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brittanya'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
mweir710's review against another edition
4.0
(3.5/5 stars, rounded up) Honestly, I was a tad disappointed in the second book of this series. I LOVED the premise of the magic system and Thiede's world-building, but I felt a bit let down by this second book. Let me start by saying that I don't love miscommunication tropes and that's all that seemed to fill This Cursed Light. Someone, or multiple someones, inevitably hold back information to "protect" others and it ultimately creates tension and disastrous outcomes that could have otherwise been avoided. Call it the drama that brings the reader into the story, but I call it an unnecessary way to draw out a book that doesn't have a ton of fulfilling content. I think I just found this book to be a bit "young" in the way the main characters pine after each other, don't communicate, and complicate literally everything.
I will say I loved the inclusion of the Ghiotte and the twists that Thiede took when talking about Crollo's army. I felt like the ending was a bit of a reach though.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emily Thiede for allowing me access to an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
I will say I loved the inclusion of the Ghiotte and the twists that Thiede took when talking about Crollo's army. I felt like the ending was a bit of a reach though.
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emily Thiede for allowing me access to an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!
beccaannekent's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately, this just fell flat for me. Particularly after enjoying the first one so much.
Dante and Alessa’s relationship was everything in book 1, but it dissolved into a miscommunication trope and I hated every second of it. Why, WHY do this when their relationship was phenomenal to begin with? We don’t need relationship angst to move this story along?
After so much lead up, the actual action/battle was less than 30 pages and I felt it deserved more. I didn’t mind it as much in the first book, as it was wonderfully detailed storytelling in the lead up, but I could really tell this time round the author was info dumping (lots of repetitive scenes of training whilst trying to get the story moved along with conversations etc between characters at the same time). It would have benefited massively from a shorter lead up and longer battle. It was so short that I felt no anxiety about Alessa and Dante being in danger.
The epilogue was really cute, I love how they kept the cat!
Dante and Alessa’s relationship was everything in book 1, but it dissolved into a miscommunication trope and I hated every second of it. Why, WHY do this when their relationship was phenomenal to begin with? We don’t need relationship angst to move this story along?
After so much lead up, the actual action/battle was less than 30 pages and I felt it deserved more. I didn’t mind it as much in the first book, as it was wonderfully detailed storytelling in the lead up, but I could really tell this time round the author was info dumping (lots of repetitive scenes of training whilst trying to get the story moved along with conversations etc between characters at the same time). It would have benefited massively from a shorter lead up and longer battle. It was so short that I felt no anxiety about Alessa and Dante being in danger.
The epilogue was really cute, I love how they kept the cat!
jayishino's review against another edition
2.0
In the second installment of The Last Finestra series, Alessa and Dante are back navigating their relationship amid the doom that sits on the horizon of a coming eclipse.
I loved This Vicious Grace, so of course I was really looking forward to This Cursed Light. Unfortunately, this book was a huge slog for me. All of the joy and playfulness that made Dante and Alessa lovable in the first book was absent from this book. They seemed stuck in an eternal miscommunication loop. After a while, it just got old. The story was okay. I wasn't wow'd by it like the first one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.
I loved This Vicious Grace, so of course I was really looking forward to This Cursed Light. Unfortunately, this book was a huge slog for me. All of the joy and playfulness that made Dante and Alessa lovable in the first book was absent from this book. They seemed stuck in an eternal miscommunication loop. After a while, it just got old. The story was okay. I wasn't wow'd by it like the first one.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC. I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me.
lothtor's review against another edition
4.0
Fell asleep and could still follow the audiobook. The riddle was kinda obvious and the miscommunication dipped the stars but I still cried so
luosymekawa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Caught somewhere between YA and NA, but missed the mark for both for me. The writing was strong and pacing compelling, but not enough to keep me from switching to the audiobook at 2.2x speed.
atgerstner's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
libraryofflo's review against another edition
4.5
This took everything I liked about the first book, and magnified it into something I loved. While there were a few aspects that irritated me, just because they felt inconsistent with the rest of the book, this was an absolute joy to read, and I am planning a reread already.
The relationships in this book are just incredible, and the representation is really here, I loved that we got to see people find the people for them. I also loved how the depictions of the Gods are just like them, they are these people with all this power and have been the cause of all this destruction for so long, and yet they were just playing around.
What this book also didn’t shy away from was killing off characters, and while I won’t spoil specifics, there’s something about this that I appreciate, not in a sadistic way, but in a way that I feel the author has taken the reader seriously and the stakes that were introduced actually meant something, this is a war, not everyone will make it out.
The ending made me cry, there’s something about addressing grief and accepting it that just always gets me, and Alessa’s view of everything that just pulled on every heartstring. This also might be the first book I have read that actually ends with Happily ever after!
The relationships in this book are just incredible, and the representation is really here, I loved that we got to see people find the people for them. I also loved how the depictions of the Gods are just like them, they are these people with all this power and have been the cause of all this destruction for so long, and yet they were just playing around.
What this book also didn’t shy away from was killing off characters, and while I won’t spoil specifics, there’s something about this that I appreciate, not in a sadistic way, but in a way that I feel the author has taken the reader seriously and the stakes that were introduced actually meant something, this is a war, not everyone will make it out.
The ending made me cry, there’s something about addressing grief and accepting it that just always gets me, and Alessa’s view of everything that just pulled on every heartstring. This also might be the first book I have read that actually ends with Happily ever after!
legallyhot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
4.5
Lost half a star because I’d rather die than have my life saved by my boyfriend’s girl-best-friend who kissed him and tried to sabotage our relationship 🥴 being a lesbian doesn’t excuse how awful she was to Alessa and someone should’ve decked her!