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holthmsn's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Just beautiful writing - how can you not love Alessa & Dante! The perfect mixture of Juliette Ferrars and the found family trope from Shatter Me, the tension between Alessa and Dante as a bodyguard forbidden romance like from From Blood and Ash, and all the Italian (omg the food!) vibes from Kingdom of The Wicked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
demjin's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Pre-review 3/Jul/22
This is 3.5 stars, it was gonna be 4 but the ending ruined it for me. I was here for the book and fine with the lackluster worldbuilding when I was enjoying the romance but the ending brought too much plot into the picture that I didn't care enough about. It was like it was trying to be something it didn't need to be.
But I'm always here for grumpy-sexy-deadly bodyguard would do anything for girl when she bats her eyelashes at him trope and I'll stand by that
This is 3.5 stars, it was gonna be 4 but the ending ruined it for me. I was here for the book and fine with the lackluster worldbuilding when I was enjoying the romance but the ending brought too much plot into the picture that I didn't care enough about. It was like it was trying to be something it didn't need to be.
But I'm always here for grumpy-sexy-deadly bodyguard would do anything for girl when she bats her eyelashes at him trope and I'll stand by that
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Murder, War, and Suicide attempt
patricktreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-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? No
4.5
This book was an amazing story. It was a little slow at first, but it was doing a lot of world building for future books. The premise was complex and I loved not only the romance but the build of friendship in the hero characters.
I would absolutely recommend this book, and I can’t wait to hopefully read more.
I would absolutely recommend this book, and I can’t wait to hopefully read more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Death, Violence, and Sexual content
lizgriffinwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC and eARC of THIS VICIOUS GRACE, coming June 28 from Wednesday Books!
Alessa is a “reluctant chosen one” grappling with the worry that she’ll fail to save her people from the impending apocalypse, where she and a partner must battle a horde of demons! The problem: she can’t keep her partners alive, thanks to the lethal touch of her gift. When her own mentors can’t be trusted, Alessa heads to the city’s underbelly and hires a bodyguard, Dante. He is somehow the perfect combination of traits from Kaz and Matthias, if that makes any sense.
The banter between Alessa and Dante had me giggling so many times. I’ve highlighted so many quotes, some funny, some deeply resonating. This book grapples with loneliness in a way that hits close to home.
There is one steamy scene, but no explicit language is used.
Alessa is a “reluctant chosen one” grappling with the worry that she’ll fail to save her people from the impending apocalypse, where she and a partner must battle a horde of demons! The problem: she can’t keep her partners alive, thanks to the lethal touch of her gift. When her own mentors can’t be trusted, Alessa heads to the city’s underbelly and hires a bodyguard, Dante. He is somehow the perfect combination of traits from Kaz and Matthias, if that makes any sense.
The banter between Alessa and Dante had me giggling so many times. I’ve highlighted so many quotes, some funny, some deeply resonating. This book grapples with loneliness in a way that hits close to home.
There is one steamy scene, but no explicit language is used.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War and Death
Minor: Sexual content and Cursing
themoonlightarchive's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
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
5.0
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede follows Alessa, a girl meant to be the savior of her island home, Saverio. As a Finestra, her duty is to protect her people from a swarm of demons that comes every couple of decades by amplifying the powers of people with magical abilities called Fontes. Unfortunately, Alessa keeps killing her Fontes when she touches them. There have been three weddings and three funerals in her time as Finestra and time is running out.
The people of Saverio are beginning to doubt her ability to protect them and she no longer trusts the guards who are meant to protect her. Alessa hires a brooding street fighter with a few secrets up his sleeve as her bodyguard and begins to train with the Fontes that remain on the island, the few that didn’t leave in fear, hoping to build a connection that will stop her from killing them. But will this be enough to stop the demons when they come?
With beautiful, engaging and atmospheric writing, This Vicious Grace was a compelling debut with so many things that I adored, like the italian-inspired worldbuilding and mythology, the found family trope, a grumpy but sweet bodyguard, and endless batter. Thiede pairs divine magic and religious tension in the best way and crafts characters who grow with each page, who are deeply fascinating and loveable. If you love books with all of this, several scenes that will have you sobbing into the pages and more, This Vicious Grace is perfect for you.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The people of Saverio are beginning to doubt her ability to protect them and she no longer trusts the guards who are meant to protect her. Alessa hires a brooding street fighter with a few secrets up his sleeve as her bodyguard and begins to train with the Fontes that remain on the island, the few that didn’t leave in fear, hoping to build a connection that will stop her from killing them. But will this be enough to stop the demons when they come?
