Review Detail

This Cursed Light by Emily Thiede is the follow up book in The Last Finestra duology. Dante and Alessa have been apart for several months while he recovers from his injuries at the end of book one, and she tours the continent seeing the damage wrought by their war. Both Alessa and Dante are battling their own inner demons and have forgotten what made them so strong in the first book: working together.

I love that this book is dual POV. While we spend a majority of time in Alessa’s, Dante’s is an added bonus. We learn so much about him, his life as a ghiotte, and the struggles he feels after the events of This Vicious Grace. Dante’s powers of healing are gone, used up in saving Alessa and then her turning around to save him from death. Death haunts his movements. Little injuries seem big to him as he copes with living a normal life. But a normal life also means giving up the person he loves.

Alessa is oblivious to Dante’s inner turmoil at first as she deals with her own. Her mind is preoccupied with all the death and destruction that occurred at the end of book one and nightmares of Dante’s death, even though he is now living and breathing next to her. Learning of his predicament is heartbreaking for her. She has been alone, no one allowed to touch her for so long, and now her powers are just as strong as before and have not disappeared as promised. How can she live with herself if she causes Dante pain?

While they both are keeping these thoughts to themselves, not sharing with each other or their friends, Alessa and Dante heed the warning both have received from the gods: a new threat is coming and if they are to stop it, they will need the help of the ghiotte. The only problem is no one has seen a ghiotte in years. They were thought extinct or exiled until Dante showed up. The plot of this story follows Alessa, Dante, and their friends as they track down the ghiotte and hopefully find a solution to Dante’s problem and by extension Alessa’s. And maybe save the realm again too.

Overall, I really loved This Cursed Light! I read it in just a few days. Alessa and Dante are fantastic MCs to follow and root for. I wanted to reach through the pages and hug them as they lived heartbreak alone, refusing to share it with each other or their friends. Miscommunication plays a big role in the conflict between them in this book, which to be honest kind of sucks considering how well they communicated and worked together in This Vicious Grace. If you are a fan of YA fantasy, I highly recommend this one. Exciting and heartbreaking with a satisfying ending.