Vespertine

By: Margaret Rogerson

Narrated by: Caitlin Davies

An international bestseller!

From the New York Times bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens comes a thrilling, “dark coming-of-age adventure” (Culturess) about a teen girl with mythic abilities who must defend her world against restless spirits of the dead.

The spirits of the dead 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 ravenous, hungry spirits. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who whisper 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 whose extraordinary power almost consumes her—but death has come, 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, Artemisia discovers that facing this hidden evil might require her to betray everything she believes—if the revenant doesn’t betray her first.

Excellent!

What a treat this book was! Excellent world building. Absolutely drama free, well grounded heroine. Plot was paced perfectly. Character growth was consistent but organic, so noticing our mc's growth from adolescent to adult happened effortlessly too. The narration was. very good, missing excellence only because of the narrators penchant for changing her voice volume overmuch when she changed characters. This excellent book is a rare event which I strongly encourage you to enjoy.

LOVE this book!

I was hooked from the 1st chapter. Absolutely beautiful performance and story with thrilling takes on familiar elements and wonderful characters. I dearly hope there will be a sequel. These characters deserve to continue their story.

Incredibly overlooked and underappreciated

I got this title a while ago because it was a book my wife had picked up and I thought I might want to listen to it someday. Well these past couple days was it, and I have been missing out. It's a D&D cleric meets Venom, and I am here for it. excellent story, incredible world building, will be keeping an ear out for a sequel

I absolutely adore the world of Loraille

This is an amazing story. I'm a 40 year old woman who has read all of Margaret Rogerson's books and this one is by far my favorite. Yes, it's a YA novel, but it's a good one. The revenant is a fantastic character as is Artemisia, and everything about this world is so intriguing. I was crushed to learn that this was originally going to be a trilogy, but now is just a stand alone book. I hope Margaret Rogerson changes her mind and finishes the saga. Caitlin Davies is also one of my favorite audible narrators and does a great job.

Enjoyable

I am a huge fan of this author. All her books are wonderful. I enjoyed reading about a main character who seems to be on the spectrum. She's strong in different ways than your average leading character. Rogerson shows that even though she's the type of person society treats as less than because she's different, she, and anyone who identifies with her, has a lot to offer the world. Once prejudices and preconceived notions are let go, the person underneath shines.
The Revenant was another wonderful character, and I'm glad its part wasn't as minimal.

I enjoyed the narrator, who is very talented. However, she wasn't quite the right fit for this book or cast of characters.