Margaret Rogerson succeeds yet again at delivering a story that, while I'm not completely gushing over, still really enjoyed and found myself really engrossed in the world. It's nestled quite comfortably between Sorcery of Thorns and An Enchantment of Ravens in terms of how much I liked it. It's a little bit more sure of itself plot wise, something it has over the latter title, but its magic system isn't as well defined as the former, plus I have a little bit more of a positive bias towards stories that heavily incorporate books and libraries. As its own thing, Vespertine gave a fantastic, exciting start to a new series that I'm so ready to dive into when the next installment comes out.

Rogerson did a great job of crafting a reluctant, self-doubting, standoffish protagonist while also making her incredibly likeable. Due to her past trauma, Artemisia has trouble interacting with others and expressing herself, her face constantly giving an intimidating look no matter the situation. It was easy to empathize with her insecurities, as she holds onto a need to isolate in order to keep herself from spaces in which she feels she doesn't belong. Despite these feelings, she shows a great amount of determination and resolve when fighting to keep people safe. Normally with these types of characters, there is a touch of cynicism to them, some sort of vengeful spite towards humanity, but that's not what Artemisia's arc is centered around. Of course, those feelings are more examined through the revenant, her inner ghost companion, who is a wonderful source of banter throughout the book.

There is nothing so wonderful as a curmudgeonly, sassy ghost ranting about nuns and trying to be oh so spooky when the effect clearly isn't working. While certainly ghoulish, the revenant repeatedly looks out for Artemisia, warning her of physically taking things too far and reminding her when to rest. Sure, this might be because they share a body, but the care is felt more as the story goes on. I for one completely approve of this emotional support ghost and its unceasing verbal spars at the smallest things. 

The hierarchy of spirits and their different abilities depending on how they died was so interesting. It brought so much more to this world, especially in how this world interacts with its dead and the way people channel them through relics. I'm curious as to how this is going to be explored further on, to see what kind of dynamics are formed between those that work with spirits and keep an open dialogue with them and how that influences their work. I really just want to see more of this world since there is so much possibility already in this first installment.

There were some kind of plot beats that somewhat tripped me up. I'm not a fan of the whole "main character needs to have suffered at great lengths in order to become worthy and have perspective enough to become a hero" especially when it's framed as the god of that world allowing it to have happened. I understand that this is something countless fantasies have done in the past. I think justified suffering just rubs me the wrong way in certain instances. I know heroes have to be tested and face trials because a story needs conflict to really exist, but the way it's framed here just for one small scene just brought me out of it a bit. Other than that, Vespertine is very much a worthwhile read and I really recommend it to people who have enjoyed Rogerson's other works.