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.

Reader Reviews

Ellie

(0/5)

Nov 21, 2024

the blurb makes it sound like the revenant itself is the love interest and I'm very okay with that

Margaret Rogerson

652

Update: I think digital ARCs have begun circulating, and wanted to mention that I'm doing further edits that will appear in the final version but not the ARC. Those of you who have advance copies will notice a lot of word repetition and, in general, prose that reads suspiciously as though it was written by a depressed AI struggling to imitate human behavior, which was my default state during Covid isolation, when I wrote the majority of this book. I'm currently working on that. Thank you for bea...

Melanie

(5/5)

276

ARC Provided by Simon & Schuster - thank you!➽ An Enchantment of Ravens ➽ Sorcery of Thorns "If I could read humans’ minds, I wouldn’t have ended up trapped inside a little girl’s finger bone." I have enjoyed everything that Margaret Rogerson has written thus far, but I do think Vespertine may possibly be my favorite of them all.Artemisia is a Grey Sister, working alongside nuns at the convent, preparing dead bodies for their final rest. Before the convent, and when she wa...

carol.

(4/5)

131

Continuing my streak in above-average teen-adult books, I’m going to have to relax my genre prejudices. Really, I shouldn’t have them; I grew up female, after all, and found a great deal of solace in books with female-centered characters. But the ones I remember were about identity and self-power, and not all wrapped up in which boy was the better love interest (The Hunger Games has a lot to answer for).I found Vespertine by way of Jennifer’s fun review that noted similarities to a certain misa...

Sara

(3/5)

ARC received in exchange for an honest review 💀Artemisia is training to be a grey sister, a nun with the ability to make sure the deceased don't return from the grave. Because in Loraille, the dead dont rest. Ever since the Raven King warped the gates of death, every soul that isn't cleansed will return hungry for the living. When returned soldiers breach Artemisia's convent, she must make a deal with a powerful revenant to save her sisters and conquer a growing malevolent presence. I liked the

Luffy

(2/5)

Vespertine is a new series, from a new-to-me author. There has been a huge stream of authors who are women and are young, hip, and smart. I think that this model will not be sustainable as few people read books, compared to moviegoers, or sports fans.This writer has alas not been that inspired in her writing here. She struggles to do the basic stuff. This means e.g. tracking the passing of time. It may also mean - it does also mean - the changing of setting of the story. The concept is stellar,

Alienor ✘ French Frowner ✘

Seriously considering finding an evil spirit to possess my body and remind me to drink water

jessica

197

i was really looking forward to this one. MRs ‘a sorcery of thorns’ blew me away, so i was excited to see what her next book would bring. unfortunately, this wasnt quite was i was hoping for.the best way to sum up my thoughts is i just wasnt feeling it overall. perhaps because the storytelling doesnt really feel like MR to me. the world-building is a bit too big for itself and the writing is repetitious and almost aimless at times. meaning, theres action but i was often questioning what the poin...

Chloe Gong

135

the revenant<3

ELLIAS (elliasreads)

244

Me to this book: "She was beautiful, graceful, unique, and just different from the rest. Basically, she wasn't like other girlies, and I was here for it."Probably the most ✨unique✨ fantasy I've read this year; Ms. Margaret Rogerson does not disappoint!!While it is a little slower and much more dialogue heavy than her other books, I still found plenty of things to enjoy about it and loved the relationship between ahem, *Artemisia* and the Revenant. They both plucky little shits and one of them kn...

Lucie V.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (thank you Simon & Schuster Canada). All thoughts and opinions are my own. ✅ Characters✅ Magic and spirits ✅ Pace ✅ Plot✅ World-building✅🆗 Action🆗 Ending❗️❗️ Contrary to Margaret Rogerson's previous books, there is no romance in VespertineIn the realm of Loraille, boys and girls with the sight (that allows them to see spirits) are taken in by the Clerisy and raised in different groups. The boys are sent in monasteries to become soldiers or monks, and

Jasmine

This is a fun start to a new fantasy series about a young introverted nun who gets pushed out of her comfort zone and must take down an unknown force. Since the age of ten, Artemisia has been a Gray Sister, tending to dead bodies lest they become corrupted and a danger to the living. Artemisia understands the dead, the living, not so much. When it’s time for her class of nuns to be tested to determine their futures, Artemisia plans to fail in order to remain at the convent and continue looking a...

Vibur

once again, I am undone by my weakness for kickass warrior nuns

Layla

dnf at 26%This book is great, and the cover is phenomenal, but I can't fantasy right now. I don't have any braincells left to spare to keep up with the worldbuilding and plot. But I do want to get back to it as soon as I am back in a fantasy mood.

Sofia

Me: I don't judge a book by its cover. Also me: ASKJFKLDSJF TAKE MY MONEY. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THIS IS ABOUT BUT I NEED IT

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