I read This Vicious Grace last year - my first fantasy read - and loved it! I have been (im)patiently waiting for this sequel and it did not disappoint!

I loved not only seeing Alessa and Dante, but also all of the side characters! It was fun to see those characters grow, and the friendships develop. Even though Alessa and Dante are together, there is definitely still tension and angst between them, not just because of the impending battle, but because Dante and Alessa can't touch each other. Even with the tension, I feel like Dante and Alessa grew as a couple and figured out how to communicate more with each other through everything they experienced. I really enjoyed the dual POV and seeing more from Dante specifically.

Overall, without giving away too much, I enjoyed this one and felt like it wrapped up the characters' stories well. Though I admit I would have loved an epilogue from even further in the future. :)

If you're looking for a fantasy duology, especially if you are new to the fantasy/romantasy genre, then pick these up!

I absolutely loved this book! I feel like comparing it to the first one, this book was a little more character-driven than plot driven since the entire book is basically leading up to the last few pages. I also thought some of the character introductions (Ciro & Diwata) were a little rushed and not as explained out as they could have been, but I did end up picking up on who they were easier than I originally thought. Also some of the POV changes were a little abrupt in this version and there were some odd scene jumps where I felt a little thrown off, but then picked up right where I left off.
Alessa & Dante have my whole heart and I want to hurt anyone who comes in between them. Their relationship and obvious love for one another is what kept me coming back to this series and making this one of my most anticipated reads of the year.

listen, one thing i love about the first book was the banters. but i think there's too much of that in this book, mostly it's just the characters jesting around or to one another in a long scene, and the plot barely moved.

4.5💚

I really liked this second part (and final)!🥹
The first book is great, and the second is the same.🛐💚
I liked that here there is more talk about the Ghiottes, in the first one we only talk a little, but here we already know a lot more, and not only that, but also knowing a little about the Gods who are causing all this problem haha😅✨

Seriously, it is VERY entertaining, both books are very light and quick to read, each page has you hooked, the characters are very cute and fun,🥹💚I really liked them, as a group of friends they are beautiful (the fontes), always protecting each other.💚
SUPER recommended!! The story is not difficult or complicated to understand, it is a small world!!✨

Alessa and Dante💚, I love them very much, they seemed like very real characters to me, yes there were moments that made me desperate but if I were them I would also do the same haha ​​so I understand them and that's why I liked them.🙈
Together they are perfect, I love their jokes, also how they protect each other, their romantic moments and (👀😮‍💨) haha, but also the individual development that they have, I really liked it.🥹✨
Dante telling her in Italian (old language here) “mia cara, luce mia” among other things, simply IN LOVE.🛐😮‍💨

This duology is perfect🥹, I like it a lot, it is already one of my favorite books, I would like Emily to give us some extras for other characters haha ​​I'm going to miss them.💚


Thanks Netgalley for the arc

The final book in The Last Finestra duology, picking up where the first book left off with Dante coming back from the dead but losing his powers and Alessa suffering from visions, as they both prepare for a war against the gods while dealing with the fact that without his powers... a kiss from Alessa could kill him. To make matters more complicated, Dante and Alessa and their friends seek hekp from the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring Dante's powers and fighting against the gods.... yet the ghiotte have always hated the church and everything Alessa's position means, thus they have to hide their relationship. Dante is afraid that without his powers he can never be full again, he can't be good enough for Alessa... yet the more risks he takes the more Alessa is afraid that he'll end up dying in front of her again. With the ghiotte hating Alessa, and Dante reuniting with people from his past, their relationship is bound to take a bit of strain since they have to keep it hidden... yet when it comes time to face off against the gods.. will they be willing to sacrifice it all to save everyone... even if it means one of them wont make it out alive? This was definitely an interesting way to end the duology, I loved the first book and this one was a fun read. I loved just how deeply in love Aleesa and Dante are with each other, they care so much and are willing to do everything. This one wrapped everything up nicely and overall I really enjoyed the duology! I would definitely recommend this for fans of fantasy romance / bodyguard romance!

