MALICE is a sapphic new adult fantasy retelling of Maleficent/Sleeping Beauty. If you are a YA fantasy reader on the hunt for a book with characters who are a bit older (20), this may be a good read for you. The world building and magic system is very easy to follow, so this may also be a great option for non-fantasy readers.

I liked Alyce as a narrator and I loved reading a f/f romance in a fairytale retelling. Though I think there could have been a more dynamic build-up to their romance, I did root for Alyce and Aurora as a couple.

However, I wasn’t wowed by this. Nothing was bad, but I also didn’t feel extremely attached to any of the characters, the world, or where the plot was going. I was excited that this was a new adult fantasy, but it honestly reads like a YA book with a bit of lite pussy eating. I don’t think that that’s necessary a critique of the story - I did enjoy that it was easy to follow - but I was hoping for more dynamic storytelling.

MALICE was a fast, fun queer fairytale retelling. Dedicated fantasy readers may be underwhelmed, but I personally am just invested enough to continue on in the series someday.

What if Sleeping Beauty's true love was the evil fairy? That's the concept driving Malice. Briar is a kingdom that relies on Graces, women who can create magic elixirs with their golden Fae blood. Our narrator, Alyce, is called the Dark Grace; she is part Vila, and her green blood results in curses rather than blessings. She has been branded a monster and ostracized since birth, and she longs to be free instead of creating elixirs for the same people who ridicule her. Enter Aurora: the crown princess of Briar who is fated to die on her twenty-first birthday unless she is kissed by her true love. Together, the two set out to find a way to break the curse without one of the suitors being constantly thrown at the princess. I am a simple woman. I see LGBT+ representation in a fairy tale retelling, I pick it up. The romance between Alyce and Aurora did not disappoint; slow burn, pining, all those good things. It's wonderful and the exact thing we need to see more of in the genre.

I also really enjoyed Alyce's character arc. This is ultimately a villain origin story, which I thought was really fun. We need more of those. Her anger and resentment is so real and relatable. She fights so hard against being the monster everyone sees her as, and I found it heartbreaking whenever her good intentions get twisted. But at the same time, I loved seeing her slowly fall into the villain role. I ended up really liking the way Walter treats morality. Early on it seems as if it will be very black and white with a villain who is almost cartoonishly evil. However, who the true villain is ends up being far more complicated. Seemingly good characters do horrible things thinking they are right and just. In the end, there really are no "good guys." The final few chapters are the culmination of this, and they are absolutely amazing.

Walter has built a truly interesting fantasy world. The magic system is particularly fascinating. I loved the concept of the Graces, and Walter does a great job showing how their magic works. I also really appreciated that we see Alyce practice her Vila and Shifter magic constantly. She puts in a lot of time and effort to learn these skills, and she struggles at times. It's so refreshing to see a main character actually learning a skill instead of just being perfect at it the first time. The one issue I did have is that most of the world building is done through info dumping. It slows the pace of the book, especially at the beginning, and bogs down some parts of the narration. However, this is Walter's first book, and she's created such a great world that it didn't bother me too much.

Overall, Malice is a dark and entrancing "Sleeping Beauty" retelling that brings some great new concepts to the tale as well as a slow burn wlw romance. I can't wait for the sequel!

You can’t judge a book by its cover but the cover art is meant to catch the eye and capture interest. The cover for Heather Walter’s Malice certainly caught my attention and once I read the description, I knew I had to read it. I’m a sucker for reimagined fairy tales and this one promised plenty of intriguing twists on the classic Sleeping Beauty story. As I approached the end, however, I began hoping that there would be a second book in the series because there was no way enough could happen in the dwindling page count for me to find the ending satisfying. Luckily for me, it does look like there will be a sequel (though I can’t find anything about a tentative release date yet). As such, the ending to Malice left me torn.

