This was a great read, and a fitting sequel to This Vicious Grace. Thiede's genre is hard to pin as it's a mix of YA, new adult, fantasy, and (YA appropriate) romance. That said, there's no reason to avoid reading it because what you're in for is another fun ride.
A team of older, gifted teenagers leave their safe city and travel to the edges of their world to find an army to team up, with so they can fight the gods together with their two leaders at the forefront.. This is not a fluffy read; lots of details, good writing, and banter to enjoy. Take your time soaking in the settings, character development, love-filled angst, and the buildup to the battle that ends this duology.
I recommend reading book 1 first as there are a few characters to follow in both books.

I was so excited to be back in this world again! Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this.

Once again, Alessa and Dante and the Fonti crew are tasked with saving the world, and once again I loved it. The characters continued to grow (in numbers and in personality) and I enjoyed all of it.

This Cursed Light spoiler free review

“Her eyes ringed with makeup, skin freckled with blood, she was the most beautiful broken thing he’d ever seen. He would’ve made glue from his bones to fix her world if he could.”

5/5⭐️’s

I’d like to thank NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Emily Thiede for the eARC of this stunning conclusion to the The Last Finestra duology!

This was the perfect conclusion to this duology and I am OBSESSED. We dove right back into the thick of things with Alessa, Dante, and crew. They have to work through a lot of their current problems but also some new ones, because why would anything come easy for them? I mean it with 100% sincerity when I say that Alessa is one of, if not THE, most well rounded FMCs of any fantasy book/series I’ve read. She has mounds of patience, but still stands up for what is right. She is openly vulnerable, but still so fierce. She is just such a healthy FMC and a breathe of fresh air to read about and I know you’ll all love her as much as I do when you get to read This Cursed Light!

Pick this up if you love…

✨This Vicious Grace
✨peace by Taylor Swift
✨Found family
✨Angst
✨Complicated allies
✨ROMANCEEEEE

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! This Cursed Light will be published on December 5, 2023.

So, it’s no secret that I loved This Vicious Grace. I was gushing over it for months, probably annoying everyone in my life when I talked about how important lemons are to my mental well-being and the ecosystem. I fell in love with Emily’s world, the old language, and most of all, Alessa and Dante.

This sequel was one of my most-anticipated reads of the year. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It made me laugh more times than I can count on all my fingers, made me cry until I felt like I probably shouldn’t be crying anymore, and squeezed itself right beside the place This Vicious Grace has in my book-heart (just coined that term right now, thank you).

It’s hard to write a sequel. And it’s especially hard to write a sequel with so many characters and plots. But somehow, somehow, Emily does it so well. She handled every character with such care and love, and although there were characters that got more screen time than others, it never felt like someone was pushed to the side. Every single character–and I think I mean that–had a completed arc, had an arc that satisfied the reader.

Of course, how can we forget about our leads? Alessa and Dante are still themselves, not so different from how they were in This Vicious Grace, but they’ve grown. They’ve matured, and you can see that change reflected throughout the book. (They’re still maturing btw, but who isn’t?)

Emily really said, “You want romance? Oh, you just wait. I’ll give you romance and love and every little action of affection you could ever want. You’ll laugh and suffer, but you’ll love me for it.” She probably did think that in her head while writing this, honestly. Alessa and Dante are, quite simply, adorable. They love each other so much that [spoiler redacted, *evil laugh*].

Without giving away too much, I can tell you that this book was worth it. Like, so worth it. Not just for Alessa and Dante (if you thought you loved them in TVG, just you wait until TCL), but for every other character, for every little plot that Emily adds. She twines the people in her world and their stories so wonderfully that you can’t not immerse yourself in it.

This book is undoubtedly one of my best reads of the year. If I could go back and re-experience it, I would. (I’ll probably re-read it soon enough because I have no self control.) I could probably keep talking about TCL long enough to make you hold up a hand and say, “Stop, I get it.” So I’ll end it here. Thanks for stopping by and reading my (very) long-winded way of telling you to pick this book up when it comes out!

(I hope you’ll love it as much as I did, and if you don’t… oops.)

If you enjoyed “This Vicious Grace,” you’ll like “This Cursed Light.”

