Title: The Vespertine
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Page Count: 304 Pages
Page Count: 304 Pages
Pub. Date: 03/07/2011
Rating: 5/5
Rating: 5/5
*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
~Book’s Description From NetGalley~
It's the summer of 1889, and Amelia van den Broek is new to Baltimore and eager to take in all the pleasures the city has to offer. But her gaiety is interrupted by disturbing, dreamlike visions she has only at sunset—visions that offer glimpses of the future. Soon, friends and strangers alike call on Amelia to hear her prophecies. However, a forbidden romance with Nathaniel, an artist, threatens the new life Amelia is building in Baltimore. This enigmatic young man is keeping secrets of his own—still, Amelia finds herself irrepressibly drawn to him.
When one of her darkest visions comes to pass, Amelia's world is thrown into chaos. And those around her begin to wonder if she's not the seer of dark portents, but the cause.
~My Review~
A tale of a girl who can see the future and how it brings her world down around her.
The cover art sold me on this one before I even read the first page, the writing is what kept me gripped until the end. I love it when the prologue gives away just enough to make you think you know what's going to happen without really giving you anything at all.
The book starts with Amelia locked in an attic with nothing but pen and paper to keep her company. She sees herself the monster - deserving of this fate - and then we start the story anew at the beginning of her first season in Baltimore.
Amelia's brother has sent her to her cousin in Baltimore to secure a profitable marriage, instead what she finds is a latent ability to see into the future through the sunset. She spends her summer telling fortunes, making friends, and falling for the wrong man - who is perfect for her.
Nathaniel has secrets of his own, and being a struggling artist should put him out of the running for Amelia's hand, but they are drawn to each other by forces neither can explain.
When her visions turn from frivolous to foreboding Amelia starts to question whether she is the seer of the future, or the cause of it.
The paranormal element is subtle with the forbidden romance and the suspense of Amelia's inevitable downfall driving the story. A wonderful and original book that adds a voice of its own to the YA genre.
My Rating: 5/5
~You'll like this series if you liked~
I would put this one in-between The Luxe by Anna Godbersen and A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray but with a much more satisfying ending than either series.
~Links 4 More~
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