Alyce lives in the kingdom of Briar as one of the magically skilled Graces… but she isn’t a Grace. While the Graces are gifted with magic from the light Fae of Etheria, Alyce’s magic comes from the parents she never knew, at least one of whom was a Vila, the main foes of Etheria and Briar who were (almost) entirely eliminated by the humans of Briar during the war. Found as an infant and raised to be the Dark Grace, Alyce has always been treated with contempt, fear and disgust by her fellow Graces and everyone else in Briar. Until she happens to make the acquaintance of the last crown princess of Briar, Aurora. Alyce soon finds herself trying to help Aurora break the curse that all the women of Briar’s ruling line face before Aurora runs out of time.

When it comes to re-imaginings of fairy tales, there are a few paths they usually take. You’ve got the modernizations and non-traditional historical settings (I personally prefer the non-traditional over the modern). Sci-fi versions (like the Lunar Chronicles) are sort of an off-shoot of this too. And then you have the alternative perspectives and villain origin stories. Malice is more along these lines but it makes more significant changes than those usually do… at least at first glance. The world building that Walter puts into this first book is pretty impressive and the complexity of things like the political relationships between the different kingdoms and within Briar were one of my favorite things about the book. There are plenty of themes around freedom and enslavement, power and prejudice, etc. saturating the text through more than just Alyce’s perspective.

I enjoyed so much about the first 80% – 90% of the book, but the ending and set up for the next book left me torn. Without giving too much away, there are some turns and betrayals that were expected and some that felt like overkill. It goes out with a lot of drama that felt… messy and it leaves things in an uncertain place to set up for the next book, so without knowing what that book has in store, I can’t definitively say that this ending was disappointing but that’s where I wound up anyway. Because I didn’t realize going in that it was going to be Book One of at least two, I thought everything was building wonderfully toward a definitive (and satisfying) conclusion. Then as I got closer and closer to the end and saw where things were heading, I had to want there to be more. But that is the only thing about the story really driving my desire for a second book so it’s a hollow desire. I’ll read the next book because I want those answers but, given how those last events unfolded to set up this cliffhanger, I’m less sure I’ll find any continuation of the story satisfying or worth being drawn out to two books. Of course, the only way to know for sure is to wait and to read it.

In the end and on its own, Malice reminded me most of the heartbreaking frustration of Marissa Meyer’s Heartless (except that was the case throughout that book, it was a standalone novel, and it was what I signed up for). I know it isn’t that it ends with a cliffhanger because there are plenty of cliffhanger endings that I do find satisfying. I keep coming back to how it felt messy to me in a way the rest of the book didn’t and I guess that makes me nervous rather than eager for the next book.

Malice is a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty with dashes of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. I love tales that are told from the perspective of the perceived villains and especially ones that are done well. As a general word of caution, the ending to this novel does not wrap everything up nicely and the ending teeters between being both a cliffhanger and not. There is a possible sequel in the works, as stated by the author, but nothing is set in stone (title, release date, etc.). It can still be read as a standalone as it is very well-written and makes me very curious about the other material this author can come up with! If you would like an extra layer to your story experience, the author has a Spotify playlist inspired by the novel. I read this book over two days and listened to the songs between my reading sessions.

Alyce is known as the Dark Grace and is nicknamed Malyce. She lives in one of the Grace houses that serve the kingdom. A Grace is essentially a specialized fairy, such as beauty or wisdom, which can create elixirs using their blood that helps their patrons. It is a fascinating take on magic and the entire system made me want to learn more. Alyce is not a typical Grace as she is half Vila (another type of magical being), but she is being treated as a Grace in duty. She believes she is a villain because society has labeled her as one until one day she discovers that it might be more complicated. She is an amazingly well-written morally grey character that made some questionable choices, but you find yourself having sympathy for her.

She meets Princess Aurora after the Graces are invited to the Palace. There is a curse on Aurora put on her since birth that needs to be broken before her 21st birthday. I loved Aurora as she was logical in her decisions as she knows the limitations of her curse, but still wants to dream about breaking it herself and creating a better world when she becomes the ruler. Aurora and Alyce become friends where they find ways to meet and get to know the other. They each accept the other for who they are and also are fascinated to learn more about each other. Their relationship grows very naturally as they are not together all the time and it fit the situation of the story where Aurora lives at the Palace and Alyce lives at Lavender House (a Grace location). In this setting, it is not a simple process to visit the other and the author did a great job to portray all the obstacles the two went through just to talk to each other.

