Oh my, what an amazing ending to one of my favorite reads last year.

It's safe to say that This Cursed Light was one of my most anticipated reads this year and I was going out of my mind waiting until the end of 2023 to read it. It's filled with angst, witty banter, and the romance that sucked me in the first time I read This Vicious Grace.

However, I think this book wasn't as amazing as This Vicious Grace. I think it lacked the intensity that made the first book so amazing, the plot dragged in many parts, and I didn't find myself as interested in the side characters.

That being said though, I thought this was a satisfying end to the series and I'm excited to see what else Emily Thiede puts 0ut in the future!

This was a pretty big disappointment to me. I don't think this should have been a duology, just change or add a bit to the first book and make it a standalone. This book made me dislike the romance I enjoyed so much in This Vicious Grace, it gave "impending divorce" vibes.

I thought the book was going to redeem itself in the end but the author had to do a takesey backsey to give that happen ending.

I don't recommend, pretend this book was never written.

Thank you to NetGalley and author Emily Thiede for sending me an ARC of This Cursed Light before its release date. I feel like this second book in the series is just as strong as the first. I was interested and invested in the story, I really loved reading this one. I also really loved getting a further look into Alessa and Dante’s journey. There is a countdown to the apocalypse and a new battle for Alessa and Dante and it keeps you in suspense. The side characters are likewise interesting and useful to move the plot along. I loved that we get a satisfactory resolution in the end as well. Wonderful series altogether.

This Cursed Light was one of my most anticipated sequels of 2023. I absolutely adored This Vicious Grace—from the magic system to the Italian inspired world to the romance. And this sequel did not disappoint any front, and even upped the stakes with additional world-building and character development. While I’m sad that these two books are it for this world, I also can’t see how Emily Thiede could expand this story into further books. All in all, it is a perfect young adult duology that has a little bit of everything.

Pretty early on into my reading of this book, I made a note to myself: “All of the characters feel wittier and more sarcastic than in the last one! Which I’m here for—they’re all making me laugh.” I still stand by that comment even after finishing the novel. There’s something to be said for seeing characters go through an inherently stressful and traumatic event together and then get to show a sillier, more relaxed side of themselves as they heal from that trauma. That statement stood true for everyone on page, no matter their status as a major or minor character, and made everyone feel inherently more human.

Going into this, I wasn’t expecting This Cursed Light to be told in dual perspective—but I’m so glad it was. While frustrating to see the continued insecurities and lack of communication between Dante and Alessa—seriously, y’all, talk to each other!—that dual perspective built the tension of this book. In many ways, I do consider book one to be Alessa’s journey and book two to be Dante’s journey. Which makes sense, considering these two are the true Duo Divinado!

(This is a side note, but I loved that Kaleb and Adrick provided readers with a little enemies-to-lovers relationship arc. Can I place a formal request to get a spin-off with these two at the helm?)

I wasn’t expecting the sheer volume of world-building expansion this book had. Not only did we travel farther away—to the Continent, no less—but we received more lore about the ghiotte and the gods, Crollo and Dea. Of course, one should always expect more world-building in a fantasy series, but it blew me away to see and find the set-up for these details in the first novel and to see those details come into play, or even complicated situations in the second novel.

If I had to critique this book, my only complaint is that the pacing is a little too fast. I found myself wanting more time to linger in scenes to draw out stronger emotionality from our characters, like we had in book one. I also found myself longing for the conflict to push the characters a little bit more. It felt like obstacles—such as Dante winning over the ghiotte or the ghiotte accepting the Finestra and Fontes—were overcome too easily. With a slightly slower pacing and a greater intensity to the conflict, this book would have easily been a five-star read.

This young adult fantasy duology has so much to offer a reader. From fun, realistic characters, to death-defying adventures, to a romance that makes you absolutely swoon—it's an entertaining fantasy duology. Was it perfect? Definitely not. But the fact that I found it difficult to put the book down speaks volumes about how fun and beautiful the writing was.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This book went way past my expectations, and it perfectly ended the duology. Spoiler alert, the ending made me cry (and it is not common for books to make me cry). This book was beautiful, passionate, and satisfying. It is almost impossible for me to describe how much I loved and enjoyed this book.

From the newly developed relationships between side characters to the development of Alessa and Dante's relationship, it was so wonderfully written and developed. Despite the setting being mainly different from the first book, the new setting is set up in a great way and does not take away from the story.

I cannot recommend this book (and the first book) enough to anyone, it is such a wonderful fantasy duology.

SPOILERS
The ending of this book was gratifying and satisfying to read. While I would have been devastated I would not have minded if Alessa died to save her people. But the attention to detail and the call back to a very brief conversation at the beginning of the book to save her was *chef's kiss*.

