Vespertine
An international bestseller!
From the New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a thrilling, “dark coming-of-age adventure” (Culturess) about a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against restless spirits of the dead.
The spirits of the dead 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 ravenous, hungry spirits. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who whisper 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 whose extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come, 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, Artemisia discovers that facing this hidden evil might require her to betray everything she believes—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a thrilling, “dark coming-of-age adventure” (Culturess) about a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against restless spirits of the dead.
The spirits of the dead 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 ravenous, hungry spirits. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who whisper 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 whose extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come, 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, Artemisia discovers that facing this hidden evil might require her to betray everything she believes—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.
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Community Reviews
Originally reviewed on Cyn's Workshop
Vespertine focuses on Artemisia as she takes hold of a revenant to save her convent. But what she doesn’t expect is to bond with it.
Storytelling
The publisher and booksellers have been marketing Vespertine as “Venom meet Joan of Arc,” which could not be closer to the truth.
Artemisia is a nun-in-training. Nuns in this book have the power to banish spirits that could wreak havoc. They are respected. Some nuns can even hold relics bound with powerful spirits and call upon the power of the relics and the spirit to help defend.
When Artemisia’s convent is attacked by a horde of unclean spirits possessing the bodies of soldiers of the realm, she has no choice but to wake up a powerful spirit and let it use her body.
Between these two characters, a bond forms. After being possessed as a child, Artemisia has very little love for spirits and revenants. But as mysteries come into play, she discovers that the only one she can trust is the revenant that constantly threatens to take control of her body.
There is a lot of mystery that unfolds here. Mystery with high magic and how it is supposed to be forbidden and lost to the ages and yet somehow is being used on such a powerful scale as to.
And the pace at which the story develops is steady because it focuses on growing Artemisia and her relationship with the revenant.
Character Driven
What I loved about Vespertine was that it was so focused on developing Artemisia and her friendship with the revenant.
There is no romance in the story, and I loved that about this. Not every story has to have an underlying romantic plot. Sometimes a friendship and discovering your power is enough. I am not a romance reader. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind romance in the story, especially as a secondary plot. Still, I am not excited when the book is described as romance. It just is not what draws me in.
So to see Vespertine explore a story and grow the plot strictly on the character development was superb. You are drawn into the revenant, as snarky as he is, and it balances out Artemisia’s stoic tone. She is fierce and powerful, but she is also flawed and sees herself as just a little broken.
Artemisia is a character who wants to stay hidden, but her power and her calling throw her into the light. She is the only one who can solve this mystery, and with the help and growing respect for the revenant, she does.
Artemisia grows, reflected in the friendship she develops with the revenant.
Final Thoughts
Vespertine does not get enough credit, in my opinion. A thrilling novel, Vespertine draws you in with strong characters and an excellent plot.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
Vespertine focuses on Artemisia as she takes hold of a revenant to save her convent. But what she doesn’t expect is to bond with it.
Storytelling
The publisher and booksellers have been marketing Vespertine as “Venom meet Joan of Arc,” which could not be closer to the truth.
Artemisia is a nun-in-training. Nuns in this book have the power to banish spirits that could wreak havoc. They are respected. Some nuns can even hold relics bound with powerful spirits and call upon the power of the relics and the spirit to help defend.
When Artemisia’s convent is attacked by a horde of unclean spirits possessing the bodies of soldiers of the realm, she has no choice but to wake up a powerful spirit and let it use her body.
Between these two characters, a bond forms. After being possessed as a child, Artemisia has very little love for spirits and revenants. But as mysteries come into play, she discovers that the only one she can trust is the revenant that constantly threatens to take control of her body.
There is a lot of mystery that unfolds here. Mystery with high magic and how it is supposed to be forbidden and lost to the ages and yet somehow is being used on such a powerful scale as to.
And the pace at which the story develops is steady because it focuses on growing Artemisia and her relationship with the revenant.
Character Driven
What I loved about Vespertine was that it was so focused on developing Artemisia and her friendship with the revenant.
There is no romance in the story, and I loved that about this. Not every story has to have an underlying romantic plot. Sometimes a friendship and discovering your power is enough. I am not a romance reader. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mind romance in the story, especially as a secondary plot. Still, I am not excited when the book is described as romance. It just is not what draws me in.
So to see Vespertine explore a story and grow the plot strictly on the character development was superb. You are drawn into the revenant, as snarky as he is, and it balances out Artemisia’s stoic tone. She is fierce and powerful, but she is also flawed and sees herself as just a little broken.
Artemisia is a character who wants to stay hidden, but her power and her calling throw her into the light. She is the only one who can solve this mystery, and with the help and growing respect for the revenant, she does.
Artemisia grows, reflected in the friendship she develops with the revenant.
Final Thoughts
Vespertine does not get enough credit, in my opinion. A thrilling novel, Vespertine draws you in with strong characters and an excellent plot.
See more reviews at Cyn's Workshop and follow me on Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | Tumblr | Spotify Podcast | YouTube | BookBub | Goodreads+ | LinkedIn
I loved this book so much. It might be my favorite of Margaret Rogerson’s books so far.
The plot was enticing and the characters worked so well together. Definitely a favorite!
The plot was enticing and the characters worked so well together. Definitely a favorite!
I really enjoyed the story, background, and the character in this book. Her unique perspective was a breath of fresh air and the idea of magic being hand in hand with (basically) Catholicism was very interesting! Really my only disappointment was the ending. It felt rushed and like too many questions were left unanswered for a standalone book.
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