Orphan and apprentice librarian Elisabeth Scrivener has grown up in Summershall, one of the six Great Libraries of the kingdom of Austermeer. The Great Libraries house the kingdom’s grimoires, books imbued with magic and containing spells, divided into classes by how dangerous they are. If damaged, the most unstable grimoires are at risk of becoming Maleficts, deadly monsters that will slay any in their path. Wardens are the guardians of the grimoires, protecting them from harm and preventing them from harming others.

Elisabeth aspires to be a Warden and is thrilled to assist the Director of Summershall when a malignant Class Eight grimoire arrives by carriage one evening. They secure the Book of Eyes in a vault deep beneath the library, hoping it will settle into a long slumber.

Sorcerers are evil, but Elisabeth is determined to prove that she is not afraid of them. When a magister visits Summershall, Elisabeth and her friend spy on him in a reading room (which is strictly off limits to apprentices). A wrestle with a biting grimoire sends Elisabeth and a bookcase toppling down into Magister Thorn’s presence. To her confusion, he doesn’t kill her in a demonic sacrifice, but clears up the mess and keeps her intrusion to himself.

One wild night Elisabeth wakes to discover the Director dead and a grimoire-turned-Malefict escaped from the library’s grounds. With all the wardens mysteriously absent and no time to find them, Elisabeth assumes the burden of battling the Malefict before it slaughters the nearby townsfolk.

Against the odds, she succeeds, but the unique grimoire is destroyed, and the spells within lost forever. Accused of sabotaging the Class Eight grimoire herself, Elisabeth will be handed over to the Magisterium, the sorcerer’s government, escorted by sorcerer Nathanial Thorn.

Convinced that a sorcerer set the grimoire free, Elisabeth must investigate the crime to uncover the perpetrator and clear her name. But with only Magister Thorn and his demonic servant to call upon for help, how will she succeed? Failure not only means suffering the punishment of a traitor and murderer, but leaving Austermeer at the mercy of the unknown sorcerer and his wicked plans.

I loved the concept of sentient books with personalities and eccentricities, and the little details about the grimoires that Elisabeth encounters throughout the story bring the magical world to life. Elisabeth is a fantastic character. Her black and white view of magic is tested by the people she meets, particularly the handsome and witty Nathanial.

Full of sorcery, demons and booklice, this standalone novel’s enchanting escapism is perfect for anyone who has ever wished they lived in a library.