4.5 stars

Malice is not your typical fairytale. But then again, is it a fairytale if the villain is at the forefront?

In this novel, we follow Alyce, otherwise known as “The Dark Grace.” She’s half-Villa, a breed of fae that is feared for their cruel powers that started a war long ago. Nowadays, her powers are instead used in one of the Grace houses, where fae-blessed girls use their powers in elixirs of sorts so that nobles can get a boost in their beauty, knowledge, and more. However, because of her Villa magic, the only thing Alyce can do is form elixirs to harm, and the other Graces make her suffer because of her heritage.

But then, she meets the crown princess, Aurora, who is cursed to die on her 21st birthday if she doesn’t get her true love’s kiss, and they form a connection. All despite the fact that it was one of Alyce’s own that placed the curse on Aurora’s bloodline.

The one thing that really stood out to me in this novel was the world-building, because it was damn fantastic. Walter describes Briar in such a fantastical and dreamlike way that following Alyce through its streets almost made me feel as though I was out of place as well.

The magic system in place was also super interesting and felt very natural and integrated through the world without any info-dumps. It was really interesting to see Alyce’s magic grow, and we as the reader were given just enough information at the right time to make us feel like we’re discovering it with her.

The characters were also amazingly written, each of them the dictionary definition of complex. Each one, despite their weaknesses and shortcomings, all had something to sympathize with, and they all felt so real in their own right I can almost imagine them as actual people. The only part I didn’t really like about the characters was Alyce. Yes, I do love her character, but sometimes her “I am the villain” brooding would trip over the line between guilt and melodramatic. While it’s okay to have a few melodramatic moments, I could not for the life of me see what was making her act this way. I’m not saying that she didn’t have her fair share of horrible choices and guilt, but it felt like she was getting too carried away with it at times.

Throughout the entire book, I swear I kept screaming at my Kindle for Aurora and Alyce to kiss. At first, their relationship seemed a bit forced, but as they got closer, I think my fondness for their friendship grew. Their dynamic felt sort of like dipping your toes into the water to check the temperature before you jump in, except both of them kept dipping their toes because they couldn’t glean the temperature the first a hundred times. Needless to say—the tension between these two was real.

Despite their rocky relationship development at first, I really loved how realistic their relationship was. Yes, this is a fairytale, but Walter takes that word completely flips it on its head. Alyce, despite being attracted to Aurora, knows her place in the world, and knows what people in Briar think of her kind. She knows Aurora is the princess, and rightfully has doubts about everyone’s motives. This sort of “is she actually...? or is she not...?” game had me on the edge of my seat the entire ride.

The reason why I took off half a star (other than the little things listed above) was because of the pacing. I hadn’t realized that months had passed in the book until it was said to us. For all I knew, it felt like it was happening within weeks. Some scenes were written out over tons of pages and chapters, while others just happened in one. It wasn’t hard to follow, per se, it just threw me off my reading experience a bit. It also often took me a long while to get through certain scenes, hence why my reading time was spread over a month.

Overall, Malice was a spectacular debut from Heather Walter. Now, I shall proceed to pray to the ARC gods so that I may be approved for the sequel as well. If you’re a fan of villain origin stories or just fantasy in general, please give this novel a try!

Great book! I am definitely going to look more into this author. I was pulled right in to this book, definitely recommend.

4.5/5 stars
Trigger/Content Warnings: violence, blood/gore, death

"If they want a monster, they shall have one."

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Del Ray, and Heather Walter for letting me read an eARC of Malice.

This book has been buzzing around the book community, and for good reason. It's a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but make it sapphic.

Alyce, aka "The Dark Grace," is half Vila, a breed despised by the people of the queendom of Briar. The Graces, who are magically gifted from the Fae, especially despise Alyce and make her life a living nightmare. Alyce believes that no one (save for her pet kestrel, Callow) cares for her until she meets the crown princess Aurora. They form a bond stronger than any magic, including the curse Aurora's family has endured for generations. Once the princesses of Briar turn 21, they will die unless kissed by their true love. It's a tale as old as time...or is it? The princess isn't supposed to fall in love with the evil sorceress...is she?

If I had to sum this novel up in one phrase, it would be: "Good for her."

I absolutely adored this book. The world-building, beautiful. The characters, perfect. The sexual tension, dragon's fucking teeth it was good (read the book, it will make sense).

So the world-building, let's talk about it. I love how this feels like reading a fairytale. The dialogue is definitely more modern, but the story feels so familiar and almost ancient (in a great way). The depth that is put into writing the world of Briar and beyond is incredible. I love how Walter took elements from the original story of Sleeping Beauty and put them into this retelling. There's fae lore, queendom politics, and even "tea" about the previous queens of Briar. We live for it. Not to mention the magic system is brilliant and feels a bit like a political statement in the way the Graces' magic is regulated through laws.

