First thing’s first: this book is not YA. The main character is 18, the love interest is 19-20, and there is quite a steamy scene (a couple of steamy scenes) on the page. I would say This Vicious Grace would be more appropriately labeled as New Adult. As for it’s YA elements, because the book does have some, they are very generic and derivative of other familiar aspects of popular fantasy romance out right now. Sure, readers get a lovely, Italian-esque setting, complete with the language, idioms at the beginning of chapters, and foods; but the book overall is pretty much just like every other YA on the market. Chosen one, isolated MC, grumpy bodyguard love interest with sad back story, steamy (inappropriate for YA) sex scene, and the list goes on and on. It wasn’t terrible, but it certainly doesn’t stand out.

After the dry beginning with copious amounts of info-dump, the book picks up and gets a bit interesting toward the 30% mark. Our main character, Alessa, can’t touch those around her because her power somehow drains the life force of anyone unfortunate enough to make skin contact with her (hello, Rogue). She has lost favor with her people, who are reliant on her powers to save them from an impending demon horde (kinda like Wraith Kings and Riddles’ Convergence series), because she can’t stop accidentally killing her partners. These partners, in tandem with the Finestra, must work together to defeat the demon horde by allowing Alessa to access her partner’s power in order to use it against the horde and stop it. My question is, why can’t the Fonte do this alone? Why the need to have a middleman? Fontes can all use their powers separately from the Finestra to begin with—what’s the sense of all the convolution?

Alessa is a fairly good main character; she’s a bit of a Mary Sue, but has a touch of not so much Mary Sue thrown in (I’m not anti-Mary Sue, though I know some readers loathe the trope). She is isolated from her people but revered spiritually as a savior (hello, Poppy), though she feels more than a little dejected because she’s killed a few of her suitors (all completely understandable). The problem with this is, as she has lost her people’s favor, she has also lost the confidence of those who serve her, such as her guards, and they conspire to kill her. After a failed assassination attempt, she meanders to a fighting ring and finds a gifted fighter (hello, Wolverine) and pays him to guard her.

The two, naturally, fall in love. The book begins to focus on things I hate in “YA” books, mainly combat training and the flirty, almost-kiss-after-the-accidental-fall-on-top-of-the-girl/guy-on-the-mat thing. The rest of the book is divided between the impending demon horde attack and the conflicts that arise with forbidden love when one of the couple is promised to another. It’s not a bad trope, but I don’t feel it’s very artfully done here. Though I grew to love Dante and his dreamy, grumpy guardiness, he was a cardboard cut out of other guards in other stories (Castiel, Wolverine) and felt like just more of the same. The narrative presents too much backtracking to make things fit and put the two doomed lovers together in order to create more tension. After a while, the repetition made my eyes droop and I had to take frequent breaks.

I also felt the world building to be pretty superficial; it suffered from too many things going on at once and wasn't detailed enough for me. Though it has enormous potential, the basic premise of the magic system was what drew me into the story but lost its fizz with all the buzzing of the marriage plots and the magical maladies and the hot-and-heavy unlucky lovers.

On a minor side note, (though not for an English nerd), incorrect subject/object pronouns, pronoun/antecedent agreement, conditional tense, and other grammar and usage stuff plagued the book and drove me to distraction. If I had a print review copy, I’m not sure I’d have been able to keep myself from writing in it. My eye twitched quite a lot.

On a brighter note, the narrator for this book made the experience quite tolerable. Brenton’s tone is varied, the character voices excellently differentiated, and the words annunciated well enough to crank the speed up to 2x and get the show on the road.

Ultimately, though it wasn’t a horrible reading experience, I had a very hard time staying focused on the story and not zoning out; I’ve read the story too many times before. It really feels like every couple of years (or months, or weeks), there is another book with the same premise but a different setting and different menial details. I certainly hope a book comes along soon and gets me out of this reading slump; I keep reading duds, and it’s extremely demotivating.

My thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC and eARC of THIS VICIOUS GRACE, coming June 28 from Wednesday Books!

Alessa is a “reluctant chosen one” grappling with the worry that she’ll fail to save her people from the impending apocalypse, where she and a partner must battle a horde of demons! The problem: she can’t keep her partners alive, thanks to the lethal touch of her gift. When her own mentors can’t be trusted, Alessa heads to the city’s underbelly and hires a bodyguard, Dante. He is somehow the perfect combination of traits from Kaz and Matthias, if that makes any sense.

The banter between Alessa and Dante had me giggling so many times. I’ve highlighted so many quotes, some funny, some deeply resonating. This book grapples with loneliness in a way that hits close to home.

There is one steamy scene, but no explicit language is used.

This was a solid debut that could have used some more editing - it's about 75 pages too long and has some quirks that just don't work, like the translated colloquialisms. It's the kind of fantasy I would have loved at 16, though, and I think it'll certainly find its audience.

I was a bit unsure about this because it started out slow, but I ended up really liking it.

Alessa is the Finestra. She was chosen by the Goddess to defeat the demons that will come in a few weeks to devour them all. She can magnify another person's magic by touch. Unfortunately, she hasn't figured out how to do it without killing them first.

I enjoyed this. I liked the uniqueness and the characters. The narrator was great. I thought it was wrapping up nicely and then it took a turn at the end that I didn't expect. Now I will have to wait impatiently for the next one.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I really enjoyed this one! Some great world building and interesting characters. My only complaint is that the end battle felt a little lacking. I'm glad it ended at a spot where I'm not super angry that I have to wait forever for a resolution, but am still anticipating the next one. The narrator was great as well!

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
5/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐⭐

•••Spoiler free review below•••

This book has it all! Enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers! Drunk truth or dare! Demon locusts attacking an island! If I touch you, you die! Limoncello! Everything! I swear!

Alessa has known she would be the Finestra of her island since she was 13. She has known she, with her chosen partner, would one day save her island from the swarm of demons that will attack their home.

The problem? Alessa has killed her last three partners due to her power being too great. When some members of the city seem to think killing her is the answer, she is forced to find a bodyguard to keep her safe. With time running out, she struggles to find a way to control her power. And maybe her bodyguard holds the answer...

Guys. This has been one of my favorite books of the year. It was amazing and I am now anxiously awaiting the announcement of a sequel. If you are looking for your next fantasy fix, this is it! This Vicious Grace will be released June 28th, and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
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Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sharing an arc with me in exchange for my honest opinions. And if you could please also provide an arc of the sequel when that is available, that would be greatly appreciated.

It has been a looong time since I stayed up past bedtime reading, or read a whole book in a day. This books has some steamy bits too. I like the tropes as well as the newness of this novel. I am excited to see what happens in the next instalment.

Story:
Unique. Exciting. Romantic. 4/5 Stars
This Vicious Grace came to me at a time when I was growing bored of romance books. I found them too dramatic or too dry; however, my interest was restored after finishing this! I can’t wait to read (or listen to) the next in the series!

While I felt like the book started off slowly, you eventually get sucked into this world in which the main character is tasked with the grueling job of saving the world. You get the common theme of the lonely hero desperate for connection but I found this author was able to successfully add enough twists and turns to make if feel original. The characters are well developed and the world building was great. I felt like the balance of adventure to romance was spot on, although I do wish we had more Dante. Always more Dante!

Audio: I had the ability to listen to the audio book. I really enjoyed the narrator of this story. She was expressive without being over the top. I think she is one of the best performers I have heard in a while.

Overall I enjoyed this performance and recommend it to others looking for a fun romantic fantasy with a swoon worthy male lead.

I am speechless at how good this book is. It drew me in from the beginning and it didn’t let me go. The story is really original and fresh, the characters were well rounded and had amazing growth arcs without losing their essence, the chemistry was palpable, and the author made me care which is the most important part. I cared about what happened to every character, I laughed with them, I gasped, I cried. It’s honestly one of my favorite reads of this year and I cannot wait to read book 2.