The story focuses on both Aurora and Alyce’s journeys of self-discovery as Alyce wants to learn more about whom she is and Aurora wants to break her curse. I liked how each of them has their own goal, but they also intertwine so they can work together. There are elements that are slowly introduced to tie this story into the Sleeping Beauty story that the reader is familiar with and I liked how the two come together. There are fascinating side characters, such as Laurel, Marigold, Rose, Kal, and even Alyce’s kestrel, Callow, all featured in the story. They each fit their roles well as the reader can somewhat predict pieces about them, but you never fully know everything until the story dictates the proper moment. It kept me very interested as a reader.

The beginning is slower as the world and characters are set up, but the plot moves at a decent pace and picks up to a fantastic climax. The political and magical elements were all well-written and the world-building was very well done. The story is more young adult than an adult, so it is accessible to a wider audience. As an adult, I found this a very enjoyable read that was both easy to read and captivating as it is a fascinating take on a classic tale. I really hope that the sequel does get created and I can get my hands on it as soon as possible because I want to read as much as I can about the world and characters that Heather Walter created. An overall entertaining escape read, especially for fans of fairy tales.

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Del Rey Publishing, for a review copy of this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I really enjoyed this sleeping beauty retelling for a variety of reasons.
1. The magic system is super interesting
2. The politics and laws add a level of complexity to the story
3. Instead of a prince, the love interest is the villain!!!!
I absolutely love when a fairytale retelling changes the story into something completely new, and this book definitely delivered! There was a bit of a slow start seeing as it is a new world with many laws you must acquaint yourself with, but after that initial info dump, the story, the characters, and the world were absolutely fabulous.

I think I would have liked this more if I didn't have any expectations for it. It was slow and boring and the characters were bland and didn't have any chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review ended up being a LOT longer than I thought so for a quick “I’m in the library/bookstore/Amazon right now and need to know if this book is good this second” (I’ve been there, it’s okay), I think this book is something unique in terms of the concept and well done in the story and I definitely recommend it to fans of The Belles or Girl Serpent Thorn. However, do read my full review for some more in-depth thoughts on this book cause it REALLY got me thinking.

On to the review:

I have a lot of feelings about Malice. About Alyce, our tragic hero, and the story this book tells. And it makes me ask a lot of questions. When you spend your life beat down by a world that treats you like something wicked, how long would you last until you were wicked right back? How many times have you wanted to tear the world down for all the wrongs it has done to you? And if you had the power and the will, would you?

Alyce is not a heroine. She is on a slow and steady slope into villainy from the first page. And taking some time to think, I had some conflicting thoughts on the idea of a queer villain origin story. As a queer reader, near the end. this book feels a little bit like a tragic lesbian romance which, as someone who grew up with that as my main source of representation, was not always comfortable. But I think that’s not something inherently bad. I think the main question running through my head during the last 15% of this book was this: with the large expanse of history within media of the queercoding of villain characters are we at the point in our history and our representation where we can have queer villain origin stories when we have been mainly seen as villains for years? While I do not have this answer as I am only one person and this is a larger discussion, I do think with the rise in LGBTQ stories there is a case for reclaiming that image of the queer villain and remaking the stories taking them for ourselves. After all, there is a stark difference between being portrayed and coded as a villain for your queer characteristics and just being a wicked character who happens to be queer. And this book definitely falls into the latter category.

Okay, enough of my philosophy rant.

This book takes its source material, the original sleeping beauty folktale by Hans Christian Anderson (which I saw MANY references to the original story that I appreciated including the graces with their powers and the pewter plate instead of gold) This book is a slow burn into villainy but when it gets there... whoo boy does this book go hard and get dark. Like, do you feel like season 8 of game of thrones would have been a LOT more satisfying and make more sense if it was built up properly? Well, honey read this book I promise you it is all you wanted but better done. Now, this book while a well-done debut, I do have some positives and negatives to share.

