Name: The Vespertine
ISBN: 9780547482477

Saundra Mitchell

In 1889, when Amelia van den Broek leaves her brother's strict home for the freedom of a social season with cousins in Baltimore, she is surprised by her strong attraction to an unsuitable man, but more so by the dark visions she has each evening which have some believing that she is the cause, not merely the seer, of harm.

The Vespertine

Jess

Read my review here! --&gt; <a href="http://gonewiththewords.com/2011/02/review-vespertine-by-saundra-mitchell.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Review: The Vespertine By Saundra Mitchell</a> <a href="http://www.gonewiththewords.com/2011/04/music-monday-vespertine-stolen.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Music Monday: The Vespertine + Stolen by Dashboard Confessional</a> I really liked that this book began towards the end of the story, at a point where Amelia is not doing so well, then we are taken back to see how it came to be this way. It sucks you in instantly and makes you want to get to the bottom of it! Amelia and Zora bond really quickly and their friendship is really endearing. They act like sisters, teasing and playful but also protective of one another. One of the things that was different in this book, which I immensely liked, was that both Amelia and Zora had a love interest, and it wasn’t the same guy! They each had their own sweetheart to swoon over. No fighting with your best friend over a guy in this book! I loved that! Zora’s love interest is the tall, blond, handsome, gentlemanly Thomas Rae. Zora and Thomas follow all the appropriate courting rules. They are the prime example of how courting should be in this time period. Unlike Amelia and Nathaniel, who have a more daring attraction, Zora and Thomas’s is more sweet. Nathaniel Witherspoon. A painter with a very interesting face and an even more intriguing personality. He is mysterious and his manners, for this time period anyway, are scandalizing! He is also off limits to Amelia, which of course makes him way more enticing to her. Another thing that was different was the supernatural elements in the story. I haven’t read anything like them before. I do wish we would have learned more about what makes Amelia and Nathaniel the way they are though. Amelia is having a great time in Baltimore, with her new friends, the dances, Nathaniel, her newfound fame…until one of her premonitions, a bad one, comes to pass. That was unexpected and it left me in shock! Then came more shocks! Heartbreaking ones that had me in tears!! Saundra Mitchell caught me unaware. I thought I was having fun, too! With the new friends and the dances and Nathaniel, then BAM! Tears. The Vespertine leaves us with a bittersweet ending that I would not have any different. After finishing this book you will find yourself reliving it in your mind, remembering the girl’s gossip about first love and marriage, your first dance with the boy you dream about, the lush Victorian setting, and the heartbreak. This book is a must read! I would recommend it to everyone, especially people who are reluctant about historical fiction!

The Vespertine

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