Review: This Vicious Grace

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
RATING: 2 STARS
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“This Vicious Grace” synopsis pretty much describes the plot to the T. Alessa, the main character, has gone through three weddings and three funerals to find the right suitor who does not die from her touch. With only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything, Alessa, who becomes desperate to survive, hires the “Wolf”, the cringey nickname for Dante, an outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard after a priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, pushing her own soldiers to try to assassinate her in her sleep.

Que in fantasy, dark secrets, betrayal, and romance (I could have done without) and we’re all left with “This Vicious Grace”. Based on the initial plot and characters, this YA fantasy had potential, but I had trouble wrapping my head around the curse. Barely any details were provided throughout the story and it left me wanting more.

In general, this novel left much to be desired. Besides what was mentioned above—the worldbuilding was MIA, the storyline was mediocre and far too predictable (and dare I say convenient?!), the god-divine magic system was vague AF, the dialogue was piss poor and the characters with their non-believable romance—blah. I can’t fail to mention the anticlimactic battle scenes. Ha. In all honesty, does the author really expect readers to enjoy this when we were left with the bare minimum? Probably.

All in all, this ‘high-stakes’ fantasy did absolutely nothing for me and reading the sequel isn’t even a possibility. But if you are looking for a cheesy YA fantasy romance smother with the overused grumpy bodyguard trope, give this a go. I’m sure you’ll love it.