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one_more_chapter96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Phenomenal story. I absolutely adored Alessa & Dante’s story & seeing them slowly (and reluctantly) fall for each other. The world building, the language elements, the magic system, the religion system was all fascinating and so well introduced. The side characters were so funny & well enough developed, and it was beautiful to see Alessa grow in confidence. Wonderfully written book which made me laugh & cry out loud. One of my favourite reads of 2023 so far!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry, Death, War, Gore, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Torture, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, War, Vomit, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Body horror, Physical abuse, Murder, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Stalking, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gaslighting, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Police brutality
marine2907's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, War, Alcohol, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Medical content, Death, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Imagine, if you will, Rogue from X-Men but transported into a historical quasi-Italian island setting. That's basically our heroine, but with the addition of a chosen one trope. Her power is to amplify that of someone else but if she touches the wrong person, they die. Her divine goal is to save the world from an apocalyptic event that occurs roughly every 5 years and once the chosen one has saved the island, they lose their powers and another person awakens theirs. Rinse and repeat.
The chosen one chooses a (life) partner to weather the battle with, and with our main character, she has chosen and killed three times while trying to train for the end of the world.
I have some issues with the book, but overall it was very readable and the ending left enough questions and plot for the next installment. Not sure if I would continue, but I'm not immediately opposed.
The chosen one chooses a (life) partner to weather the battle with, and with our main character, she has chosen and killed three times while trying to train for the end of the world.
I have some issues with the book, but overall it was very readable and the ending left enough questions and plot for the next installment. Not sure if I would continue, but I'm not immediately opposed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Outing, War, Child abuse, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Police brutality, Torture, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexual content
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
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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