This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
St. martin’s Press/Wednesday Books
June 28, 2022
“…Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.
Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?”
My review:
This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede is one of those fantasy stories you try to put down but can’t.
Alessa Paladino is Finestra, the next female to save her country at least that is what she keeps being told, however, there is one problem-to save her country, she needs a Fonte- a person with special powers that she can pull from into her own body.
"On One Side of the aisle, the twelve members of the Consiglio watched her with inscrutable eyes.
Always watching. Always waiting. First for her to be old enough to choose a partner. And then for her to choose another. And another after that. Soon they'd summon her next victim.
Partner. Her next Partner."
Doesn’t sound so hard when you’re chosen by Dea, right? Wrong… Alessa is made different than each one of her ancestral Finestras, her power kills people with a touch. She doesn’t know who to trust, people are losing their faith in her. Along comes one who she sees as strong and can protect her—Dante.
Alessa and Dante for the majority of this book are what keep you turning pages. I found their relationship adorable, tragic, frustrating and most of all worth the read. I have to be honest, for a while I wasn’t sure if I would keep reading This Vicious Grace it felt too familiar to me from another book that was released this year— however, Alessa tugged a thread in my head and kept me slightly interested, that is until she convinced Dante to be her bodyguard. This is where author, Emily Thiede’s magic starts happening. Dante is the glue to all the rest of the characters, not because he is the chiseled epitome of a God, no, but because he is full of faults, and also so much learned wisdom. Alessa needed that wisdom and permission to be herself and break a few rules. After all, She Is the Savior of her Country, or so her trainers keep reminding her.
The Fontes (those who hold the power, Finestra needs) are quirky, annoying, unique, and lovestruck. They are so different that at first, I found them bland, then, like I said before, Dante… These characters start shining, they start changing, and they start working as a team. They, and only they, can help Alessa defend Sinestra.
With every Fantasy story there needs to be a villain, right? Well, how about a whole town full of villains? Are they really out to get Alessa, or save her? Do they become complacent or do they rally to her defense? That is a good question… You must read this book to find out.
This Vicious Grace the first book in The Last Finestra series is a dark and twisty thriller with a little yummy romance sprinkled in. Emily Thiede’s Italian-inspired debut won’t let you down.
A warning, this book will end and set you up for the next in the series a lot quicker than you’d like, I hope it’s not too long of a wait
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