With beautiful, engaging and atmospheric writing, This Vicious Grace was a compelling debut with so many things that I adored, like the italian-inspired worldbuilding and mythology, the found family trope, a grumpy but sweet bodyguard, and endless batter. Thiede pairs divine magic and religious tension in the best way and crafts characters who grow with each page, who are deeply fascinating and loveable. If you love books with all of this, several scenes that will have you sobbing into the pages and more, This Vicious Grace is perfect for you.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, War, Abandonment, Gore, and Violence
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Child abuse
foreverinastory's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
4.5/5
Oh my god I loved this!!! This Vicious Grace follows Alessa, who is the Finestra of her island. Being the Finestra is a life changing and powerful position. You are both a celebrity, and a savior. Finestra's are responsible for saving their islands from Divorandos, some type of calamity. Alessa has been the Finestra for several years and while she's been training since her powers awoke, she hasn't learned how to work them completely. When this book opens, Alessa has attended the funeral of her third Fonte, a person with magic whose gifts she should be able to amplify as Finestra. Instead, Alessa has killed three Fontes. Now she only has days to come up with a plan before her Consiglio either kills her or sentences a new Fonte to almost certain death.
I really loved Alessa's character. She was so easy to relate to and I almost immediately wanted her to succeed and learn the secrets of her magic. I truly love the storylines of characters who are touched with dangerous magic and then isolated because they are dangerous. Seeing these characters find ways to control their powers and break out of that isolation is so compelling to read about. Plus they usually melt someone's heart along the way.
This book was equal parts romance and equals parts friendship. Alessa hires a bodyguard and expects nothing from him, but Dante surprises her and the two grow close. He challenges her to think outside the box and do things differently since the only thing she knows for sure is what doesn't work. I loved watching these two grow close, their banter was so fun and then they got drunk together. Oh my god that made me laugh so much.
At the same time, Alessa is also working on her power, training her body and trying to find a way to work with at least one Fonte. I loved seeing her work with the Fontes and see them go from being terrified of her to steadfast friends. It was so empowering to see them all cement such close friendships.
The worldbuilding of this book was really cool too. We get a peak into some of the answers about the mythology of the world, but I think there is only more to come in the sequel and I am really exciting to see where the series takes me.
Rep: Italian inspired world and cast. Female MC (possibly bi), white cishet male love interest, cishet male side character with a heart condition, supporting cast of BIPOC characters and queer characters.
CWs: Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, violence, blood, death, gore, injury/injury detail, war, abandonment, attempted murder, religious bigotry.
4.5/5
Oh my god I loved this!!! This Vicious Grace follows Alessa, who is the Finestra of her island. Being the Finestra is a life changing and powerful position. You are both a celebrity, and a savior. Finestra's are responsible for saving their islands from Divorandos, some type of calamity. Alessa has been the Finestra for several years and while she's been training since her powers awoke, she hasn't learned how to work them completely. When this book opens, Alessa has attended the funeral of her third Fonte, a person with magic whose gifts she should be able to amplify as Finestra. Instead, Alessa has killed three Fontes. Now she only has days to come up with a plan before her Consiglio either kills her or sentences a new Fonte to almost certain death.
I really loved Alessa's character. She was so easy to relate to and I almost immediately wanted her to succeed and learn the secrets of her magic. I truly love the storylines of characters who are touched with dangerous magic and then isolated because they are dangerous. Seeing these characters find ways to control their powers and break out of that isolation is so compelling to read about. Plus they usually melt someone's heart along the way.
This book was equal parts romance and equals parts friendship. Alessa hires a bodyguard and expects nothing from him, but Dante surprises her and the two grow close. He challenges her to think outside the box and do things differently since the only thing she knows for sure is what doesn't work. I loved watching these two grow close, their banter was so fun and then they got drunk together. Oh my god that made me laugh so much.
At the same time, Alessa is also working on her power, training her body and trying to find a way to work with at least one Fonte. I loved seeing her work with the Fontes and see them go from being terrified of her to steadfast friends. It was so empowering to see them all cement such close friendships.
The worldbuilding of this book was really cool too. We get a peak into some of the answers about the mythology of the world, but I think there is only more to come in the sequel and I am really exciting to see where the series takes me.
Rep: Italian inspired world and cast. Female MC (possibly bi), white cishet male love interest, cishet male side character with a heart condition, supporting cast of BIPOC characters and queer characters.
CWs: Suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, violence, blood, death, gore, injury/injury detail, war, abandonment, attempted murder, religious bigotry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Suicide, and Abandonment
bookstarbri's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
5.0
WHERE DO I BEGIN?
