A review by bottleblondebookworm
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

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. 
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