sophia_sol: photo of a 19th century ivory carving of a fat bird (Default)
Okay now THIS is how to end a book in a way where it's clear there will be sequels that you want to read, but where the narrative of the individual book is still solidly and satisfyingly concluded.

Vespertine's pitch is that it's Venom but about a nun and a spirit in a medieval setting. It's also kind of Joan of Arc in nature? And clearly written by someone for whom the Sabriel-Lirael-Abhorsen books were formative (or if they weren't, then this is a person who clearly needs those books in her life because they'd be perfect for her!).

Anyway Artemisia is a young woman who's been scarred by her past and is very happy with the idea of just continuing quietly in a retiring role as a nun in a backwater and hopefully talking to as few people as possible, but circumstances conspire to make that not an option for her, and instead she's sharing her body and mind with a wildly dangerous being who could control or destroy her easily, but with whom she works out an uneasy alliance to achieve what they each want.

It's incredible. I was a little dubious going in, because it's very catholic imagery in a way I often find tired and overdone, but the more I read the more I was there for everything this book is doing.

The relationship between Artemisia and her revenant! And the one between Artemisia and Marguerite! and Artemisia and Leander! and Artemisia and her horse! and tbh the Divine and [uh, spoilers] too, and also everything about Mother Dolours, and and and. Love it. A whole bunch of people doing their best in miserable circumstances, and not always getting it right (sometimes drastically wrong, in fact!) but TRYING.

I love this book and I love the ending and I cannot wait to read more books in this series.

I've read one book by Rogerson before, her debut novel, and though I largely enjoyed that one, I still had some fairly significant quibbles with it. Not this time. I think she's really leveled up as an author since her debut! Love to see it.
sophia_sol: photo of a 19th century ivory carving of a fat bird (Default)
A YA novel about fairies, and a teenage girl who's a portrait artist specializing in the fair folk despite the inherent danger of associating with them.

I was more and more into it the further I read! I particularly enjoyed Gadfly's role in the plot, and have a lot of feelings about Aster, and I love Isobel's family. (I love how the fact that Isobel's younger sisters used to be goats is just....a fact of life, not a This Will Become Relevant plot point!) The way that fairies were portrayed in this book were definitely interesting, and appropriately non-human, which I appreciated--though I feel like the love interest, Rook, was less so than the others. Which was too bad but also I totally understand how it would be challenging to write a romance between a human and someone who's Very Fairy.

Also, you can tell I'm getting old because the idea of a 17 year old being a) the Best Ever Portrait Artist, and b) old enough to be making certain spoilery choices ), is a little like.......Isobel, maybe slow your roll a bit?

Oh well, despite any quibbles I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Also, it's the kind of book where you can flip to the end and read the last few pages when you're halfway in, in order to spoiler yourself, and yet still be left with the incorrect impression of the true scope of what's going to happen in the book and what it means for the characters. I'm always kind of impressed when this is the case!

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