Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

10 reviews

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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marsh_mall0w'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? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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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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baroo92's review

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

4.5

Super interesting worldbuilding! I was fascinated with the hierarchy of ghosts and their abilities. It definitely was a bit more tense and dark than I was expecting, coming straight from SoT- but a very cool narrative overall. 
I really liked the explanation of the MC’s traumas and how they effected her- I personally read her as autistic coded, but that may be just me. The relationship with the revenant had similar tones to the relationship with Silas in SoT- a creature both terrifyingly deadly, and begrudgingly affectionate. It’s always a nice dynamic to see a traumatized kid befriend a centuries-old eldritch being!

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chamaeleontis's review

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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

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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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monsterperi's review

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0


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breezer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

I had previously read and loved Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson so I was super excited going into this. It did not disappoint!

Our main character Artemesia is a Gray Sister trainee, cleansing bodies of the dead to allow their souls to pass on peacefully, when her covenant is suddenly attacked. To defend herself she harnesses the power of a powerful ancient spirit (called a revenant) that has been bound to a saint's relic.

The atmosphere and world setting (middle ages, religious France vibes?) was brilliant from the very beginning and the fast paced narrative meant I flew through this! I loved the magic system with the ancient spirits and their respective lores. It reminded me of the Numina trilogy by Charlie N. Holmberg so I would definitely recommend this if you liked that.

I loved Artemesia and she underwent some great character development. In my opinion this also had some great anxiety and PTSD representation as well as ace/aro representation. Artemesia also has a physical disability that was very refreshing to see explored in YA.

My only minor criticism was the limited development of the side characters but other than that! Her relationship with the revenant was one of the highlights of the book and it just kept getting better and better! Very excited for where this series may go next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced reader's copy.

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