“I wished I were better at speaking. All those thoughts were in my head, but I didn’t know how to get them out.”
Artemesia 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 have to deal with the living who trade whispers of her scarred hands and secret past. When her convent is attacked by soldiers who are possessed, she defends it by awakening a ancient spirit bound to the saint’s relic. It is a reverent, a malevolent one that threatens to possess her body if she drops her guard and as the gray lady in training seeks to understand her place in all of this. The more she uncovers, the more she is beginning to realize that this more complicated than she thought it would be and as time goes on, a sinister evil begins to surface, she will have to make a decision that will force her to betray everything she was taught to believe.
This was one of the most unique fantasy novels that I’ve read in a long time. Having already read Enchantment of Ravens and Sorcery of Thorns, I knew that I was going to enjoy this one as well since I love her writing and how she develops her characters and the world they live in. While I’m not the biggest fan of possession in books as sometimes I feel like it’s way overdone and does more harm than anything, I actually liked how it was done in the book. The banter between Artemesia and her reverent was enjoyable and I did enjoy reading about the trust between them especially with Artemesia working through her trauma. That aspect was probably my favorite as having dealt with trauma in my own life, I did relate to Artemesia of trying to work through it and grow and be at peace with her past while embracing her journey to healing. This book was very enjoyable so I highly recommend it!
Come read with me! 