I absolutely loved this book! Mystery, dark magic, spirits, and a revenant that wants to destroy everything in its path. This book will be perfect for those spooky season TBRs!

Let’s start with the atmosphere and the setting. It felt old, historical. There are ancient convents and cathedrals. The way they are described takes me right there. I could smell the musty, dank odors. I could feel the ancient energy of the stones. I loved the details and how the author paints the scene without overdoing it.

The characters were well-written. I loved Artemesia’s strength considering all she had been through and was now facing. I like how she changes throughout the book. The conversations she has with the revenant are good, some are comical even. I like the revenant’s snarky attitude. You get the feeling that it would never hurt Artemesia but it is just evil enough that you don’t know for sure.

My favorite character is Mother Dolours. She is an important side character, even though she isn’t there a lot, but she steals the scenes she is in. She is a no-nonsense-not-taking-any-of-your-crap kind of woman and it doesn’t matter who you are. You definitely don’t want to be on the wrong side of her day! But you do want her in your corner.

The story twists and turns. Artemesia’s main goal never changes, exactly, but how she needs to get there does. I love the tension building. You can feel when something is about to happen, without the scary music telling you so. The action was good and the magic was better. There were magical aspects in this story that I’d never read about before and it was very interesting. It was a spooky, spine-tingling story.

This is a story about good vs. evil. The things the characters are taught as children aren’t exactly what they think it is, as they often are. Traditions and teachings get added to over the generations and sometimes what you think is good is actually the evil you’ve been afraid of all along. This book portrays that very well.

I loved the story, the characters, the setting, the magic, the battles, the intensity, and how new lessons are learned. This is one of those books that I will wish I could read again for the first time.

I gave Vespertine all the stars and highly recommend it to fans of YA Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, stories of good vs. evil, stories of unlikely friendships, and Paranormal Fantasy. I will definitely be reading through Margaret Rogerson’s backlist

Vespertine was an amazing read! I have read Margaret Rogerson’s first two books, and this one is so different from them and unique in its own way. I loved Artemisia because of how real she was. She has social anxiety and a traumatic past that still affects her. She doesn’t shy away from her flaws, but embraces them and learns to live with them, and that makes her a great character. To no one’s surprise, I really enjoyed the revenant and its journey with Artemisia. The author said that if you enjoyed Elisabeth and Silas’ dynamics you would enjoy Artemisia and the revenant, and she was so right. The whole plot was very interesting and I found this world fascinating! I did get lost sometimes with all the terminology, but it was mostly my fault. Rogerson was very descriptive when it came to the setting, and that transported you to dark hallways under cathedrals and haunting graveyards, among other places. I need another book set in this world, please, and thank you. If you loved An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns, I believe you will fall in love with Vespertine as I did.

The best parts of Vespertine is the dialogue between the MC and the revenant and lack of romance (very refreshing).

Some of the World building and other narrative descriptives are a bit over the top, and repetitive. The magic system is entirely underdeveloped. It also felt way too Alina meets Joan of Arc

This book was an incredible gothic tale. The imagery was creepy and the concept was amazing! There was a lot of humor where the possession was concerned and I thought that made it particularly appropriate for younger readers.

I absolutely loved that this story is all-girl power with no sideline romance to distract us from Artemisia. She is hands down the toughest most kickass heroine in YA fantasy this year.

If I have to describe this book in one word, it would be WOW.
I obviously had high expectations from Vespertine because I have loved Margaret Rogerson’s previous work but this book exceeded all the expectations I could’ve ever had!
I went into it blind, didn’t knowing what the story was about but it was still very easy to follow through. I loved the eerie, creepy and dark vibes. The story was so well paced and action packed that we don’t get a breather! Though it’s a fantasy world and there was action right from the beginning, I never felt that there was information- dumping. I loved the way we were introduced to this world!
Nuns, relics, ghosts, etc gave it a religious twist and I really enjoyed it!
There was no romance but I still enjoyed it so much! Artemisia is one of my favourite YA heroines now but I have to say, Revenant is my utmost favourite character from this book! It has totally won me over with it’s cheeky replies and dry humour. Their banter was hilarious and so fun to read about!

I also really loved the side characters like Marguerite, Charles, Jean, Mother Dolours, Captain Enguerrand, etc! The found family trope was also endearing.

