A review by dith_kusu
Vespertine by Indra Vaughn, Leta Blake

4.0

Interesting and compelling read- my first romance that deals a lot with religion and one of the love interests, Jasper, literally being a priest, the conflict that it presents, so on. There's a lot of angst and repressed feelings in this one, darker topics with rock star Nicky being in recovery from addiction pushed on by his evil management team, but Jazz and Nicky's second chance romance here really was lovely, you really did feel their bond- I do have a weakness for this particular trope and their dynamic was particularly cute. The religion aspect of Jazz's belief in God and his calling to serve, was handled quite well I thought- it got across his point of view, his internal turmoil in a nuanced manner, and didn't seem reductive or titillating for the sake of it, which I had had initial reservations about. The side characters were a nice touch too, like Nicky's bandmates particularly Ramona, Jazz's group of kids at his LGBTQ foster home like Lizzie and Gus, stern secretary Mrs. Wells, Nicky's loving parents Adrian and Miriam, etc. I didn't like, though, how the conflict nearing the ending of the book played out at all- the drama of it, the circumstances of events that led to their happy ending and things being resolved, at the narrative expense of someone else's trajectory. Didn't think it was portrayed as something more beyond plot convenience that allowed Nicky to get away from his draconian label and pursue a lighter tour load, allow him to be more with Jazz, and have Nicky maintain his sobriety. In contrast, the decision made by Jasper to be defrocked and leave the priesthood, independently run his shelter and fully be with Nicky was dealt with in a better way.