Order of Vespers by Matilda Reyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars

Order of Vespers is the first instalment in The Vesper Chronicles by Matilda Reyes and is an epic dark urban fantasy. It has a very original and intriguing storyline that explores the world of good and evil, order and chaos; and the Order of people who possess special abilities who are tasked with maintaining the universal balance. It is very complex story that has suspense, action, drama, mystery- and contains a lot of graphic violence.
Jasper Andrews appears to be a fairly ordinary 18-year-old- she is a high achieving student, always on the Honor Role, is a formidable member of the debate team and a former cheerleader. She has a twin brother who she has a love/hate relationship with and an older sister who she really admires. Her family is pretty close-knit and supportive, if not a little overprotective. They value their privacy and don’t like drawing attention to themselves. Appearances can be deceiving, as life for Jasper and the Andrew’s family is far from ‘normal’ or ‘ordinary’; they are constantly vigilant and guarded in order to protect their secrets……. that they possess powerful, superhuman abilities.
So, when Jasper finds herself at the centre of an investigation after a freak explosion destroys part of her school, the family must take measures to minimize any potential threat or unwanted attention being focused on them- and try to avoid being exposed. The police become the least of their worries as they come to the attention of a covert group, who have sinister interests in their secret abilities.
Then Jasper becomes the sole survivor of her family, after they are all killed in a terrible and devastating event. She finds herself in the unfortunate situation of being the sole suspect in her family’s murder. Taken into custody, Jasper must try and find a means to escape- her desire for vengeance is the only thing holding her together in her overwhelming grief.
An opportunity presents itself and Jasper is finely able to escape police custody. She is drawn to New York City, where she hopes to blend into the crowds and avoid detection. But unknowingly she has found her way to the Order of Vespers, who are aware of her, and of her plight.
The Order of Vespers are the children of an ancient and all-powerful entity called Il Separatio, who holds the balance between God and the Devil, light and dark, good and evil, order and chaos. The Orders is tasked with keeping the peace, maintaining the balance and making sure that neither side gains too much power. Jasper may just hold the key to restoring the balances and protecting the Vespers and humanity from annihilation.
But Jaspers abilities continue to strengthen and become harder to control. She becomes volatile and unpredictable- unable to fully control her power; she’s become a danger to herself and all those around her. The Vespers have no choice but to lock her up until she can control her abilities. But people of the order are disappearing at an alarming rate and danger is on the doorstep. Will Jasper learn to control her abilities in time to help the cause? Is she the key to harnessing the powers of Il Separatio and protecting the Vespers and humanity? Will she be able to restore the balance, or will the evil overcome her and win in the end?
I really liked the concept of this story- I thought the plot was unique and sounded really interesting. The author really does write well and has quite a dynamic and robust style to her writing. The story is very detailed and descriptive with very complex plot- so many elements and layers went into crafting this story and I think the author has done a great job in choreographing all those details…..
There are scenes in the story which are quite dark, gritty and graphically violent, and were really hard to read! Ms. Reyes didn’t shy away from these elements and added a dark, raw realism to her story.
The characters were really wonderful. I felt so devastated for Jasper and was with her every step of the way, cheering her on to succeed. I was hoping that she and Jordy would connect more as the story evolved… I am hoping that there will be another book, where we get to explore this connection between them in more detail.
As this book ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger everything is set to continue in Book #2. Bring it on!!!!
Happy Reading

Thank you, Matilda Reyes!

Reviewed by @angelahayes

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