#this cursed light

Every book I read in 2024: This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede

“A year ago he would have let the world burn. Now he had a month to save it. For her.”

Rating: 4.5/5

Book Blurb: From beloved author Emily Thiede comes the highly-anticipated final book in The Last Finestra duology, the sequel to This Vicious Grace, the epic romance hailed as one of the best fantasies of the year!

"I loved the book!! Fantastic ending to a fantastic series." - Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Wish You Were Here When the gods make the rules, the players must choose: Sacrifice their love to save the world, or choose love and let it burn?

Six months after saving their island from destruction and almost losing Dante, Alessa is ready to live happily ever after with her former bodyguard. But Dante can't rest, haunted by a conviction that the gods aren't finished with them yet. And without his powers, the next kiss from Alessa could kill him.

Desperate for answers, Dante enlists Alessa and their friends to find the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring his powers and combining forces with them to create the only army powerful enough to save them all. But Alessa is hiding a deadly consequence of their last fight—a growing darkness that's consuming her mind—and their destination holds more dangers than anyone bargained for. In the mysterious city of the banished, Dante will uncover secrets, lies, and ghosts from his past that force him to ask himself: Which side is he on?

When the gods reveal their final test, Dante and Alessa will be the world's last defense. But if they are the keys to saving the world, will their love be the price of victory?

In This Cursed Light, Dante and Alessa face their most daunting challenge yet when the Gods demand they prove their worth by choosing the ultimate sacrifice to save humanity, once and for all.

Review:

The final book in The Last Finestra duology, picking up where the first book left off with Dante coming back from the dead but losing his powers and Alessa suffering from visions, as they both prepare for a war against the gods while dealing with the fact that without his powers... a kiss from Alessa could kill him. To make matters more complicated, Dante and Alessa and their friends seek hekp from the exiled ghiotte in hopes of restoring Dante's powers and fighting against the gods.... yet the ghiotte have always hated the church and everything Alessa's position means, thus they have to hide their relationship. Dante is afraid that without his powers he can never be full again, he can't be good enough for Alessa... yet the more risks he takes the more Alessa is afraid that he'll end up dying in front of her again. With the ghiotte hating Alessa, and Dante reuniting with people from his past, their relationship is bound to take a bit of strain since they have to keep it hidden... yet when it comes time to face off against the gods.. will they be willing to sacrifice it all to save everyone... even if it means one of them wont make it out alive? This was definitely an interesting way to end the duology, I loved the first book and this one was a fun read. I loved just how deeply in love Aleesa and Dante are with each other, they care so much and are willing to do everything. This one wrapped everything up nicely and overall I really enjoyed the duology! I would definitely recommend this for fans of fantasy romance / bodyguard romance!

Moodboard: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

Alessa - short, brown wavy hair, hazel eyes

“She’d tried to be what she thought the gods wanted her to be, what she was told the people needed her to be, and it had gotten her three dead partners, and a shell around her heart. She’d been stunted until she threw off the rules, shut the holy books, and let herself be the emotional, stubborn, distracted mess she was.”