun) of books :)
The characters are deliciously written, Elizabeth is a strong willed lead, Nathaniel is a wonderful equal and Silas, well I can guarantee you’ll love Silas, snark and all! The pace is well plotted and flows easily, this is a book you could sit down and read in one sitting. The only criticism of this book is that it’s a one off, this could easily be a duology, even a series, with the wonderful world that Rogerson has created and the promise of all the characters. And the cover is stunning!

If you want to escape for a while to a different world, this is the book for you!

This was such a good premise for a book, but I found that the execution let it down on occasion. It tells the story of Elisabeth Scrivener who was brought up in the Great Library at Summershall amongst the grimoires. When she is wrongly accused of a crime, she must fight to clear her name with the help of Nathaniel Thorn, a sorcerer and his demon, Silas.

The Positives: The setting is wonderful. Rogerson has created a really fascinating world here and I thought the libraries were fantastic. I loved the characters - particularly Silas, who was by far, the most intriguing, but all of the characters, including the peripheral ones, were really well fleshed out and had their own unique personalities, which was great.

The Negatives: I feel like this would have worked better as part of a series. There is a lot going on in this novel, which feels alternately rushed in places and surprisingly slow in others. The world is so complex and detailed that I think it would have been better explored in more than one book. The magic system too, needed more focus.

Overall, I think that this was a really ambitious novel that I enjoyed in part, but found frustrating at times.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.