ARC Review: Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson

#1

YA Fantasy

400 pages

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

Publication Date: 5 October 2021

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis

The dead of Loraille do not rest.

Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past.

When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come to Loraille, and only a vespertine, a priestess trained to wield a high relic, has any chance of stopping it. With all knowledge of vespertines lost to time, Artemisia turns to the last remaining expert for help: the revenant itself.

As she unravels a sinister mystery of saints, secrets, and dark magic, her bond with the revenant grows. And when a hidden evil begins to surface, she discovers that facing this enemy might require her to betray everything she has been taught to believe—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.

CW: murder, death, violence, ritualistic self-harm, partial self-immolation, child abuse

My Thoughts

I received a free eARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vespertine had a lot of buzzwords for me, a few of those being nuns, spirits, religion, and revenants. But this story was more than just a few cool ideas – it has a a fast-paced plot, incredible worldbuilding, and a protagonist you can really get behind.

The story was completely addictive, and I read this in a day. Not only is it fast-paced and action packed, there are plenty of mysteries to mull over. There is a particularly huge twist near the end that I did not see coming. And I always love being surprised.

Artemisia is a novice Grey Sister, a nun who prepares the bodies of the dead to prevent them rising again and becoming malevolent spirits. When the convent is attacked by soldiers, Artemisia becomes bound to a powerful spirit called a revenant in order to defend her fellow sisters. But the revenant is as dangerous as it is powerful, and the Church wants to separate them. To prevent that, Artemisia and her revenant flee across the countryside, saving people along the way. Artemisia’s story is the making of a legend, or in this case, a Saint. Artemisia is just doing what needs to be done, and is guided by her system of values and ethics, so the acclaim and devotion are very uncomfortable for her. She is the quintessential reluctant hero.

There are a few mysteries that were partially explained in this book, but it felt like there were holes. And I can’t work out if they are meant to be there and are set ups for the next book, or if it’s just something that hasn’t been fixed in the editing process yet. One has to do with the nature of the revenants, and the other has to do with the high saints. I think it’s bothering me because I feel like I have the information already, but don’t quite know what it means, and how to put it together in my mind. Possibly it’s because I’m sleep deprived. I look forward to re-reading when my FairyLoot edition arrives to see if I can make sense of it then. (Apologies for the ramble!)

One of my favourite parts of Vespertine was the writing and worldbuilding. Rogerson is an absolute master at creating atmosphere and vivid, detailed worlds for her characters to inhabit. Vespertine seems to be set in an alternate fantasy world analogous to 15th/16th century France. So there are lots of French sounding place names, and I felt like the overall vibe was very medieval France.

Vespetine had such strong aesthetics, and the writing really managed to convey the world in glorious detail. I had such vivid pictures in my mind of everything, from the architecture and landscape, to the characters and spirits, especially the revenants. I tried to draw them because I could see them so clearly in my mind. My drawings were absolute rubbish, so I can’t wait to see all the fan art other, more talented, people create.

I also enjoyed the magic system, and how it was intertwined with religion. Girls and boys with “the sight”- ability to see spirits – are taken to monasteries and convents as children to trained to become monks and nuns, and all manner of other religious posts in the hierarchy of the church. Many males with the sight become soldiers, while women often hold positions of significant power, including that of the Archdivine, the highest position in the church, and one that can only be held by women.

The writing was not, perhaps, as smooth as it could be. That being said, the author made a statement about how she wasn’t entirely happy with the book as it was when the ARCs were sent out, as it was still being edited. So I’m giving it a pass, because I could see how it will shine once it’s polished.

On to the characters! I feel Rogerson really excels at creating a very small cast of well-developed, three dimensional characters. This can be a positive or a negative, depending on your preference. I always find it easy to identify with her protagonists (in this case Artemisia) and I really like one or two side characters. The rest feel very much at a remove from me. I think this is because Rogerson really delves into the psyche of the main character, perhaps to the detriment of other characters. It makes for a book that is somehow intensely character driven, but not at the expense of the plot, because the focus is only on a very limited number of characters. I find that I actually don’t mind this particular method of storytelling, but I suspect not everyone will agree with me.

I also enjoyed how most characters are neither wholly good, nor wholly evil. Even the antagonists had depth. They are not cookie cutter bad guys, and that’s what makes them so interesting as characters.

Artemisia, our main character, is introverted, and kind of socially awkward. She had a traumatic childhood, and suffered burns to her hands that cause ongoing pain. She’s always had difficulties connecting with the other novices in the convent, so she tried to mostly avoid them. She’s also stubborn, self sufficient, and has strong ethics and morals. Artemisia is not necessarily the most likeable protagonist I’ve come across, and other reviewers have said they felt like the couldn’t connect with her, but I disagree. She doesn’t trust easily, and her self-loathing and fragility make her very human.

The Revenant is a really fascinating character. He’s immensely powerful, extremely knowledgeable, kind of manipulative, and very mysterious. He’s also incredibly sarcastic, and his banter with Artemisia is one of the highlights of the book for me.

Margeurite is an escaped novice nun that trained at the same convent as Artemisia. They always had a distant, strained relationship, but they develop a tentative friendship throughout the book. I’m hoping for a bit more development of her arc in future books because she is a great character. Although she’s not immediately likeable, the reasons she is the way she is become clear as Artemisia spends more time with her.

Confessor Leander is the main antagonist in Vespertine. He’s serious, determined, laser focused, and emotionally intense. He is kind of a terrifying enemy to have because he just never gives up. The man is relentless, and completely sure that his beliefs and actions are right.

In terms of themes, one of the big ones is the role of religion and beliefs to individuals and society. Vespertine has strong Christian coded religious beliefs and practices. I liked the exploration of how beliefs develop, how they can subsume older practices, and how they can be politicised toward certain goals. There is no binary here though, only shades of grey. Beliefs are not right or wrong, and are often infinitely more complex and complicated. It’s important to be willing to change when you are presented with new information. This warns against beliefs being static and unchanging. Just because something seems to always have been a certain way, at least from your perspective, it doesn’t make it objectively true, and we must always grow and change.

I really enjoyed this book, but I have to say it felt very similar to Sorcery of Thorns in many ways, which I won’t enumerate here. I don’t want potential readers to decide not to give it a go because I made a list comparing the two books. The point is that I think the reception will be divided into one of two camps: 1) those who think it’s too similar and are disappointed or 2) those who like authors riffing on similar themes/tropes and really love this particular tune. Obviously, I love these four chords (yes, my Aussie pop culture reference shows my age. If you haven’t come across it, click here for the video that will explain everything young Jedi.)

I think if you enjoyed Sorcery of Thorns or The Bone Witch, you may also enjoy Vespertine.