Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Vespertine

i really enjoyed the two main characters of this story (artemisa and the revenant) - their relationship was lovely and full of sarcasm. not sure if the artemisa is coded for autism or trauma behaviours, its a bit confusing. the world is really interesting (thank god for the page of the order of spirits) but the plot was a little slow in pacing and the plot twist was so obvious, even i picked it up and i wasn't trying at all.

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plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

[Buddy read with Shar 🖤]

I was so excited to read this, and in the first half, I honestly thought it would end up a new favorite. The story had similar vibes to my favorite series—His Fair Assassin—and the protagonist had so much in common with Sybella—one of the HFA protagonists and my absolute favorite character. I loved Artemisia and her revenant, and I thought the world-building, specifically the orders of spirits and how they could be bound with relics, was fascinating and well-done. I also loved seeing Artemisia come out of her shell more in the second half of the book, and realize that she does, in fact, have friends.

So what went wrong?

The pacing was dreadfully slow; in the first half I didn’t mind so much, because I was getting to know the characters and the world. But when I passed the 50% mark, I became aware of just how little had happened, and as I kept reading, still, hardly anything happened. I thought the antagonist was poorly written and didn’t really have any motivation to do what they did, and when the final hand was dealt, the true antagonist revealed, even though I didn’t see it coming, I wasn’t impressed. The last quarter of the book felt very anticlimactic, despite the stakes being at their highest yet.

One thing in this book’s favor, though, is that Artemisia is asexual, something I haven’t seen in many fantasies. There was no romance, and instead, the focus was on platonic relationships and her own character growth. It was refreshing, and I liked it.

Overall, despite finding this somewhat disappointing, I would recommend it. Rogerson spun a good story, and I do plan to read more from her in the future.

Representation

aromantic asexual protagonist

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bluejayreads's review against another edition

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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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thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition

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dark tense

5.0

Oh, this book was a delight. IDK if it was intentional, but you could read this as a commentary on the Catholic Church and doctrine. I grew up Catholic and it didn't bother me, but I've also learned a lot more about the Church and its history since then so...? Anyway, Artemisia is so freaking relatable! Love an aroace protagonist, and the banter with the revenant was the cherry on top. The side characters are also great!

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bibliomania's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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