I really enjoyed reading Vespertine, by Margaret Rogerson. I love fantasy books, as most of you already know, and this one was as unique as I’ve found in a while. I hope you enjoy my review, and I hope you let me know what you think in the comments below.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this book, in return for an honest review.
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Vespertine: a Priestess who wields a Fifth Order Relic.
Artemisia is one of the Gray Sisters. She trains to cleanse the dead, so they don’t rise again and gorge themselves on the living. She hopes to remain in the service of the Gray Sisters, until death comes to her convent. In order to fight the evil that has suddenly let loose on the world, she turns to the Revenant, a high order spirit, who is able to possess Artemisia, and work even more evil through her.
The Revenant is not a “good” spirit. Artemisia cannot let down her guard, for fear of letting the Revenant have its way through her. As she trains to wield the Revenant, from the Revenant itself, she realizes that not all is as it seems, and she must turn to unlikely allies if she’s going to survive this new world she’s discovered.
Vespertine was one of those books that I found hard to put down. The story changes in so many various ways, that it was hard to figure out from one chapter to the next. In one chapter, I thought I knew who the bad guys were, and in the next I flipped to thinking they were other people. There was no true situation in which I knew for sure who I was rooting for and who I wasn’t.
Characters
I loved the writing in this book. It was for sure a fantasy book, and had some really interesting characters. Artemisia was the Main Character, and we read the story through her eyes. At no point did I believe Artemisia was a bad guy, but she had some morally gray points, especially when she was training with the Revenant. She knew that some of what she was doing would be considered “bad” by many around her, but she also knew that in order to do what needed to be done, she was going to make some “bad” decisions. I couldn’t fault her for that.
World Building
I loved the world in Vespertine. I could really see the various settings, because Margaret did such a good job describing them. I traveled with Artemisia, and I fought with her as she trained to be a Vespertine. Her struggles were my struggles, and her victories were mine. This world that Margaret created allowed for all of this imagination, and I will always be grateful to her for that.
Writing
At no point in this book did I feel either overly intelligent, or overly stupid. Margaret’s use of language wasn’t flowerly, but it also didn’t feel stilted. I’ve read some books that used that flowery, descriptive language, but I’m glad Margaret didn’t, because it wouldn’t have fit with Artemisia’s personality. This book was in first person, so when an author is able to show the narrator’s personality through that type of writing, it’s a home-run for me!
Overall Opinion of Vespertine
I absolutely loved Vespertine. The story was amazing, the characters were fun and believable, and the settings were awesome. I had a hard time putting this book down, and had to remind myself to sleep and work. Luckily for me, reading is also part of my job, because otherwise I’d be in trouble.
Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments! When you do, let me know your opinion of the Revenant. Trust is a tricky thing, so did you trust it immediately? Once you read Vespertine, or have already read it, I hope you’ll come back here and let me know what you thought!
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Until next time, Friends!
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