Soo... I absolutely LOVED this, and am now eagerly waiting for the next book to come out so I can know what is going to happen next.
Alessa is such a strong person, she has been through so much, and still does whatever she needs to do to save her people from an invasion by these scarab things. But she needs a partner to do that and she has killed the last three that were chosen... Now her people are beginning to turn against her, and since after some recent events she can't trust anyone, she goes sneaks into town and finds herself someone that will guard her. And boy does Dante have his work cut out for him.

I love Alessa and Dante's relationship. It starts with a mutually beneficial relationship... she will pay him to guard her and turns into a reluctant friendship, then into an amazing love story. Alessa also with the help of Devon begins to realize that she isn't just the Savior she is also a girl whose life has been turned upside down when she was chosen, then again and again as she accidentally killed her partners. I loved watching her become more confident and realize that she is her own person and maybe she needs to go about things a different way. Also, the chemistry between her and Dante was very steamy, and I loved watching them slowly fall in love.

I loved the way this story ended, and I can't wait to see what's in store for all of my new favorite characters... Especially Dante and Alessa. I can't wait for this to be released so I can get a copy to add to my collection.

Thank you so much to the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Alessa's power is a "gift from the gods" to magnify her Fonte's powers to battle the demons on Divorando. Her job is to use and magnify her partner's powers to save their island. But her gift is too strong, it is killing every suiter she chooses. Now with only weeks left to find a suiter that will help her save her island, a powerful priest is convincing his followers to sacrifice Alessa to be able to find a new Finestra. After a few assassination attempts, Alessa hires Dante, an outcast who is marked as a killer, as her personal guard. Even though he may hold secrets that could shatter her, he may be her savior as well.

I really really really loved this book! It was definitely far more than I expected and I am so so happy that I was given this chance to read it. I loved the magic system, I loved the characters, the found family, the struggles that both Alessa and Dante faced, and how they were able to help each other with it all. I loved the development of their relationship as well as the development of their characters as the book went on. It definitely kept me captivated and I cannot wait to read the next one!

I never really fell in love with the magic system or worldbuilding of THIS VICIOUS GRACE. For whatever reason, I was not swept away like I thought I would. The religious background and the reasoning provided for everything never completely resonated with me either.

But....

The relationship between Alessa and Dante and how everything develops is to die for (pun intended). They are both so likeable and easy to cheer on. The best moments of the story are when they share the page. Such great chemistry and teasing.

I wish this had been a standalone. I am not a fan of how the story ended (though I realize it's because Thiede is setting things up for a sequel). The solution seemed quite obvious from early on, and things seemed to come together too easily (I never really believed things were as bad as we're led to believe).

Despite some aspects I wasn't fond of, THIS VICIOUS GRACE is still definitely worth the read--especially if you're looking for an escape.

This Vicious Grace is a story that somehow balances the scales of character and plot perfectly, while maintaining one of the most swoonworthy romances I’ve seen in the YA genre.The characters are intriguing, the world is Italian-inspired, and the romance? Well, the romance is very nearly impeccable. I will riot if booktok doesn’t lose its mind over this story because it 1000% deserves it.

This story’s official synopsis starts out with the line “Three weddings. Three funerals.” I MEAN, HELLO??? We follow a girl named Alessa, who is a Finestra charged with saving an entire continent from a swarm of demons that come every couple of decades. A Finestra is able to amplify the abilities of people called Fontes, who essentially have magical abilities. Unfortunately, Alessa keeps killing Fontes whenever she touches them. As time runs out to find her Fonte, she enlists the help of a very dark, brooding, grumpy bodyguard name Dante to protect her.

I am obsessed with this book! Alessa is an amazing main character. She’s funny, smart, caring…and just wants to be able to touch another human being. The romance in this is so slowburn and perfect because any sort of touch has a heavier weight to it than in other books. Her relationships with the Fontes, Dante, and her twin brother are all handled so incredibly well. I rarely felt like any aspects of any of the relationships were rushed.

Alessa’s struggle to control her powers (and, you know, not kill the limited number of people who could help save the entire continent from destruction) made this book more character-focused than I originally thought it would be. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely a lot of excitement since Doomsday is on its way but the quiet moments in this story were very well-done.

And the Italian influences! My 25% Italian heart was so happy! Dante (Alessa’s bodyguard) occasionally spoke Italian, and there were Italian proverbs at the beginning of every chapter. The world just felt simultaneously familiar and fantastical.

