A review by wickedgrumpy
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

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.

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