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r_a_bell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
The writing in this is so beautiful. The way the main character slowly develops relationships with the other characters makes you invested. And the plot and system of magic is really interesting and clearly well thought out.
The way of depicts the effects of trauma and discusses it feels very real and doesn’t smack you in the face. It feels natural to the story, not forced.
I also really liked that there wasn’t a big romance or love interest. Not every story needs to revolve around one and it actually makes it more engaging. There is a romance between side characters which is cute and endearing, and helps bring a certain lightheartedness.
This is a really great book for someone who feels like they’ve outgrown YA in some ways, but can’t seem to get into adult fiction and how detached it often feels.
The way of depicts the effects of trauma and discusses it feels very real and doesn’t smack you in the face. It feels natural to the story, not forced.
I also really liked that there wasn’t a big romance or love interest. Not every story needs to revolve around one and it actually makes it more engaging. There is a romance between side characters which is cute and endearing, and helps bring a certain lightheartedness.
This is a really great book for someone who feels like they’ve outgrown YA in some ways, but can’t seem to get into adult fiction and how detached it often feels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, War, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Grief, Murder, Self harm, Gore, Animal cruelty, Torture, and Eating disorder
Trigger warning for animal abuse is for the most minor of mentions, it’s something I’m extremely sensitive about, so I really mean minor. Nothing is actually described it’s just mentioned to explain the behavior of an animal (who is then treated very nicely and heals from the trauma). Eating disorder isn’t really for an eating disorder, but more for disordered eating, if that makes sense. It’s not an eating disorder that’s described, but the way a character’s eating behaviors are described could be triggering for some peoplekbairbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I could not, and didn’t want to, put this book down. It swept me up with masterful storytelling, intriguing well fleshed out characters, adventure, fight scenes, intrigue, and so much more. This was such a fun read and I’m sad there isn’t more yet!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, War, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Violence
vaniavela's review
adventurous
dark
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? No
4.0
Artemisia is a Grey Sister who works alongside the nuns of the convent, preparing the corpses for their final resting place. But when an army of possessed soldiers comes to destroy the one place that has made her feel at home, she is forced to use the relic of a saint to protect the monastery.
The world building is simple but interesting, with well-developed themes of religion in that era. Although the pace is slow, we manage to immerse ourselves in this world and connect with the characters.
We have a main character with trauma and a sad backstory, which is one of the most used tropes in fantasy. I liked seeing the consequences of her childhood abuse in the present.
The writing was simple but kept me interested in her story from the beginning of the book. All the secondary characters were also good. I liked how versatile the revenant's personality was.
Overall, this was a good book.
tw: abandonment, child neglect, child abuse in past, possession, self-harm, threats of suicide, grief, brief mention of animal abuse, mention of animal deaths, blood depictions, vomiting, drugging, anxiety depictions, talk of plagues, loss of a loved one in the past, mention of spiders, death.
The world building is simple but interesting, with well-developed themes of religion in that era. Although the pace is slow, we manage to immerse ourselves in this world and connect with the characters.
We have a main character with trauma and a sad backstory, which is one of the most used tropes in fantasy. I liked seeing the consequences of her childhood abuse in the present.
The writing was simple but kept me interested in her story from the beginning of the book. All the secondary characters were also good. I liked how versatile the revenant's personality was.
Overall, this was a good book.
tw: abandonment, child neglect, child abuse in past, possession, self-harm, threats of suicide, grief, brief mention of animal abuse, mention of animal deaths, blood depictions, vomiting, drugging, anxiety depictions, talk of plagues, loss of a loved one in the past, mention of spiders, death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Self harm, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Death
alexalily's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Violence, War, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Confinement, Death, and Suicide
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
VESPERTINE is a bloody tale of revenants, reluctant saints, and unlikely allies in a world where the dead walk.
