From the opening pages of Heather Walter's debut, I was hooked on Malice. Alyce is a complex character, so reviled by all of her peers it's impossible not to sympathize with her plight. The last known member of her kind, Alyce is a Dark Grace, part Vila, green-skinned and blooded. Vilas deal in curses and terror, punishment and revenge. The rest of the Graces of Lavender House and throughout Briar have gifts in magic in beauty, wisdom, art, and other attributes everyone desires, blessed by the fae of Etheria. Universally hated, all Alyce wants is to save up enough money to escape Briar and go somewhere to live out her own life without being forced to use her gifts to create elixirs and curses for the petty people of Briar.

But all of that changes when she has a chance meeting with the crown princess Aurora. The last surviving heir to Briar's throne, Aurora has only months left to live before the curse that claimed her sisters ends her, too. If she doesn't find true love's kiss before her 21st birthday, Aurora will die just like her sisters. When Aurora is the only person to accept Alyce as she is and not judge her for the actions and crimes of her ancestors, Alyce finds herself unable to resist helping Aurora in any way she can.

This LGBTQIA retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the evil sorceress's point of view was engrossing right from the beginning. While some may find the pacing to be slow, I loved that Walter takes the time to describe so many elements of world-building. It's intricate and vivid, and Walter nails the details of the history of the realms, the magic of the Graces and Vila, and the war between the fae and the humans. Walter's characters are all vivid and interesting, with so many dwelling in that gray area between hero and villain it's nearly impossible not to empathize with them all.

Malice ends with enough closure to be satisfying and still leaves readers wanting more. I'm so excited for the second book. Thank you very much to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with an ARC of this book.

This was such a compelling read. I’m a sucker for any fairytale retelling, but I definitely have a soft spot for stories told from the villain’s perspective. Understanding their motives, getting a glimpse inside their brain, seeing how they think they’re the hero -- that’s one of my favorite things. And this is a wonderful example of just that.

I will admit this book had a bit of a slow start; the worldbuilding was very cool but very intricate and it took me a while to really understand what was going on. The history of Briar and the hierarchy of their particular realm is decently convoluted -- but once you’re in, you’re in. I found myself drawn in almost without realizing it, blowing through pages just to see what happens next.

Poor Alyce. That girl did nothing wrong and yet everyone hates it for it. You know I love an antihero but Alyce was only ever a villain to everyone else; her motives are pure and entirely understandable. The most recognizable aspects of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale, the ones that paint the picture of a dark fairy, are mostly not even of her doing. And yet the poor thing cannot catch a break.

The LGBTQ+ aspect of the novel was so lovely, though the prejudice around it was a bit confusing. Briar is described as a realm in which same-sex couples exist and are allowed to live and love freely -- except in the case of royalty. That’s a no-no, entirely forbidden. That being said, I love how there are no labels used for either girl. They just are. Two girls that pair up to fix a problem, become friends against all odds, and then something more.

Malice sets up the Sleeping Beauty story we’re familiar with and yet also leaves the door open for so much more.

I was not expecting a cliffhanger, but I can’t say that I mind; I’m very curious to see where this story goes.

This fairytale reimagining is definitely one to pick up if you like dark, dangerous, and unpredictable. In the very best of ways, of course.

An interesting take on a familiar fairy-tale! I love imaginings of old stories so this was right up my alley.

I absolutely love retellings and I mean all retellings, there isn’t one genre of retellings that I don’t love but I do have a special place in my heart for fairy tale retellings and this one is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a twist, it’s queer!

Aurora is the heir to the throne and Alyse (Maleficent) is a dark grace who is treated with fear and hatred from her fellow graces because she uses darker magic. The two need each other to defeat the curse and that is all I’ll say of the plot because it’s just so good I feel like you should read it yourself and I’m not sure I wouldn’t actually reveal a spoiler.

I really like retellings that take a character who is usually a flat villain and tells a different story from their perspective do redeem the characters who we are taught from childhood to hate. Heather Walter really does a lovely job turning the Disney tale on its head and making you sympathize with Alyse from the very beginning of the story and that only grew for me throughout.

I adored this and recommend this to anyone who loves fairytale retellings.