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

If Emily Thiede keeps this up, she might become one of my favorite authors because I love her books so much. This Vicious Grace was an absolute blast to read, romantic and funny with the perfect balance between focusing on Alessa and Dante and the rest of the cast. Essentially, what I'm saying here is that Thiede had a huge task of making a sequel that lived up to book one, and she not only did but also surpassed it. I absolutely adored getting to know the secondary characters better, and to learn more about the ghiotte and Dante's past. The ending wasn't what I was expecting either, but was so fitting. Also, Thiede has the BEST sense of humor.

Overall, this was an excellent conclusion to the duology, and I can't wait to see what Thiede has in store for us next!

I’ve been waiting for this for so long! And I’m so excited to say that it was just as amazing as the first one and everything I could have wanted for the conclusion of this story. I love Alessa and Dante and I experienced all the emotions in their turbulent relationship. The stakes are ever higher in this sequel, with the threat of the end of the world looming. We get to go deeper into the lore of the gods. There’s intense battles and exciting training sequences. We get new characters to love, as well as all our favorites from the first book. We adventure out into the story world and learn more about its history and peoples. This was such a fun and emotional ride and so worth the wait. Both of the books in this duology were five-star reads for me. Unbelievable that this was her debut book series. She is definitely a favorite fantasy author for me and I’ll read anything she writes in the future! I felt so much joy at the end for them and so much sadness that it was over. Although it is young adult, it is very much mature enough and full of depth for all of us adult readers to enjoy as well. I have nothing but good things to say about it. I highlighted so many moments in this second book that I just adored and felt so deeply about. Highly recommend this series, it is so freaking good! Everything about it is so immersive and I enjoyed every moment of my time in this story world. You have to read this! It deserves all the hype.

I am participating in the St Martin’s Press boycott. I will not publicly be reviewing this title until St. Martin’s Press addresses reader concerns.

I would love to review this book but I will not be doing so until SMP takes action and the boycott ends.

I will be withholding my review of this book in solidarity with the St. Martin's Press boycott. I am deeply upset that SMP still has not addressed anything and has made no movement towards rectifying their actions.

I read book one of this series and fell in love with it. The romance! **sigh** Dante and Alessa were adorable and they’re finally going to get their chance to be together, but it’s not going to be easy. The world building was great and lots of page turning moments.
I love the way the author writes and I especially like how she handles the difficult things about the romance. It’s realistic and there wasn’t any over exaggerated drama. That is so important to me. I swooned every time I get near Dante and I loved ALL the side characters. This was a very happy satisfying read for me and I recommend it.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Such a satisfying ending to a great duology! We follow Alessa and Dante and they get pulled into yet another adventure. The story was done so thoughtfully and wrapped up really cleverly; it felt like the perfect ending for the book, and specifically for Alessa, especially considering all she craved at the beginning of book 1 was touch and closeness with people. It was just such a nice character arc for her to have, to end the book with all those people helping her. The angst we got between Alessa and Dante in This Vicious Grace continues in This Cursed Light, as Dante's loss of powers makes it impossible for them to get close without Dante feeling pain. So lots of angst and tension continues between them! We see more of Dante's personality in this book and see some of the self-doubt and insecurities he harbors, and how he and Alessa overcome them together. The side characters were done SO WELL, I loved reading about all of them and I honestly felt way more invested in the budding, angsty romance between Adrick and Kaleb and would love a little spin off about them! Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

Just like the previous book I loved this one. The book pretty much picks up where they left off and I had such a hard time putting it down. Definitely suggest others check it out! The characters and the pace made it hard not to love.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the arc.

Thank you St. Martins Press/Wednesday and Netgalley for the ARC!

I was absolutely thrilled to get an ARC of This Cursed Light! The way TVG ended had me shaking and dying for book two. This is such a fun and exciting world that Thiede created and I just can’t get enough of it! If you’re looking for a creative magic system, complex character dynamics and a ton of heart, then this is IT.

What an incredible conclusion to an amazing duology! Again I was sobbing and laughing and screaming. This entire series has given me all of the feels and I never wanted it to end. I asked Emily to write more fluffy post chaos chapters because I love love them so so much!