This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede is fine. It is a sequel to the Young Adult romantasy This Vicious Grace. It is not as tightly plotted as the first, nor as good a tale. I honestly just could not finish it because of the use of colloquialisms. If you are creating this entire world you do not have to be Tolkien, but “fixer-upper” to refer to a home in disrepair. Game over, team player, new guy. The list goes on, but it just repeatedly upset my suspension of disbelief in her storytelling. The invoking of an old Italian charm was also not as much in evidence.

This Cursed Light is book 2 in the Last Finestra duology.  The first book, This Vicious Grace, was one of my top young adult fantasy picks of 2022, so I was excited and nervous to read this one.

Six months after saving the world in This Vicious Grace, Alessa and Dante want to settle down and relax.  But Dante is dealing with the loss of his powers and with a vision that tells him the gods have a new challenge in store — and to survive it, he’ll have to find his exiled people, the ghiotte.

I really enjoyed This Cursed Light.  It’s very different in tone from the first book, and feels much lighter and funnier.  At first, that bothered me — I wanted the feel of higher stakes from the potential world-ending apocalypse.  But I quickly settled in and enjoyed revisiting these characters.

This one is more focused on the character relationships and emotional journeys.  Dante’s story is prominent. He wrestles with fear that he’s not good enough for Alessa, his past abandonment by his family, and the potential loss of powers that make him special.

I really appreciated the way Thiede kept Dante a strong, romantic hero while letting us see him hurting and insecure. Both Dante and Alessa are incredibly well-written characters with so much depth.  It’s such a pleasure seeing how Thiede challenges them and keeps their relationship fresh, funny, and passionate.

There are some action scenes that rival book one, and a suspense-filled ending.  I’m not totally sure how I feel about the ending…but I won’t spoil it in this review.

Definitely read This Vicious Grace before picking up this one.  It jumps straight in and you need to know the lore and characters from the first book.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for my review copy of this book.

What a great follow-up to This Vicious Grace! Romantasy is hit-or-miss for me but I loved book #1, so I definitely wanted to try this story. In it, we return to Alessa and Dante six months after they saved the world. This time, they've received signed another brutal attack from the gods is coming, and they search out the remaining ghiotte to help them defend the world. Complications from the last world-saving mean Alessa and Dante again can't really touch, and both are antsy, in love, and insecure.

I loved that we got to see so many of my favorite characters from the last book but also met a charming if angsty new cast. And I won't say anything else about this, but the twist at the end had me screaming! I wish this series was more than a duology because I would happily read Alessa and Dante several times over. That said, a duology is hard to pull off -- I feel they often feel either like one too-long book split in two or an incomplete series -- but this one was very satisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I wanted to love this book especially after the first one but this one was a bit difficult to get through!

The plot so was so similar to the first book that I wish the first had just been a standalone.
I also wasn’t happy with how Dante and Alessa’s relationship was on this book.

I know there’s someone out there who will love this but it unfortunately wasn’t me.

I honestly was just not into the direction this second and last book in The Last Finestra duology took up. This Vicious Grace was so fun, fast paced, and full of intrigue. This Cursed Light skidded to a halt about 30% through and limped along until the end. The payoffs for the mysteries left unresolved in book one were just not satisfying, everything came wayyy too easily once it finally did come, and none of the weight of the upcoming World-Ending Event landed the way Diverando loomed over Alessa and the gang in book one. The stakes should have felt much higher in this book, and instead we got a bunch of ghiotte being standoffish and rude to our main cast for most of the book.

In many ways, I feel like This Cursed Light suffers from being a YA duology. There's a lot of interesting ideas and nuances that Theide brings up that she just does not have time to fully address. The treatment of ghiotte by Savario and the other islands deserved a more thoughtful exploration, the redemption of Adrick and his subsequent romance plotline didn't feel convincing at all, and none of the pining or angst between Dante and Alessa, who literally cannot touch in this book without causing him extreme pain, felt sharp enough. All of their problems and interactions felt really petty and immature in the face of what is basically supposed to be Armageddon.

I'm so bummed. This Vicious Grace took me by such pleasant surprise. I absolutely flew through it and it wound up being a 5 star read for me. This book had none of that same feeling, and consequently I didn't feel immersed in it at all.


Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the first book and this was everything I wanted in a sequel. I love this world and the LOVE in it. I couldn't stop reading.

This Cursed Light is the second book in Emily Thiede’s “The Last Finestra” young adult fantasy duology.