Our main character is disabled (can’t feel sensations in her hands due to scarring), has social anxiety and PTSD. I really appreciated the mental health representation and how the sensitive topics were dealt with.

There’s absolutely nothing I didn’t like about this book! It was fun, dark, creepy, exhilarating and had my heart racing the entire time!!

Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year and I would highly recommend it to everybody!

Cannot wait for the sequel!!

Artemisia is a nun in training at a secluded convent, where she tends the dead and keeps restless spirits at bay. When the convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia wields an artifact to defend her home - and ends up possessed by a revenant, the strongest type of spirit. Artemisia finds herself in the middle of a plot where religion, death, dark magic, and politics intersect; she must forsake her beliefs and turn to her revenant for help unraveling the mystery. Sinister religious figures, a darkly hilarious revenant, and French-inspired setting create a delightfully creepy and atmospheric read.

I really enjoyed Vespertine. It does a good job of setting things up, hopefully, if there’s going to be a sequel.

Artemisia has a hard life which has left a huge mark on the way she relates and interacts with people. At the convent she’s more at peace dealing with the corpses instead of talking to the other girls.

I loved Artemisia because in spite of her aversion to socializing or having anything to do with the living, when things go wrong, she steps up big time!

The relationship, or lack of, with Marguerite is a perfect example of how we should never make assumptions about people. We don’t know what they have or are going through and their lack of communication made things hard for both of them. Both secretly hating the other for things they thought they lacked.

Leander is another who also was hurt by assumptions. Had there been some sort of communication, maybe the sacrifices could’ve been avoided.

Rathanael has also been judged and convicted based on others actions and ASSUMPTIONS. When the revenant and Artemisia are able to develop a relationship despite of how they got together was pretty sweet to see. Both are outcasts and both (deep deep deep down) care and want to be accepted. As their friendship blossoms, they help each other get over some biases and clear up any misgivings.

There isn’t much of romance and I kept expecting it but it was a nice change. Not having a romantic aspect really focused on Artemisia and Rathanael’s growth. Showcases how strong this young woman, who’s not very well liked, is. The character development is on point and can’t wait to see what they get up to in the next book.

It's not often that a book keeps me up later than I intend without me realizing. I intended on reading until 10 last night and all of the sudden I had 3% left and it was 10:35! The ending was definitely a whirlwind that had me absolutely hooked.
Artemisia was an absolutely fantastic character. She was 100% introverted and 100% sarcastic. She did not want to be around anyone, in fact she would rather stay in Naimes and work with corpses than literally anything else. Her interactions with the revenant who she awakens and ends up sharing her body with were hilarious. Each of their sarcasm rivaled the other and I found myself laughing often. I also really loved Margurite, Artemisia's roommate in Naimes (who upon first meeting Margurite terrified her by hiding under the bed). Margurite starts out as someone who seems to hate Artemisia and is a little bit spoiled, but she really becomes someone not at all like that and someone who I really enjoyed as a character. All of the side characters were great, Charles, Jean, Leander, Mother Dolours, they all really stuck out.
We start with Artemesia in Naimes at the convent working with corpses and all of the sudden there is an attack. Artemesia ends up (like I said before) with a spirit, a revenant, sharing her body. This is really not done. If it is, the revenant basically takes over the person, but not with Artemesia. They come to an agreement and end up working together. Artemesia travels to Bonsaint in search of someone who is performing Old Magic to end their plans. I loved that we really think that the story has a clear ending from early on in the book and it switched up at the end. I definitely didn't see it coming.
As there is a #1 beside the title of the book, I think it's going to be a series which I am really hoping! I can't wait to see if anything else awaits Artemesia and the revenant!

If ghost, souls, and old magic are something you are interested in then this book just might be for you. Artemisia is a nun trained to move dead onto the afterlife but there is something out there attacking the convent and to save them she is possessed by a very snarky Revanant that was in a relic. The story is refreshing that there is no romance and the characters evolve through the story. I am looking forward to where Rogerson takes the next story in the series. 3.5 stars

I’m going to keep this short because I actually don’t have much to say. I enjoyed reading this book but it was a little difficult for me to be completely invested.

In terms of the plot and world building, there was a lot going on. I would’ve preferred it if some of the elements were done a little simpler or if they were explained a little more. Artemisia as a character was pretty fleshed out and really well developed. I haven’t read any of Margaret Rogerson’s other books but I really like her writing style so I’m excited to explore more of her works.

I really enjoyed this story about Artemesia, a nun who ends up sharing space with a Revenant, one of the seven 5th order spirits, the most powerful of the spirits. I loved the banter between Artemesia and Rathanael and watching how their relationship with each other developed over the course of the book.
I loved the worldbuilding with the unique system of magic that was an odd blend of spirit and divine, although I think it could have used a bit more fleshing out. The rules did not always seem very clear and although I'm hoping things will become more clear in future books, I'm not sure if the author has fully committed to her system of magic. Still, this did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.

The main characters were quite interesting, especially Artemisia, Leander, Marguerite, and of course, Rathanael, and I suspect we'll learn even more about them in future books. Although there were some action/battle scenes in this book, the focus of the book was much more on storytelling and character development, which I prefer. It was also refreshing to read a YA book that didn't include a romantic angle. It definitely would not have worked in this story, as the relationship between Rathanael and Artemisia is much more important.

I am really looking forward to reading future books in this series, although I have no idea how long we'll have to wait!

I received an advance review copy from NetGalley for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Vespertine first caught my attention as I loved the author’s other works, An Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns. This novel took me by surprise, as it was different from the one I was expecting. The first thing of note was there was no romance in this story, unlike the other two novels. As this is the first novel in the series, it gives an excellent introduction into the world and story filled with the clergy and different spirits.

Artemisia is a young Gray Sister, which has had to carry out the sacred duty of tending to the dead for the past three hundred years. The story takes place in Loraille where the dead do not sleep and the souls that are not put to rest are placed inside relics. Each spirit is placed in a different House that possesses its own unique characteristics. While I loved the descriptions of each House’s spirit type, it was sometimes a little difficult to remember when they appeared later in the novel. They were still very interesting and my forgetfulness did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. When she takes on a Fifth order revenant, she is captured by Leander, a Clerisy Confessor, and must find a way to escape.

As the main character, Artemisia is a strong lead and has been through a lot in her past. She is alone a lot and slowly learns to trust others as the story moves forward. She is more introverted compared to many main characters of the same genre and I enjoyed how unique she was. Her banter with the revenant was a standout feature of the story, as there was a lot of humor on the page to break up the dark content. The revenant was an excellent character, as I loved his darker humor with a complicated personality. For me, neither character was immediately likable, but it was not long before I was fully invested in both of them. Even the minor characters were well written and complex, so it was easy to care about them.

Overall, the novel is a nice mix of the fantasy and paranormal genres. It was a captivating story that follows along Artemisia’s journey. This novel also stands out, as the story does not end with a cliffhanger, so I am very curious how the series will continue. I hope that there is more exploration of the magic and world as both are fascinating. The pacing of the novel is a little slower, which is expected of a series, for me, and I did not mind it. The series has great potential and I cannot wait to see what will happen in the sequel!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for the opportunity to read this entertaining novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

This was a unique and well written novel that tells the story of Artemisia, a young woman living and training in a convent until that convent is attacked. She turns to a revenant and new found friends to help.
Although I started reading this over a month ago, and was easily distracted by other books, I did enjoy the story. It kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. I did sometimes get overwhelmed trying to remember what different words/ names were but at the end I knew what had happened and I was happy to have read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review

I have read a streak of amazing books lately, but this one wasn’t exactly a surprise. Margaret Rogerson has firmly established herself (IMO) as a reliably excellent author so I had decently high expectations. As with Sorcery of Thorns, I was entranced from the first pages and spent a nice chunk of a 16 hour car ride reading.

What I may enjoy the most about this book is our main character Artemesia. She has the Sight, which means she can see spirits and that means she is vulnerable to possession. Unlike most who have the Sight, Artemesia had it from birth and was possessed in her vulnerable state by a spirit called an ashgrim. Her family had no idea and thought she was just mentally unwell from birth and locked her in a shed until she severely burned her own hands to exorcise the ashgrim from herself. Events unfolded such that she was taken in to a convent where the nuns specialize in caring for the dead and this is where we find her when the story begins.

