I was very underwhelmed by this conclusion to the duology. To me, the best part of reading This Vicious Grace was the banter and relationship between Alessa and Dante. In this one however, I found that to be severely lacking and their interactions seemed more immature than before. I was also put off by the repetition and inconsistencies that were present throughout. Hopefully this is something that will be fixed as a final edit, but the fact that I noticed so many was disappointing. What do I like about this series? The magic system. It is very creative and I really like the idea of the Finestra amplifying powers of those around her. The underlying concept was there but just didn’t work well with how it was written. If you really enjoyed This Vicious Grace then it is worth a read to have a conclusion and to learn a bit more about the magic the characters hold.

This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved book one but this one lacked some of the urgency of the original. I liked the personal struggle of our characters but the stakes didn't feel like they were set up well and
the pacing dragged in spots. I still enjoyed it and I thought it was a satisfying ending. Thank you to netgalley and the author for the arc. My opinions are my own.

I really loved the first book in this series, but I was a little bored by this one. I wanted to be invested, but the plot never grabbed me.

Liked it but didn’t love it.

Book Name: This Cursed Light — The Last Finestra #2
Author: Emily Thiede

ARC
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, ****Wednesday Books for a Copy of Emily Thiede’s This Cursed Light

Stars: 3.75
Spice: 1 YA Fade to Black

Series Ending
Satisfying Conclusion
Fast Paced
Dual POV
High Fantasy with Italian Elements

- Topics
- Overcoming Systematic Racicisim/ Sterpty[es
- Working Together
- Truthfulness in Relationships
- Selfishness vs selflessness
- Tropes
- Apocalyptic Stakes
- Gallows Humor
- Found Family
- Gameboard of the Gods
- Daggers Everywhere
- Thoughts.
- Get to Know Dante More
- Training Montage was …long
- Pacing Issues
- The Quick Forgiveness Was Difficult to Process
- Satisfying Closure
- Romance Was Sweet
- Love the Gods Aspect (wish there was more explored there)

(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!

There is a lot to be said about This Cursed Light. Coming into it off a reread of This Vicious Grace, I found myself looking forward to where this book would bring our heroes next. Overall, I found this sequel pretty underwhelming.

While Alessa and Dante have wonderful chemistry and banter in the first book, this book really showed their insecurity in their relationship. It really emphasizes the reality of relationships and their challenges. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it took away from the storyline, being emphasized so heavily. It was refreshing to have dual perspectives, especially how seamless the transitions could be at times. But some transitions were harder to differentiate, especially those mid-chapter. Neither character really goes through any real growth either that I personally saw.

While I’m all for sexual exploration in YA books, I felt like the representation in this book was over the top. The innuendo felt overly adult, like it was written for an older audience than teens. I wish more YA books lately were written with teens in mind, not the older audience reading them. The book felt overly sexualized for what it was.

I saw a more clear explanation of the magic system in this book, but it still felt kind of vague. It was something I really struggled with in the first book. On the other hand, the handling of the ghiotte’s isolation felt vaguely harmful. At no point was the prejudice against them formally addressed, just sort of brushed over as an “we don’t feel that way,” when clearly others still did/do. Even their inclusion in the epilogue felt sort of rushed and unapologetic for this harmful nature of their isolation.

The synopsis focuses on the quest to find the ghiotte and this epic battle to come, yet it is hardly covered in the book with Alessa’s struggles and Dante’s desperation to get his power back. The pacing was pretty slow, leaving little time for the epic battle, so it to fall short for me. Key details were left out between the ending and the epilogue that would have been good to explore farther if there had been more time. The ending did most wrap up loose storylines nicely despite this.

I did enjoy this book, but it really fell short of what I was hoping for an expecting. The writing is solid, but the storylines felt too much like the first book rewritten as a new struggle.

I enjoyed this book so much! It was such a good continuation of the series. The romance was so amazing and the world drew me in. I highly recommend this series!