CW: bullying, manipulation, kidnapping, various forms of violence

Poor Alyce. Abandoned at birth and raised without love she faces a life where she is feared, despised and friendless. Alyce is the Dark Grace. Instead of bestowing beauty, wisdom, or other charms, clients come to her to make their foes ugly, uncoordinated, or cursed with some other malady. The only person who isn’t immediately repulsed by Alyce is the Princess Aurora who is cursed to die at the end of the year unless she is kissed by her true love.
I couldn’t put this book down. Walter has done a fantastic job of crafting Alyce. She is from the same line of evil sorcerers that originally cursed the Princess Aurora, but Aurora is able to bring out the desire for good that lurks within Alyce’s soul. But when Alyce tries to use her gifts for good to cure a dying noble everything goes terribly wrong. And as time goes on her desire to learn more about her heritage leads her to trust the wrong person and everything collapses around her as she inadvertently releases the evil that she was trying to quell. I was really pulling for Alyce throughout as I secretly wanted that happily ever after ending and hoped that she would quash her evil side once and for all. But alas, it didn’t happen. And that was precisely the point. Thanks you Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Malice is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a sapphic twist. We see the story unfold from a first-person POV, through the eyes of Alyce, a half-Vila who’s the last of her kind living amongst a kingdom and peoples diametrically opposed to her existence. The Vila are the comically evil foil to the Fae, a race of angelic magical beings and, as with all caricature, we soon learn that perhaps things aren’t as black and white as they seem.

While the half-Fae of the kingdom, known as Graces, are celebrated for their “light” magic – the ability to gift beauty, wit, pleasure, and wisdom - Alyce is similarly ostracized for her dark magic. We are drawn to the inherent hypocrisy of the kingdom’s inhabitants here, as Alyce’s gifts are sought out in equal measure to the Graces’. Alyce herself is a proxy for the darker side of human nature – the jealousies and vindictiveness we all possess but are ashamed to acknowledge (though we are quite happy to criticize these traits in others).

The book explores Alyce’s transformation from outcast to the full-fledged villainess of fairytale fame – though one could argue that she becomes her own hero. In that way Walter’s Malice almost a spiritual prequel rather than a retelling. Walter managed to make Sleeping Beauty her own - she crafted a vibrant world with a rich magical system and a deep historical lore that will no doubt be further explored in the sequel. I don’t want to spoil the romance, so I’ll just say that it’s well-paced and sweet, and ends on a cliffhanger that turns Sleeping Beauty on its head.

However, I think this book could have benefitted from a few more passes through an editor. In the first third of the narrative, we are treated to a loooot of exposition. I understand that perhaps there weren’t many opportunities to “show” a lot of the cultural mores, political bodies, and magical systems that embody this world, but spoon-feeding this information to me in textbook-fashion through Alyce’s POV took me out of the world completely. There is also some repetitiveness in Alyce’s POV. Maybe it’s because I read the whole book in two sittings, but I found myself thinking “you already pointed this out / complained about this before” in many sections. So yeah, at almost 500 pages, I feel like these things could’ve been better executed.

Additionally, towards the end, some black and white decisions were turned inexplicably gray, almost as if shoehorned in for additional drama. Drama that definitely was NOT needed because the last 10% of the book was a bonkers (like Millennium Force roller coaster mad) and filled with more than enough twists to leave you reeling.

Despite these issues, I found this to be overall an entertaining, casual read and I will be tuning in for Part 2 of the duology!

Disclaimer: I got this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty! In this retelling, Aurora falls in love with the villain instead of Prince Philip. In this book, the sorcerer is just misunderstood and misguided. Aurora is still relatively sweet and innocent. I loved that I got to see a fresh take on this beloved fairytale. I'm extremely picky with my fairytale retellings, but this one didn't disappoint me! The only thing I wasn't a fan of were the minor plot holes in this book. This is a spoiler-free review so I will share what it is on my blog after pub day! I''ll be posting about this on my bookstagram page too closer to the pub date. I'm @meetcuteromancebooks. This is one you don't want to miss!

2.5/5 stars.

I'm usually a big fan of retellings, be it for myths or fairy tales, so I went into this with high hopes. This book is a retelling of the classic Sleeping Beauty tale but with a twist in that its also a love story between the Princess Aurora and the Dark Grace Alyce.

The book is very slow in the first 50% and the action doesn't really begin until the last quarter - and by then there's only so few pages left. The worldbuilding is given immediately and I'm bogged down by all the details trying to keep everything straight and piece it all together. I wish that the details had been interwoven some more throughout rather than given immediately - perhaps it's only me, since I have trouble keeping up with high fantasy novels, but I found it hard keeping up with all the details about the different regions and alliances. I didn't expect the things to do with the monarchy and allegiances to be such an integral part of the book, but I know its an aspect that lots of fantasy readers enjoy so I'm sure others will like it more than I did.

I rooted for Alyce the entire way through, but I didn't care much for the other characters. I wish we had gotten more from Aurora, she did seem like a great character but I think tinged with Alyce's view of her, we didn't really get a multifaceted view of her. Alyce, however, was a complex character and I liked reading about her discovering more about her magical abilities. It was intriguing to read about, but wish it had been executed better to be more exciting.

