Name: Vespertine
Rating: 4.04054054054054 (111 reviews)
ISBN: 9782362314544

Margaret Rogerson

Dans un monde où les âmes peinent à rejoindre l'au-delà, Artemisia, orpheline au passé nébuleux, est chargée de purifier les corps des défunts. Elle devra affronter des soldats possédés venus attaquer le couvent où elle réside, déjouer le destin et fuir ses assaillants pour échapper à la mort. Un sombre et passionnant voyage accompagné de personnages flamboyants où se mélangent frisson et noirceur... [payot.ch].

Vespertine

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a thrilling new YA fantasy about a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against restless spirits of the dead. 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.

Holly

In Margaret Rogerson we trust

this is a Revenant stan account now

Margaret Rogerson has to be one of my favorite authors. Vespertine did not disappoint and I really hope Artemesia's story continues further because her and the Revenant were an absolute delight. The way Rogerson was able to write PTSD in both characters was incredible and how they helped each other survive through it all. Even Marguerite turned into a delight of a character with an incredibly huge heart and hidden skills. I also loved that romance was only hinted at and wasn't used as a plot point. This was a book about magic, and saints, and ghosts. I loved it. 

Cassidy Webb

i finished this book at 3am and I’m still just thinking about it— 

Mazzy

Ashley Wendt

I loved the first part of this book, but it got to a point a little over halfway that it became hard to slug through. It became hard to care about the characters and the plot.

Elisa Bieg

Not going to lie, I am a little bit frustrated with this book. The world is so interesting and so is the storyline — it has HUGE potential. It honestly could have been epic. 

Unfortunately it suffered from a serious lack of depth 😕

The world is never properly explained nor explored in full, and the characters just sort of move in it without… I don’t know, the drive you expect them to have? They go through some really trying times and some of them have very intense personal challenges, and yet I never quite FELT any of it. It all felt very removed. 

I quickly switched to audio and the narrator was pretty good so I though that would help. But the story still felt distant, and though interesting, it never completely drew me in. I kept reading, and listening, waiting for it to happen — especially once I felt like I could understand the world better, surely I’d soon start feeling invested in the events and the MCs choices and struggles? 

Alas, that never really happened. 
The closer it came to it was when we were witnessing moments in the changing relationship between Artemisia and the revenant (the latter being the best character in the book!) but other than that, it all left me a little indifferent. I HATE THAT. 

I’m so sad, this had the right ingredients to be absolutely incredible!

Savannah Winchell

Underdeveloped ending but ultimately satisfying (especially knowing there will be more)

Livia

Honest to God the next book can be just about Artemisia, the Revenant, Leander, alongside Marguarite as Artemisia's companion and I'd be so so happy. This book is slightly darker, with a main character that is quieter and anti-social because of her traumatic past. The bond between the Revenant and Artemisia is honestly the best part of this book

Rae LeGrand

2.5. Just not for me! I kept skimming I’m so sorry MR …

I surprisenly enjoyed this book. As someone who rarely reads anything with out any romance in it I read this book with surprising enthusiasm. It caught hold of me and didn't let go until I was turning the last page. 

Lucille

margaret rogerson, you are my forever girl!!

this was absolutely fantastic. to be honest, the synopsis did not necessarily interest me but once i started the book i found my self quickly drawn in. rogerson's prose flaws easily and is plenty engaging and i found myself really enjoying myself; there were many moments where i audibly gasped or leapt to the edge of my proverbial seat.

in addition, caitlin davies delivers an incredible narration with impeccable comedic timing.

this aside, one thing i would like to address is the romance discussion which i have seen across several reviews. firstly, there is no real romance plotline as such. i have seen people mention the "enemies to lovers" dynamic and it is somewhat there but rather as enemies to allies. i appreciate that rogerson's previous work was romance-focused. however, i would argue that 'vespertine' actually proves that she has a real talent for writing interesting and engaging dynamics between her characters.

while there is some chemistry between artemisia and leander, it is undeniable that the focus of the story is the relationship between artemisia and the revenant. it is a symbiotic relationship (yes, the 'venom' comparison is very apt) and they have to learn to live with each other and even like each other. i always enjoy where such a dynamic is explored and, as i said above, i think it is here where rogerson's talent truly shines.

i also note that some people have pegged artemisia as aroace but i think it would be dishonest to sell this to people as a point. the fact is that there simply is no romantic plotline within the book; i think there is just this expectation towards ya literature to always include romance that an author making the choice to focus elsewhere makes it almost a statement on its own. i do not believe rogerson has considered this aspect beyond wanting to expand her writing and choosing what suits the story (though if thinking about this way makes you happy, go ahead, you are not harming anyone). 

all in all, a great experience. i liked that the story could be read a standalone too, though i am very much looking forward to new material from margaret rogerson.

