I read the trigger warnings for this book at the being of the book and made the decision to not read it. I can usually handle most of these topics but child abuse is a tough one.

SUMMARY: As a divinely selected magnifier of magical gifts, Alessa’s role is to protect her community from demon attacks by partnering with a gifted warrior. But her inability to control her power has left three partners dead. Now she must find a new partner and train together ahead of the demon invasion before her community decides they might be better off killing her and forcing the gods to select someone new.

This was a fun YA fantasy with the appropriate amount of romance. I loved the Italian-inspired world building that served as the basis for the story and enjoyed the competitive, magical school-style setup when Alessa’s prospective partners are all forced to move into the estate to build their skills together.

It’s a lot like other YA fantasy series I’ve known and enjoyed (The Hunger Games, Shadowhunters, etc.), and the unwilling chosen one who falls in love with the one guy she shouldn’t immediately put me in mind of From Blood and Ash, the Bookstagram/BookTok favorite. However, This Vicious Grace is still solidly YA, so don’t come looking for sexy times—just mutual pining and makeouts.

I really like reading YA books outside when it gets warm, and this one is set on a sun-soaked Italianate island, so feel free to pack it in your beach bag on spring break!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to @netgalley @stmartinspress and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book, I did not expect to have been this obsessed with this story. But I did and now I need more. It needs to be August already so I can read the sequel. I absolutely loved everything about this book, the world, the plot, the characters, Alessa and Dante are so good together. I can't wait to see where the next book takes us.

Alessa is a finestra, one of the prophesied people who will save her island from godly wrath. Each island in this world has one, who, when the time comes, will choose their partner and face down armies of demons. Alessa’s power, however, has other ideas, causing her to kill every one of three partners before they can face the threat. She is called a liar, people try to kill her, in hopes that it will save the island, assuming a new finestra will be chosen.

Alessa is touch starved. Her touch can kill anyone, not just her chosen partners or those who have magic. She hasn’t had a hug, or even a gentle touch, in years, since she was chosen. When she became finestra, she had to give up her name and her family. She is but a shadow of her former self, reduced to her title and her duty. While she has advisors, they are not friends. Everyone fears her, if not outright hates her for what they perceive her having done: kill her partners. Even she sees herself this way. No past finestra has done this. There must be something wrong with her. She is somehow unworthy.

Alessa deals with a lot of self doubt and even self hatred. She’s very lonely and unsure, yet she has this quiet confidence. She’s not a mouse, to be led and to be a mouthpiece for someone else’s words. She is perfectly capable of standing up for herself, even when faced with death threats. She has such a will to live, and a desire to save her island. Though the islanders tout her as being what will kill this island, there is no one who loves it more, as flawed as Alessa is. She makes mistakes, and she looks out for herself sometimes, but she has this deep love and loyalty to her people. Dante has such a chip on his shoulder! I am upset that we had to wait until the end for his point of view. I wish we had had more of that, as we discovered more about his story through Alessa. It would have been neat to see what he might have been up to behind the scenes. The growth of the other potentates as they got to know Alessa was heartening and gave me faith. The slow growth of friendship was a comfort and I hope to learn more about these friends in the second book.

The pacing was well done, with the number of days until the reckoning at the beginning of each chapter. The clear markers allowed me to visualize the passage of time better and made things seem more realistic. From Dante and Alessa’s blossoming relationship, to the urgency to pick a partner. I was entranced from start to finish.

The chemistry between our two leads, as well as the beautifully described island, make me love this book! I am fortunate to have waited a little longer to read it, as the sequel shall come out sooner rather than later. Only about six months more! Here’s hoping I can get my hands on an ARC, as I did of this book. I promise to do it justice if I do. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!

This was amazing addictive to continue to read and just as addicting to want more. I’m excited for the sequel.

The beginning, this was giving Girl, Serpent, Thorn but it soon gave us a twist. I really enjoyed the twists and turns. The banter and romance as well as the found family/friendship the MC finds herself gaining.

