Yep, it's basically a key item you buy that boosts the drop rate of items of believe. Once you buy it, it's always on, so you may want to save up and get it early to make farming easier throughout the rest of the game.
You'll unlock some from doing Monster Hunts also I believe, so try to get those done quickly also.
Grimoires are unlocked by talking to salesman, and checking the hunt board. If you just sit in town talking to vendors, and checking the hunt board, you'll unlock the grimoires.