What Am I Reading Wednesday (27 December 2023)

We're squeezing in one last WAIRW post for 2023! 

Believe it or not, I read more books in 2023 than the last few years combined! I've missed doing these posts and now I have SO many to share. The plan is to schedule them out over the next few months, at least every other week.

Title: Vespertine

Author: Margaret Rogerson

First Reading: Yep! A friend on Instagram shared some snippets and I immediately had to add it to my TBR.

Initial Impression: Did you say ghost fighting nuns and a white raven named Trouble? I'm in!

Final Thoughts: You want to talk about a book that gave me literal chills? Rogerson's writing completely pulled me into this world and Artemisia's evolving relationship with the revenant added the perfect blend of suspense, emotion, and snarky banter. I mean, how else are you supposed to talk to a spirit that's inhabiting your body without so much as a how-do-you-do? 

*****

Book Synopsis:

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.

[BUY LINK]

*****

About the Author:

Margaret Rogerson is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens. Her newest book, Vespertine, released October 2021 from Simon & Schuster. When not reading or writing, she enjoys watching more documentaries than is socially acceptable (according to some) and creeping through the woods in search of toads and mushrooms. She lives near Cincinnati, Ohio with her one-eyed cat Commodore. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages.

*****

[Top Image: A stack of books sits on a polished wooden table. Leaning against the stack is an e-reader showing the cover of Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson. A shadowy forest background with a flock of black ravens flying out from the trees. Center is a young white woman with long, dark hair, wearing a gray dress and dark cloak. A small, intricate box hangs from her neck by a silver chain and a silver dagger is in her right hand. In her left hand gathers a silvery swirl of light. A white raven flies next to her shoulder.]