The Worldbuilding in this story is very light and the writing style is very easy to get through, however, that does come with some drawbacks as the fantasy setting is as such very simple and a little bit basic, and VERY European centric in its style. I feel like more can be done with this concept and the world felt a little one-dimensional.

What the world lacks in structure it makes up in character and its vibe. The world of Malice is externally beautiful but ugly and cruel and wicked at its core. And I love seeing a story that is dark and mean and painful for all involved. Including the reader.

While the characters were all interesting and the main couple is WLW the book feels lacking in overall diversity in terms of characters of color and other lgbt rep.
I enjoyed Alyce's character and watching her fall into darkness was very painful and heartbreaking. I loved Aurora as a character as I think she was brilliant but I wish we had seen more of her as a person.
The pacing was pretty spot on. I never felt like the story was dragging and the twists and turns kept me invested til the very end. I will warn you though, the last 15% of this book is a rollercoaster ride that will tear your heart to shreds and will take you along for lots of wicked deeds whether you like it or not.

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book but overall a well-done debut and I look forward to the sequel!

Sapphic sleeping beauty retelling? Say no more.

No, literally, I was hooked just from the premise. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of retellings, but when it's sapphic? A must-read. And this didn't disappoint me at all. Alyce was endearing and frustrating in equal parts: you root for her when she starts to grow more comfortable with herself just and you want to throttle her when she's naive. I love characters like this--ones who are flawed and don't always make the right decision. Aurora was the perfect love interest, her sunshine the perfect compliment to Alyce's gloom. If I had any complaint about the characters, it's that I wanted Alyce to be darker from the beginning--but if there's anything I love more than a good villain, it's a good corruption arc.

The pacing could feel a bit slow at times, but it was consistent throughout; there was constantly something going on and it built up well until the climax of the story. I cannot stress enough how anxious the last few chapters made me--it just kept ramping up and up and up. It maybe even ramped up too much too fast, and right at the very end, which was also approximately when I realized there was going to be a sequel, but that's another matter. The moral of this story is this: If you like retellings--or just like sapphic fantasy novels!!!--I would absolutely recommend Malice.

I received an Arc of this book from netgalley. I rated this book 4/5 stars. The premise of the book excited me and I wasn't not extremely let down. I thought that the characters were complex and I enjoyed the fact that the characters were morally gray.
Alyce: In the books we learn Alyce is called "the dark grace" because her powers are different compared to other graces. I thought her character was given great depth and I enjoyed reading the book from her perspective. Another great thing about her is she is wlw.
Aurora: Aurora is the love interest of the book but she is not only that she is the princess. I thought her character could have been given more, most of the time I only thought of her as the love interest not a character. She is also wlw.
The whole book in general was good. My favorite part was how the story developed overall but the beginning fell flat for me.
I think most of the characters felt like they were only there for Alyce's character development, once they left the scene I forgot about them.
One great thing about this book is it challenges the concept of good vs. evil.

4/5 Overall
3/5 Characters
4/5 Plot
5/5 Setting

A queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a couple of elements of Cinderella thrown in. Complex characters, a very interesting magic-system, and an ending that leaves you wanting more. Definitely recommend this one!

First and foremost, THAT COVER! I mean, seriously, it is gorgeous!

But it is what's underneath the cover that matters, isn't it? So, without further ado, I am going to quote the Oprah Magazine:

"Walter's spellbinding debut is for all the queer girls and women who have been told to keep their gifts hidden and for those yearning to defy gravity." - O: The Oprah Magazine

Once upon a time there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that can only be broken by true love's kiss. Yes! A retelling of Sleeping Beauty with LGBTQ representation. It is dark, it's magical and compelling!

"Take care you don't become what they think you are."

One would think that members of the kingdom would care about the Princess Aurora and the fate which might befall her, but it is hard to care when you are busy collecting jewels, purchasing elixirs to harm others or to make themselves beautiful and trying to impress others. But there is one who cares - The Dark Grace, a Vila known as Alyce. She is feared, she is mistreated, but she is … (read the book)

"If there is someone, I hope they deserve you."

