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lyssaczernek's review against another edition
2.0
Oof. This Cursed Light is a whopping disappointment after This Vicious Grace. Usually second-book-syndrome is used to describe second books in a trilogy, not in a duology. There is nothing to look forward to after this book that could redeem the series.
The quality of the writing dropped so much in the second book that I would have a hard time believing both were written by the same person. There are chunks of information missing while you’re reading. As I was reading I convinced myself multiple times I must have skipped some of the story only to find out no, the author just cut out important scene setting and skipped to the end so readers are left to fill in the blanks themselves. There is also a LOT of skipping between pov with no warning or indication. So, I was very confused about who was talking in scenes because the narrator would switch two or three times. Finally, the ending was so cheap and essentially was a repeat of the first. I did not enjoy it, it was lazy.
However, the most frustrating part of the entire book was how much the characters had regressed. In the first book they seemed young, BUT they also had depth and were growing into their maturity. Now? They all felt like immature 13 year olds messing around without realizing the stakes.
Thank you to Edelweiss for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
The quality of the writing dropped so much in the second book that I would have a hard time believing both were written by the same person. There are chunks of information missing while you’re reading. As I was reading I convinced myself multiple times I must have skipped some of the story only to find out no, the author just cut out important scene setting and skipped to the end so readers are left to fill in the blanks themselves. There is also a LOT of skipping between pov with no warning or indication. So, I was very confused about who was talking in scenes because the narrator would switch two or three times. Finally, the ending was so cheap and essentially was a repeat of the first. I did not enjoy it, it was lazy.
However, the most frustrating part of the entire book was how much the characters had regressed. In the first book they seemed young, BUT they also had depth and were growing into their maturity. Now? They all felt like immature 13 year olds messing around without realizing the stakes.
Thank you to Edelweiss for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
ilaria_m's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Voto complessivo: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ e 1/2
Dramma: 💧💧
Sugar: 🧁🧁
Spice: 🌶️ e 1/2
Dramma: 💧💧
Sugar: 🧁🧁
Spice: 🌶️ e 1/2
Trope: fantasy romance - chosen one - found family - magic
Sopravvissuti alla Grande Voragine, Alessa è convinta di poter finalmente vivere una vita normale insieme a Dante, nonostante il giovane continui ad essere perseguitato dalle visioni inviategli dalla dea per metterlo in guardia contro un nuovo imminente pericolo…
Il principale problema con questa dilogia è la sua estrema semplicità: situazioni e scene già viste, e sviluppi più che prevedibili. Il secondo volume è fin troppo simile al primo, di cui segue pedissequamente le orme in diversi momenti, tanto che i due risultato pressoché speculari.
Il romance rimane in un’impasse per gran parte della storia, come se l’autrice non sapesse gestire altre situazioni oltre al “vorrei, ma non posso”.
Pur non essendo un “brutto” libro e avendo abbastanza frecce al suo arco da giustificare la lettura, rimane un prodotto, a mio avviso, soprattutto per un pubblico decisamente giovane e poco smaliziato.
writersreverie's review against another edition
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? Yes
3.75
joareads's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The second in The Last Finestra duology explores life after Divorando as Alessa returns to Saverio and also back to Dante, who has gone through months of rehabilitation after losing his healing powers. Unable to be together due to Dante's absent healing powers means any touch from Alessa could kill him and so a silent rift is growing between the two of them but that's not all: a new threat is on the horizon with the gods' last test soon to befall them. An army must rise up and a darkness must be fought, but a terrible decision must also be made.
Sadly, this sequel was disappointing. A lot of what made This Vicious Grace so spectacular was lost in this one - the longing and angst between Alessa and Dante fell apart as the two kept hiding secrets from each other. The possible deadly consequences of the two of them touching meant their relationship felt on hold for half of the book until something changed which brought its own problems. I hated how they were separate for a lot of the book despite being so close to each other, and I wasn't keen on the role of general that Dante took on over the ghiotte army he hastily constructed. This building and training of an army in such a short time felt so rushed and cobbled together, I don't think the plot of this second book really worked.
