Review: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

This Vicious Grace (The Last Finestra #1) by Emily Thiede

About this book (Goodreads blurb)

Her gift can save . . . or it can kill.

‘Riveting, passionate, and full of high stakes danger’ Tamora Pierce, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

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 thoughts:

This is the first book in a brand-new series – and by a debut author! That’s quite a lot of ‘firsts’, and well done to Emily Thiede. I was quite fascinated by this story. As a fantasy fan, I got quite used to world-building and magic, but to experience it with a strong Italian influence, was quite unique for me. Is Italian Lore a new sub-genre? I see it developing! A strong and determined heroine, a stoic and mysterious bodyguard, magical powers and the threat of an imminent demon attack, also incorporating a found family trope, what’s not to love? And I think most readers will be crushing hard on Dante. Intelligent, flirtatious banter does it to me, what can I say? The book started off a little slow, but I also then take into account that it usually is the case for world-building and necessary to detail the rules and characters. It is wonderfully written, with well-developed characters and beautiful prose. I am already looking forward to the sequel.

I listened to the audiobook version, and thoroughly enjoyed it! Great job by the narrators, Carlotta Brentan and Michael Gallagher

Planned publishing date 28 June 2022.

I was chosen to receive this ARC audiobook Hodder & Stoughton via Netgalley, in exchange for a honest review.

*Images taken from Goodreads

#ThisViciousGrace #NetGalley