ANYWAYS time to talk about Dante! First of all, he READS. Second of all I don’t have to continue because I know you all just gasped at my first point. The romance in this book is slowburn, funny, and feels genuine. My issue with a lot of YA fantasy books is that I feel like they just throw a romance in there because the characters are hormonal, have no other options, and apparently don’t care that the world’s going to end. But this romance worked. I want more bodyguard romances in fantasy, please and thank you.

I saw a couple of reviewers complaining about the final climax but I actually thought that it was pretty well-written. It was just exciting enough without overstaying its welcome!

After I finished This Vicious Grace, my initial instinct was to give it 5 stars. And I’m sort of going to do that, but with a few caveats. You see, this had just a few hiccups that can be chalked up to this being a debut. I love supporting debut authors because they don’t always get the chance to publish another book, and to learn and grow from their mistakes. So this book certainly had some rushed worldbuilding, a few tropey moments, and some slight plotting issues, but they didn’t really detract from my enjoyment of this novel. So while this is essentially 4.5 stars, I’m giving it "The Debut 5 Stars” because I truly do think that Emily Thiede has the potential to take the genre by storm and become one of my favorite authors!

So that’s it! Truly, this book is going to be marked as one of the best debuts of the year, I guarantee it. Thank you so much Wednesday Books for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the start of a new series and I already can’t wait for the second volume. Alessa is a Finestra and, as such, is supposed to save her island from a swarm of insect demons. The problem is, she kills anyone she touches. At first, the mythology was a little complicated, so it was hard for me to follow and one of the twists was not as surprising as it should have been, considering I didn’t understand the implications. Still, the more I read, the more I got sucked into the story. Once I got to know the characters, I couldn’t stop reading. I don’t want to say much more, because the twists are really great, and the plot is pure escapist gold. The world-building is impressive, and the characters have great chemistry. Alessa is a strong and likable heroine and Dante is just dreamy. I’m not sure where the mythology comes from, it sounds Italian, but I haven’t heard it before so, if the author came up with it on her own, kudos for creativity. Some parts were a little silly, but being YA I guess it will work with the target audience. I can’t wait to read what happens next.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books!

***ARC received from Wednesday Book and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

I am pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. This Vicious Grace the debut novel from Emily Thiede has many of the standard YA tropes that normally turn me away from books yet I was happy to find that they were handled well and kept me interested and ultimately enjoying the book.

The new Finestra, Alessa, is having a very hard time at her new job. She needs her partners magic in order to stop the coming invasion and she has the unfortunate problem that she keeps killing them. This causes Alessa a lot of problems on top of her already large list of problems both internal and external. I did like Alessa, she struggles with both how her position affects her ability to interact with other but she is never wallowing in self pity. Despite her reservations she is still trying to do what she can, finding a solution that will also help to keep her Fontes alive while also keeping herself alive. The book does pick up more once Dante is introduced as the interactions between Alessa and Dante is really what carried the book for me. Their interactions are fun and I really liked their banter. I liked Dante, he starts as the typical moody YA love interest but I still liked him, I appreciate that he wasn’t one of those look at her and I’ll kill you type love interest. The need is bigger than him in particular Alessa who is able to bring more people into her circle thanks to him and he more than welcomes that.

I wish I liked the secondary characters as much as I liked the two leads. A few of them have some potential but they never really get past being just the necessary stereotypes to fit the narrative. It may be because there are just too many of them. I understand that is what is necessary for the point of the story and I never found that I was mixing up characters, they have enough of a unique voice to stand out as their own characters but it would have benefited for the story to have one or three less secondary characters to allow them to be more than stereotypes. Same with the main protagonist Padre Ivini, he’s a really interesting concept the religious leader who is gaming the system for his own benefit. At times he was an intimidating figure giving the story a needed villain as the book carries itself to the main villain and yet at other points I expected him to twirl a mustache and give an evil villain laugh.

My favorite part of the book was the religious aspect. The central conflict was started generations ago by two gods in a conflict. I liked how over the years the teachings have been interpreted by individuals that has allowed them to flourish as we see if Ivini. Twisted and tainted what Dea gave them to the point that their own rituals and hate has become their biggest enemy. I hope that with the way the book ended that it sets up the second book to explore more of what was started at the end.

The writing it lovely, it has some of the best banter I’ve read in awhile. Its a really good debut novel and I can’t wait to read the sequel.

I was graciously granted an e-arc by the publisher through netgalley, thank you!

I've been hearing a lot of hype surrounding this debut novel and wanted to see what it was all about. All I knew about it was that it is a fantasy set in an Italian setting. This is a strong debut novel and I give it about a 4 to 4.25 star rating. There was just something that prevented me from giving it a full 5 star rating and I can't quite put my finger on why that is.