There are a lot of characters in this book - unique characters from a Kestrel, graces, Fae, and Alyce! I did not have a hard time keeping track of them so that was a plus. Another plus was the unique world that was created.

This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it also had the feel of other fairy tales as well and it also has a Maleficent vibe. A scene at the end also gave me a minor Game of Thrones vibe as well. Fans of retellings and fantasy will enjoy this book. I am not a big fantasy fan, but I do enjoy a good retelling. This is book one in the Malice Duology.

One thing that I felt shined in this book was the emphasis on identity, relationships, knowing who you are, and coming into your own. This book is marketed as a romance and it is - but for me it was more about self-realization and knowing your worth. Terrific themes.

A solid debut. I believe the next book will be even better than this one. Like Alyce, I believe that Heather Walter is just coming into her own.

Captivating. Dark. Magical.

3.5 stars


Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Malice sucked me into its deliciously dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty and refused to let go. I finished the book hours ago and, even now, it has not left my mind. I doubt it will for a very long time. Its exploration of corrupt political structures and interesting magic system alone were enough to keep me reading–but what Malice does best is ask what it means to be a villain. What would we do to save ourselves? What violence would we commit to protect the people we love?

Malice centers around Alyce, the only Dark Grace in a world where Graces are revered. Where the Graces are half fae, golden blooded, and treasured for their abilities, Alyce is feared. The Dark Grace's gifts are a far cry away from the wisdom, beauty, and other wonderful blessings her 'sisters' can grant. No, Alyce's talents are crude, unspeakable. As part Vila she is seen as a mongrel, marked by her green blood and penchant for harm to come of her talents. Everyone sees her as a monster. Except, of all people, Princess Aurora–and she will die if she doesn't kiss her true love before her 21st birthday, a curse sewn into her bloodline long ago marking her for death.

This book is slow paced and the romance is a slow build, but I found the world so fascinating that I didn't mind much. Where often times slower paced books lose me, I found myself itching for more information on the other Graces, the state of Lavender House and, of course, for even a lingering glance between Alyce and Aurora. It has always bothered me that Aurora is so...passive in the original fairytale. But not in Malice. Aurora's agency, ambitions, determination and visions for the world were refreshing. Aurora and Alyce's relationship was the brightest spot in this book. Every interaction they had left me giddy.

Dark, new adult, sapphic, morally grey. What more could you ask for?

I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel. I'm not exaggerating when I say the last fifty or so pages had me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Malice is a dark, sapphic retelling of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty but instead, we follow Alyce, the villain of said story. Set in the immersive world of Briar, Alyce is shunned by society for being half-vila rather than half-fae. She doesn’t get the power to bless people with beauty or wisdom, she can only harness her abilities to inflict curses on others leading to her being labelled as the Dark Grace. She slowly begins to form a friendship with Aurora, the cursed princess of Briar who is doomed to die on her twenty-first birthday if she doesn’t receive her true loves first kiss. Both women are caged in their own way and have to work together to find the freedom and futures they desire.

So happy to be able to say that one of my most anticipated reads of the year lived up to my expectations! Malice was absolutely incredible. Walter turned basically everything about the original story of Sleeping Beauty on its head and gave us a luscious gem of a story. The exploration of morally grey characters in the role of the protagonist is always a treat, especially in this instance where we get to trail Alyce into her descent to villainy. Despite her being cast as the villain, Alyce was a character that was easy to empathize with and understand why she would forsake everything to become the monster everyone made her out to be. With Aurora, I liked how Walter gave her a sense of agency rather than making her the typical damsel in distress one would usually come across in a fairytale. She has her own goals, drive and vision for her kingdom which felt like a breath of fresh air after reading one too many underdeveloped royal characters.

As always, I love a good slow-burn sapphic romance in my books so the relationship between Alyce and Aurora was one of the highlights of this book for me! Representing queer relationships in genres outside of the contemporary genre is always so important so I'm glad this book handled it well.

