With no access to the outside world, Elisabeth, Nathaniel, and Silas - along with their new maid Mercy - will have to work together to discover the source of the magic behind the malfunctioning wards before they're due to host the city's Midwinter Ball. Not an easy task when the house is filled with unexpected secrets, and all Elisabeth can think about is kissing Nathaniel in peace. But when it becomes clear that the house, influenced by the magic of Nathaniel's ancestors, requires a price for its obedience, Elisabeth and Nathaniel will have to lean on their connection like never before to set things right. When she opened it, she discovered a handwritten dedication on the patterned endpapers: To my beloved—may you always believe in fairy tales. Smiling, she traced her fingers over the letters, feeling the indentations they had left on the paper. This was one of the things she loved best about books. She might never know who had written the dedication, or how long ago, or to whom, but she could briefly clasp hands with them across eternity, a chance meeting of souls made possible by their shared love of a story.” Rogue magical wards trap Elisabeth Scrivener and her companions inside Thorn Manor in this novella that revisits the world of Sorcery of Thorns (2019). She felt a twinge of sympathy. The prospect of publicly reemerging into magical society couldn’t be easy for him. Not after his injury, and the reporters, and the questions circulating about his sorcery. But her goodwill promptly vanished when the conversation turned to fixing the wards, and he pretended to go to sleep. I also like that we learn so much more about Thorn Manor and its past inhabitants. I was hoping more of Nathaniel’s past would be explored, as well as his ancestry, and we learned a ton about the Thorns, the house, and Silas’s connection to each. With some of these revelations, we also learn how Nathaniel struggles with his memories, which manifest in his nightmares. Poor Nathaniel! I feel so bad for him and all he’s gone through. He and Elisabeth (and Silas) deserve some happy, peaceful times! Of course, first they have to figure out why the house won’t let them leave, and they have a ball to prepare for, as Thorn Manor is hosting, much to Nathaniel’s displeasure and Elisabeth’s curiosity.

There is just something about Margaret Rogerson, because for some reason she can NEVER 100% end a story. I'm hoping this means there is a slim slim slim possibly that one day we might read about Thorn Manor and it's occupants again 👀. She wasn’t so sure about that, but she moved toward the other side of the bed anyway, hung up her dressing gown, and slipped beneath the covers. Demonslayer went beside the nightstand, within easy reach. “No kissing,” she said. “Just in case.”The new addition to the Thorn household, Mercy, didn’t feel like she was intruding at all. She’s not as close to any of them as they are with each other, but Elisabeth is firmly happy to have her around and she fits into the group seamlessly. Silas’ interactions with or about her were also highly entertaining. He makes no secret of how he’d prefer to work alone, but he simply has no say in the matter. I DIDN’T DO THIS!” Nathaniel insisted, leaning out the manor’s front door, gazing helplessly at the vines thrashing up along the thorn hedge, the animated topiaries prowling through the garden, and the threatening magical gale that howled around Thorn Manor, carrying past leaves and branches and loose cobblestones in a whirling cyclone. “I swear upon Baltasar’s unholy grave, I didn’t do a thing.”

If you loved the Hogwarts Library . . . you’ll be right at home at Summershall' – Katherine Arden, New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale Mysteries of Thorn Manor takes place a few months after the end of Sorcery of Thorns. Elisabeth and Nathaniel are living a mostly quiet and mundane life in the manor, until the day they wake up to the manor having barricaded itself against the outside world. No one can come in or leave the manor, and things only seem to get worse when violent topiaries and deadly winds get thrown into the mix. Elisabeth and Nathaniel must figure out why the manor reacted this way, and how to fix it before somebody gets hurt. Also Elisabeth seems to carry Demonslayer around with her almost everywhere she goes, and I simply think that more characters should have emotional support swords like she does. Truly iconic of her.Standing there, she must have made a sound. He looked up and paused, taking her in. He didn’t appear at all surprised to find her holding a sword at the entrance to his bedroom. His eyes were very dark, his hair slightly damp. Her stomach performed a sort of effervescent tumble, like an ice cube dropped into a fizzing glass of champagne. A bewitching gem . . . I absolutely loved every moment of this story' – Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (thank you Simon & Schuster Canada). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved being able to return to thorn manor and see how the main characters are fairing and to see Nathaniel and Elizabeth’s relationship blossom. Also so glad that Silas has returned safe, and mostly sound. Rogersons writing is once again full of beautiful prose and flirtatious banter. I love how the characters interact with each other and the new mystery surrounding the manor is so enchanting. This novella is perfectly written, I just wish it had been longer!! This was quite literally one of the softest short stories I have ever read. I fell so hard for Elisabeth and Nathaniel in Sorcery of Thorns, and this little companion story only confirms why that was so incredibly right of me. They're happy, they're courting, they're finally ice skating... and they're so domesticated that I may need a few moments to restart my heart from all the soft. The focus of the novel is the relationship between Elizabeth and Nathaniel, and even Thorn Manor wants to know more about their feelings for each other! Nathaniel’s humor and charm are everything, and his devotion to and love for Elizabeth is so sweet. Elisabeth describes falling in love so well, and I love all the ways they both profess their love for each other without actually saying the words. Plus, their banter is top-notch. And the final scenes are beautifully romantic and magical for Elisabeth and Nathaniel. Silas had never revealed how he had survived the confrontation, or what had happened to him afterward in the Otherworld. If Elisabeth watched him steadily enough without interruption, she began to grow aware of something different about him, though she couldn’t explain exactly what: only that he seemed to fade, to become thinner and more insubstantial. At times she imagined she glimpsed pain lurking deep in his yellow eyes, as difficult to interpret as the impassive gaze of a wounded feline.He grinned at her, looking unfairly handsome in just his nightshirt, with his sleeves billowing and his dark hair whipped in every direction by the wind. “Anyway, all of this must have something to do with the manor’s wards. Look at the street past the gates, it’s completely normal.” cw/tw: blood depiction, harm to get blood for magic, grief + trauma depictions, extreme nightmares, loss of a loved on in the past, talk of murders/death. (this is a very light book, and all of these things are very briefly mentioned or shown) Elisabeth, Nathaniel & Silas have been trapped inside Thorn Manor. Until they discover what ancient magic source is keeping them prisoner, they cannot leave. They are due to host the city's upcoming Midwinter Ball, which will be made rather difficult if none of their guests can enter their home. Will they be able to find what other secrets Thorn Manor holds in time?