Nevertheless, once the reader gets past that, the story begins to pick up the pace, and the tension, direction, and slow-burning romance allow the reader to be more engaged with the story. Instead, this information can be trickled throughout the story so the reader can be drawn in instead of overwhelmed. However, the reader does not need all that information early on. Yes, the world-building, history, and mythology are all fascinating.

It is a hard story to get into because of that. Also, there is a lot of world-building right at the beginning taking the attention from the characters. Connecting to the characters at the beginning is difficult because the story’s pacing is so slow. Thiede did a great job building the world, but the initial take of the story is slow. However, her ability takes too much, her mind eager for touch and companionship. Though the book wraps up its main plot, it leaves just enough loose ends that readers will be eager for the sequel.This Vicious Grace follows Alessa, the latest Finestra gifted with the power of the gods to magnify her partners.

Romance fans will also appreciate Alessa's relationship with Dante, as it moves from friendship to romance with clever banter and swoony tension. Each chapter starts with an inscription of a saying in Italian that cleverly foreshadows upcoming events, and readers with knowledge of the language (or a good online translator) may enjoy gleaning more information about Saverio by looking up words and sayings. Fascinating worldbuilding draws on Italian influences to build the long history of cyclical Divorando events this first novel just scrapes the surface of Alessa's world, setting up its sequel to fill in juicy gaps in the lore. When a street preacher gains a foothold among the elite and begins insisting that Alessa is actually an agent of the malevolent god Crollo, Alessa soon finds herself hunted by assassins and hires Dante, a handsome, broody bodyguard with a dark past, as she continues to master her powers in time to save the world. The Finestra's role is to fight off the apocalyptic event Divorando by pairing up with a Fonte-and Alessa is failing that duty, badly, because she's accidentally killed the last three Fontes that paired with her.

On the island of Saverio, eighteen-year-old Alessa is the Finestra, an amplifier for elemental magic users known as Fontes.

This vicious grace sequel