Themes: YA fantasy, magic, romance
The synopsis
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?
Emily Thiede’s exciting fantasy debut, This Vicious Grace, will keep readers turning the pages until the devastating conclusion and leave them primed for more!
The review
I was thrilled when I discovered that this book was featured in one of my Fairyloot boxes!
This book was already on my Amazon wish list when I received it in my box. I had been drawn to it because of its concept (a girl supposed to save everyone but who has already killed three husbands) and the Italian-inspired setting. The setting was really good in fact, and I especially liked the small quotes and proverbs in Italian at the beginning of each chapter, that you discover quickly as direct references to the ones Dante is constantly making.
The first half of the book was a bit slow since we are introduced to the world and the plot, and is naturally centred around our heroine, Alessa. I began really enjoying her from the moment she met Dante, because of their dynamics and the fact that she’s becoming stronger and stronger.
The second half was more fast-paced since the clock was ticking and we were at the same time introduced to more and more new characters. Among them are the Fonti, and I really liked both their evolution and the one of their relationship with Alessa, from defiance or even open distaste to true friendship. The only characters that bothered me were Alessa’s brother and Nina, for whom the plot felt a bit illogical for what they did (trying hard not to spoil anything here!).
In brief: I truly recommend you this book and I’m so intrigued to see what will happen next after this ending! I hope the sequel will still have the Fonti, Renata and Tomo because I really want them to be a whole part of the plot. Oh, and I was surprised but… no one dies here!
My rating: 4.5/5
A Book by the Fire 