Reviews with content warning for Blood - Vespertine

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Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

43 reviews

bluejayreads's review

adventurous dark

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I did not have very high hopes for this book. The cover made me think of a Dark and Edgy YA fantasy from the 2000s, and the protagonist’s name seemed to fit the stereotype. And I have read so many books about warrior nuns. I was a little intrigued by the idea of learning how to deal with a revenant from the revenant, though, and I was in the middle of a string of DNF books so I figured one more couldn’t hurt.

And then it actually turned out to be good.

So the nuns here aren’t full-on warrior nuns. They’re trained with holy daggers and censers of holy incense because their job isn’t to fight people, it’s to fight the spirits of the dead, who tend to possess people. They also take care of the dead because properly buried people don’t tend to become malicious spirits. Artemisia is quite talented, but she doesn’t get people at all and is always misunderstanding what they want and would be perfectly happy living in the abbey and caring for corpses her whole life. I absolutely headcanon her as autistic. The book implies nothing of the sort and it could very easily be read as a result of the same childhood trauma that gives her limited use of her hands, but her struggles with understanding people and societal rules and what seemed like sensory overload were very relatable.

This book is also full of delightful tropes, such as:

I reluctantly agreed to have an obnoxious presence share my head to deal with an even worse situation and I can’t get them out but we’re starting to get along
The church says that’s evil but turns out they’re lying (including bonus: person discovering this is dedicated to the church and has to grapple with the fact that they lied)
No one expects the protagonist to be absurdly powerful
Oops! I accidentally became a folk hero (including bonus trope: the church is Big Mad about it)

The plot itself also holds a few surprises. It’s dark and full of the rampaging dead, but it also seems fairly straightforward until the end when you discover it is not at all what you thought. There are several unexpected allies, a very nice horse, the complexities of trying to keep your identity secret from the authorities when the masses know you as a hero, death-defying escapes, fantastic displays of magic, creeping around in crypts, and important choices. Artemisia learns that just because people don’t make sense to her doesn’t mean she can’t have friends, the dynamic between her and the revenant is great, and there’s plenty of magic and adventure. I also appreciated the religion aspect, which struck me as Catholicism if Catholics were more concerned with making the dead stay dead than going somewhere in particular after death.

I know it wasn’t perfect and I’m liking it more in this review than when I actually read it – I think my opinion is enhanced by the fact that I didn’t expect to like it very much – but it was a highly enjoyable read. The characters were good, the plot was solid with some interesting twists, I love seeing disabled protagonists, and I’m always down for the Protagonist Is Absurdly Powerful and Reluctant Allies With The Voice In My Head tropes. I was pleasantly surprised when how enjoyable Vespertine actually is.

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lillythebluepaladin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

THIS WAS A BEAUTIFUL READ! I never thought that I would ever say that the thought of getting possessed by a sassy and snarky yet protective spirit would be pleasant, but this book changed my mind.

I loooved the world setting, the plot and the CHARACTERS!
I was told that this was gonna be a Venom by Marvel for teenage girls, and yeah it kinda is, but it is so much more!
My traumatised ass cried to this a few times, because I could relate a lot to what our main character Artemisia and our reverent has experienced, and this book genuinely felt like a long overdue hug.

MARGARET ROGERSON, WITH MADELINE MILLER AND TAMORA PIERCE, ARE THE QUEENS OF FEMALE FANTASY

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siannas_second_library's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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jenna36's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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veilchen's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

You know what? Margaret Rogerson might just become my favourite author. Every single one of her books is incredibly captivating, fantastical and special in their own way, how tf does she keep outdoing herself?

Vespertine is set in a fantasy world inspired by a christian medieval france, using nunneries, monasteries, saints, relics and spirits to create a dark, mythical, kinda goth setting.
As someone who posesses the gift of the sight (being able to see spirits and their effects), Artemisia has been raised as a nun, tasked with caring for the dead and making sure they don't turn into spirits. But as sinister, undead forces come into play, she is forced to team up with one of the most dangerous spirits of all: A revenant.

As always, Rogerson manages to transport the reader into a new world within only a few chapters. Even though I am not really a fan of christianity, she managed to make it work (changing our Lord to a Lady was a big help). Unlike I have experienced in many other fantasy works, there is almost no "time of confusion", where you just try to figure out the world and cannot even concentrate on the story, nor is there any heavy exposition. The reader also immediatly gets a good sense of the main character, Artemisia. She is a very unusual girl, but not in the obnoxious "not-like-other-girls" way or any other stereotype that we all know from YA. She is a quiet, introverted person, with extreme social anxiety, trouble understanding others emotions and some scary-looking demeanor - but underneath all that she is a truly good person you cannot help but like.

But while having a great, well built up plot and a fantastic setting, what this story really lives off is the dynamic between Artemisia and the spirit that posesses her. In an amazing balance of quick-witted humour, raw emotions of pain and love and deep-rooted trust issues on both sides, their banter, character growth and understanding of each other was what made me race through that book in only a few hours.
I mean, who doesnt want to see the anxious goth girl team up with the strangely caring, but also slightly murderous entity?

I could probably gush about this story for days, about the amazing side characters, critique of religion and saint worship and refreshing lack of romance, but I'm just gonna keep it short. If you loved Rogersons other works, character-driven stories with good plots, intense, platonic relationship dynamics and just a little bit of angst, all wrapped in a pretty little medeival goth setting, you will enjoy this book.

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