The book is very similar to the first in that there’s training with a countdown until a final battle. I suppose it could be a bit repetitive if you read the books back-to-back, but since it’s been a while since I read the first, I didn’t mind. I enjoyed seeing Dante and Alessa have different roles during the preparation for battle, and how it affected their established relationship. If the first book was Alessa’s, this is definitely Dante’s.

There are some plots with side characters that I shrugged at (I don’t forgive Adrick for the whole poison thing), and some scenes could have been shown rather than mentioned afterward, but it’s an addictive read that captured my attention.

4/5 ⭐

The sequel to This Vicous Grace, This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede follows the story of Dante and Alessa journey to help save another group of people. The first book follows the Finestra and Fontes, whereas this book follows the story of the ghiottes. You learn a lot more about Dante's origins and the ghiotte culture and beliefs, how much they suffered and adapted from that in their egalitarian community.

I definitely enjoyed this book more than the first. I felt like I was able to connect with the characters more in this one. Dante and Alessa's feelings and struggles are much more readable and balanced. It made me relate more to them compared to the first book.

Thiede definitely throws a few twists and turns in this book, more so than the first and toyed with my emotions at the end a little bit. I definitely was not expecting it! It was a wonderful surprise given that the first book for me was little predictable. She does a good job this time around at surprising me. Overall, everything that I found lacking in the first book she makes up for it in the second and ends the duology off in a way that is satisfying.

***I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to the author/publishing company and netgalley for this opportunity!

**actual rating 4.5 stars**

This was one of my MOST anticipated reads and it did not disappoint! It's a great followup and end to the duology.

My absolute favorite parts were Dante & Alessa's relationship, of course. I loved seeing how they grew together and how they had to learn how to be in a relationship. I loved seeing them together as an established couple just as much as I loved seeing them fall for each other.

I also loved the side characters just like in book 1. Adrick really grew in this and I loved seeing it. And I loved seeing Dante and Alessa's relationships with their friends. There are also a couple new characters here and I enjoyed getting to know them as well.

Why did I take off half a star? Well, the plot wasn't as exciting at book 1. Things felt more rushed and random even though we got hints at the end of the first book of what was to come. And no spoilers, but the end kind of fizzled out for me and felt very rushed. However what happened did make sense within the world so I wasn't too disappointed!

All in all, I loved this book just as much as I loved the first one. I definitely recommend this duology if you like YA fantasy (keep in mind this is upper YA)

This Vicious Grace is one of my top favorite books of 2023. I did not love this quite as much, but that ending was incredible! I highly recommend this series to all YA fantasy lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books, for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review which is not affiliated with any brand.

The first book was such an unexpected delight and the follow up is quite good; the original premise is a bit tough to beat.

I'm not a romance/relationship reader but I actually enjoy Alessa and Dantes. Especially that they talk (albeit sometimes forced and after consequences) but they both make it clear that communication is very important. This is more of a journey/prep for battle book and it delivers on those fronts. The pieces were put into place along the way, so even the final final play had been breadcrumbed earlier.

The only thing I hated was the gods. They make no sense and are just horrible..Gods are always toxic but those two take the cake.

I love the first book so much, and this 2nd one? TAKE ALL MY LOVE.
I love everything about it. The settings and world building were amazing. I also love Emily's writing so much, it's so easy to read and enjoyable. Alessa is a dear as before, but Dante has all my heart... and Kaleb has all my laugh lol he is such a mood and I adore him. The ending was so perfect!
It was soooo good ugh I love every pages!

I AM CRYING AND NOT IN A CUTE WAY WHAT AN ENDING

*Full review to come once I am no longer a shell of myself!*

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The romance, the friendships, the drama - it's all here. I kept getting antsy with the countdown though and wanting this battle to get on with it already, and then it felt like it wrapped up pretty quickly. Luckily there's an epilogue though because I definitely needed that.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story that started in This Vicious Grace moves seamlessly to This Cursed Light. Both books should be read to understand how the story was too big for one book. Emily Thiede skillfully developed the characters and their community to weave the story together. Highly recommend this series to all ages, it will be sure to captivate.

A special thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press & Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.