This book was so interesting. I loved the mixture of mythology and folklore. Definitely worth the read but if you’re sesative to certain subjects then I’d suggest looking up trigger warnings before picking it up.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

An interesting fantasy read with multiple outside influences including mythology and religious folklore. High stakes narrative with a strong female protagonist that has flavors reminiscent of Rebecca Roanhorse's Black Sun and Rory Power's In a Garden Burning Gold. The world building can be a little info dumpy, which results in a diluted atmospheric content, but the plot progression is interesting and tense. Lovers of the grump/sunshine trope will enjoy the character banter between Alessa and Dante. A good exploration of religious fervor and an enjoyable debut.

A bodyguard/royal romance that ends on a cliffhanger. Alessia's fiances keep dying, and she hires Dante to help protect her and figure out why. I don't want to go too deep into the summary because the book takes some pleasant twists and turns, but I loved the premise. I also loved Dante and how their relationship transformed. I sat on this book for a while when I realized it ended on a cliffhanger. I hate waiting for the next in the series!

Alessa is the Finestra, blessed by the gods to protect her island against otherworldly evil. When combined with the powers of their chosen partner (Fonte), the Finestra’s magic amplifies, giving her the ability to defeat an onslaught of demons whose vicious attacks have plagued the island for years. Alessa has tried and failed three times to secure a Fonte, accidentally killing them before they can unite in matrimony and combine their gifts. Time is running out before the next attack, and the island is becoming skeptical of Alessa's ability to keep them safe. After an assassination attempt, Alessa hires a rogue outcast named Dante to act as her bodyguard while she attempts to find a new Fonte. With evil baring down and rebellion on the rise, Alessa will need to tap into her entire arsenal of skills to keep herself and her homeland safe. But what if her handsome new bodyguard holds the key that can save them once and for all?

While the synopsis sounds intense, This Vicious Grace had wonderful moments of levity that ease the tension of impending doom. Alessa’s inability to touch without causing harm heightened her desperation for human contact which made the interactions between Alessa and the group of Fonte’s more rewarding. I enjoyed watching the group turn from trepidation to natural camaraderie. Additionally, the flirty banter between Alessa and Dante added to their chemistry, and their connection felt both believable and earned. The ending gave this world room to expand and it left me excited to see what is next for these characters in the sequel.

Thanks you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this review copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

This book reels you in with promises of a masterful plot with high stakes and deadly characters. It introduces you to intriguing people and an even more intriguing world. It swears it will sweep you up in a romance the greatest poets could talk about for years to come. All of that to be a letdown only a few chapters in. This book tried so hard to be something it was not.
It built up expectations and interest, only for all of it to come crashing down.
The characters were empty, soulless beings written into the story to fulfill the author's favorite tropes and it was painful to read this book from the pov of the most generic type of main character anyone could think up.
I would also like to point out that the dynamic of the main ship was horribly insta-lovey for something that isn't even insta-love in the first place. How do you manage such a thing?
The whole experience felt close to what i imagine it would be like to read a book created by an AI. Horribly mediocre with a side of no sense whatsoever to be made out of the story.

love that I'm entering my fantasy era. This had such vibrant characters and really had me invested in their world.

“She might be but one stitch in the tapestry, but every stitch had a purpose, and threads couldn't become art without them.”

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Wednesday Books for a copy of this book for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

content warnings (from storygraph): murder/death/gore, blood/violence/injury, war, suicidal thoughts/suicide attempt/gaslighting to attempt suicide, religious bigotry, alcohol, child abuse, parental abandonment

One of my favorite tropes that I would read every month, but that I often find severely lacking, is the bodyguard/royal trope, especially when combined with enemies to friends/lovers. Seeing the synopsis involving both of these?? I applied for an ARC with zero hesitation and have been trying to fit this into my TBR prompts for most of 2022!

This Vicious Grace follows Alessa, a young woman known as the Finestra, someone chosen by the gods with the ability to save her island with the ability to amplify powers. This ability is rather useless alone, and her main role is to marry a Fonte, someone with remarkable abilities to aid her in battle. Unfortunately, Alessa seems to be the only Finestra who can't control her powers and has killed not one but <i>three</i> of her matches. With almost everyone having lost in faith in her, and some considering her a curse or some sort of evil ruining their chances at survival, her life is in danger of numerous assassination attempts. Alessa has no one left to trust, so she decides to hire a bodyguard from the fighting pits. Can he keep her alive long enough to finally find a match she can't kill?