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!

The audiobook was so good as well! The narrator was fantastic and her voice is so captivating, and the way she played both Alessa and Dante's parts was so smooth. I would definitely get the next book in audiobook for sure! Loved it!

Alessa is the chosen one – the Finestra – and each Finestra needs a Fonte – a person blessed by the goddess Dea with a unique gift – to work in tandem to protect their home island from the inevitable attack that comes every so often.

There can only be one Finestra at a time, but there are many Fonte, lucky for Alessa, she can choose her partner – except she’s killed the last three she chose just by touching them.

This story goes with your typical “chosen one” troupe and switches it up, and I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. It was something familiar with something new.

The world building in this book is incredible, but it never felt too complex to grasp and understand. It’s set in an Italy-inspired world with Italian words dispersed throughout the book but again, it never felt forced. I felt like I understood and could picture this world easily.

Alessa never asked to be the chosen one, and she hates that she has killed three of her partners – she’s an easy to like person. She wants to do her duty to protect the island she calls home but she doesn’t know how when she can’t harness or work with a Fonte without killing them. Alessa grows over the course of this story and I appreciate when protagonists actually learn along the way.

When she discovers those sworn to protect her are trying to kill her, thinking if she dies another Finestra will rise and perhaps be better, Alessa takes matters into her own hands and hires her own personal bodyguard, Dante.

I loved Dante from the minute we met him. He isn’t just a fighting brute and Alessa realized that, which is why she wanted him to protect her. We learn a lot about him throughout the story too and how despite being a fighter, he’s also a thinker.

The romance in this is the slowest of slow burns but its so delicious and wonderful, trust me when I say its worth the burn.

When a Finestra choses a Fonte, they are typically both a fighting team and romantic pair. Some possible Fonte choices for Alessa were other girls so this world doesn’t seem to be against queer relationships – even though we don’t see any queer relationships on page. One thought I had while reading this was what a great opportunity for a polyamorous relationship this story would have been with the Finestra and her Fonte and in this situation, her bodyguard. But alas, that is not this type of story. (And I mean nothing against the author, she didn’t want to write that, so she didn’t have to. I simply think this world would accept a poly relationship and it would have been interesting.)

This is scheduled to be a duology but I’m pleased to say while the ending is a slight cliffhanger, its not the worst kind of cliffhanger. Its more like, “We solved some of the problems but theres still more to be done” kind of ending. So you will feel satisfied at the end, but left wanting more.

Overall, I’m excited for this book to be released and see what everyone else thinks of it, I enjoyed it a lot more than expected and can’t wait to discuss it with others!

The premise of this book and series sounded interesting which prompted me to preorder a book box containing it as well as requesting an ARC. I got an early copy of the audiobook. First off the narrator does a really good job at portraying the characters and adds a bit extra to the story in my opinion. As for the content itself, the story was interesting but it had trouble keeping up with a consistent pace. The slow parts were slow but the rest was really well done. One thing I would have liked would be if some of the aspects of the world were explained and had more depth. The romance was a slow burn but really well done and believable. I was rooting for them throughout. All the main characters were well written and fleshed out, they all had good personalities and chemistry. Overall is enjoyable but definitely feels like a debut novel, still far from being bad.

"The thing that scares men with power most is a woman with more of it."

This Vicious Grace follows an 18-year-old woman named Alessa and she is a Finestra, chosen by the gods to protect the Italian island she lives on from a recurring apocalyptic event involving demons. The magic system in this book is super interesting and those who have magical powers are called Fontes. Alessa has the ability to amplify a Fonte's powers and together they protect the island. Except Alessa has already accidently killed three Fontes with her touch and now the Island's powerful priest is convinced she is not the godsend they think her to be. Alessa is running out of time and the demonic attack is several short weeks away. When Alessa realizes she cannot trust her guards and numerous attacks are made on her life, she hires a personal bodyguard named Dante. As the demon attack grows closer, Alessa has one more chance to find a Fonte and save her home.