It felt like a poor version of the first book: the two main characters unable to touch, training to fight against a looming threat and an uncertain future... It was all done (but done well) in the first book. This was a lacklustre rehash of the first book and I wasn't hooked - I didn't care about the ghiotte and didn't warm to any of them. Dante becoming their leader to train for war was a bit jarring and didn't sit right - he's a fighter-cum-bodyguard, not a war general. The army was so hurriedly assembled and for what? There wasn't even a fight in the end. I felt cheated and ultimately, dissatisfied with the final threat and the stupid decision that had to be made which was absolutely aggravating to read.
The whole plot of this second book needed changing. It was slow-going for anything to happen. In contrast, the ending felt rash and the explanations were brief so it made for an ill-judged conclusion. We got no clues or sprinkles of breadcrumbs throughout the two books and so the whole book came across ill-considered. This last threat was tacked on perfunctorily to quickly tie up the story and I didn't like it. The epilogue was so cursory it was dismissive of the ending and so diminished what should have been an epic finale.
The delicate love between Dante and Alessa wasn't there, I didn't care for the ghiotte, and the final test of the gods was not carefully thought through and felt like an uninspired way to end the story. I wasn't invested and the love I felt for these characters in the first book dwindled thanks to the weak storyline.
It's such a shame because I loved the first book, but this one disappointed and didn't deliver. I feel like a sour echo has been left in its wake after reading this and I am disheartened the story went in the direction it did and has ended in this way.
Sadly, this sequel was disappointing. A lot of what made This Vicious Grace so spectacular was lost in this one - the longing and angst between Alessa and Dante fell apart as the two kept hiding secrets from each other. The possible deadly consequences of the two of them touching meant their relationship felt on hold for half of the book until something changed which brought its own problems. I hated how they were separate for a lot of the book despite being so close to each other, and I wasn't keen on the role of general that Dante took on over the ghiotte army he hastily constructed. This building and training of an army in such a short time felt so rushed and cobbled together, I don't think the plot of this second book really worked.
It felt like a poor version of the first book: the two main characters unable to touch, training to fight against a looming threat and an uncertain future... It was all done (but done well) in the first book. This was a lacklustre rehash of the first book and I wasn't hooked - I didn't care about the ghiotte and didn't warm to any of them. Dante becoming their leader to train for war was a bit jarring and didn't sit right - he's a fighter-cum-bodyguard, not a war general. The army was so hurriedly assembled and for what? There wasn't even a fight in the end. I felt cheated and ultimately, dissatisfied with the final threat and the stupid decision that had to be made which was absolutely aggravating to read.
The whole plot of this second book needed changing. It was slow-going for anything to happen. In contrast, the ending felt rash and the explanations were brief so it made for an ill-judged conclusion. We got no clues or sprinkles of breadcrumbs throughout the two books and so the whole book came across ill-considered. This last threat was tacked on perfunctorily to quickly tie up the story and I didn't like it. The epilogue was so cursory it was dismissive of the ending and so diminished what should have been an epic finale.
The delicate love between Dante and Alessa wasn't there, I didn't care for the ghiotte, and the final test of the gods was not carefully thought through and felt like an uninspired way to end the story. I wasn't invested and the love I felt for these characters in the first book dwindled thanks to the weak storyline.
It's such a shame because I loved the first book, but this one disappointed and didn't deliver. I feel like a sour echo has been left in its wake after reading this and I am disheartened the story went in the direction it did and has ended in this way.
protestmyboredom's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I didn’t realize this was a duology and expected a cliffhanger but it wrapped up nicely. When it didn’t seem like many pages were left, I feared the conclusion would be rushed but I enjoyed it for what it was. The lack of communication kills me but I’m glad it came together eventually . I liked the ending and appreciated the different points of view between Dante and Alessa. It seemed uneventful for most of the book though, like it was all treading water until the battle, which was not what one may have expected, so I don’t feel like I can rate this too highly but just a good enjoyable book.
buildingourbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
3.0
sah1's review
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
librarylandlisa's review against another edition
1.0
DNF. I could not get into it and it seemed very heavy headed with the character relationships