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theo_honey's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
hiraelou's review against another edition
5.0
I really really enjoyed this book and the worldbuilding. It turns out anything with religious elements excite me a lot haha. I’m hoping that there is a sequel to this as it was hinted to a lot at the end. I loved Artemesia’s relationship with the confessor, Charles, and Marguerite (i listened to the audiobook so I’m avoiding names I don’t know how to spell) especially with the revenant. I sense a love story happening with the confessor and if I am right I’m very happy. The two seem to have a lot of chemistry.
becinneverland's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
ameliaagrace's review against another edition
5.0
Damn I guess my new favourite trope is strange girls with evil spirits trapped inside their heads cause I fuckin loved this. Sad that it’s to be a standalone now I would love to know more about the revenants.
eli24's review against another edition
5.0
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
من قبل این کتاب از همین نویسنده افسون خارهارو خونده بودم و به اون ۵ ستاره داده بودم. اگه الان بخوام میزان علاقم، جذابیت داستان، دنیاش و شخصیتارو بین این دو کتاب مقایسه کنم باید بگم وسپرتین ۷ ستاره هست
من قبل این کتاب از همین نویسنده افسون خارهارو خونده بودم و به اون ۵ ستاره داده بودم. اگه الان بخوام میزان علاقم، جذابیت داستان، دنیاش و شخصیتارو بین این دو کتاب مقایسه کنم باید بگم وسپرتین ۷ ستاره هست
chaos_is_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
toriepeters's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
cornpoppy's review against another edition
4.0
قلم راجرسون به وضوح توی این کتاب پیشرفت کرده، شخصیت‌پردازیا خیلی خوبه و از اون دست کتاباست که میشه یه سیکوئل براش نوشت ☺️
داستان کتاب حس و حال دارکی داره و طوری نوشته شده که زمین گذاشتنش راحت نیست.
از خوندنش واقعا لذت بردم.
داستان کتاب حس و حال دارکی داره و طوری نوشته شده که زمین گذاشتنش راحت نیست.
از خوندنش واقعا لذت بردم.
worldsunlikeourown's review against another edition
4.0
Find this review and more on my blog at Worlds Unlike Our Own.
In Loraille, those who possess the Sight are taken in and raised by the Clerisy to use their abilities to fight the dead in different ways. Artemisia is training to join the Gray Sisters at the convent in Naimes, who purify dead bodies to prevent them from becoming corrupted and rising as spirits to possess the living. When the convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia uses an ancient saint’s relic and calls upon the spirit bound to it to protect it. But the spirit turns out to be a revenant, the most powerful order of spirits and while through it, she can wield extraordinary power in combat against the dead, she is acutely aware that the malicious spirit can and will possess her the moment she lets her guard down. When it becomes clear that someone is using Old Magic to control the possessed soldiers, Artemesia finds herself turning to the revenant itself for help to unravel the conspiracy.
So I totally added this to my TBR as soon as I saw that Margaret Rogerson had a new book without reading the blurb, because after the masterpiece that was Sorcery of Thorns, I am willing to read anything by this author. The world building in this book was much more complicated than I expected. I suppose a good way to describe the world is that it felt like a crossover of Garth Nix’s Angel Mage and the Old Kingdom series. With tales of old magic, the dead rising as different orders of spirits depending on how they died, the lore behind relics and revenants, the author has created a rich and intriguing world in Loraille. The writing was simple but good, and it complemented the world building really well with the descriptive language making it easy to visualize things.
Artemesia, who is very socially awkward and withdrawn, had the potential to turn into a really strong character as the story progressed and she finds herself unexpectedly wielding a powerful relic, with people beginning to look up to her as a hero and saviour of sorts. However, her character just didn’t stand out to me at all, and most of my attention was on the plot. I did however, love the interactions between her and the revenant, and their very reluctant but slowly growing friendship. The banter was perfect and to be honest, the revenant was much more interesting than Artemesia.
As fascinating as the world building was, the way it was presented was decidedly less so. Things remained infuriatingly vague for a significant portion of the book, and even once things started making more sense, it took much more effort than it should have to follow the story. And that’s not even taking the pacing into account – I was yawning by the 30% mark and if it hadn’t picked up soon after, this might have been a DNF for me.
I expected a much more grand and dramatic ending after all the build up in those final chapters, so the rather anticlimactic end was a bit disappointing. Vespertine isn’t my favourite of Margaret Rogerson’s books – that’s definitely Sorcery of Thorns – but this is worth a read for the unique concept alone. While this book does wrap up the immediate storyline, it leaves some potential for a sequel, and I’m curious to see where Artemesia’s journey might take her next. Overall, while some aspects of this book didn’t really work for me, it turned out to be an enjoyable read as a whole and I would recommend it.
In Loraille, those who possess the Sight are taken in and raised by the Clerisy to use their abilities to fight the dead in different ways. Artemisia is training to join the Gray Sisters at the convent in Naimes, who purify dead bodies to prevent them from becoming corrupted and rising as spirits to possess the living. When the convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia uses an ancient saint’s relic and calls upon the spirit bound to it to protect it. But the spirit turns out to be a revenant, the most powerful order of spirits and while through it, she can wield extraordinary power in combat against the dead, she is acutely aware that the malicious spirit can and will possess her the moment she lets her guard down. When it becomes clear that someone is using Old Magic to control the possessed soldiers, Artemesia finds herself turning to the revenant itself for help to unravel the conspiracy.
So I totally added this to my TBR as soon as I saw that Margaret Rogerson had a new book without reading the blurb, because after the masterpiece that was Sorcery of Thorns, I am willing to read anything by this author. The world building in this book was much more complicated than I expected. I suppose a good way to describe the world is that it felt like a crossover of Garth Nix’s Angel Mage and the Old Kingdom series. With tales of old magic, the dead rising as different orders of spirits depending on how they died, the lore behind relics and revenants, the author has created a rich and intriguing world in Loraille. The writing was simple but good, and it complemented the world building really well with the descriptive language making it easy to visualize things.
Artemesia, who is very socially awkward and withdrawn, had the potential to turn into a really strong character as the story progressed and she finds herself unexpectedly wielding a powerful relic, with people beginning to look up to her as a hero and saviour of sorts. However, her character just didn’t stand out to me at all, and most of my attention was on the plot. I did however, love the interactions between her and the revenant, and their very reluctant but slowly growing friendship. The banter was perfect and to be honest, the revenant was much more interesting than Artemesia.
As fascinating as the world building was, the way it was presented was decidedly less so. Things remained infuriatingly vague for a significant portion of the book, and even once things started making more sense, it took much more effort than it should have to follow the story. And that’s not even taking the pacing into account – I was yawning by the 30% mark and if it hadn’t picked up soon after, this might have been a DNF for me.
I expected a much more grand and dramatic ending after all the build up in those final chapters, so the rather anticlimactic end was a bit disappointing. Vespertine isn’t my favourite of Margaret Rogerson’s books – that’s definitely Sorcery of Thorns – but this is worth a read for the unique concept alone. While this book does wrap up the immediate storyline, it leaves some potential for a sequel, and I’m curious to see where Artemesia’s journey might take her next. Overall, while some aspects of this book didn’t really work for me, it turned out to be an enjoyable read as a whole and I would recommend it.