And the characters - my god, each one feels so complex. Everyone is morally grey in this world which is such a great reflection of life as it is. People are complex and intentions aren't always what they seem. And different things motivate different people, sometimes to the point of breaking. I don't want to spoil the ending - but I just have to say that with the way things ended for Alyce, I get it. I honestly would want to do the same if I was in her shoes.

The sexual tension was...unexpected and SO appreciated. I thought things would stop at a kiss, but I was absolutely mistaken and I've never been so happy to be wrong. It was flat-out sexy and so beautiful to see women loving each other in an emotional AND physical way. Please bring on all the sapphic romances from now on!

My final thoughts are that I need a sequel yesterday. And I'm seeing confirmation online that there will be one, thank GOD. I cannot recommend this book enough. Put your preorders in ASAP - I know I am!

Heather Walter, well done on your debut. This is stunningly written and I will read anything you write from now on. Once again, dragon's teeth, this was so good!

What I liked
- magic
- LGBTQ+ ( Sapphic)
- strong female characters
- Slow-burn romance
- Twist on Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty
- Dark and ominous feel

What I didn't like
- Some parts are slow moving and I almost DNF.


Overall I really enjoyed Malice and am looking forward to the next book by Heather!

Thank you Netgalley, Del Rey and Heather Walter for the opportunity to read this phenomenal book! All opinions are my own.

I really liked this book and I think it's very interesting the characters were so original and the attention grabbed my attention from the start

If there are two things I love, it's a fairy tale retelling and a villain love interest. This book has both. Sometimes, though, retellings can start to feel a little stale. This book just took the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty and shook it up so beautifully! Alyce is a badass. I loved the slow burn sapphic romance between the cursed princess and the witchy and wonderful "villian".
There is unique world building, it's original, breathtaking, well-developed, and smart. A fairy tale retelling for a modern generation.

I really enjoyed Malice since it is a villain origin story with a twist. Malice follows Alyce, a dark grace who along with her "sisters" is paid for her elixirs to any who can afford it. Alyce is disliked by all since she is half Vila. Vilas are dark Fae who bucked light fae rule and are said to be truly evil. One day, Alyce meets Aurora. the crown princess. Alyce and Aurora become friends even while knowing that Aurora is set to die that year due to a curse by a Vila. All the women in the royal line have a mark that will kill them by age 21 if they do not find their true love. Aurora has already lost 2 sisters, kissed countless men, and wants to find a way to break the curse without the help of man. Alyce starts to help Aurora while also practicing her own newly discovered Vila magic. Her magic is being helped along by a shadowed man, Kal who is magically chained to a dilapidated castle.
There were so many elements that I loved in the book that make it memorable to me. Alyce is a "villain" since she is Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty but is she? She is isolated and looked down upon while someone with ulterior motives starts to show her attention. I absolutely hated the kingdom since they use the graces for vanity while draining them from magic as if all they are is a service. Aurora is also a victim of her circumstances since she retells that she has been forced to kiss men since she was a little girl all to break the curse. I think this book is a solid 3 stars since there were a few things I didn't like but ultimately giving it a 4 since the lore and dragon were amazing.

This was an extremely unique fairy tale retelling. I am always fascinated by stories such as these, and through Malice, Heather did not disappoint. By following Alyce, the dark one, instead of the traditional princess, the reader gets a look at what it is like to be the dark one.
The plotline was well built. While the story didn't seem to take place over a long period of time, the buildup was gradual and not too wordy. I enjoy books like this. Overly descriptive books lose my interest. This book did not. However, once the book reaches the end everything explodes. And then is abruptly ended. By reading other's reviews, I see that there is a sequel, but I usually don't prefer such an abrupt ending when the story has progressed at a much slower speed. It was fast, vivid, and to the point.
I enjoyed Malice. I enjoyed seeing her grow into the creature everyone knew her to be. And I look forward to seeing what Heather does to expand on the story in her sequel.

Alyce is evil. Everyone says so. She has the green blood of the wicked Vila, rather than the gold of her sister Graces, and the potions she crafts for her avid (albeit ashamed) customers bring only misery. Then she meets someone who understands how it burns to be defined and confined by the role she's assigned: the cursed princess Aurora, who has one year to find true love or die. The unlikely pair grow close as they conspire to break the curse and improve their kingdom for all its inhabitants. But no fairy tale ends well for the villain. Solid world-building and fleshed-out characters. That ending will give you whiplash.