Wow. This was so cool. As soon as the book started, we're immediately thrown into this immersive fantasy world. This book requires a good bit of world building in its early pages in order for everything to make sense. That being said, it does mean a lot of info dumping early on. I didn't mind it in this case because it was really interesting and in depth but still concise enough to keep the story going. I was initially a little confused on everything, but it started to click pretty easily and then by chapter 10, I think, it was really rolling and the story's momentum truly picked up. And, when it did, it was pure perfection. I love Alessa so very much. She's SUCH a good MC. She has so many great qualities, but is also flawed. I think my favorite thing about her was how often she surprised me while still feeling like a true character with clear motivations. She and the love interest were a wonderful match. A new favorite book couple for sure. Their chemistry was evident early on and the banter was top tier! The side characters were also fun. They were pretty mild at first but then really developed right along with Alessa, making them a wonderful found family all fighting for a common goal. The friendship between Kaleb and Kamaria and Kaleb and Dante especially were big highlights for me. Kaleb might be my favorite side character ever tbh.
I also have to say that the dialogue and writing were fantastic. The fantasy of it all was super cool and I'd honestly love a little bit more in book 2, which I'm sure we'll get based on the ending. The gods system was super interesting to me. I love how often this book subverted my expectations. It's a YA, so I thought it would follow certain common tropes in the plot, and was relieved when it didn't. When I thought it was going to go a certain way, it intentionally didn't. It made reading this so much fun because every step of the way was refreshing and new. I'm tempted to do a reread already and it's not even out yet! I think this will for sure be a favorite for me this year! I'm anxiously awaiting book 2!!
This is technically YA, but it's definitely older. The MC is 18 and love interest is 19/20. The other characters are older teenagers as well.
Thank you to the author, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.
Wow. This was so cool. As soon as the book started, we're immediately thrown into this immersive fantasy world. This book requires a good bit of world building in its early pages in order for everything to make sense. That being said, it does mean a lot of info dumping early on. I didn't mind it in this case because it was really interesting and in depth but still concise enough to keep the story going. I was initially a little confused on everything, but it started to click pretty easily and then by chapter 10, I think, it was really rolling and the story's momentum truly picked up. And, when it did, it was pure perfection. I love Alessa so very much. She's SUCH a good MC. She has so many great qualities, but is also flawed. I think my favorite thing about her was how often she surprised me while still feeling like a true character with clear motivations. She and the love interest were a wonderful match. A new favorite book couple for sure. Their chemistry was evident early on and the banter was top tier! The side characters were also fun. They were pretty mild at first but then really developed right along with Alessa, making them a wonderful found family all fighting for a common goal. The friendship between Kaleb and Kamaria and Kaleb and Dante especially were big highlights for me. Kaleb might be my favorite side character ever tbh.
I also have to say that the dialogue and writing were fantastic. The fantasy of it all was super cool and I'd honestly love a little bit more in book 2, which I'm sure we'll get based on the ending. The gods system was super interesting to me. I love how often this book subverted my expectations. It's a YA, so I thought it would follow certain common tropes in the plot, and was relieved when it didn't. When I thought it was going to go a certain way, it intentionally didn't. It made reading this so much fun because every step of the way was refreshing and new. I'm tempted to do a reread already and it's not even out yet! I think this will for sure be a favorite for me this year! I'm anxiously awaiting book 2!!
This is technically YA, but it's definitely older. The MC is 18 and love interest is 19/20. The other characters are older teenagers as well.
Thank you to the author, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: War, Blood, Death, and Violence
bottleblondebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
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? Yes
4.0
Alessa is the Finestra, the divine weapon of the gods, chosen by Dea herself. As the Finestra, she is tasked with partnering with a Fonte, an individual with special gifts she will draw upon in order to defeat the scarabeo and protect her island. Unfortunately, Alessa has lost three of her chosen Fonte. Now, she needs to chose her final one, and learn to control her own power. After being attacked by those she should be able to trust, Alessa hires Dante, a streetfighter and outcast, to be her protector while she selects and trains her new Fonte.
It took me until around 25% to really start enjoying this book. I was intrigued from the start, the world building is well done and different enough to keep my attention, but I wasn’t completely sold until Dante and Alessa finally meet and the story starts to pick up. Their banter was so good! I had a smile on my face throughout any conversation the two of them had, and I loved their snarky wit and the back and forth between them. I wasn’t expecting much in the way of romance, but this is most definitely a romance. There is plenty of action, but I felt, at times, it took a back seat to the relationship between Dante and Alessa, which was totally fine with me! Aside from the romantic relationship, we get a good story of friendship and community. I ended up really falling in love with some of the secondary characters who, at the beginning of the book, I absolutely couldn’t stand. I wish the relationships with the secondary characters had been fleshed out a bit more, though. It did seem as if everyone just woke up one day and decided they all loved each other, and I’d have liked to have seen more interaction between everyone before that happened.
The book was a bit longer than it needed to be. There were a few points where I found myself skimming, anxious to get to the book’s climax and back into the action, but overall, it was paced well, and kept me engaged. While there is no major cliffhanger, the book ends with questions that will hopefully be answered in book two.
I received a free advanced copy via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Gore
Minor: Death and Suicidal thoughts
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