Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

32 reviews

corallydeer's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a great read! I had heard that Rogerson was a phenomenal writer and I heavily agree after this first foray into her works. I loved her writing style and thought it was a great blend of fairly direct writing with prose-y styles. I loved the characters and the world so much; the banter between the revenant and Artemisia was always a great time and the world they existed in felt so unique and fresh. The beginning felt a bit slow to me, so I was sitting more at a four-star rating for a while, but the second half of the book really picked up and suddenly I felt like I couldn't put it down and now I even want to reread it! The second half quickly shot the book up to a full five-star rating for me and I can't wait to read more of Rogerson's works now!

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crystalisreading's review

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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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ahalstead's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book had be memorized by the world the author created. My biggest complaint is that the ending felt rushed and was not fulfilling. There is all of this build up that is wrapped up in less than 3 pages. The author did leave a lot of room for a sequel and hinted at one in the epilogue, so I intend to continue the series whenever that may be. 

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

5 ⭐ CW: Violence, blood, self-harm, death, suicide mention, immolation 

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson is a YA standalone fantasy. This is the second book I've read by this author, and it didn't disappoint! I wasn't sure what to think at first, but I quickly fell in love. Our MC has PTSD and has disabled hands. I also suspect that she is also neurodivergent and possibly aroace, but these are really just headcanons. 

We follow Artemisia, a novice nun with scars on her hands and the official Creepy Weird Girl of her cohort. When Confessor Leander comes to tests the novices for their placements, the convent is besieged by thralls (people being possessed by spirits), and Artemisia is given a powerful tool called a Saint's Relic containing a Revenant. Spirits are dangerous, and it takes training to be able to control them instead of the other way around, but Artemisia finds that her revenant isn't so bad. 

I loved the relationship between Artemisia and the Revenant. Because of her PTSD, Artemisia is disconnected to her body, so it takes having the revenant inside her I'm order for her to do self-care such as feeding herself, sleeping, and drinking water. The revenant reminds her that her body also carries her and she should take care of it. The Revenant had great growth. It was sarcastic, cranky, and sassy, but a good compliment to Artemisia. I found the foil of the character Leander to be fascinating as well. He seemed to be a mirror, if flawed, to Artemisia. The twist came out of nowhere! I never expect it, and it was wonderful (well, not for the characters 😆) 

I loved seeing a world with so many powerful women, especially in a religious sense. Even their god is a Lady. Many powerful nuns. Don't mess with nuns.  We get a lot of themes about consent, especially in regard to binding spirits and using them. It was a great magic system, and I wish I could stay in the world a little bit longer.

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vagorsol's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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


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eviethebookworm's review

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

Margaret Rogerson has created a dark and gritty world that reminds me of The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owens. 

Artemisia, who I have nicknamed Artie in my head, is fantastically introverted and intelligent. Her relationship with the revenant is reminiscent of a begrudging elder taking on an apprentice against their better judgment. 

If you’re looking for a fantasy novel that addresses religious themes, this book is the answer to your prayers. It’s not dismissive of those with faith. However, Rogerson hasn’t shied away from issues that come up when dealing with belief systems and the people who follow them. 

I can’t wait to see if there’s more to Artie’s story. Fingers crossed Rogerson writes another Vespertine novel sometime soon.

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sonygaystation's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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

4.5

The character growth in this book was so *chef’s kiss*!!! Also the revenant has my whole heart

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pointeshoebookworm's review

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adventurous funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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asiamd's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

This book was sooooo good. I loved the main character and her revenant!! The way the author added depth and feelings to every character that came on the page was amazing. I really adore books that allow for villians to also be victims of pain and fear and I felt like this book did a great job of incorporating that wit a kind of anti-hero in the revenant as well as all the other spirits throughout the book. I really liked the different take on religion as well, while it was really similar to Christianity(?) with the blind belief of the people, the praying, and the saints, Rogerson also made it unique in the book by adding a more ghostlike twists that in my opinion added way more humanity to what the spirits were. Overall I really enjoyed this book and read it in one day 🤭 so 10/10

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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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