Overall, this is a good book for fans of epic fantasy books that are fairy tale retellings, but just wasn't for me.

I've always been fascinated by reading books through the villains pov and this book was no exception. Taking inspiration from Sleeping Beauty, Malice takes readers through a journey of an outsider wanting to find herself.

I loved the progression of Alyce and how she bounces back and forth from wanting to do what's "right' and what's 'wrong'. Ultimately her actions become based on the need to protect the one she loves.

I do wish we had gotten more from Aurora's character as I loved her and Alyce interacting with one another, as well as Aurora's character being interesting for a princess.

This ending absolutely destroyed me and I'm just going to leave it at that.

Overall, 4 (maybe 4.5 stars, I have to think about it more) out of 5 stars. An engaging retelling to say the least.

This dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty was so beautifully written. Lots of dark twists that will keep you intrigued until the very end. I am really hoping for a second book, I was left wanting more to the story at the end! Great read!

I am broken. I am a broken human. Slow burn like whoa. I am positively weeping. This author is cruel beyond measure leaving it as she did. And if I don’t get a sequel where I get my got-damned happily ever after, heads are gonna roollllllll.

I received and ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
t's a classic well-known and much beloved tale. How much could it be changed? Quite a bit it seems. We all know the basis: beautiful princess pricks her finger on a cursed spinning wheel falling into a deathlike sleep only to be awoken by true-love's kiss.
And all that happens. Centuries before our tale. The kingdom is rich and prosperous, gifts of the fae being borne by the Graces of the kingdom as a thanks for wiping out the dark Vila whose curse to cause the death of all female heirs on their 21st birthday was also lessened to allow first-love's kiss to save each of them.
Now, one of the ancient foes heirs is born in the kingdom to a human mother. Deemed "safe-enough" her gifts are used by the kingdom in service as the Dark Grace, granting curses and misfortune rather than beauty, grace and wisdom. Tormented by her peers and nearly friendless, she just dreams of escape.
Until she meets the princess and entirely different ideas become possible. Maybe, impossibly, there's a chance for a happy ever after? With the assistance of a new-found ally and a handful of, not friends but at least not enemies, she dares to dream.
This was a great premise and I enjoyed reading this story and this take on the classic. Turning the classic black-and-white good vs. evil into shades of gray with all the real-feeling moral ambiguities we encounter and feel the character felt like people we know, or ourselves, and wonder how we would respond. With the addition of LGBTQ elements, discussion of oppressions and class struggle mixed in with classic bits from other tellings of the tale, Fae elements, and a nice sprinkle of classic Disney it was an entertaining ride.

This is a wonderfully written page-turner. Heather Walter mixes world-building with character development really well, so the plot is compelling from the start as she builds out Briar. It's so lovely to have a book with a queer main character and plotline that's not rooted in either tragedy around that or a coming out narrative - the main character's relationship is integral to the story and queerness is part of that, but it's not there for its own sake. Can't wait to read book 2!

Characters were dynamic but unrelatable. Good twist on story with interesting shift in plot. Will recommend if brought up.

Omg omg omg... Please tell me that there is going to be a sequel to this book because I'm hooked. And that ending! We need a sequel. Alyce and Aurora need their happy ending.

Alyce, a dark grace, half vila, known to give you all the curses and poisons you could ever want- knows that she will never be accepted in the kingdom of Brair. But does she really want to be accepted by the very people who are much worse than she is? The people who come to her for curses and poisons, the vain and wealth hungry people of her city?
She’s not quiet sure.
But then there’s Princess Aurora- cursed to die at 21 like the other princesses before her...unless she has true love’s kiss. The one thing that breaks any spell. But who wants to be stuck kissing strangers for most of their life?
So when the Princess comes to her, pleading for help- she only sees Alyce as a friend- not a foe. So Alyce, never having experienced such kindness, vows to help her. But how much good can a woman who was born to darkness do?

Holy CRAP. This book was freaking incredible. It’s one of those books that the blurb absolutely reels you in, and from the very start you’re addicted.
As a lover of retellings, I RAN to request this book when I saw it on Netgalley. And the biggest plus? It’s sapphic! #represent!

There’s literally so much that I loved about this book. The plot is incredible- it’s never boring and there’s always something new just around the corner.
The characters are relatable and they GROW. I found myself hating the characters that were made pure, and loving Alyce, the one made dark. Every character was different and each offered their own twist to the story, making it better and better.
The romance- okay woah, it was slow. But a good slow. The kind of slow where they actually develop real, substantial feelings for one another other than just ‘I kiss you and suddenly love you’ kind of thing.
And the ending?? I literally kept seeing how many more pages I had left because I was like ‘surely not everything will be fixed in this amount of time’ - and it wasn’t! The ending was phenomenal and has got me so entirely ready for the next book.

