zarhara's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Violence, War, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Minor: Torture and Child death
one_more_chapter96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Phenomenal story. I absolutely adored Alessa & Dante’s story & seeing them slowly (and reluctantly) fall for each other. The world building, the language elements, the magic system, the religion system was all fascinating and so well introduced. The side characters were so funny & well enough developed, and it was beautiful to see Alessa grow in confidence. Wonderfully written book which made me laugh & cry out loud. One of my favourite reads of 2023 so far!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Religious bigotry, Death, War, Gore, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Torture, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse
xtsukix's review against another edition
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved every moment of this. The ending ripped my heart out, sewed it back together and then stomped on it for good measure. This is one of the best fantasy romances I have read in a long time and I will cherish it. It really has a bit of everything I love in it, so it kind of feels like I was meant to read this. I absolutely cannot wait to continue this series and hope that my bleeding heart can mend itself. I really want to see Alessa blossom as a character and I really believe we will see that progression.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Death, Suicide attempt, and Grief
kassidyreads's review against another edition
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child abuse
readwithria's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
This Vicious Grace absolutely blew me away! One of the best books I’ve read this year, 5 stars!
Alessa goes through so much growth in this book! She steals every inch of agency she can find, and I love her so much. She learns how to ask for and accept help, she learns how to advocate for herself, and she learns so much about her strength. She’s told for so much of the book that she’s too much - too much power, too much time, too much effort - and she proves to them all that she’s exactly what she needs to be.
This book has such strong themes of connection and community. The found family element was such a surprise, but an absolutely lovely one! The romance was SO CUTE 🥰 Dante is such a sweetheart, even if he acts like an asshole, and he stands up for what he believes in in so many ways. He has so much strength, and he shares it so willingly!
There were twists I didn’t see coming, new informations that I discovered as the characters did, and so many quotes I will want to revisit in the future! But for now I’ll leave you with this:
“We have a bad habit of locking up people who scare us, and the thing that scares men with power most is a woman with more of it.”
I absolutely cannot wait to read the sequel. 5 stars!
Alessa goes through so much growth in this book! She steals every inch of agency she can find, and I love her so much. She learns how to ask for and accept help, she learns how to advocate for herself, and she learns so much about her strength. She’s told for so much of the book that she’s too much - too much power, too much time, too much effort - and she proves to them all that she’s exactly what she needs to be.
This book has such strong themes of connection and community. The found family element was such a surprise, but an absolutely lovely one! The romance was SO CUTE 🥰 Dante is such a sweetheart, even if he acts like an asshole, and he stands up for what he believes in in so many ways. He has so much strength, and he shares it so willingly!
There were twists I didn’t see coming, new informations that I discovered as the characters did, and so many quotes I will want to revisit in the future! But for now I’ll leave you with this:
“We have a bad habit of locking up people who scare us, and the thing that scares men with power most is a woman with more of it.”
I absolutely cannot wait to read the sequel. 5 stars!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Cursing
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, War, Vomit, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Body horror, Physical abuse, Murder, Deportation, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Suicide, Stalking, Bullying, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gaslighting, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Police brutality
kirstenf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Violence, and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Sexual content, Grief, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Deportation, and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content and Sexism
carriepond's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- 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
My book club chose This Vicious Grace for this month's read, and I have to admit I approached it with a little skepticism. I have found YA fantasy romance books to be a mixed bag for me-- sometimes I love them and am totally swept away, and other times I find them annoying, with the storytelling not outweighing some of the common tropes that make me roll my eyes. I am pleased to say that Emily Thiede's debut novel falls into the "totally swept me away" category.
This Vicious Grace is a riff on oft-used "chosen one" trope-- our heroine, eighteen-year-old Alessa, is a Finestra, chosen once in a generation by the goddess Dea to save Saverio, their island home. Finestras have the power to amplify the magical gifts of their bonded partners, called Fontes, which makes them the perfect weapon for battling the insect-like demons called scarabeos that invade the island during an attack called the Divorino. When the novel opens, Alessa is mourning the death of her third Fonte, killed because Alessa has been unable to harness and control her power. The Divorino will begin any day, and the Fontes' death has left Alessa shaken and has started rumblings in the town-- fueled by the sermons of a zealous priest named Ivini-- that Alessa herself is a demon, rather than a savior. After thwarting an attempt on her life by a would-be-assassin, who Alessa realizes was one of her guards, Alessa hires Dante, an outsider with a heart of gold and bod of steel, to be her bodyguard.
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
eatingbrains's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Imagine, if you will, Rogue from X-Men but transported into a historical quasi-Italian island setting. That's basically our heroine, but with the addition of a chosen one trope. Her power is to amplify that of someone else but if she touches the wrong person, they die. Her divine goal is to save the world from an apocalyptic event that occurs roughly every 5 years and once the chosen one has saved the island, they lose their powers and another person awakens theirs. Rinse and repeat.
The chosen one chooses a (life) partner to weather the battle with, and with our main character, she has chosen and killed three times while trying to train for the end of the world.
I have some issues with the book, but overall it was very readable and the ending left enough questions and plot for the next installment. Not sure if I would continue, but I'm not immediately opposed.
The chosen one chooses a (life) partner to weather the battle with, and with our main character, she has chosen and killed three times while trying to train for the end of the world.
I have some issues with the book, but overall it was very readable and the ending left enough questions and plot for the next installment. Not sure if I would continue, but I'm not immediately opposed.
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Outing, War, Child abuse, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Police brutality, Torture, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexual content
hanna's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? No
5.0
Loved this so so much! I was shocked to find out that this was debut — it reads like it was written by someone who's had way more experience.
Dante and Alessa absolutely had my heart. They are so perfect for each other, even though they tried to deny it.
This had such a good "found family" trope and the author was able to really differentiate the characters (something I was scared she wouldn't be able to do, after they were basically all introduced at the same time).
I'm looking forward to the next book! 😍
Dante and Alessa absolutely had my heart. They are so perfect for each other, even though they tried to deny it.
This had such a good "found family" trope and the author was able to really differentiate the characters (something I was scared she wouldn't be able to do, after they were basically all introduced at the same time).
I'm looking forward to the next book! 😍
Spoiler
Feminism is when the male LI looses his power at the end and not the female MC 😉
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Death of parent, Death, and Self harm
The sexual content is mainly fade to black but is a bit more graphic than typical YA.
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