Artemesia is not particularly popular among the novices because she quite frankly pretty scary. That's what happens when you spend many of your formative years possessed. This had the upside of making her quite capable of sensing spirits and making use of the Relics (artifacts bound with spirits) used among the Clergy. Artemesia declines to move on from her post, which is fortunate since when possessed soldiers attack the abbey she must use the relic of a Revenant, one of the Seven most powerful spirits. This act, along with following events end up garnering too much attention on our young Revenant-wielder. The people dub her a saint, but the Clergy are concerned that she is not in control and desire to hunt her down. The plot is really, really excellent and I won't reveal any more here. 

I loved Artemesia! She has a fascinating origin story and how she handles her life going forward is quite motivating. The Revenant who possesses her is actually a fairly likable character as well, and even some minor characters ended up being rather decent in the end too, despite first impressions. The characters really made this excellent, but MAN is it cool to see a story with these super cool, yet terrifying Revenants with uncertain backstories. I'm really thrilled to learn more about how they came to be bound to saints in the first place! This is certainly  a world I can't wait to see more from this series and I'm super happy that IT IS A SERIES, because I thought it was another standalone!

Margaret Rogerson enchanted me with her first two books so I was eager to read this third book.

The setting of Vespertine is such a lush environment by itself, I wish I had more time describing the world. I think we get a good sense of what i's like from this first book, but I am hoping subsequent books will expand upon the world, giving us more depth and dimension. Rogerson doesn't shy away from a wholly complicated setting which I think really lent itself to the story, providing richness, but also took away from the characters as none of them really stood out among the world they inhabited.

Artemisia, sadly, is not one of the funniest of heroines and I had a hard time relating to her. She was fine, but nothing really stood out to me until she got....

The Remnant is in Artemisia's head and he was my favorite thing about the book. Snarky and cynical and critical, The Remnant spoke my sarcastic voice and I loved how he juxtaposed Artemisia's voice. I think he was exactly what the book needed which was a little fire and some humor.

I don't want to give anything away, but I really like the ending of the book. There was a lot of good suspense and action towards the end which made up for the slower parts of the middle. Rogerson's world is unique and fun and I am interested in seeing where she takes this series.

Overall, I think Vespertine is a solid beginning to what is going to be a richly woven series. I wish it was a little tighter and the story was a little more focused in the middle, but I think the ending made up for it!

Can we all take a moment and gaze in awe at this stunning cover? It is GORGEOUS 🤩 And if you don't have a copy yet, let me tell you. The way the colors swirl and pop is frankly magical. I don't know what alchemy is at play here, but I could stare at this cover all day long.

But we're not here to drool over covers. Though, that does sounds like a good future post... FOCUS! Anyway, we're here to talk about what's inside this gorgeous cover. And oh holy dead things, the inside is just as incredible as the outside.

"Most of the ruins from the Age of Kings had been abandoned because they attracted too many spirits, their lingering taint of Old Magic irresistible to the Dead."

Okay. Good. That quote captures so much of what I loved about this book. Old Magic. Dead Kings. Dead spirits wandering the land. And a religious order that's dedicated to fighting these spirits and making sure the dead don't rise.

The story picks up almost immediately, which I love. Less than fifty pages we have possessed soldiers, vengeful spirits, and shit hitting the proverbial fan.

I love Artemisia as a character but her social awkwardness paired with the snarky countenance of the revenent is 1000% my jam. I love it. It's like the grumpy-sunshine OTP but not romantic and not exactly sunshine. Maybe more like murderous grump meets anti-social grump but they both somehow have a heart of gold-ish.

Hopefully that makes sense, and if not, well, read the book 😂

"If there's one thing I can rely upon, it's the reassuring dependability of human idiocy. Give your kind a century or so, and they'll happily repeat the exact same mistakes that nearly wiped them all out a few generations before."

Alright, so many they're both grumpy and anti-social, but only one is murderous. Whatever their pairing is, their dynamic is absolutely perfect. I love the way they snark at each other, but find a way to work together. Sure, it's a needs-must situation, but it simply makes all of the softer moments even more endearing.

I also loved Marguerite. The dynamic between her and Artemisia are definitely grumpy-sunshine with an added touch of sass. I'm sure you can detect a theme here, but it appears that Rogerson loves sarcasm as much as I do and it shines through in spectacular detail throughout the book.