Anyways, Dante is a gem who is initially grumpy but softens up to Alessa and I adored the interactions between these two. The innuendos and jokes made me smile. All in all, a solid start to a series and I am looking forward to the next book!

This is a story about dying for love.

I think this will really work for some readers, but it really did not work for me. I couldn't connect to the characters, so the romance didn't read as compelling to me, and the banter felt more petulant vs witty. If it doesn't hit you that way, than the world built and magic system are both very cool.

Thank you so much Negalley & St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the eArc!

This was a 4 star read for me. It was fun and not so "weighed down" by the magic system like some ya novels. I loved the slow burn romance, it was very well done. The world building could have been better. The "back story" of the islands felt a little rushed or glossed over. I think there was so much emphasis on the romance that it took away from the development of the other characters and the main story line. Overall this was a great read. I think it could have been a great standalone. Not sure if it leaves readers invested enough for the second book.

Poor Alessa. She’s supposed to be the most recent chosen one who will save her island world from demon monsters. She needs to do that with the help of a spouse/partner whose powers she will amplify and use as a weapon. The problem is the last 3 she’s picked have died. She can’t touch anyone without killing them. I felt awful for Alessa. This poor girl cannot take a break. But then she meets Dante and hires him to be her guard, and things start to change for her. I loved their banter and the building heat of their romance. Whew. But I also love that Alessa starts to also make friends in this story after being isolated for so long.

This world has an Italian feel to it, at least this island on which the characters live. However I do feel like I never really grasped the world very well. I just couldn’t visualize it or understand it well. I hope that will change in the next book as we experience more of it. While I really loved the relational aspect of this book, including Alessa and Dante’s romance and the found family aspect, the world building and fantasy aspects were a bit more muddled for me.

This book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, after a big event and revelation that changed things for the characters.. There is definitely more story and tension to come. I cannot wait to read it.

Thank you so much for sending an advanced copy of this fantastic book my way!

Man oh man, did this story leave me speechless. Alessa definitely has made her way to my favorite YA characters of all time list. i just wanted to give her a hug that she so desperately needs throughout the story. I ended up finishing this in one sitting and i cannot wait for my preorder to come and the sequel of course!

please tell me there is going to be a sequel?

Do you want to feel all the things? Read this book.

Holy smokes.
I keep clicking for the next page and hoping book two will magically appear but I keep getting my heart broken.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Wednesday Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book. This. Book. THIS BOOK!! I preordered this long before I received a review copy and I cannot wait to have this brilliant story in my hands and on my shelf. As soon as I read this synopsis, it was preordered. Didn't even need to add to cart. Clearly, I am a genius. Because this story was beautiful and heart breaking and soul reviving.

Alessa, god blessed. She is Saverio's chosen savior. All she has to do is find the other half of her duo, get wifed up, climb up a peak, grab on to her other half, magnify their power, blast the demon insects from the sky, and become a legend. Except, she keeps killing her would be partners with a simple touch of her hand. True story.

Alessa doesn't have any gifts of her own. But there are those that do have them and together, they will take on the demons sent to destroy their island and their homes and all their loved ones. Alessa just has to figure out how to magnify the powers given to her Fonte without killing them first. Tall order. I'm not even going to insult this magnificent storytelling by attempting to even begin to explain it. Just know that is deeply unique, intricate without being confusing, beautiful, and soul crushing. These characters are going to make you care about them. They're going to make you cheer for them, curse them, and if you're anything like me, they'll make you weep. I say "like me" but I'll be honest, it's been awhile since I've cared so much for a character I'm reading about and only know for the last few days. But damn if there weren't tears on my Kindle. I was wiping my tears and turning the pages too fast. That's another thing, be prepared to stay locked in after 15ish to 20 percent in. I couldn't stop. I didn't want to stop. This writing style has a way of wrapping up chapters so that you do that bargaining thing of, two more chapters, okay well I will read until x, y, z gets resolved. Until finally you just accept your fate that you won't get peaceful rest until you've reached the end. This was just everything I didn't even realized I was hoping it would be. The friendship, the need, the love, the betrayal. Just the tremendous amount of everything on this one girls shoulders and how this all plays out. I am bewitched. I feel like I have said a lot and nothing at all. But if you take nothing else away from my rambling, take this: Read. This. Book. Then come talk to me about it. Because I'm just going to be over here waiting for more like a greedy little reader. Ha. I just did a thing with my words that I didn't mean to do and that you won't understand unless you read this book. Because I really need to talk about and compare reactions to the last two chapters. And not your standard, OMG plot twist reactions. It doesn't make sense, I know. Just read this and then it will. Okay, I'm done.

Just kidding.
Read this.

Okay, byeeee.