Definitely a must-read for anyone who has ever wished for a morally grey, deliciously dark and sapphic fairytale retelling! I hope this duology gets the hype within the book community it deserves.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I typically love all things fairy tale, so I was super excited to learn about this sapphic Sleeping Beauty retelling. So many people I know on Goodreads and Twitter have been loving this book recently, so I was so happy to see that my NetGalley request was approved!

Heather Walter’s adult debut Malice is the dark, sapphic retelling of my dreams. The story follows Alyce who is part Vila and known as the Dark Grace. She acts as an evil sorceress in Briar, using her dark magic to sell elixirs. The people who frequent her business are the same people who shame her and see her as a monster. One of the few people who treat her with kindness is Princess Aurora. The two begin an unlikely friendship that soon develops into something more when Aurora convinces Alyce to help break her curse. With Aurora by her side, Alyce, for the first time in a long time, feels hope and has dreams. However, she will never be more than the Dark Grace to Briar.

The beginning of this book was definitely slower, and I found myself not loving the writing. This might be because there was so much dense background information and history thrown in for the set up. It seemed like it could have been naturally introduced better instead of verging on info dumping. I will say this definitely got better throughout the novel. The story really started developing, and part two picked up the pace as well. It took me a few chapters to understand Walter’s voice and structure, but everything soon fell into place. I admire how the author balanced all of these things though. Despite a slower start, Walter still showcases an excellent writing style in her novel.

I really loved how Malice was a completely new take on the original story of Sleeping Beauty. Walter has nods to the original but makes something unique and refreshing. I really liked the darker, angsty vibes this book had. I was honestly sold when I heard it also had a complex villain, morally grey characters, and a stubborn princess. I do not think I have read many books from the villain’s perspective, so this was a really cool experience. We get to see Alyce’s internal struggle about this. It is a back and forth between who she is, who she wants to be, and who others see her as. You can sympathize with her and understand that some things are in the middle rather than solely good versus evil.

I immediately loved Aurora’s character as well. It is cool that she has a bigger role in this narrative compared to the original fairy tale. I loved how Aurora’s life and role as a princess opened up conversations about duty, family, agency, etc. She did not just go with the flow and accept what was happening to her. She was stubborn and dedicated and incredibly smart. She genuinely wants to rule and do good for the people in Briar.

Apart from Alyce and Aurora, I think all of the characters were really well developed. They all had interesting personalities, and I liked how Walter explored more of their motivations and internal struggles. It was interesting to see the different Graces and magic too.

Certain reveals at the end were a little predictable but not necessarily in a bad way. They were not glaringly obvious to the point where it takes away from the story and experience. I guessed a couple of things, but the author could have intentionally been dropping subtle hints and clues that you gradually pick up on. Again, this does not seem like a bad thing to me. Sometimes it takes really good writing to pull off things like this and have everything suddenly click into place for readers, and Walter does just that.

Malice was a wonderful read. Heather Walter created a very enthralling story that pulls readers in. There are a ton of things I loved about this book. I really enjoy unique retellings and an adult, dark, and sapphic take on Sleeping Beauty is right up my alley. I honestly cannot wait for the sequel!

*Content warning: bullying, child abuse, violence, murder, death, body shaming, confinement, torture, medical experimentation, harassing, kidnapping, death of a parent, suicide, execution*

Thank you to the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book before its release on April 13, 2021.

I really liked the twist on a common fairytale. It was well written and very enjoyable. I don't know that it was a show-stopping favorite novel of the year but it was definitely very good and worth reading. I will recommend it for sure.

So good! So well written, a stunning retelling, and such compelling characters. I totally felt for Alyce, cheered her on, was absolutely betrayed by those who were against her. Cannot wait for book two!

Dark. and angsty and full of action. This romance is a slowwww burn and does not disappoint. Be careful who you trust!

This was just okay.

I’m a sucker for Fae, magic, and sapphic stories. Something so far removed from our world is always welcomed in these times. Some look for comfort/escapism in conspiracy theories or breakthroughs in physics that affirm the fallibility of our understanding of the universe. I lose myself in low fantasy.

