Highly entertaining, this stimulating introduction to a new world ensures the love story sits within thrilling action, blossoming friendships, and magical abilities. When rebellion threatens just as Alessa is due to choose her magical partner, she hires outcast Dante as her personal bodyguard. While This Vicious Grace is described as a Young Adult novel, it’s suitable for adults of all ages if you enjoy romantic fantasy. Emily Thiede has built this world in the most vivid way, plunging you immediately into the possibilities of gods, demons, and magic. This feels like a fresh and smart take, with friendship featuring as strongly as the romance. Tough times and difficult themes feature with compassion and empathy. The setting is gorgeous, the characters captivating, and the plot just hums along. I trust that this is the start of a new series, as it just begs to be continued. This Vicious Grace is a Liz Pick of the Month and perfect if you want to abandon yourself to a lively and engaging debut fantasy novel.
Her gift can save . . . or it can kill. 'Riveting, passionate, and full of high stakes danger' Tamora Pierce 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? Serpent & Dove meets The Bodyguard in this romantic, thrilling fantasy debut! PRAISE FOR THIS VICIOUS GRACE 'A wonderfully fun time from start to finish' Hannah Whitten 'The perfect blend of humour and heart' Allison Saft 'This book is incredible' Lauren Blackwood 'Remarkably fresh' Ayana Gray 'Sure to be a favourite for fans of Stephanie Garber, Leigh Bardugo and Kerri Maniscalco' Lyndall Clipstone