p.s. real connoisseurs know that they would peg this NOT for 'venom' meets 'serpent & dove' but 'venom' meets the 'his fair assassin' series. have some respect for your elders.

elif sinem

closer to a 4.5

if it were for technicalities like pace and prose alone, rogerson would already stand on the top of the ya authors. there is no "obligatory exciting reveal at the 30%/60% mark" with her; the story really breathes on its own, each plot point building onto the next. the prose here often feels like anime in text form, and the way the text glides over the screen, she makes all of it look absolutely effortless. a lot of girls need to study her ways. 

but then there's also her immense character work. since her debut it's been studious; this is somebody who has very much studied and analysed what she liked about the books she enjoyed reading. it shows at every turn, be it with the way trauma and flashbacks appear in IV drips before the whole truth is revealed, the way quieter moments are used for dynamics and characters, these quieter moments sandwiched between the action moments that propel the character to be more open and in charge of their fates. out of the three protagonists, artemisia feels the most realized. the choice not to include romantic interests has done wonders to this character work: leander, by virtue of not being artemisia's love interest, is allowed to be a "pathetic meow meow" on his own terms, rather than this being framed as immediately romantic or worthy of attraction (especially given the later events). the revenant makes for a very charming venom/tyler durden/what have you alter ego/second being; the banter and growth between artemisia and the revenant ("it's my monster" / "that's my human") were some of the most poignant parts of the novel. charles was pretty charming; the friendship between margeruite and artemisia was just perfect, so was the relationship artemisia enjoyed with the other mothers/priests.

the world feels very original and well thought out (yes, some of it was just "church but yassified", which eventually led to "catholicism but yassified" near the end); the ghost categories was especially inspired and the introduction part was especially fun with its numerous infodumps. not as fun was the part where the reader is suddenly introduced to a white vicar in the midst of an action scene, as it felt very anime infodump-y in execution. the clerisy and history of old magic however was consistently well paced and led to the most satisfying moment near the end. 

onto the politics... a first for MR... an interesting conclusion she arrives to here with artemisia as she combines her faith to the Lady ("the lord", get it, lol) with the usage of old magic, which is considered heretic. it's not so much as a total 180 as it's an ever so slight swerve that nevertheless had my eyebrow raised a little. then there's the matter of the revenant that she works with and befriends, rather than being possessed by, also a heretic action. the epilogue felt very... tolerant in that manner. there's conversations and details and edges to be had here, which MR hopefully seizes for the sequel.

regardless this is an entertaining, excellent read.

Elaine

This was addicting and I couldn't stop reading. However I felt a bit cheated at the ending as it felt too convenient. But I really enjoyed the characters and the story was fascinating. 

Sophie 

Yep! Loved this book so good. The fight scenes I had chills over my whole body. I love how Margaret Rogerson can write such wonderful stories and loveable characters!
Artemisia a queen in her own right, badass female character love to see it! Loved the story had me screaming at all costs!

Laura 

3,5 ⭐️.

I can’t wait to keep on reading Artemisia’s and the revenant bantering. I LOVE THEM! 😫💕

Katerina 

** spoiler alert **
           I absolutely loved this book! The Revenant is my favorite, amd his chemistry with Artisema(sp?) is amazing. Such an interesting way to do the "im not like other girls" trope. I meant to be reading this with a book club, but sat down and accidentally finished it all.

Aundreya Rich

"Me, the goat, the revenant, we weren't very different from each other in the end. Perhaps deep down inside everyone was just a scared animal afraid of getting hurt, and that explained every confusing and mean and terrible thing we did." 

Maragaret.... I did NOT see this book coming.

Let me start this by saying that I received this ARC and was so excited to read MR's next fantasy with a side of dashing romance.... but at bout 45% I gave up and the romance hope and shifted my mental state. That is the advice I give you right now.  THIS IS NOT A ROMANCE 

This is a story of a broken and battered young woman who finds friendship in a place least expected, with a ghost.

Vespertine is dark and full of meaning as you navigated a nun and revenant's journey to save themselves and the living from the dead and the unrest.

What I loved:
-the renaissance setting 
-the pacing was beautiful and consistent throughout the entire book
-I learned ALOT... almost to the point I thought "should this be YA?"
-I loved the REVANENT. they were snarky, sarcastic and by far the best of this story-
-the artfulness and creativity of MR writing two main characters as one and making it flow and seamless is incredible!
-the friendships
-battle... war....FOR FREEEEDOM
-ghosties and ghouls, perfect for all the fall feels
-it was a bit creepy with the church and exorcism setting, however it was not unsettling or satanic and would easily recommend to all.

TRIGGER WARNINGS- depression, possession, eating disorder, trauma and ptsd

Rating:
story-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
characters⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
romance- I will repeat... this story is about a NUN....

Song-True Colors by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick

Vespertine

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