It took a while for this book and I to finally have our true love’s kiss. That was my fault; that was on me.

Once I let go of the chip on my shoulder and enjoyed this book for what it was, it was great. I was more than impressed by the time I finished reading it. For a F/F [YA?] retelling of Sleeping Beauty, I think this could be enjoyed by almost any reader of fantasy.

I found the focus on emotions in the book to be a little bit too heavy and it initially took me quite a bit of time to just let go of what I considered silly fairy tale things, but I came to actually appreciate both aspects of the novel after deciding to roll with it.

Speaking of emotions, this book will have you go from angry to sad to happy to relieved to just about everything the main character feels, with a fantastic climax that had me on the edge of my seat. The latter half of Malice was great and the last 1/10th of it was both true love’s kiss AND a chef’s kiss. No ambiguity in the way I felt about the ending- incredibly satisfying. All of the worldbuilding, character development, and the twists and the turns as the story progressed were perfectly punctuated by the cherry-on-top ending.

I hope this novel gets the recognition it deserves once it is released; I will certainly be looking out for the sequel. I think lesbian/queer femme fantasy might be my thing this year. It’s 2021; no more men in my books please.

Fantastically developed characters. Superb dialogue and slow building excitement to a spectacular finale. Couldn’t believe how well done this was! Highly recommended

4.5 stars, would've been 5 stars if the ending was a little different.
I was really surprised by how much I enjoyed this book, but I never felt bored, it was entertaining, the main character was really interesting, and I loved the romance. The pace was pretty good, it didn't drag but for the most part it wasn't rushed either. It was definitely more character heavy than plot heavy and there wasn't a ton of action for most of the book, but that's not something I particularly dislike in books, and I thought there was a good balance between plot, worldbuilding, characters, and romance. Alyce is a really cool character and it's super interesting to watch her battle between the different people she thinks she's supposed to be based on her upbringing, her ancestry, and how other people expect her to act. Aurora is also great, they have great chemistry, and I absolutely loved her. Alyce's relationships with her sisters, her house mistress, and the various other royals and citizens of Briar are really well done (her kestrel, Callow, is also amazing).
The world is well explained, thought out without being too complicated, and unique enough that it still feels like a fairy tale world but isn't a complete copy of one. On that note, this book puts a really cool twist on Sleeping Beauty, you can tell what it's a retelling of, but is different enough to be it's own story as well. I didn't love the end just because it's not where I saw the story going since I was looking forward to that fairy tale happy ending and not a massive cliff hanger (although since I've learned this is probably going to be a duology, I'm willing to forgive that for the most part). That's the one part that did feel a bit abrupt and rushed to me, but it wasn't awful.
My last thing is that besides Aurora, Alyce, and Endlewild, the rest of the characters don't get good, thorough physical descriptions beyond maybe their hair and eyes, since those are part of the magic system. This created two white main characters and about a dozen side characters that were racially ambiguous at best.
Overall, I had a great time, I loved the romance, and I'll definitely be picking up the sequel.

To quote ACOMAF
"If you stare long enough into the darkness, you find that the darkness begins to stare back"
This is a new retelling of sleeping beauty.but told from what is her version of Malificent.
Alyce is a dark grace who instead of making people pretty her blood curses people. She begins a journey of finding who she is, who she loves and can trust and finds out her powers.
I dont think the ending is resolved so I hope its not a standalone

Thank you for sharing this title with me! I included it in a roundup of must-read LGBTQ+ books coming out in 2021 for Cosmopolitan.com https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/books/g35283160/lgbtq-books-2021/

A new take on Sleeping Beauty. If you like variations on light and dark Fae, this is for you. The Graces who are blessed with golden blood, but chained to serve the nobles. The Dark Grace who suffers the insults and degradations of a society who doesn't understand. The Princess who loves her.

What if the evil fairy wasn't evil? What if True Love isn't what it is expected to be?

Neither Alice or Aurora expect what happens in this retelling of Sleeping Beauty. They are both locked into the roles expected of them by society, but as the story progresses they are able to break free from society's expectations and chart their own paths.

this was a very interesting take on a classic tale. It took a while to get going, but after a couple of chapters, I was hooked

Wow was this the sapphic villain story I've been waiting for. I loved Alyce, I loved Aurora, I loved the plot and the world building. All in all, I am super excited for this book to come out and for the sequel.

This was so great! The sapphic villain sleeping beauty retelling i've been hoping for. I can't wait for the sequel.

An amazing retelling of Sleeping Beauty with an emphasis on the “making” of the villain. An extremely misunderstood girl. She’s very much a square peg. She finds true love only to slam into a wall of interference