This is Heather Walter’s first published book, and if this incredible book was anything like the rest of their writing, I hope they create more ASAP.
I’m definitely adding them to my ‘buy first, read the blurb last’ list of authors.

In conclusion: if you like fairytale retellings with a twist, sapphic books to eat your heart out, and a series starter that gets you addicted for the next book- then you should 100% check out Malice

((Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House for an ARC in return of an honest review

A Sleeping Beauty retelling. Sort of. Honestly, if you took out all of the references to Sleeping Beauty and changed them to something else, this story would still 100% stand on its own.

The first 60% of this book is SOOO slow, but I stuck with it and I'm so glad I did. I did not like Alyce at first, the whiny woe is me thing is not something I enjoy in a character, but she grows and becomes powerful and it's so great. The world building was very thick, that's the only word I can think of to describe it, sluggish to get through.

I loved Alyce and Aurora's relationship, it's definitely nice to get not just LGBTQ+ representation, but WLW especially. Alyce's growth as a character is fantastic.

I'm DYING to know what happens next, hopefully there's a sequel coming.

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I am a sucker for a retelling,so when I saw that this was a Sleeping Beauty retelling, I was all for it.

While I liked the concept of the story, I felt like it was a bit everywhere and some of the decisions that Malice made seemed a bit out of character. I enjoy a book with a grey main character, but this Malice was seriously everywhere. I also felt like the ending was a bit rushed. It was all going okay, and then all of a sudden all hell broke lose and, the end. If there is a sequel I would give it a chance, and I would read other books by this author. This one was just a bit meh for me.

This was my first ARC from net galley to review and I was absolutely excited to receive it! An honest review for this book will be a piece of cake. This book has been on my list for a while, as I’ve seen lots of other people rave about it in anticipation. I read this book quickly as it was such a great piece to devour. I love the retelling of this wonderful story, but I also loved that it was from our antiheroine’s point of view. There was so much depth to the story and the characters that I was constantly flipping through the virtual pages to see what would happen next. This author did such a great job by keeping the reader engaged in a constantly thriving plot. At no time did I find myself bored and wanting to set the book down. I loved seeing everything from Alyce’s POV. watching her maneuver through life and it’s conflicts was invigorating. I found so many pieces of myself in her. Her relationship with Aurora was my favorite. Im a sucker for sapphic fairytale retellings. There were so many great themes in this book I’m surprised they all fit but then again it was a good length for a novel. Books with A+ side characters always add depth to a novel, and this book had many of them. Each character was there for a reason and our lovely MC was constantly interacting with them, but it was always for a reason. A lesson to be learned. So many decisions and influences were slowly made throughout the story that lead towards a bigger plot. As it has been confirmed that there is going to be a sequel, I can say that the ending was a cliffhanger and I had to set the book down to decompress my feelings. Any time the author creates a world that makes you go into that little rabbit hole of existential questions, is always going to be an amazing book in my opinion. That’s exactly what this book did for me and I am so excited to read the second one. I am not a patient person but this book will be worth the wait. This review will be posted to my Goodreads account on March 8, 2021.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC.

When I first heard that Malice was a sapphic Sleeping Beauty retelling it soon became one of my most anticipated reads. Unfortunately, it did not live up to my expectations.

The story is told from the perspective of Alyce, who in the original tale is the witch that curses Sleeping Beauty. However, in this retelling she is described as being a Vila. The Vila are a group of people who can curse others and most of them were wiped out during the War of the Fae that took place between the Vila and the Graces. The Graces are a group of people who can control specific types of magic such as beauty, healing, wisdom, etc. and they are known for looking down on the Vila.

Things I liked about this book are that Alyce is portrayed as someone who is looked down upon simply because of her different magical abilities. It gives you the sense that she is not really a villain but rather someone who is sick of everyone mistreating her. I also liked that Aurora was portrayed as a strong willed individual who does not need the approval of the kingdom to go after what she wants.

Now onto the aspects I didn't like. I found the writing to be very repetitive. I also felt like there was poor worldbuilding. It seemed like pieces of information were just being randomly thrown out there for the reader. For example, towards the beginning of the book it is mentioned that they are fae but then it's never brought up again and expanded upon. Also, I found that I didn't really connect with any of the characters and the romance between Alyce and Aurora seemed rushed. Throughout the book I kept waiting for the plot to pick up and when I finally thought it was going to the conflict immediately resolved.

This book had a lot of potential but fell short for me. It did end on a cliffhanger and I believe this is going to be a duology so perhaps I will give the second book a try.