This book was SO GOOD!!!! How did I manage to start so many gems in the final hour of 2022? The characters were complex and multi-faceted, the side characters all felt unique and had conflicting motivations and desires that we get to see play out, and I cared about what happened to everyone except Adrick.

The writing was phenomenal. I'm in awe that this is a debut novel because I can't think of a single complaint other than that I struggled to imagine what the Scarabeo looked like? My brain settled on giant flying ants. I guess I wonder what happened to the <spoiler>Fonti who came from the other island</spoiler>, but I assume that will be addressed in book 2!

I spent 45 days on this book, which would usually indicate low intrigue, but it was actually just that I had to focus on an expedited work project and got caught up with the holidays, because I wanted to read this book more than almost anything else in December and January!

I had a wonderful time and am eagerly awaiting August for the sequel!

I loved this book! Alessa is a Finestra, and her gift should be able to magnify her partner’s magic, however her touch ends up killing them instead. Time is running out, because Diverando is fast approaching and a swarm of demons will soon descend on her island home. If Alessa cannot find a partner soon, everyone will die.

The magic system is awesome in this book. I loved learning about the different types of magic. I also enjoyed the world building and character development in this one too. It also has an enemies to lovers romance that was fantastic. I cannot wait to see what happens next in this series.

I didn’t think this would be a 5 star but I loved it so much! It’s one of my favorite books I’ve read this year so far. I loved the friendships and relationships. I was reading this at work and I cried. I felt so connected to the characters.

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

This was a really great novel, but sadly it missed the mark for me.

Alessa was a great main character and I loved watching her character development throughout the whole book. I loved watching her try to make friends and gain confidence. Dante was also an amazing character that I loved from beginning to end, and I couldn't help but cheer on their romance. This book also contained fantastic side characters that stand out, and I wanted to get to know better.

While I loved learning more about the world that the author created, where this book fell flat for me was the pacing. This is a fairly long book compared to some YA fantasy novels, and honestly the beginning was a bit boring because not much happened. I think if I wasn't so captivated by the world-building I would have put it down. Not to mention, this while book basically counts down to a big even for our main characters, yet when the time comes its only a short portion of the book & was very anti-climactic. I was just expecting more.

I'm still 50/50 on whether I want to continue the series or not. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was a standalone.

I wanted to wait for the hype to die down a little before leaving a review. There was something captivating about a magical black widow, a woman who kills everyone she loves. The story has impeccably strong main characters (and their arcs are so so sooo well done), but it also has a great slow burn romance, and I loved the bits of italian-influence dabbled in.

For some reason I couldn’t get into reading this book, then when I switched to audio and it was fantastic to listen!! It was so easy to imagine the world the author was building via audio. I’m mad at myself for not listening to this book sooner. The slow burn romance was not my favourite, but the grumpy-sunshine and friends to lovers tropes were a hit with me. Book 1 in the Last Finestra series, This Vicious Grace has very good storytelling with mayhem, betrayal and romance in it!

Thank you Wednesday books via Netgalley for the arc.

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede is an engrossing tale of magic, power, and found family. It's got the bodyguard trope covered and a strong supporting cast of characters. I am already looking forward to more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this one with me. All thoughts are my own.

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

442 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Release Date: June 28, 2022

Fiction, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Teens, Young Adult, Coming of Age

Alessa has been chosen as the island’s Finestra, their savior. She is meant to amplify her partner’s power. Unfortunately, she has just buried her third partner. Now everyone is afraid of her touch. The demon swarm is coming and she needs to find a solution to save the island. She meets Dante during a street fight. She believes he can help teach her how to harness power without killing a partner.

The book has a fast pace, the characters are developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. Alessa’s character grows throughout the story. If you like sci fi and fantasy books with magical battles, you will enjoy this book.

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa's gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partners 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.

This was a slow burn read with forced proximity and a forbidden love trope. I thought the story was interesting and what a unique concept that the heroine to inadvertentlykeep killing off each suitor. The audio was well done, and I actually preferred this format to the physical copy.

*many thanks to Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review