The theme of friendship and relationships was so lovely. I'm not opposed to romance subplots, but I also appreciate when they aren't forced into a story. We have so many relationships in our daily lives and very few of them are romantic. Again, this isn't slamming romance, but I really enjoyed the platonic threads woven on multiple levels throughout this novel.

Artemisia is in a position in her life where there is a ton of self-discovery. She is recovering from trauma and to throw a romantic relationship in there would have felt...strange? Dishonest, maybe. I loved that Rogerson allowed Artemisia the chance to know herself first. It's such an important distinction that I'm not sure is explored frequently in YA.

"Perhaps deep down inside everyone was just a scared animal afraid of getting hurt, and that explained every confusing and mean and terrible thing we did."

The world building is incredible. I loved the different levels of spirits that can be reborn depending on how the person died. The entire religion was fascinating, but what I really loved is how Artemisia and her merry band uncover some of the long-buried secrets.

I don't know why, but books exploring religious beliefs have been finding their way to me a lot lately. And while this is a fantasy world with a made-up religion, the elements are very similar. Stripping away the myth and finding the history was a fascinating journey and I loved the parallels that can be applied to real-world experiences.

"Perhaps this was how history treated saints. It didn't matter what was real, what had truly happened. Even as they lived, their lives passed into legend."

Overall, this was such an amazing read. I had such a good time going through this world and watching the characters develop on the page. Rogerson does an outstanding job unfolding the mysteries in a way that keeps the reader guessing all the way to the end. It's rare that I'm surprised by a twist, but whoa boy, they blew my mind.

Vespertine reads as a stand-alone with future story potential. I'm not sure if there will be more in this world, especially with Artemisia and the revenant, but I will absolutely dive face first if there is. I adore these characters, I love this world, and I want to know so much more than I know now.

I mentioned Artemisia's trauma earlier and want to be clear that this is a central theme in her story. There can be somewhat graphic scenes of what happened when the trauma occurred, and readers should be aware of that. There are references to neglect and abuse.

There are also a decent amount of graphic war scenes. This is a story with possessed soldiers and other spirit like creatures who possess people when they are able. While there isn't a ton of graphic death, it is there.

Five Dead Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you immensely to Turn the Page Tours and author Margaret Rogerson for sending me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There are quite a few things that I found truly makes this book stand out. To start Artemisia was so unlike any character I have ever read about. The way that she reacts to certain situations and her responses to problem solving made this a very unique and refreshing read. I felt that I could actually relate to the choices she makes throughout the book. The relationship that she builds with the dark spirit attached to her was very unexpected and added a nice surprising element to the novel as well. Rogerson’s descriptions of the Revenant and other Spirits in the book were very well placed and I found myself not having to flip to the Spirit Glossary as much as I thought I would have. The way that she builds her world around these Spirits and the religion they brought about caused me not be able to put this book down. I was so eager to learn more about this world and to find out more about Artemisia’s place in it.

October is truly the perfect month to pick up this haunting, paranormal read. I would definitely recommend this book to readers who find different types of ghosts and hauntings enjoyable.

Vespertine is the book I've always wanted! I've read a few pitches that compared Vespertine to Venom but with nuns and that's accurate! I do love benevolent possession stories, and thoroughly enjoyed the partnership between Artemisia and the revenant. Artemisia has an intense backstory and I liked how it was gradually revealed and explained more about her actions and motivations. The other characters were also great and I especially liked that some of them quietly formed this Artemisia Protection Squad without her even realizing it!

I also loved the setting, worldbuilding, and the religious system that weaves together saints, spirits, and magic. There's a lot going on in this world in the midst of a ghostly crisis and Artemisia is thrust into the thick of it, fighting and fleeing and trying to find a way to stop the impending catastrophe -- all while negotiating a balance with the revenant possessing her body. I'll also mention that, while the terms aren't used on the page, I love that Artemisia is aroace! As an aroace person, I enjoyed reading about a character like me.

Overall I found Vespertine to be utterly captivating and I'm looking forward to reading what comes next in this series!

This book is different from the ones I have read from this author in the past. Do not get me wrong, that does not mean there is anything wrong with this title. The characters were all well designed, the magic system is similar to others but the author goes deeper and makes it different, the story is well paced, and the banter is witty and funny. Overall this book was a great read but unlike so many of fantasy books out there I do not see a romance in this (yet??) which to me is just fine.