Unique magic system, a spooky vibe that takes you info an intriging story and a villain that's actually a villain.
We follow a lot of different people, which can be a bit confusing, but in the mainstory it all made sense.
It's kind for dark, and almost reminded me of a historical fantasy, but defently not ;)

3.5⭐️ rounded up: thank you NetGalley for the ARC: I think this was a good start to a new series, though I feel like I have a lot of questions regarding the world and the method of magic and social structures that maybe could have been addressed more in this first book? Hopefully more details come in later parts of the series, but I’m definitely intrigued and will have to keep an eye out for the next book when it comes. Goddamn do I love when an asshole dude gets what’s coming to him tho, so I look forward to more of that energy in later books as well!

This was an interesting read for me. The premise was different and kept me interested, following Calen becoming a vessel. Other characters lacked a bit of depth but overall they were decent. This book left me with some questions that I hope will be answered in book 2.

Vessel starts off strong, launching the reader into a mystery through the eyes of Amelia, a 12-year-old girl, who learns that she's been sold off to become a Vessel - a powerful position in this world but one that she doesn't want because it means she needs to leave her family. The story is fast-paced and easy to read even as is bounds between multiple perspectives. It was fresh to not only see through the eyes of our protagonists but also our main antagonist. Understanding our antagonist's inner desires made his actions towards Amelia even more disgusting. S.J. clearly had a very complex world structure and magic system built into the book, with classes, orders and titles that helped to understand how the rest of the world sees these characters. The book occasionally dips into the past, and these portions are used as big reveals about our characters - which helps to bind the book tightly together. The descriptions of settings and experiences are crafted well, making it easy to imagine what a scene looks like.

While it was a smooth read, there are definitely aspects of the book that left me desiring more from them. I will list them below:
- The dialogue and description is sometimes stilted and unnatural, with characters launching themselves into long exposition or just providing exposition to the reader, even if it isn't relevant to the plot.
- The world-building could have been built upon more, by the end of the book I understand there is a First & Third Order and what they do, as well as what a Vessel is used for, however I don't know anything about the meteorites, or mana - what are the limits to the magic of mana? It is less interesting to read a story where mana/magic is at the epicenter and yet we do not know the limits of it, it could be used to solve any problem!
- There were some strange descriptions that pulled me out of the book, like, "...he said, with his voice like a boulder tumbling down a hill." I understand the intent there, but a descriptor like gravelly or rough could have been used instead. It evokes imagery but it is irrelevant imagery since it is referring to a character's qualities. It felt like purple prose.
- There are a lot of questions left unanswered, Amelia's powers, how the antagonist found Amelia in the first place, what happened to her family (especially Matti),
- There's some POV breaks within the book, where we are supposed to be living in someone's head but we suddenly are hearing something from inside someone else's head, an example is when we are supposed to be in Calen's viewpoint but we get this line, "Matilda's shoulders fell, realization dawning. There was nothing she could do to stop Calen from..." We should not be be able to hear what is happening in Matilda's head, rather we should be seeing her actions from Calen's POV.

Ultimately, it was a good book, with interesting magic and a cast of sweet characters. I especially want to give a shoutout for this line, "He had read enough novels in his life to recognize the storyline of the 'self-sacrificing hero' and he understood it to be an important literary tool. Watching it play out in real life however, it seemed short-sighted and unnecessarily theatrical." This made me laugh out loud.

Such a good story. I truly recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's that good! I rated this book 5 star. It's THAT good. Enjoy your time reading this experience in book form.

4.5/5 rounded down because math says that's how that works

Vessel is a story about a woman, Calen, whose life was taken from her. To say she lived is a loose statement. She lived small under the oppressive thumb of her bonded and incredibly abusive partner Brother Stokely.
First Orders like Brother Stokely bond with Third Order Vessels like Calen. The magic system is very unique in this book.

In defiance (as would be my only explanation), she still manages to hold on to her humanity and empathy for others. She shields anyone she can from her partner but also shields her partner (not out of kindness) from others, a massive self-sacrifice.

Rosalind a former best friend, as Calen thought, finds out she's been brutally hurt - manages to enlist the help of another Brother of the First Order, Nox. He, though reluctantly, agrees to go, but Calen is starting to find her inner strength and outruns both Brothers.

Fortunately only one initially finds her.

I gotta say, this is a well-written book that held my attention from the beginning. I felt for each character in their own way and their plight relevant to the story. Nox is the comedic relief we all need. I loved him for that.

(This is a multi-pov book: Calen, Brother Stokely, Nox, and Rosalind. I personally love multi-pov so this was right up my alley.)

Calen manages to find a pocket of happiness that she so deserves which gave her the power to realize she has so much worth than she realizes. She grows from the uncomfortable and complacent person she just decided it was easier to be, to a survivor who just won't take it anymore. And she finally accepts the help she never wanted to have. She'd been alone for so long, gaslit for so long, she felt like there wasn't anyone other than Stokely who would have anything to do with her.

I hope this book picks up and gets the attention it deserves. This is a first-time author (I mean granted, a librarian), but it does not read like a first-time author. It was almost flawless.


I think there is a TW that some people may want to know (nothing triggers me, but I've seen it in the beginning of other books) and that's an off-page sexual assault of the MC and referenced on page shortly after. It's also threatened a few times throughout the book.

I received this book as an ARC.

The book follows a woman who acts as vessel of supernatural powers. It tells of her journey as she struggles through difficult situations and makes friends along the way.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. The characters were likeable (except for Stokely) but lacked a bit of depth. The issue that I have with the story is the main point of the book: mana. Mana is the power that Calen, and many others, hold. However, it is never truly explained where it comes from or what it can do. I feel like if this was explained in the story, it could have added a lot to the overall premise and characters.

I am interested to see what happens in book 2 and hope we will get more information.