I’m on the fence about This Vicious Grace. I wanted to like it. Maybe I kind of do? I honestly don’t know.

I really struggled with TVG and I’m bummed because I loved the premise and magic/lore of the book, but the writing style and execution missed the mark for me. The pacing was off for me, and the storyline felt drawn out and full of unnecessary filler. I also never really found myself feeling at all connected to Alessa, found Dante’s secretly good bad guy thing a bit cliche, and overall felt like the MCs and the side characters lacked any real depth.

I received a copy through NetGalley for review.

Alessa is the current Finestra, a divine chosen girl who's touch can cause death to the average person, or so it should be, except Alissa's touch seems to kill everyone she touches, including her Fonte, a person also with gifted divine- usually elemental powers. Traditionally the Finestra and chosen Fonte are supposed to marry, and become partners to stop and annual plague of the gods, where the Finestra would use her toxic touch to amplify and wield her Fonte's elemental power. Every 5 years a new one rises to power, taking over for the old one.

Alessa seems to have too much power. One touch and she steals ones entire life force. And she'd already killed 3 Fonte's. She's running out of time, and her island (there are 3 islands, each one has a Finestra and Fonte to protect it) is getting scared and restless at her ability to save them all, when the war comes again.

Enemies seem to be everywhere, who thinks it would be better if she were eliminated and a new girl's power would rise instead. In desperation she hires Dante, a dangerous wild street fighter to be her body guard. And it's a love match of stubborn, bantering proportions.
Except Dante has a secret, and it will rock the ideas and values that she was brought up with.
But it's a good thing Alessa feels like breaking some rules, because it might be the only way her next Fonte might survive to even see the battle.

I really liked the characters in this. Breaking down Alessa's and Dante's emotions and feelings, her inadequacies, and isolation. They're both honest with one another. And while Dante might be evasive, he's blunt and honest. And she pushes him back. And the group of Fonte's coming together, that maybe they don't all have to stand alone, each one has their own strength that they can lend to each other.

This was an incredibly solid book. The plot was good. I have a great feeling the second book will be even better.

Wow. Just wow!!! This books. I am struggling to come up with words to describe my feelings. I loved the magic system and how unique Alessa’s powers were. I love her an Dante’s relationship. I love the growth into friendship with the other fontes. It was just so good and I need the next book now!

WOW did this book ever exceed my expectations! I was extremely excited to read This Vicious Grave from the moment I read the blurb— Italian inspired setting, looming apocalypse, broody love interest, chosen one trope and snarky humour? Sign me up.

Emily Thiede managed to create a world that was both lush and fleshed out from the off, masterfully combining setting the scene for a unique world and fascinating lore without being too info-dumpy or overwhelming. I immediately grasped the stakes and the setting right away, a testament to Thiede’s craft.

Alessa is one of my favourite protagonists I’ve read in a long time. Isolated, lonely and dealing with the weight of the world on her shoulders, she still manages to be self-possessed, lighthearted and relatable. Her inner monologue was a wonderful place to be and I greatly enjoyed her snark, problem solving and thoughts about the other characters (especially Dante). Her intense desire for connection and friendship really pulled at my heartstrings and made me root for her throughout the story.

Dante is a portraits in contradictions. I loved seeing Thiede’s take on the grumpy sunshine trope with our broody and reticent love interest. While Dante comes out as archetypal when we first meet him, he truly is anything but. I loved seeing how deeply compassion he is and how much he wants to do right by the people he cares for. His story line and backstory was fascinating and I can’t wait to see how it goes in the next book. Dante and Alessa had *so* much chemistry and I completely bought their love story throughout the novel. And that hug!! Genuinely my favourite part of the book.

There are genuinely so many things I could say about This Vicious Grace— from the found family trope, high action stakes and fascinating mythology and history woven in, I loved every part of it. I couldn’t recommend it more and am eagerly awaiting the sequel!

I think this will be popular with some of the younger YA fans, it just wasn't something that I found overly enjoyable for myself. I liked the direction of the plot and the way it was executed--I think that most of my issues stemmed from the characters themselves. I found their communication to be a bit unbelievable, and some of the decisions left me a bit confused. I did really like the main character, though--I think it's refreshing and important to see such a nuanced take on failure and duty, and the emotions surrounding that, in a YA book! The world-building was awesome, and overall the characters weren't bad even if I didn't quite understand their communication tactics. If you liked books like the Hunger Games, I think you'll be a fan of this one. Even though this didn't quite tickle my fancy, I'm definitely looking forward to more by this author!