I thought that this book would be possibly better than the first however I couldn't get into it and ended up not completing the book.

After finishing This Vicious Grace, I needed the second book. To say I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to read and review This Cursed Light would be a colossal understatement. I enjoy Emily Thiede’s writing style and couldn’t wait to tear into this book. There were definitely aspects of this story that resonated with me, but overall the journey was a bit of a rollercoaster.

Things I loved:
- The continuation of the fonte found family - Kaleb and Kamaria often had me laughing out loud. I adore them individually and together, they’re just the best. Can they get a novella or something?
- Adrick - He grew on me in this and got his redemption as far as I’m concerned.
- The last several chapters had me all up in my feelings.
- The Italian-inspired elements: the world, the use of Italian as the “old language” - Did I try to imagine myself in some variation of Venice during this? Yes, yes I did.

While I really enjoyed the first book and didn’t have any complications with its pacing, I found myself struggling with it quite a bit in this one. Scenes moved from one to the next rather quickly instead of being built up and fleshed out, so I felt like I didn’t get the opportunity to fully connect to much of what was happening. For instance, there were some big moments/revelations, but when I got to them, I kind of just went “huh, alright.” I craved more of a connection to the MMC/FMC, and I longed to have that same feeling that I got from TVG. The writing itself was well-crafted and easy to follow, but I missed that spark I felt previously.

** Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **

Emily Thiede posted to her IG that NetGalley arcs were going out and when I tell you I RAN to request a copy! A few weeks later my dreams were answered.

We’re following Alessa and Dante six months after the events of the last book. Dante has lost his powers and thus a part of his identity, and is also suffering from one helluva case of PTSD. Alessa wants to pretend like everything is rosy despite hiding a dark secret from everyone, including Dante. We join our lovers and their ragtag group of friends in a search of the lost ghiotte who will hopefully help Dante restore his lost powers - and help them against an ever growing threat to be set upon them by the gods.

I loved this book despite its flaws (maybe I’m being hyper critical). I found Alessa a lot more immature through the first start of this book, while Dante - hell I just love him despite some instances of toxic masculinity and non communication. Some of the more modern dialogue took me out of the story at times. I felt like the ending could have been a bit more fleshed out.

Over all I loved this conclusion. I love the dynamics with their friend group, especially an unexpected secondary romance plot line 😏. The banter and humour had me laugh out loud, the romance had me grinning from ear to ear and the end had me on the edge of my seat.

Loved this, can’t wait to see more Emily Thiede!

This was one of my most anticipated releases this year as I absolutely love This Vicious Grace when I read it last year. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t end up loving this one. The story takes place a couple months after the first one ends and we are in the aftermath stages of what to do after the big conflict. There were a couple things I didn’t like in this story, mainly it being very similar to book one with the war and training and certain characters not being able to touch, just with a different setting. I will say that I did enjoy Dante’s perspective in this one as we get to see his thoughts and I loved Kaleb being more present in this book as well. I will say though that I was pretty bored with some aspects of this one and that I hate the trope of killing off a character for the shock factor just to bring them back again a chapter later and this author already did that in book one. Overall, I was pretty disappointed in this sequel and felt that the first story could have been left a standalone with a little bit of tweaking at the end.

Although I was a big fan of the previous book, I found that this sequel was heavily driven by the romance which diminished my enjoyment following their journey. I loved the found family aspect of the books, but this time around it felt like an afterthought that supporting characters existed.

Because my biggest complaint centers around the romance, the introduction of the love interest's childhood best friend felt comical in the way she was so aggressive towards the main character. I understand it was to keep the tensions of forbidden love a secret, but the execution was unpleasant.

I did still really enjoy the apocalypse portion of the story, but I would have liked it more if the plot moved a bit quicker along. The second half of the book did move quicker once we got closer to the end date, but I suspect that it was due to the tension releasing from the main characters finally having sex. Not particularly my favorite resolution to enemies-to-lovers or forbidden love, so this didn't resonate with me.

Even though I had a number of complaints, overall the story and character development felt like a standard young adult novel that wrapped up well by the end.