e-Audio, 12:06:24
Narrated by: Caitlin Davies
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: October 11-14, 2021
Vespertine, #1
Source: Library’s Overdrive
TW: Possession
For Readers Interested In: Paranormal, Fantasy, YA. Series Starter, physical disability (scars from a past possession)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.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Ugh this is going to be a little hard to write. It started out SO GOOD! I really enjoyed the first couple chapters. I wanted the rest of the book to be like that. And as it turns out, it kind of was. A little too much……
Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, but while doing so, she has to protect her convent from possessed soldiers. She then awakens a spirit that was bound to a saint’s relic, thus awakening a revenant. Using the revenant could kill her, but she knows she has to do what she can to solve the mystery that arises as her bond with the revenant grows.
The main thing I didn’t care for with this was the repetitiveness in the plot. It was basically the same thing over and over . This made me upset because I wanted so bad to love this. The synopsis makes it sound so good, but after the first few chapters I was just not into it. It seemed like it would be good for me, but the execution just wasn’t there for me.
Now don’t get me wrong, there is a shit ton of action in here. But that’s the point I think. There was action, but I never really got into it at all? Add that on to the fact that this is a fantasy novel. I usually won’t listen to fantasy books on audio because I sometimes miss the world building or the way the magic system works or whatever. But I wanted to read this one so bad I didn’t care. As it turns out, I should have. I had to write down some of the magical things to keep them straight and it was a pain. (I listen to my audios on 1.5) It just took some of my enjoyment away.
Now Caitlin Davies is hella talented. Definitely the reason I gave this 3 stars. She has also done some other audios of which are my favorite, so I was excited to see her name on this one. And she did not leave me disappointed. I was happy with her different voices, especially the revenant. I would love to know what she did to prep for the sound and if her throat hurt after it lol
I hate that this didn’t work for me because I really liked the first few chapters. I wished the action pulled me in like it did so many others, but I just couldn’t get into it. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there is no romance in it? lol Idk. But whatever the case may be, this one just wasn’t for me. I know many other readers will enjoy it though!
Overall, I give this