Thoughts: YA Fantasy fans rejoice because This Vicious Grace is the first book in a duology and a guaranteed good time. I really loved that each chapter started with an Italian proverb! This is my first ALC so this review reflects my experience with that. I definitely give the narrator 5 stars. While this is a fun read, it isn't perfect. I found myself really confused for a good portion of the beginning and would've loved some more background on what this apocalyptic event is about, why it happens, how long it has been going on, etc. Maybe that will be mentioned in the next book? I think I would've felt more invested if this was a touch more plot-driven. As far as characters go, Alessa is a great protagonist and her chemistry with Dante was *chef's kiss*. I love a good bodyguard romance and the banter with their grumpy/sunshine was really working for me. I enjoyed all of the side characters and their individual personalities. There were some great themes about community, connection, and religion. The battle was a bit anti-climatic for me but I really loved the ending! Great set-up for book 2. Highly recommend to YA fantasy fans who love a chosen one trope.

Alessa is supposed to be saving her island from the impending swarm of demons, not accidentally killing every husband she touches. Her partners are specially selected for her so she can use their magic, yet she can’t even keep them alive long enough to practice. Scared to touch anyone, she is running out of time to choose a new partner before the arrival of the demons. She’s forced to hire a personal bodyguard as tensions in the town rise, threatening her life. Can she learn to master her gift before her home is destroyed?

The worldbuilding was well done for this work. Details concerning the food and the culture were scattered throughout the work in a way that made it more immersive. But there were several instances of hefty info-dumping that majorly slowed down the plot. The pacing was also not well balanced, with the first quarter of the book dragging, the middle having a good pace, and the ending being so packed full of stuff it felt hard to take a breath.

Overall, the characters were well written. Alessa is full of self-doubt but grew out of it some throughout the work. She was a relatable protagonist, and I enjoyed the intricacies of her character and situation, though she was a typical YA female protagonist (a chosen one with unpredictable powers that are difficult to understand). The secondary characters had enough depth to make them feel realistic and relatable, though I would have liked to see them be a little less generic. Fortunately, the romance was well written and didn’t feel like insta-love. The characters complimented each other well in a way that made their relationship fun and interesting.

To be honest, I found the conflict itself to be anticlimactic. The battle scene wasn’t written in a way that maintained my attention, and I felt that there was little-to-no real tension. The whole book was a buildup to this conflict, and the event itself left me feeling underwhelmed. I also felt that the urgency of this event (the characters were on a very clear deadline) wasn’t really conveyed through the writing style – the beginning of the chapters had a countdown, and it was mentioned several times, but it just didn’t come through in a meaningful way that added any tension.

This work was a good fantasy read. I wasn’t really blown away by any of it, but it was an easy read with some decent worldbuilding.

I received a complimentary copy of this work through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Well, this was an impulse request, and despite some complaints (mostly centered around this being a debut, I think), overall I did like this and I will be reading the sequel.

The premise here is that our main character Alessa is a Chosen One, but she's kinda sucky at it, and she's lonely and miserable. She is the Finestra (Italian for "Window," which yes, made me cringe and laugh most of the time when I heard it), and she has been through three Fontes (the person she's meant to be divinely paired with in order to fight the coming horde of demons that descends on the world every twenty years or so—Italian for "Fountain," also funny and cringey to me). As the blurb so succinctly puts it: "Three Weddings. Three Funerals." Right after the third funeral is where we enter on the story.

Alessa has lost hope that she will be a good Finestra after watching three of her spouses die at her own hands, and now the populace seems to be turning on her, even her own guards and the army, and several attempts on her life are made. She decides to be a little proactive and hires a street fighter she met by accident to be her bodyguard. Dante is marked as a killer, meaning he would otherwise have no protection from the horde of Scarabeos (no idea how to spell that, sorry). Alessa pays him to keep her safe until she can get a new Fonte and get the people back on her side, all before the end of the world, which could be any day now. They clash until they don't, wink.

