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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Interesting premise but ended up being meh, personally.
I LOVED THIS!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!! Vespertine came to me at just the right time. I was recommended this two years ago when I first purchased a Sorcery of Thorns. I was at my local indie bookstore and picked a SoT on a whim and while checking out, the worker said "If you like this author, she has another book called Vespertine that is so much more action and is really great." So as any reader does, I made the mental note. I sat on said mental note for two years, when I felt like the time was right (which it totally was).
This was a thrilling tale of fate falling into place. Our main character, Artemisia wants to be a grey sister and nothing more. She likes what she does with the nuns and would like to do it for the rest of her life. Without giving any of the juicy details away, this is a story of an unexpected hero. Artemisia finds herself, makes new friends, and saves the world-- so basically everything you've ever wanted to read about-- ever.
This was a thrilling tale of fate falling into place. Our main character, Artemisia wants to be a grey sister and nothing more. She likes what she does with the nuns and would like to do it for the rest of her life. Without giving any of the juicy details away, this is a story of an unexpected hero. Artemisia finds herself, makes new friends, and saves the world-- so basically everything you've ever wanted to read about-- ever.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This one is a good reminder of why character motivation is important. There's so much to love here—magic user nuns trained in the martial arts, mutually-reluctant bodysharing, fantasy medieval France!—but it only really bursts into life about 2/3-3/4 of the way through the book when we get to know Marguerite a little better and oh wow, right, this is what it's like when your characters actually want things. Artemisia and the Revenant spend the entire book just being shuttled through the plot by one event after another. Between the exciting worldbuilding and the spot-on pacing, and the eleventh-hour subversion of who the real bad guy is, I definitely four-stars liked this, but if it had dug into the really meaty character motivations of characters like Marguerite, Leander, or the Divine I think I would have five-stars liked this.
Sorcery of Thorns mixed with One Dark Window.
SO GOOD.
SO GOOD.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Margaret Rogerson always nails these companion-type characters (Silas forever), and the Revenant was no exception. Without question, the highlight of this book was Artemisia’s relationship with him (it?). Their dynamic was just so good.
Artemisia herself was super interesting, too. She’s not your typical YA heroine: prickly, traumatised, and not always easy to like, but that made her feel incredibly real. I loved how much depth she had. Also, side note, I don’t think I’ve ever read about a main character who’s essentially a burn victim, and I really appreciated that representation.
That said... the book as a whole didn’t hit quite as hard for me as Rogerson’s other ones. The writing was beautiful, as always, but the plot just didn’t grab me. The twist was kind of predictable, and I realised I didn’t care all that much about what was happening, I was mostly just in it for the Artemisia/Revenant content. I just wish the story itself had pulled me in more.
Still, I love Margaret Rogerson’s style, and I’ll read whatever she writes next (especially if it includes another snarky, morally grey sidekick).
Artemisia herself was super interesting, too. She’s not your typical YA heroine: prickly, traumatised, and not always easy to like, but that made her feel incredibly real. I loved how much depth she had. Also, side note, I don’t think I’ve ever read about a main character who’s essentially a burn victim, and I really appreciated that representation.
That said... the book as a whole didn’t hit quite as hard for me as Rogerson’s other ones. The writing was beautiful, as always, but the plot just didn’t grab me. The twist was kind of predictable, and I realised I didn’t care all that much about what was happening, I was mostly just in it for the Artemisia/Revenant content. I just wish the story itself had pulled me in more.
Still, I love Margaret Rogerson’s style, and I’ll read whatever she writes next (especially if it includes another snarky, morally grey sidekick).