After defeating an invasion of monsters six months prior Alessa is now on her victory tour with other Fonti that defended their own cities. While she was away her lover Dante built up his own bar business but still has not recovered his Ghiotte powers and therefore can’t be touched by her without unbearable pain. Alessa didn’t escape unscathed either and is having strange visions from her brief touch of one of the scarabei monsters. After deciphering one of the goddess’s messages they realize that the fight isn’t over and they will face another battle during the next eclipse. The only the way they can survive the onslaught from the god Crollo and possibly get Dante’s powers back is to find the secret city of Ghiotte and ask them to join the battle. But the Ghiotte don’t trust easily and both Dante and Alessa are keeping too many secrets.

I enjoyed the “found family” aspect of This Cursed Light. Between the banter of Alessa and Dante and that of their companions (assorted Fonti and Alessa’s twin brother Adrick) it made it a fun read and gave the reader a lot of people to root for. I also loved the angsty romance between Dante and Alessa while they figured out how to be together without her powers hurting him and what their future will look like. I was a little let down by the final showdown between the gods and the main characters but it has a very satisfying conclusion that readers will be happy with.

This was an exciting and romantic conclusion to The Last Finestra duology and I look forward to reading more from Emily Thiede.

Love love love
I have been waiting for book 2 for so logn and I had such a great time with this
Love the characters, love everything about it
Dante and Alessa are so mature and their relationship is <3

I could not wait to read this book and the wait for this sequel seemed like forever; worth it.

The ending of the last book set us up for a lot of delicious romantic tension and overall world tension as Dante tries to regain his power, the loss of which makes it impossible for him and Alessa to touch OR ELSE HE DIES.

I loved getting Dante’s pov and learning more about him and am so sad that this story is over! I cannot wait to see what Emily writes next!

What a romantic, swoony, adventurous follow-up to This Vicious Grace! It was a total delight to be back in this world with Alessa and Dante and to travel through a more expanded version of their world. A great sequel!

This duology is addicting! The chemistry between the main characters in this romantic fantasy is mesmerizing.

For those who enjoy:
🍋 Unique magic system
🍋 Italian influence
🍋 He’s her bodyguard
🍋 Political & religious intrigue
🍋 Opposites attract romance
🍋 Saving the world
🍋 Can’t touch eachother

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a wonderful sequel. Emily Thiede's writing is stunning.

This Cursed Light, by Emily Thiede, is the second and final installment in the authors The Last Finestra series. While the first installment was mostly through Alessa's perspective, Dante gets his fair share of the story this time around. 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. Brought back to life by Alessa, Dante's powers are missing. 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. They and our motley crew of fonti (and Adrick), strike out for the continent to see if they can find the missing Ghiotte, cure Dante and help prevent another impending apocalypse.

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? In This Cursed Light, Dante and Alessa face their most daunting challenge yet when the Gods demand they prove their worth by choosing the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity, once and for all.

*Thoughts* I have few complaints about this book, except the ending. So much tension and effort is put toward preparing for an inevitable battle with Crollo, that I was more than a little disappointed the fighting scenes weren’t longer. Alessa was clearly having issues in the beginning and middle of the book, but instead of trying to understand them and manage them, she just hid everything or brushed it off as nothing. After finding a people who were lost, and Dante reuniting with people he thought he has lost, they had to face a life or death choice thanks to two petulant Gods, Dea & Crollo who make Alessa choose her path. While there is a brief choice one of the characters has to make in order to save another, it was nice to see all of the character play a part in what happens, which includes Adrick and Kaleb who play games with each other throughout the book.

*Actual Rating closer to 3.5*

This Cursed Light was an anticipated book for me. I was so excited to continue reading about this series. The story was very easy to get into, and it was helpful that there were recaps from book 1, as long as more plot buildup in the continuation. I loved reading about Dante’s side and his world, and seeing the royals visit. There were scenes that I felt were too sexual for a YA book, it just made me weirded out to imagine my younger family members reading this. However, I think for the new adult, this series is definitely entertaining and very fun to visit. I cannot wait to continue to read Thiede’s books. This book was a rollercoaster, so I can’t wait to see what other magical worlds she creates!

Thank you to NetGalley, Emily Thiede, and St. Martin’s press for this eARC.

The conclusion to The Last Finestra duology was packed with themes of sacrifice, belonging, and a whole lot of heart. I'd forgotten how much I missed Alessa, Dante, and the rest of the characters from this series. The continuation of their story was powerful and bittersweet. The author did a nice job of balancing the heavier subjects with cute interjections of Alessa and Dante's flirting as well as humor from some of my favorite side characters (Kamaria and Kaleb).
The plot moved along pretty quickly. It dipped a couple of times, but Theide always made sure to pepper in moments of action to keep the story lively. The conclusion of the story did a nice job of wrapping up some unanswered questions.
I can't wait to see what this author does next, I'm such a fan.