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bethany_t 's review for:
This Vicious Grace
by Emily Thiede
There’s a Doomsday clock counting down to when the island of Saverio will be overrun by a horde of demons sent by the Gods of Chaos, and Alessa has been chosen by the divine Dea as the next savior, known as the Finestra. She’s supposed to pair up with a Fonte, a person bestowed power by gods, and magnify that power in her bid to stop the apocalypse. However, she’s inadvertently killed three Fontes so far and hasn’t found a way to control her life-sapping touch. A radical spiritual group led by a man named Ivini has lost confidence in her and makes attempts to kill her, so she hires a mysterious fighter and outcast named Dante as a bodyguard while she attempts to pick the next, and hopefully final, Fonte.
I was not exactly a fan of the Emo King/Tragic Hottie, aka Dante. (There’s nothing wrong with him, per se. I was just getting major Fang from “Maximum Ride” by James Patterson vibes, and I do not want to be reminded of that book.) There was one scene revolving around his dark secret that I thoroughly enjoyed. Essentially, his secret is revealed and the reaction of nearly all the Fontes is “Oh, well, yeah. We figured that out already. It’s cool.” It was great. Also, about halfway through the book, the Fontes actually become a pretty interesting and fun group. I loved fierce Kamaria and grumpy Kaleb. Actually, Kaleb was my favorite character.
Things that didn’t quite work:
- The sleep-groping scene. Some may find it sexy, but it’s unfortunately triggering for me.
- The very, very abrupt change in attitude regarding the Fontes for Alessa. It seemed random. I wasn’t sure why exactly they went from mistrusting Alessa and almost hating her to suddenly expressing undying loyalty.
- Some of the world-building and details regarding the lore was a bit too vague or confusing. One specific example is the secret regarding Dante. It took a while for the book to explain what was going on there after the initial reveal. That initial reveal has absolutely no impact or meaning for readers. It kind of like, “oh, so, that’s… bad, I’m guessing?” Based on how the book ended, it seems the world and lore exploration will take place more in the second book. This one really was just a romance with some doomsday threat in the background.
- The final battle. It was... easy? I was a bit underwhelmed.
Verdict
I wasn't interested for the first quarter of this book, but it got better further along. I'm more looking forward to the second book. And it better have Kaleb in it!
So, who would enjoy this book?
Do you love "X-Men" and sunny Mediterranean settings? Then this book if for you. Seriously, we've got Rogue from "X-Men" and Fang from "Maximum Ride" fighting off some demony locusts. It's a fun story that I think the target audience of those ages 13-18 will most enjoy.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, who listed this book for a giveaway in which I was a winner.
I was not exactly a fan of the Emo King/Tragic Hottie, aka Dante. (There’s nothing wrong with him, per se. I was just getting major Fang from “Maximum Ride” by James Patterson vibes, and I do not want to be reminded of that book.) There was one scene revolving around his dark secret that I thoroughly enjoyed. Essentially, his secret is revealed and the reaction of nearly all the Fontes is “Oh, well, yeah. We figured that out already. It’s cool.” It was great. Also, about halfway through the book, the Fontes actually become a pretty interesting and fun group. I loved fierce Kamaria and grumpy Kaleb. Actually, Kaleb was my favorite character.
Things that didn’t quite work:
- The sleep-groping scene. Some may find it sexy, but it’s unfortunately triggering for me.
- The very, very abrupt change in attitude regarding the Fontes for Alessa. It seemed random. I wasn’t sure why exactly they went from mistrusting Alessa and almost hating her to suddenly expressing undying loyalty.
- Some of the world-building and details regarding the lore was a bit too vague or confusing. One specific example is the secret regarding Dante. It took a while for the book to explain what was going on there after the initial reveal. That initial reveal has absolutely no impact or meaning for readers. It kind of like, “oh, so, that’s… bad, I’m guessing?” Based on how the book ended, it seems the world and lore exploration will take place more in the second book. This one really was just a romance with some doomsday threat in the background.
- The final battle. It was... easy? I was a bit underwhelmed.
Verdict
I wasn't interested for the first quarter of this book, but it got better further along. I'm more looking forward to the second book. And it better have Kaleb in it!
So, who would enjoy this book?
Do you love "X-Men" and sunny Mediterranean settings? Then this book if for you. Seriously, we've got Rogue from "X-Men" and Fang from "Maximum Ride" fighting off some demony locusts. It's a fun story that I think the target audience of those ages 13-18 will most enjoy.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, who listed this book for a giveaway in which I was a winner.