For a YA fantasy debut that I went into heavily skeptical of, I was surprised by how into this I was, despite my issues with it. I was having big emotional reactions to parts of this, even when I wasn't happy about what was going on with the narrative and how it was constructed. To be general about it, there are some worldbuilding and plot holes* threaded throughout this book, and most of the secondary characters are pretty shallowly drawn, but the main pairing of Alessa and Dante (and their character arcs separately as well) were very strong and compelling, enough to make me look past the rest of it.

One thing I'm not sure is my fault is that there is a key plot point involving creatures called gyotes (giotes?? absolutely no clue on how to spell that one) that I either missed completely when it was introduced, or that wasn't well explained in the narrative, and their existence turned out to be absolutely critical to a large part of the plot in the last third of the book. Because I had no idea what a giote (gyote?) was, other than by context clues in the scenes, I felt pretty lost on that front. I didn't even know where it was introduced in the book, and going back to revisit scenes in audio is always tricksy, so I just didn't and lived with the consequences.

I thought the audio narrators did a good job (two small chapters are narrated by Dante for some reason, and they hired a whole extra narrator to do them). They clearly hired two people who spoke Italian, as they both do a good job speaking "the old tongue" (Italian) when it's required.

[3.5 stars, rounded up because of my emotional involvement]

This Vicious Grace is one of those stories that I found myself wishing was more plot focused than character/romance. The premise of a heroine having goddess-given powers but only able to use them as an amplifier/conduit (thus needing a partner) to battle a reoccurring waves of demons is so intriguing. I wanted to learn so much more about this world than what was given to us in the book; I hope the sequel addresses it more.

Overall, this was a pretty solid story. I enjoyed the somber tone in the beginning. Alessa does not have an easy life, despite being this "cherished" hero to her people. She cannot touch any one without the danger of killing them. In fact, the one person she's suppose to be able to touch, she accidentally kills a few times over. She is lonely, desperate, and drowning in her own self pity. Her need for affection is so strong that you often feel second hand embarrassment as the reader. The author (and narrator) do a great job conveying the weight that she is forced to carry.

My biggest issue was that the middle really slows down -- too much really. I thought about DNFing but I'm glad I stuck with it. During this time, our sole interactions are between Alessa and Dante, and while cute, I think could've been shortened. I much preferred the latter half of the book once things started to pull together and we get more exposure to the Fontes. There were some great, almost found family like scenes with them that I really loved.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I just finished and WOW. I’m beyond excited to hear that there is a book two! I love the bodyguard trope I believe this was the first book I’ve read with that one and now it’s a new fav! The romance and the banter were perfection. The setting in this one is beautiful. I immediately made a Pinterest board, you know that means it’s a good one. A great mix of all the fantasy elements I like and I’m excited for this one to be out in the world to chat about with others

A story of acceptance and love. A young woman grapples with the weight of unknown power that is killing when it should be saving.
The first few chapters were a little confusing, and listening to an audiobook didn’t make things easier, but once the build up was established, the story flowed perfectly.
I don’t really understand how this is a YA, in almost every single way it was an adult centric book, even the majority of the characters are solidly adults. The only aspect making it YA is the idea of finding oneself, which shouldn’t be a YA only theme anyway.
This book was amazing, and I will be recommending it to all my friends.

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!

Big fan! I think that the concept is super intriguing and can't wait to see where Thiede takes it in the second installment.
Alessa and Dante were both compelling leads and had a swoon-worthy, slow-burn romance going on! It wasn't exactly enemies to lovers, more like begrudging allies to lovers.
The only downsides I think were the sheer amount of characters you have to keep track of at once in the majority of the scenes as well as the slightly repetitive nature of Alessa's failures.
I really appreciated the proverbs at the beginning of every chapter though! I always find those interesting.