A review by evarinya
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It's heartbreaking.
I loved this book so much. Up to the  ~70-80% mark this was an absolute 5 star read for me.
Interesting premise, cool magic, fun dynamic between the MC and the love interest...
And then the last 20% happened and... no. Just no. The rest of the book was 2 stars at most for me. Just... randomly put together plot elements that, in my eyes, stopped making sense halfway through (those last 20%), the ending seemed to be simply dramatic for drama's sake and I just... didn't find it engaging anymore.
List of things I didn't like behind spoilers:
The random back and forth of Aldrick being "good" vs "evil", the random 180 of Alessa's parents / her mother specifically, the whole treason plotline the moment Dante was captured (also the hints that he was tortured, like, wtf?), the end battle didn't capture me at all anymore (though I don't know, maybe it was well written, I had just... lost any sort of interest in what's happening at this point), and the consulted "she was dying (wtf were all of her guards doing??), then he saved her and died, but she saved him and so he didn't die, but his gift just... vanished? Don't know, don't care anymore. But that he lost his gift at the end was a major gut-punch for me that made the whole reading experience worse.

 I know that there's a second book but I really don't want to read is anymore... And that breaks my heart after this book was so good for so long... But that's what it is. Sadly.
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