This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede Book Review!

 

Title: This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1)
Author: Emily Thiede
Publish Date: June 28th, 2022
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy!

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.

Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?

Emily Thiede's exciting fantasy debut, This Vicious Grace, will keep readers turning the pages until the devastating conclusion and leave them primed for more!

Penelope's Review

Wow. I am super impressed with this book - the writing style is excellent, I had no idea I was reading a debut! This is one of those rare books where the middle was actually my favorite part of the book! I didn't find any spots slow or lagging, we have excitement and intrigue from the beginning right to the very end. 

I loved the characters in this book - Alessa was such a great female lead. She had to undergo so much when she became the Finestra and yet she keeps her head up and her humor on. And DANTE. Omigosh Dante.... he takes the typical broody, quiet, sarcastic male lead and makes it so, so much better. I ADORED their sexy humor and witty banter. Dante is easily one of my favorite book boyfriends of 2022! In terms of side characters, I liked each and every Fonte in their own way - they were all unique and all added something different to the story.

In terms of the plot itself, the pacing was great, the story unique enough to set it apart from other YA fantasies. Yet it still had some great, well-loved tropes! I am unsure how I feel about the ending... I definitely liked it, but I'm curious to see where things go from here. Overall, fantastic debut! 

Rating: 4.5/5 Devils!