I like the banter between Artemisia and the revenant. This is one place where the audiobook narrator's performance really shines, as it enhanced an already excellent story by making the revenant's voice pitch perfect for its characterization. Their conversations sometimes feel like banter while staying generally appropriate to the seriousness of each new situation. I was worried that Trouble (the bird) would be a gimmicky animal sidekick, but his appearances are brief and important. He has enough of a presence to keep his few contributions from coming out of nowhere, and his relatively few appearances keep the narrative from feeling like a comedic trio of possessed, possessor, and animal friend.
The worldbuilding is filled in gradually, starting with Artemisia’s incomplete understanding of the history of her home and the forces at play, then gradually filling in as she learns from the revenant and tries to stay alive.
The way this handles trauma, mental illness, and disability in the narrative is pretty great. It's a world where magic is real and very present, but while magic completely dispels some ailments it's not treated as a cure-all. Artemisia has burn scars on her hands which affect her daily existence. The way her hands healed affects her motor skills and ability to sense things like temperature. She still has panic attacks and various levels of mental distress when triggering events occur. There's a minor character who is deeply traumatized by an unrelated experience with possession, and even the revenant has a phobia borne of trauma. It's a world filled with undead, death, and violence, and the way that all the characters are either explicitly or implicitly traumatized accordingly helps it feel cohesive in a way I hadn't expected but very much appreciate.
The plot builds slowly, focusing more on Artemisia's efforts not to get caught once she has the revenant, then gradually she ends up in a position to do more with the information which became available to her. It has great "accidental hero (saint)" vibes with a plot that backs that up.
I like the banter between Artemisia and the revenant. This is one place where the audiobook narrator's performance really shines, as it enhanced an already excellent story by making the revenant's voice pitch perfect for its characterization. Their conversations sometimes feel like banter while staying generally appropriate to the seriousness of each new situation. I was worried that Trouble (the bird) would be a gimmicky animal sidekick, but his appearances are brief and important. He has enough of a presence to keep his few contributions from coming out of nowhere, and his relatively few appearances keep the narrative from feeling like a comedic trio of possessed, possessor, and animal friend.
The worldbuilding is filled in gradually, starting with Artemisia’s incomplete understanding of the history of her home and the forces at play, then gradually filling in as she learns from the revenant and tries to stay alive.
The way this handles trauma, mental illness, and disability in the narrative is pretty great. It's a world where magic is real and very present, but while magic completely dispels some ailments it's not treated as a cure-all. Artemisia has burn scars on her hands which affect her daily existence. The way her hands healed affects her motor skills and ability to sense things like temperature. She still has panic attacks and various levels of mental distress when triggering events occur. There's a minor character who is deeply traumatized by an unrelated experience with possession, and even the revenant has a phobia borne of trauma. It's a world filled with undead, death, and violence, and the way that all the characters are either explicitly or implicitly traumatized accordingly helps it feel cohesive in a way I hadn't expected but very much appreciate.
The plot builds slowly, focusing more on Artemisia's efforts not to get caught once she has the revenant, then gradually she ends up in a position to do more with the information which became available to her. It has great "accidental hero (saint)" vibes with a plot that backs that up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Violence, Self harm, and Vomit
Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Ableism, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Slavery
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
wurblywombat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this book even more than Sorcery of Thorns. Margaret truly has a gift for writing loveable and interesting characters. The side characters are fantastic but in a way that doesn't diminish the main character. There was no love interest or romance and I think the book was better for it as we could focus on the great friendships, development and plot. Through this book Margaret has become an instant buy!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
episkey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Self harm, and Death
Minor: Suicide, Eating disorder, War, Vomit, Self harm, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
headinthepages's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Medical content, Murder, Torture, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Self harm, Mental illness, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Vomit
mali33102's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
I love all of Margaret Rogerson’s books and this one was no different. She is a master of creating these extremely detailed worlds and bringing its’ characters to life. I was enraptured the whole time. I want more from the world, but she is also notorious for only writing stand-alone, which makes my heart sad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
Minor: Self harm
sunsetcity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, and Grief