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kirstenf's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual content, Grief, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content and Sexism
mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: War, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Bullying
Minor: Grief and Sexual content
dragonwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Alessa is the god-touched Fuenta, given the power to drain and amplify the powers of others with a single touch. The problem is, she doesn’t know how to turn it off. She has picked three fuentes to help her fight the incoming demons, and killed each one accidentally. Now a religious cult claims she’s a demon disguised as the Fuenta, sent to room them and leave them helpless against the oncoming demon horde, and the lead priest is trying to get his acolytes to kill her. Desperate to fulfill her duty to save her people and starved of touch, Alessa goes to the dark underbelly to find someone to help keep her alive until she can find the fuentes who can survive her touch and save her city. But the grumpy Dante goes above and beyond just keeping her alive; he helps her learn to get her power under control, and find the connection she so desperately needs.
Moderate: War, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Religious bigotry
marine2907's review against another edition
- 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
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
takarakei's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
- 1st in a duology (book two out August 2023)
- Italian inspired fantasy
- Touch her and you die trope (like actually)
- Bodyguard trope
- FUNNY, witty banter
- Found Family
- If your love language is hugs... this is it!
- Made me want to eat all the lemon things
3/5 🌶️
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, and Suicide attempt
carriepond's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
This was a really strong debut novel. The most compelling part for me was the relationship between Alessa and Dante, which had great banter and felt very natural. I loved how Thiede made them make sense-- they are both outsiders for a variety of reasons, with reasons to question the status quo, and they're both lonely, isolated from friendship and family for so long that they were able to develop a really strong bond quickly. I also loved how, although Alessa and Dante were the main event, there were a lot of side characters who had mini story arcs, so to speak, which leaves a lot of room to build on in the second installment.
And, speaking of the second installment, I very much appreciate how the big plot points were pretty much tied up by the end of the book. Lest I spoil anything, I won't go into detail, but Thiede leaves us lots to look forward to, with some unresolved issues and a preview of challenges to come rather than leaving the reader hanging with an extreme cliffhanger, which is something that annoys me for planned multi-book series. This Vicious Grace could stand on its own without reading the next installment, but Thiede creates such compelling characters that I am looking forward to returning to their world, no manipulation-by-cliffhanger needed!
I think the main place the book showed Thiede's first-time author status was the magic system. It wasn't fleshed out as much as I'd like, and what there was came in several info dumps toward the beginning, so I had a hard time understanding how it worked and what was at stake. But honestly, I was willing to shrug that off because I was enjoying everything else about it.
I recommend This Vicious Grace to anyone who enjoys YA, especially YA fantasy, to folks who are looking to be transported to a pretty cool world for a little while, or those who like romances with witty banter that feel genuine. I will definitely read Thiede's follow-up, which comes out in August!
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
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.
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
frantically's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Dante and Alessa absolutely had my heart. They are so perfect for each other, even though they tried to deny it.
This had such a good "found family" trope and the author was able to really differentiate the characters (something I was scared she wouldn't be able to do, after they were basically all introduced at the same time).
I'm looking forward to the next book! 😍
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Self harm
The sexual content is mainly fade to black but is a bit more graphic than typical YA.li_bbrary's review against another edition
- 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
Thiede’s writing was reminiscent of Gina Chen’s. It was modern, and felt like I was reading a fantasy that takes place in current day. It was witty, and smart, and Thiede’s use of crude metaphors was the cherry on top. Despite how funny and romantic it was, I also cried more than once. I feel so deeply for the characters, and can’t wait to see how the journey continues in book two.
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and War
jlaz_13's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Violence, Death, and War
Minor: Sexual content and Suicide