Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on October 2021Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 400
Format: eBook
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon Goodreads
The dead of Loraille do not rest.
Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past.
When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.
As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first
Margaret Rogerson enchanted me with her first two books so I was eager to read this third book.
The setting of Vespertine is such a lush environment by itself, I wish I had more time describing the world. I think we get a good sense of what i’s like from this first book, but I am hoping subsequent books will expand upon the world, giving us more depth and dimension. Rogerson doesn’t shy away from a wholly complicated setting which I think really lent itself to the story, providing richness, but also took away from the characters as none of them really stood out among the world they inhabited.
Artemisia, sadly, is not one of the funniest of heroines and I had a hard time relating to her. She was fine, but nothing really stood out to me until she got….
The Remnant is in Artemisia’s head and he was my favorite thing about the book. Snarky and cynical and critical, The Remnant spoke my sarcastic voice and I loved how he juxtaposed Artemisia’s voice. I think he was exactly what the book needed which was a little fire and some humor.
I don’t want to give anything away, but I really like the ending of the book. There was a lot of good suspense and action towards the end which made up for the slower parts of the middle. Rogerson’s world is unique and fun and I am interested in seeing where she takes this series.
Overall, I think Vespertine is a solid beginning to what is going to be a richly woven series. I wish it was a little tighter and the story was a little more focused in the middle, but I think the ending made up for it!
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
