Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

9 reviews

crystalisreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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charloforce's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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rachelgreenreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was such a great story. The MC is a badass, neurodivergent and disabled nun, who allies with powerful spirit to uncover a vast magical plot, as well as the obscured history of the powers that be in her world. Rogerson writes power and humanity really well, while also making you love her complex and imperfect characters. Similarly to Sorcery of Thorns, she has her characters question what has been deemed wholly evil in her characters’ worlds, and if such a thing even exists. She artfully complicates concepts of good and evil, through characters and archetypes which are both fantastical and easy to relate to. 

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

I think I just love Margaret Rogerson stories and characters. 
This one is much darker than Sorcery of Thorns, but I loved the atmosphere so much. The story takes place in a France inspired fantasy world that reminded me a lot of the atmosphere in A Plague Tale (just with ghosts/demons instead of rats). I also loved the characters with all my heart. Artemisia, the traumatized nun with social anxiety and a penchant for self sabotaging, and the Revenant, an ancient, grumpy demon that wants to kill everyone, are just a great pair. Their banter is the best and the way their "relationship" develops is so wholesome. Also, amazing side characters, character dynamics and character development in general. And it never gets boring, the plot progresses at a constant pace and although you see a lot of things coming, there are still some unexpected twists. 
There was some really interesting discussion about the masses idolizing/worshiping a person and basically making them a symbol for their religion and how this affects this person. 
I'm actually sad to leave this world behind. 

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chamaeleontis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-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


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kbairbooks's review against another edition

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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!

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headinthepages's review against another edition

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emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0


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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny 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

4.5


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valpyre's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i have been so excited to read this book ever since rogerson announced its existence. i have always appreciated her skill for balancing internal and external detail and exposition, almost seamlessly. the world of loraille (fantasy france, admittedly) was so intriguing with the history that rogerson crafted in and around it. the clerisy was intimately familiar as a higher religious power, but its fantastical origins added depth and made me think about all kinds of theories as i read on.

when i started the book, i was immediately taken in by the protag, artemisia -- so much of her inner monologue was relatable, in the way that she was blunt and didn't socialize or act how others expected her to. i admit that i got a little annoyed when it was revealed how much she had assumed/ignored about the people around her later on, just pushing the boundaries of her surface level "not-like-other-girls" behaviour that i think rogerson had skirted well for most of the book. i think rogerson does a great job of showing us who people are in her books -- there are always wonderful little details dropped throughout, little dots to be connected. i also felt pretty touched as artemisia gained support throughout the book, as she is someone who is so used to being or feeling like she is alone. 

the concept of the undead was really interesting to me as well. i often find rigid hierarchies/categories of fantastical beings to grow old quickly, but i think rogerson had enough variety in her undead that i didn't get tired of reading encounters with them. i'm intrigued to see where she will take artemisia and the revenant after this installment -- i loved how their relationship grew as the book went on, and i'm really curious if the revenants origins will ever be revealed.

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