I was expecting an epic, adult sapphic fantasy similar to “Priory of the Orange Tree” by Samantha Shannon, but I got something closer to “Red Queen” by Victoria Aveyard. My expectations for a more complex, darker story have a huge factor in my disappointment as a reader. The stakes/conflict in the novel were too interpersonal, despite the political and societal structures. There mistakes and missteps that our protagonist makes were young mistakes, early mistakes, emotionally immature mistakes that didn’t necessarily align with her personal history.

The homage’s to the original Germanic fairytale were well-placed and appreciated by those familiar with the tale. This, along with the blood magic, were my favorite parts of the novel that kept my attention.

Thank you to Del Rey and Netgalley for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

One Sentence Summary: A retelling of Disney's Sleeping Beauty, but from the black fairy's perspective.

For most of my life I was something of a fairy tale purist, digging for original versions of the Disney movies I spent my childhood watching. But, as a mom, I've become nostalgic for my childhood and more flexible, so fairy tale retellings have been catching my eye. There was so much I liked about Malice from the switched perspective, the reinterpretation of a Disney classic, the love story of two women who shouldn't fall in love. I also really enjoy a good villain origin story, so I'm thrilled to have had the chance to read this one.

The Plot: A Twist on a Disney Classic

We all know the story of Sleeping Beauty, a beautiful princess cursed to sleep for a hundred years before being awoken by true love's kiss. But we don't really know the story behind the wicked fairy who cursed the princess. Malice artfully and fascinatingly presents her backstory and a whole world to go with it.

Alyce is neither human nor fae and definitely not a Grace, a human child blessed by the fae with magic blood. But she was raised by a former Grace, so peddles her dark magic alongside her sister Graces' magic of wisdom, beauty, and charm. Ugly compared to the Graces, she's avoided unless someone desperately needs what only she can offer. But Alyce longs for more, for better.

Aurora is the last remaining crown princess. Doomed to die on her twenty-first birthday if her true love doesn't kiss her beforehand, she seeks out Alyce's dark magic in the hopes it'll help her break the curse. But something blossoms between the unwanted Dark Grace and the beautiful and entirely unexpected princess.

The story, though, can only go one way.

I loved Malice because it took a familiar story and twisted it and gave the villain her own story. But I also wish it had given itself permission to further push the bounds of the Disney story, to take it in the direction I kept thinking the story was going to take. Instead, it adheres fairly closely to the familiar Disney story, sometimes almost feeling like it was forcing the story into boundaries it kept fighting against. At the same time, it threw wrenches into the Disney story, taking a stab at something new and different to distinguish itself. But, for a story that stuck so closely to the Disney version, it only made me scratch my head a little.

But it was a delightful and magical read. Walter reimagined the world in a really interesting way, brought in wars and strong female leaders reaching far back into history. The world building unfolded so incredibly well that I was just sucked in and the pages flew by. I was caught up in the utterly superficial world Alyce is forced to live in, and couldn't help but feel angry on her behalf. I adored her story because she tried so hard, but the world was bent on making her the villain.

At the same time, the pacing was uneven, especially after the first half. I felt a little bogged down, realizing I had only been so sucked in because I found the world fascinating. There were plot points that were thinly veiled plot points, that felt almost pointless but, for whatever reason, were important to Alyce to experience. Fortunately, it picked up near the end and I loved, loved, loved reading how Alyce fully embraced becoming the villain. She was glorious.

I'm not a big fan of romance in books, so haven't read too many queer romance stories, but the ones I did read never really satisfied me. This one did. The romance was more front and center and I loved Alyce and Aurora's dance. They were incredible and lovely together and I just wanted them to be happy. I do wish the romance had been a bit stronger, but, overall, it was a wonderful one that really helped shape Alyce.

The Characters: A Villainess in the Making

Briar is, largely, painted to be a very superficial society, especially if you're wealthy and not a commoner. So, of course, I expected a slew of superficial characters in Malice. They didn't disappoint. But there are also so many surprisingly complex and interesting characters. They went deeper than the skin and helped peel back the pretty layers of Briar.

