Vespertine · direct from the house
The sun is not dying of age. It is being paid out.
Five dark romances by A. M. Vespertine, set in a world where nothing taken by force will hold. Paperbacks, ebooks without DRM, and unabridged audiobooks — bought from the house that made them, with nothing taken in between.
Five complete love stories · One connected world · Adults 18+
- I The Tithe DR 312
- II The Hunt DR 313
- III The Last Light DR 317
- IV The Sleep DR 321
- V The Long Dawn DR 323
Dusk Reckoning. Year 1 is the year the dimming was confirmed.
The catalogue
Five books. One debt.
Each is a complete love story with its own couple, its own register, and its own instrument — the named thing that book is really about. Read them in order and a second story pays out underneath, settled in full in Book Five.
Select a cover to step inside.
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I · The Tithe
A Dark Vampire Romance
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II · The Hunt
A Dark Shifter Romance
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III · The Last Light
A Dark Fantasy Romance
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IV · The Sleep
A Dark Romantic Fantasy
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V · The Long Dawn
A Dark Fantasy Romance
Volume I · DR 312
The Tithe
She took her sister’s place in the Drawing. The lord of the dusk house was not supposed to want her. He was not supposed to ask.
- The couple
- Liora Vess, Corvain Duskmantle, and Rhen Marrow
- Register
- Control, restraint, the bite
- Its instrument
- the asking
- Length
- 102,179 words · 357 pp
Begin here. Read the complete opening chapter, with no account or sign-up.
Content notes and warnings →Volume II · DR 313
The Hunt
She came to count the border. The alpha of Greywater would not let her file what she found.
- The couple
- Maren Callow and Sarn Veilborn
- Register
- Primal, pursuit, claiming
- Its instrument
- the four clauses
- Length
- 99,370 words · 339 pp
This romance stands alone. For the story that connects them, begin with The Tithe.
Content notes and warnings →Volume III · DR 317
The Last Light
She went south to measure a reserve. The Queen of Solmere had been holding one note for a hundred and eleven years, and had never once been looked at.
- The couple
- Ivenne Duskmantle and Aurelisse of Solmere
- Register
- Worship, denial, display
- Its instrument
- the Articles of Audience
- Length
- 99,838 words · 332 pp
This romance stands alone. For the story that connects them, begin with The Tithe.
Content notes and warnings →Volume IV · DR 321
The Sleep
Something has been standing in Elise Vess’s sleep since she was eleven. It has never been given a name that would hold.
- The couple
- Elise Vess and Vael
- Register
- Obsession, dream/waking edge
- Its instrument
- the Waking Hour
- Length
- 105,979 words · 341 pp
This romance stands alone. For the story that connects them, begin with The Tithe.
Content notes and warnings →Volume V · DR 323
The Long Dawn
The debt that made this world is coming to the house. It has an appointment. It has never been paid in the currency it agreed.
- The couple
- the house of Vespertine
- Register
- All four, braided
- Its instrument
- the Renewal
- Length
- 106,292 words · 339 pp
The finale brings the connected story to its close. Read the preceding volumes first.
Content notes and warnings →Free to read
The first chapter of every one of them.
The whole opening chapter, not a teaser — 13,355 words across the five, with no sign-up and no email address. Each sits on its volume page under that book's content warning, so you know what you are walking into before the first line.
The price
Buy the five in paperback, keep the other ten.
Order the complete set and every ebook and audiobook comes with it — 10 files, $76.90 of digital editions, nothing added to the total.
The per-copy price falls as the order grows, because one order is one parcel whatever it holds. That is on the page as a table rather than buried in a basket, and postage is derived from where you are before you pay.
| Copies | Each |
|---|---|
| 1 | $18.99 |
| 2–3 | $17.49 |
| 4 | $16.49 |
| 5 or more | $15.99 |
All 5: $79.95, and the 10 digital editions come with them.
Unverified — no printer quote backs these yet.
Posted where a guest can read it
The law of this house
In the first book, the lord of Vespertine writes down what will not be taken in his rooms and hangs it where any guest can check it against his behaviour. These are ours.
Nothing here is taken
No account is required to buy a book. We do not sell, rent or trade your address, and there is no tracking on this site beyond what the payment processor needs to take a payment.
Buying it once is buying it
Buy all five in paperback and every ebook and audiobook comes with them. No edition on this site is rented, expires, or has to be bought twice.
The price on the page is the price at the till
Postage is derived from the country you are in and shown before you pay. No handling fee appears at the last step, and no subscription is attached to anything you buy.
You may refuse
Unopened paperbacks come back within 30 days for a full refund. Say so and it is done — you will not be asked to justify it.