Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - This Vicious Grace

Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

21 reviews

evarinya's review against another edition

medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It's heartbreaking.
I loved this book so much. Up to the ~70-80% mark this was an absolute 5 star read for me.
Interesting premise, cool magic, fun dynamic between the MC and the love interest...
And then the last 20% happened and... no. Just no. The rest of the book was 2 stars at most for me. Just... randomly put together plot elements that, in my eyes, stopped making sense halfway through (those last 20%), the ending seemed to be simply dramatic for drama's sake and I just... didn't find it engaging anymore.
List of things I didn't like behind spoilers:

The random back and forth of Aldrick being "good" vs "evil", the random 180 of Alessa's parents / her mother specifically, the whole treason plotline the moment Dante was captured (also the hints that he was tortured, like, wtf?), the end battle didn't capture me at all anymore (though I don't know, maybe it was well written, I had just... lost any sort of interest in what's happening at this point), and the consulted "she was dying (wtf were all of her guards doing??), then he saved her and died, but she saved him and so he didn't die, but his gift just... vanished? Don't know, don't care anymore. But that he lost his gift at the end was a major gut-punch for me that made the whole reading experience worse.

I know that there's a second book but I really don't want to read is anymore... And that breaks my heart after this book was so good for so long... But that's what it is. Sadly.

Content Warnings

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

4.0

“Keep your gods and goddesses on their pedestals if you want, but the rituals, the rules, the isolation? You know that isn’t really from them, right? That’s written by mortals. Men, mostly. We have a bad habit of locking up people who scare us, and the thing that scares men with power most is a woman with more of it.”

➽ Buddy Read with Destiny ❤️

➽ This Vicious Grace is such an underrated Fantasy!! I don't think I've heard many people talk about it, but it was so good and unique. The story follows Alessa, a Finestra who is tasked with fighting a swam of demons that will try to devour her homeland. The power gets passed down from the previous Finestra and allows her to amplify other powers. She's supposed to have found her Fonte yet, a person with magical powers that she can strengthen in order to fight the impending threat. There's only one problem: Alessa's magic has killed the three Fonte who have tried. At this point she's getting desperate, as they need someone by her side, since her power relies on others. The worldbuilding was so interesting, I loved that it was Italian-inspired! It was nice that the Fonte were people of all genders and that the bond between Finestra and Fonte doesn't have to be romantic. It's a traditional bond, but not really like a marriage, so Alessa would be able to have another romantic partner.

➽ I really enjoyed Alessa and her character Arc! When she became the Finestra, she was stripped of her name and family, so she's been living in the holy Cittadella for most of her life, separated from everyone else. Alessa tries so hard to help her people, but she can't get her powers in control and fears touching others, as it could kill them. The situation is getting desperate as others have taken to calling her a 'false Finestra' and turning against her! I loved how the story explored how stifling all the traditions were and how Alessa has been isolated all her life and treated like a religious prop. She's experiencing true companionship for the first time in years and questioning if she should go along with everything the elders are saying. I loved the taking back agency, but still struggling with her powers and the guilt of killing her previous Fontes.

➽ I loved all the relationship dynamics!! Alessa's final attempt to find a Fonte doesn't start well as the contestants aren't thrilled to be her next victim and don't have much faith in her. I loved how they still slowly grew to respect and like each other, as Alessa really needed a support system. Even unlikable characters like Kaleb became endearing in the end! Of course I also adored the romance. Alessa hires a personal bodyguard, as she no longer trusts her staff. Dante's a trained killer from the undercity, but at least his loyalty can be bought. He ends up accepting her offer and begins to change her perspective. As an outsider and someone who'll be left to fend for himself when the monsters arrive, he's much more critical of the Cittadella. Alessa and Dante's bickering was so much fun and I liked how he tried to help her accept her powers!

Content Warnings

zarhara's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

xtsukix's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved every moment of this. The ending ripped my heart out, sewed it back together and then stomped on it for good measure. This is one of the best fantasy romances I have read in a long time and I will cherish it. It really has a bit of everything I love in it, so it kind of feels like I was meant to read this. I absolutely cannot wait to continue this series and hope that my bleeding heart can mend itself. I really want to see Alessa blossom as a character and I really believe we will see that progression.

Content Warnings

readwithria's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional lighthearted tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This Vicious Grace absolutely blew me away! One of the best books I’ve read this year, 5 stars!

Alessa goes through so much growth in this book! She steals every inch of agency she can find, and I love her so much. She learns how to ask for and accept help, she learns how to advocate for herself, and she learns so much about her strength. She’s told for so much of the book that she’s too much - too much power, too much time, too much effort - and she proves to them all that she’s exactly what she needs to be.

This book has such strong themes of connection and community. The found family element was such a surprise, but an absolutely lovely one! The romance was SO CUTE 🥰 Dante is such a sweetheart, even if he acts like an asshole, and he stands up for what he believes in in so many ways. He has so much strength, and he shares it so willingly!

There were twists I didn’t see coming, new informations that I discovered as the characters did, and so many quotes I will want to revisit in the future! But for now I’ll leave you with this:

“We have a bad habit of locking up people who scare us, and the thing that scares men with power most is a woman with more of it.”

I absolutely cannot wait to read the sequel. 5 stars!

Content Warnings

joygarcialim's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

The writing wasn’t particular bad, but extremely monotonous and mediocre. A lot of things happened without a lot of things happening. It was just small little things that didn’t contribute to the plot or made a difference to writing. There were bits that were poorly executed and I had to re-read multiple times to try and perceive what the author was trying to convey. There’s the endless stream of proverbs that did nothing and had absolutely nothing to do with the writing as well.

The main characters were kind of bland and replaceable. They didn’t really stand out individually and the writer didn’t give them enough personality to show what their characters were supposed to be. Other than Alessa and Dante of course. Alessa is kind of a woe-is-me character and I get that her life is difficult in many regards but that’s most of her personality. Dante is a tortured devil archetype and kept saying he was evil with no proof. I get that they lived in a world where that mentality is enforced on him but it wasn’t really explained well. Dante was the most interesting character imo.

The chemistry between Alessa and Dante seemed kind of awkward too.

There didn’t seem to be a reason they were in love with each other

, other than their deep-rooted insecurities.

The world-building wasn’t great either. It was there but it wasn’t at the same time. It was just kind of vague but written about enough to let readers know it was there. The author emphasised a lot more on the romance part than the fantasy part.

Overall, very underdeveloped and poorly executed.

Content Warnings