Q U I C K S T A T S
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
T H E B O O K
// Content Warning (provided by author): Self-harm, anxiety, disordered eating (minor), child neglect/abuse (past), trauma/PTSD. None of the abuse or trauma is sexual in nature. Very brief suicide mentioned in the epilogue. //
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age rating: 14+
Genre(s): Fantasy
Pub date: 05/10/21
P R E M I S E
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.
M Y R E V I E W
↬ PRE-THOUGHTS
Margaret Rogerson having the same artist for all her books is such a power move and I stan.
The premise gives me Joan of Arc vibes and the book Tell Me Something Real changed the way I see her.
↬ PLOT
The direction this book is headed toward is promising and I can assure you that I will be continuing this series (if only the author would release the book tomorrow *sigh*).
I just lost brain cells (how many do I even have?!) trying to come up with a summary with zero spoilers and if you're reading this, congrats, I did!
In the simplest terms, Vespertine follows Artemisia who has the most interesting job out there; a nun. But get this, instead of doing the stuff they normally do, she specialises in working with the dead (corpses obviously, and yes, zero necrophilia involved).
However, we find out soon enough that Artemisia was cursed as a child and had surprisingly survived an attack no one ever had without any side effects.
or so they thought.
We were all expecting that, not going to lie.
Unknown to the rest, Artemisia can communicate with this force and not just any force, one of the evilest evil has ever known AKA my favourite character.
So now, as per the revenant's instructions, she sets off on this whole magical adventure which is not as calming as it sounds while simultaneously trying to avoid the townspeople and not because she had committed a fraud, but because she had somehow ascended to sainthood. And she did not like it.
↬ WRITING AND SETTING
I read a digital copy so I'm not very sure about the formatting in a physical book and I pray to the saints that they had a better time than I did.
I did however realise at some point that the italicised text is meant to represent the revenant and the reason why he doesn't get dialogue tags is that HE IS A GHOST RESIDING IN HER HEAD.
Funnily enough, I visualised this scene where her friend comments on the talking to herself jazz and I can't get the image out of my head (I've been laughing for hours and I still am) so I have to share it with you. Like, we know she's talking to ghost bestie over there but to her friend, she's like Dora asking a question and creepily staring at you until you answer. Honestly, Margaret Rogerson is blessed with the ability to write witty dialogue and I'm in awe of her talent.
Religious-based world-building isn't usually my favourite, but I devoured this book. The mental health rep in this book was on point. The portrayal of anxiety and PTSD was well done, even though I couldn’t relate to most of it given that my situation was different and people, in general, react to their trauma differently. This book was more focused on mental health and the recovery of the persona rather than having the protagonist find someone to make her believe in love and I loved it for her.
Here is a recap of the hierarchy of spirits. It can be found at the end of the book.
- First Order – Order of the innocents, this is what happens to a soul if the dead body is not properly treated and prepared by the Gray Sisters.
- Second Order - Souls lost to the forces of nature such as famine, fire, or drowning
- Third Order - Souls lost to illness and disease: fever, blight, flux, pestilence, etc.
- Fourth Order - Souls lost to violence: death by battle, murder, execution, or slain cleric
- Fifth Order is composed of the Seven Revenants, harbingers of death.
↬ CHARACTERS
Artemisia was such a queen and her being nonchalant and expressionless during the tensest moments take the tea. No, it takes the whole kettle.
There's this exchange at the beginning of the book where she replies to someone making fun of her for being withdrawn and lonely. She says something along the lines of "there's too many to count" (referring to murder by the way) and that sheer moment reminded me of this line from The Raven Boys I find myself using too often when someone comments on my hands being cold during a handshake: "I've been dead for seven years, it's as warm as it can get."
Moving onto my favourite character (and the one I have been waiting for ages to talk about); the revenant. EVERYTHING coming out of this guy's (ghost?) fucking mouth is comedy cold.
“If there’s one thing I haven’t missed about having a vessel, it’s being forced to endure the appalling quantities of effluence you humans spew out of every orifice at the slightest opportunity”? SLAPS.
“The mere idea of having that conversation made me want to crawl into a hole and die”? INSTANT BANGER.
“I’ll have you know that I’m very good-looking by undead standards”? *CHEF'S KISS*
Hotel? Trivago.
I can't fathom into words how much I adore this... undead but somehow living... ghost? spirit of the undead? Whatever he goes by. He stars as the sarcastic commentator who says something every forty-five seconds, lives in your head (so he can't run away from you duh) and the newest generation of Persassy. What more can you want?
↬ CONCLUSION
Pros: A unique addition to the fantasy genre
Cons: The formatting may be slightly different depending on your choice of book (physical copy or e-book)
Overall rating: 4/5
S I M I L A R B O O K S
Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone
↬ There are monsters in the world.
When Violeta Graceling arrives at haunted Lakesedge estate, she expects to find a monster. She knows the terrifying rumors about Rowan Sylvanan, who drowned his entire family when he was a boy. But neither the estate nor the monster are what they seem.
There are monsters in the woods.
As Leta falls for Rowan, she discovers he is bound to the Lord Under, the sinister death god lurking in the black waters of the lake. A creature to whom Leta is inexplicably drawn…
There’s a monster in the shadows, and now it knows my name.
Now, to save Rowan—and herself—Leta must confront the darkness in her past, including unraveling the mystery of her connection to the Lord Under.
B O O K S M E N T I O N E D
Tell Me Something Real by Calla Devlin
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
A D D I T I O N A L R E S O U R C E S
F I N D M E
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