Arc from netgalley. Loved this! Enjoyed how the story continues and answers questions left open from the last book. I will continue to read from this author

So we’ve reached the end of the Last Finestra’s story. I have to say this was good duology all in all, but I can’t help but be slightly underwhelmed by this final book.
This is in no way to say that it wasn’t good. I personally just feel like the build up from the ending of book one was slightly let down in this one. Loved the story, saw where it was going, but that’s just it. It was a touch too predictable for me. Of course the ending still had me all emotional sitting in a school pickup line, but I expected more.
There were a few characters I wish we could’ve gotten more time with. Tali was a love/hate relationship for me. I would’ve loved to delve in deeper with her and truly see where I stood with that, and I feel similarly about Leo. That was definitely a double edged sword for me, he was so gruff with Dante but almost teasing with Alessa.
I loved this duo. Will keep it and reread it again in the future.

I absolutely loved This Vicious Grace and was ecstatic to be approved for an ARC of This Cursed Light. I'm not sure if it was the time lapse between reading the two books or if the second book was truly lackluster, but I didn't enjoy This Cursed Light nearly as much. The characters didn't feel as relatable and the world didn't draw me in the way the first book did.

That said, I didn't hate the book and it was a quick, enjoyable read. It was more of a palate cleaner novel.

There is a boycott going on for all St. Martin’s Press books because of the refusal to address racist remarks made by an employee. The boycott is intended to generate a response from St. Martin’s Press. So I am unable to review and promote this book at this time.

*spoilers for This Vicious Grace (Book 1)*

Emily Thiede has a such a talent of bringing her characters to life. I think in both This Vicious Grace and This Cursed Light, her characters are what really stood out to me. They are vibrant and funny and distinctly their own.

In the first book, the main FMC, Alessa, struggled with her sense of self and Dante helped her overcome her insecurities, among other things. Because Dante lost his powers at the end of the first book, he lost a huge part of himself too. In addition to seeking and finding the other ghiotte, this book focuses on Dante’s search for his place in the world. There are a lot of secrets and Dante is so self-doubting and I hate it, BUT I can understand why his personality totally did a 180. It is very impactful in his character development and creates a clever parallel to Alessa’s character from the first book.

Which is great and also… not great. I think the characters’ growth in this book were well explained, but Dante’s was so drawn out. This made the pacing a bit weird. The plot kind of fell into the background and then rushed in the end. On top of that, a lot of it was told instead of shown which I was a bit disappointed in considering there were so many opportunities where this needn’t be the case.

Still, her characters, main and side characters alike, took center stage in this book and it was an adventure to find out more about the mysterious ghiotte and Dante’s past life.

I absolutely adored the first book: it had a perfect balance of plot, romance, and character growth. Although this didn’t hit me the same way, it was still a pretty good ending to the Last Finestra’s story. It is filled with love, friendship, and hope. If you are looking for a character-driven romantasy, this duology is for you.

thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I loved where this sequel picked up and where it brought Alessa and Dante. The world building was so interesting and I really enjoyed following their relationship through the course of the novel. I would definitely recommend this book as well as the first in the series.

Terrific follow up to the first book! Fans of the first book will enjoy this sequel and being swept up into the world created by Emily Theide!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books (and Emily!!) for sending me an early copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

How does one speak of an absolutely perfect duology? How does one describe the ways that a sequel defies the laws of second book syndrome at every corner? How does one write about a book that spoke to them over and over, touched their heart, broke it at times, and then sewed it back together with a warm hug? I shall attempt, but there are truly no words.

I was so worried that This Cursed Light wouldn't live up to how much I adored This Vicious Grace. But I was blown away at every single word, and I could not be happier. The symmetry of this book and the entire story arc is something that I cannot describe without spoiling it, but I have thought about it every day since I finished. It truly shows Thiede's artistry and the way that every single word of this duo is purposefully and perfectly placed to give the reader an epic, breathtaking story.

I didn't think that I could love anyone the way I loved Dante and Alessa, but Theide is a master at creating characters that tug at your heart and reflect parts of your humanity that you can't help but love. I found myself screaming about characters I never thought I would care for. This book is much more about the characters and their story arcs than it is about the action, but I think it never for a moment suffered from that. It is perfectly balanced in that aspect, and shows a particular skill in how Thiede gives you the best action in book 1, drawing you into these characters and their lives so that book 2 can teach you all about them and their hearts.

