This was great. Loved the magic and the set up - Alessa is a Finestra who is supposed to bond with a partner to magnify their power, but instead her touch accidentally kills three of her spouses, causing her to hire a bodyguard to protect her from those who might think she’s not the real Finestra.

The two main characters were fun. I could really feel the chemistry between Alessa and Dante, and appreciated their journey in learning to trust and rely on each other. A lot of the side characters weren't as developed, but it was still fun to see how those relationships played out.

Still, some of the dialogue was distractingly modern, and it was a little weird to me that the magical language was basically just Italian. And though I liked the world, it felt a little under built at times - without the romance angle, I'm not sure there'd be a lot here. That said, I will be picking the next one up!