The Graces are girls who were blessed at birth to have golden blood and colorful hair. By their natures, they should be superficial, doling out elixirs for beauty, charm, wit, wisdom, artistic abilities, and more. Their job is to make the wealthy beautiful and be beautiful themselves. But many of the ones the reader gets to know are deeper than that. They have their own worries and fears. Many of them don't go beyond the superficial, but we get to know Alyce's sisters: Laurel, Rose, and Marigold. There's more to them, or, at least, to some of the Graces, so it was fun to get to know them.

Alyce herself is a fascinating creature. Not human and not fae, she's something else entirely. It makes her look strange and ugly in the superficial society, and it twists her. But there are also glimmers of gold in her heart, a desperate need to want to do and be good. She struggles against the vileness of her blood, of her dark nature that she can't shake off no matter how she tries. I loved her story, of her descent into villainy, because it didn't have to be that way. She was just a young woman making the best of her situation and wanting happiness just like anyone else.

I loved everything about Aurora. For someone with such incredible superficial prettiness, she was anything but superficial. Kind, caring, witty, smart, and desperate, she was complex, strong willed, and stubborn. I loved how she subverted the noble society, how she tried to make her own way.

The Setting: A Continent of Strained Relations

Malice introduces the world of Briar, a gifted home to the humans by the fae who merely tolerate them because of an old promise. Throughout the book, we get the history, from the first queen to the current crown princess. It was fascinating to see the descent of these women who had started out with such a strong matriarch.

The whole world was quite interesting. Divided into three lands, it houses the fae, the humans in Briar, and long wiped out dark creatures in an inhospitable land. Honestly, they each seemed a little simplistic, but I liked the varying approaches to their entangled histories, to the subtleties of their individual societies that are slowly revealed. There's also a greater world beyond this land, one from which princes come to try to break the curse, but we only get little inklings of what they were like.

The magic, though, was fascinating. The fae and the Graces and the dark creatures all had their own forms of magic that were used in different ways. In Malice, the Grace magic, in particular, is really explored. I loved that it was housed in the Grace's own blood, and that the cost was high. It helped heighten the fear of every Grace, and twisted more than one.

Overall: A Delightful Retelling of Sleeping Beauty

Malice presents a very reasonable alternate story to the Disney version. I just wish it had broken out of the boundaries of that story to take a life of its own. Then again, it probably wouldn't really be a retelling. As a retelling, it was, actually, quite delightful. I loved getting Alyce's villain origin story. Her romance with Aurora was sweet, and her life a complete mess. The world bent her no matter how hard she tried to fight it, and it really gave her no option. There were some elements that baffled me a little as I tried to fit it into the idea of this being a retelling, so I both enjoyed it as a retelling, but also felt it could have been so much more if it had liberated itself from that confine.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars
Sometimes a book comes along that is so magical and so unexpected that you finish it in one fell swoop. Malice, a sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, is just the book. This was a beautiful, lush experience, filled with masterful worldbuilding and one of the most interesting protagonists I've read in years. The first-person perspective forces the reader to see things only as Alyce sees them, and thus it makes a hero out of an antagonist and an arc that left me breathless.

It's a gift, to read something that makes you go, "oh, yes, I stand with the villain, actually", even if the conflict is not as simple as good-vs-evil.

This book is a slow, dark descent into romance and the madness that comes with it. As someone who's a huge fan of Maleficent - both the movies and the character herself - this book was near-perfect. As mentioned, it is a little slow, which might turn off some readers, but I found the crawl to be exciting. I finished this in a couple of hours, too, so it wasn't at any point a slog to get through. Another pro of this book is that it relies almost entirely on relationships between women, be they good or bad. There are few male characters, and those few are very important, but the focus never shifts from the women.

The book does get -.5 stars for cisnormativity. It's a queernorm world, and there are frequent mentions of mlm, wlw, and queer polyamorous relationships, but we have no confirmation of any nonbinary people existing. Also, several aspects of the magic system just seem to fail to recognize binary trans folk at all, which did lessen my enjoyment of it.

If you like retellings, Sleeping Beauty/the Maleficent movies, morally grey protagonists and a sweet (...mostly) romantic subplot, I'd definitely pick this one up.