Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Author: Margaret Rogerson
Release Date: 05/10/2021
Price: £14.99 at Waterstones.
Available in: Hardback, paperback and on audiobook
Rating: 5 stars!
Trigger Warnings: Taken from Margaret Rogerson on Goodreads; Self-harm, anxiety, disordered eating (minor), child neglect/abuse (past), trauma/PTSD (traumatic experiences in past). None of the abuse or trauma is sexual in nature. Very brief suicide mention in the epilogue, concerning a character from the past who never appears in the book.
I LOVE Margaret Rogerson, I love her previous books; Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens so I knew her new release would be no different.
"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."
I'll be honest, I did not know what to expect when I started reading this book, all I heard was ghosts, nuns and Margaret Rogerson and I knew I had to read it. Rogerson has a really beautiful way of writing and I love the worldbuilding in her books, there's no overwhelming info dumps, and an intriguing plot, Vespertine is no exception. Vespertine has a really unique plot and definitely stands out amongst the YA books released in the last couple of years.
It's a little dark and creepy at times and would make a perfect book to read around Halloween, there's a few action scenes scattered nicely throughout this book, which I appreciated as they helped to move the plot along nicely without it becoming a Tom Cruise movie. I really loved Artemisia and her character development throughout the book, her relationship with the Revenant is the perfect blend of snark and care. Normally I like my books to have romance in them and whilst there's no romance in Vespertine, there is a little hint at a potential romance which I liked but I think ultimately the lack of romance really works in this novel as it allowed the plot to develop and the relationship between Artemisia and the revenant to grow, which is integral to the plot.
FIVE STARS!
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Children's UK for the E-ARC of Vespertine.
*Disclaimer: I received an advanced eBook of Vespertine in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own*
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