I thought I knew exactly where the book was going, and I was slightly disappointed at first, but then Thiede pulled out several twists I never saw coming, and I was so pleased to be on the edge of my seat despite having "known" all along.

And don't get me started on the Deaf representation and how sweet it was!

If you are looking for an absolutely perfect duology to binge this holiday season, pick up book 1 right now. I promise you will not regret it. You actually might regret it if you don't.

After saving the world once already, Alessa, Dante, and their merry band of friends are off to finish the war Crollo has declared on humanity. To prepare for an unknown enemy, Dante must find the banished ghiotte, earn their trust, and amass an army - all within two months. As Dante tackles a new land, Alessa struggles to keep her splitting mind together and worries whose side she’ll end up on during the next conflict. When the battle arrives, Alessa and Dante must make an impossible choice to save humanity once and for all.

This Cursed Light absolutely destroyed me emotionally while simultaneously giving me the ending I think everyone deserved. The hurt/comfort was top notch, Dante and Alessa’s chemistry was fantastic, and the sequel didn’t suffer from second book syndrome for a single moment. This duology is wrapped up nicely and it’s going to be on my mind for a long while!

I have a (positive) review of this book drafted and ready to go, but I am currently choosing not to promote books by St. Martin's Press and Wednesday Books due to the racist actions and remarks of a prominent team member. There has yet to be a statement from SMP or Wednesday, and that silence speaks volumes. It's unconscionable, and completely against what the company says it stands for. I will be happy to release the review and continue promoting SMP books once an appropriate statement has been made.

Title: This Cursed Light
Author: Emily Thiede
Genre: YA
Rating: 5 out of 5

When the gods make the rules, the players must choose: Sacrifice their love to save the world, or choose love and let it burn?

Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can't rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren't finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.

Desperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight--a growing darkness that's consuming her mind--and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?

When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world's last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?

I loved this so much! I loved the first book, This Vicious Grace, and this one was just as good. Alessa and Dante are great characters: both are flawed and struggling but learning and growing towards becoming better people. Their relationship is so much fun, with their teasing and bantering, and their friendships with those around them are just as vibrant and fascinating. I loved all of this!

Emily Thiede was born in New Jersey but grew up in Virginia. This Cursed Light is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

(Blog link live 12/12).

THIS CURSED LIGHT was a great follow up in this duology. While there were still similar problems in terms of plot that I commented on in my review for the first book, This Vicious Grace, I felt that this book added depth and growth to the MCs that I really enjoyed.

This book was all about the relationship development of Dante, the MMC, and Alessa, the FMC now that they were no longer defined by their powers. A central part of each of their identities, the author does a great job of highlighting their growth as people beyond what they thought made them special in the eyes of their respective societies, I thought that this was one of the things that makes this book so special.

However, I will say that the issues I had with the first book are still here in the second. Parts of the plot are not forgotten here, but the big battle felt lackluster and underwhelming and leading up to the battle, the plot almost meanders. The two gods, Dea and Crollo are never much explained and, therefore, even though the world has expanded, the readers understanding of that world is not. I think that this book is a romance centered plot rather than a romance AND conflict plot, which is why I am rating it the way I am. There really is no urgency throughout. I don't think that is the author's fault, but rather something that needed to be fleshed out or reworked so that it has the same level of gravitas as the romance. I think it needed to do both rather than the conflict to be a plot device for the romance.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel and felt it was a great addition to the previous novel. If you love romance and character development in your YA novels, you should read this book.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Love the characters of Alessa and Dante. It did take me a bit longer to get into because it had been awhile from when I read the first book, however I still enjoyed. I liked that the relationships that are in the book aren't your most traditional relations so it gives me a different perspective that I don't see everyday.

It did bother me in the beginning that Alessa and Dante still had to ask for permission to do things. I mean they had just saved the world and now they have to ask permission to save it again? Didn't make sense to me.