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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Classism, and Deportation
joygarcialim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
The main characters were kind of bland and replaceable. They didn’t really stand out individually and the writer didn’t give them enough personality to show what their characters were supposed to be. Other than Alessa and Dante of course. Alessa is kind of a woe-is-me character and I get that her life is difficult in many regards but that’s most of her personality. Dante is a tortured devil archetype and kept saying he was evil with no proof. I get that they lived in a world where that mentality is enforced on him but it wasn’t really explained well. Dante was the most interesting character imo.
The chemistry between Alessa and Dante seemed kind of awkward too. There didn’t seem to be a reason they were in love with each other, other than their deep-rooted insecurities.
The world-building wasn’t great either. It was there but it wasn’t at the same time. It was just kind of vague but written about enough to let readers know it was there. The author emphasised a lot more on the romance part than the fantasy part.
Overall, very underdeveloped and poorly executed.
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse and Fire/Fire injury
kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Deportation
Minor: Sexism and Medical content
mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying and Death
Minor: Sexual content and Grief
dragonwriter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Alessa is the god-touched Fuenta, given the power to drain and amplify the powers of others with a single touch. The problem is, she doesn’t know how to turn it off. She has picked three fuentes to help her fight the incoming demons, and killed each one accidentally. Now a religious cult claims she’s a demon disguised as the Fuenta, sent to room them and leave them helpless against the oncoming demon horde, and the lead priest is trying to get his acolytes to kill her. Desperate to fulfill her duty to save her people and starved of touch, Alessa goes to the dark underbelly to find someone to help keep her alive until she can find the fuentes who can survive her touch and save her city. But the grumpy Dante goes above and beyond just keeping her alive; he helps her learn to get her power under control, and find the connection she so desperately needs.
Moderate: Violence, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War
ewatt33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Blood, Grief, and War
marine2907's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
takarakei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- 1st in a duology (book two out August 2023)
- Italian inspired fantasy
- Touch her and you die trope (like actually)
- Bodyguard trope
- FUNNY, witty banter
- Found Family
- If your love language is hugs... this is it!
- Made me want to eat all the lemon things
3/5 🌶️
Graphic: Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
megj23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death, Murder, and War
Moderate: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Genocide
carriepond's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was a really strong debut novel. The most compelling part for me was the relationship between Alessa and Dante, which had great banter and felt very natural. I loved how Thiede made them make sense-- they are both outsiders for a variety of reasons, with reasons to question the status quo, and they're both lonely, isolated from friendship and family for so long that they were able to develop a really strong bond quickly. I also loved how, although Alessa and Dante were the main event, there were a lot of side characters who had mini story arcs, so to speak, which leaves a lot of room to build on in the second installment.
And, speaking of the second installment, I very much appreciate how the big plot points were pretty much tied up by the end of the book. Lest I spoil anything, I won't go into detail, but Thiede leaves us lots to look forward to, with some unresolved issues and a preview of challenges to come rather than leaving the reader hanging with an extreme cliffhanger, which is something that annoys me for planned multi-book series. This Vicious Grace could stand on its own without reading the next installment, but Thiede creates such compelling characters that I am looking forward to returning to their world, no manipulation-by-cliffhanger needed!
I think the main place the book showed Thiede's first-time author status was the magic system. It wasn't fleshed out as much as I'd like, and what there was came in several info dumps toward the beginning, so I had a hard time understanding how it worked and what was at stake. But honestly, I was willing to shrug that off because I was enjoying everything else about it.
I recommend This Vicious Grace to anyone who enjoys YA, especially YA fantasy, to folks who are looking to be transported to a pretty cool world for a little while, or those who like romances with witty banter that feel genuine. I will definitely read Thiede's follow-up, which comes out in August!
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent