The Vespertine was a relaxing read, even with all the talk about dark and disturbing visions. I think what I enjoyed most about the story is that the author's prose. It's beautiful, almost lyrical and the world she created is vivid and mesmerizing. I truly felt like I was in 1889. The dialogue of the characters, their mannerisms, their personality, they all interlocked to create a wonderful tapestry of a story and it was really entertaining to join them. 
 In terms of the plot, the supernatural aspect doesn't really play a big role, at least not in the beginning. That being said, this means the beginning of the novel is relatively boring, unless you're into the historical aspect of the novel. 
 The romance, I feel, was a little rushed. The moment Amelia sees him, she feels this connection and all he did was say something a little sexy and vague, and she's swooning. I get that it's 1889 and male attention is hard to come by, but really? And when suddenly, he makes some sort of a revealation, and presto! They are declaring their love for each other. All a bit too fast for me. 0.o 
 And so this leads me to my next point. I didn't feel like the characters were very well-developed. They weren't 2D, but they weren't 3D either. I wish I knew more about Amelia, or her cousin Zora or even more about her love interest, Nathaniel. 
 Still, The Vespertine wasn't all bad. About the last 80 pages or so, the real drama and tragedy kick in and everything pretty much went straight to hell, in a good way for the reader. That's why I'm giving it 4 stars. So while this novel had a lot of potential, it failed in its execution. I'm still going to read the sequel though because I really think the author has potential and the sequel has the hope of actually being better. :)