A review by bluejayreads
Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

adventurous dark
  • 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

4.75

I did not have very high hopes for this book. The cover made me think of a Dark and Edgy YA fantasy from the 2000s, and the protagonist’s name seemed to fit the stereotype. And I have read so many books about warrior nuns. I was a little intrigued by the idea of learning how to deal with a revenant from the revenant, though, and I was in the middle of a string of DNF books so I figured one more couldn’t hurt. 

And then it actually turned out to be good. 

So the nuns here aren’t full-on warrior nuns. They’re trained with holy daggers and censers of holy incense because their job isn’t to fight people, it’s to fight the spirits of the dead, who tend to possess people. They also take care of the dead because properly buried people don’t tend to become malicious spirits. Artemisia is quite talented, but she doesn’t get people at all and is always misunderstanding what they want and would be perfectly happy living in the abbey and caring for corpses her whole life. I absolutely headcanon her as autistic. The book implies nothing of the sort and it could very easily be read as a result of the same childhood trauma that gives her limited use of her hands, but her struggles with understanding people and societal rules and what seemed like sensory overload were very relatable. 

This book is also full of delightful tropes, such as: 

  • I reluctantly agreed to have an obnoxious presence share my head to deal with an even worse situation and I can’t get them out but we’re starting to get along
  • The church says that’s evil but turns out they’re lying (including bonus: person discovering this is dedicated to the church and has to grapple with the fact that they lied)
  • No one expects the protagonist to be absurdly powerful
  • Oops! I accidentally became a folk hero (including bonus trope: the church is Big Mad about it)
 
The plot itself also holds a few surprises. It’s dark and full of the rampaging dead, but it also seems fairly straightforward until the end when you discover it is not at all what you thought. There are several unexpected allies, a very nice horse, the complexities of trying to keep your identity secret from the authorities when the masses know you as a hero, death-defying escapes, fantastic displays of magic, creeping around in crypts, and important choices. Artemisia learns that just because people don’t make sense to her doesn’t mean she can’t have friends, the dynamic between her and the revenant is great, and there’s plenty of magic and adventure. I also appreciated the religion aspect, which struck me as Catholicism if Catholics were more concerned with making the dead stay dead than going somewhere in particular after death.
 
I know it wasn’t perfect and I’m liking it more in this review than when I actually read it – I think my opinion is enhanced by the fact that I didn’t expect to like it very much – but it was a highly enjoyable read. The characters were good, the plot was solid with some interesting twists, I love seeing disabled protagonists, and I’m always down for the Protagonist Is Absurdly Powerful and Reluctant Allies With The Voice In My Head tropes. I was pleasantly surprised when how enjoyable Vespertine actually is.
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