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witcheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"I'm tired of being a title rather than a person, I guess."
When Alessa gets the chance to touch again by trying to connect with a Fonte, she takes it ravenously – and it ends in the death of the Fonte too many times because her magic is too strong for the touch. This grants the secondary foes in the book, a religious group of men, a somewhat justified claim to want to murder her as a false Finestra. After multiple attempts on her life, Alessa doesn't trust anyone, and seeks for protecion from a disinterested party by hiring a lone street fighter Dante as her body guard.
Dante says he is not kind, but Alessa decides his actions show otherwise: Dante builds Alessa's confidence up by gentle bullying, and Alessa begins to regard them as friends with the potentiality for more.
Dante squinted, and she smiled brighter. If he was going to tease her about reading smutty novels, she'd fight back by working innuendo into every conversation.
They both are lonely teenagers with recent years in their lives holding such dark times for them that they both have had to grow up fast and become as adult-like as they can to fill in the roles that keep them alive. They open up to each other about their secrets and offer each other support.
Quote in spoiler:
She patted his arm with a perky, "You're doing fine."
"You're desperate, and I'm here, eh?"
"Exactly." She paused. "Thank you."
In the plot, slowly, the concrete truths and rules of ancient sacred texts are questioned by finding alternative translations and interpretations, and Alessa pieces together that the core of the sacred text is community: "Together, we protect. Divided, we unravel." This has traditionally been interpreted to mean the connection between the Finestra and their one Fonte. Gradual spoilers of plot progression: 1.
Hope is what must be found in a YA book, and that is what is drizzled throughtout This Vicious Grace to finally be bathed in at the end. The ending of the book sets up the premise for the sequel, and I'm interested to see where Thiede takes the main characters from here.
Review written 17.3.2024
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, Blood, and War
Minor: Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, and Classism
xvicesx'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
4.0
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, and Suicide attempt
zarhara'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Torture
one_more_chapter96'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
5.0
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Torture, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
xtsukix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
kassidyreads's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse
readwithria'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
5.0
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!
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
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
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
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