This Vicious Grace is a charming and big hearted story about a young woman, Alessa, who is a Finestra, one half of a fated pair that is completed when the Finestra chooses a Fonte, a partner with elemental magic. Together the Finestra and the Fonte must do battle against a demonic swarm and save their island. This swarm comes every so many years, and always a Finestra and a Fonte rise to defend the island. Alessa, however, has accidentally killed three partners already when the book begins, and she is beginning to doubt herself, and her countryfellows are beginning to doubt her as well. What's worse, her household avoids her, the remaining Fontes are terrified of her, and Alessa is more alone than ever.

I don't know what I expected of the main character, Alessa, but Thiede really surprised me with her characterization. Alessa is clearly some form of neurodivergent. I read her as ADHD, and found her stories about how she would stay up all night to write a perfect essay and then forget to bring it to her classes in the morning, how her living space was always messy and cluttered, or how she had trouble sitting still and was often fidgeting, how she flits from topic to topic or person to person, or how deeply she was hurt by rejection, really nailed that representation.

I also found it extremely refreshing to see a fantasy protagonist who is not a loner but who instead is extremely social, who craves the company of others, who is touch starved to the point that it's affecting her ability to do her duty as Finestra. Fantasy books love a tortured protagonist, and Alessa is tormented, but in a completely different way from what we usually see. She's like a puppy, craving head pats and a kind word or two, and when she gets those things, she absolutely blossoms. At one point Alessa says that before she became Finestra she loved people, craved the company of others, and adored parties and social occasions. I was honestly a bit blown away because it's such an unusual characterization in a genre that usually chooses characters of this sort as side characters and foils for withdrawn loner hate the world type protagonists. But in this sense, Alessa the perfect protagonist for a book that is essentially all about community and the power of human connection. If the solution to the Alessa's dilemma is a bit too pat and saccharine, the prejudices of the people a bit too easily overcome, the sweetness is tempered by some sincerely heartbreaking moments that made me tear up more than once.

The worldbuilding does not take itself too seriously, and I like that. It's a vaguely Italian renaissance-ish era world, but Thiede is not overly concerned with preserving exact period details. There's an episode in which one of the potential Fontes basically throws a gelato party for the whole gang, Alessa drinks limoncello, which is a popular Italian drink but relatively modern, there are characters with names from various real-world cultural inspirations, implying that this is a diverse world with widespread international travel, there is physical therapy (called by that name), and yet it doesn't feel less like fantasy because of it. Fantasy writers often skirt a line when incorporating more modern elements into low-tech fantasy, but Thiede's worldbuilding is fun and believable.

This is a YA book, and it reads like it, in the very best way. There is banter that is very teenage-- lot's of dick jokes and innuendoes, some phrasing that is slightly modern (without being anachronistic, which is important to me), and little world details that are fun. At times the descriptions of the male love interest get slightly overwrought, but always in a very teenage way that reminds me of the love poetry I used to write when I was seventeen or eighteen. It's all so very age appropriate and I love that about This Vicious Grace. It feels like it was truly written with a particular YA audience in mind. I'm a high school teacher and I can imagine my students loving this book.


This is a solid debut by Emily Thiede, YA fantasy with strong characters, a timely message, which packs an emotional punch. I look forward to the next installment.

This book. THIS. BOOK. It’s definitely a strong contender for my favorite book of the year so far.

This is a really well written fantasy novel. The perfect balance of modern writing and classic setting/themes/technology so that you aren’t totally thrown off. A interesting mechanic for magic, and incredibly high stakes.

And the characters. My gosh, do I love them. I want to hold onto them forever. Dante just is the perfect blend of grumpy and tender.

It’s been a minute since I’ve been so captivated by a book. And ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴠɪᴄɪᴏᴜꜱ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ consumed me. It got me where it hurt, and I found myself NEEDING to read as much as possible in each sitting.

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝘀.
Deceit. Betrayal. Isolation.

Alessa Paladino is the newest Finestra. She’s given up her old life for everything the kingdom stands for. 3 Fonte’s later and she still can’t control her magic. She feels doomed, as if the gods are playing a cruel joke. And heaven forbid she touch someone without her gloves. They will likely meet an untimely end. The worst thing is she’s alone and the apocalypse is coming.

Enter Dante.

There’s a scene in here where he hugs her. And I just, my heart 😭😭.

My heart swelled and I cried while reading this. It’s very rare for that to happen to me but the romance in here is just…ugh. I don’t have the words! I loved it!

The magic system is unique. It took me a minute to grasp the terms. This is an apocalyptic fantasy. And I honestly can’t wait for book two. I’m obsessed and need the second book like yesterday.

I loved everything about this. The romance, the world, the magic, and the battle. 🪲

I HIGHLY recommend adding this one to your list.