Narrated entirely by ‘the villain’ in the same lovely and flowing manner in which the book blurb was written, ‘Malice’ is a creative and original sapphic re-imagining of ‘Sleeping Beauty.’

Though Alyce resembles Maleficent quite a bit, she is not actually intended to be *the* dark fairy we’re all familiar with. This re-telling includes other minor alterations as well as major plot changes and a richly developed world full of Fae, Vila, Demons, Shifters, Imps, and more.

I appreciated that many elements of the classic tale were included, such as true love’s kiss, magic activating with the prick of a finger, and court-approved magic involving beauty, healing, and music. Like Maleficent, Alyce often remains uninvited to palace events and parties, and is feared and hated for her different blood and magic abilities.

Highly recommended for fans of all fairy-tale retellings and F/F pairings. ‘Malice’ will also likely appeal to readers who enjoy vivid descriptions of palaces, court wardrobes, makeup, and food, such as in ‘The Selection’ series.

A fairytale world without the fairytale ending, Malice is a piece of art. Dark, bewitching, and vicious, this book kept you hooked from the minute you opened it. Instead of the “true love” presented in most fairy tales, this really explored the darker side of passion, and what it can lead to.

This book follows Alyce, the half Vila spawn with cruel powers. Instead of the ability to grant beauty, wisdom, or pleasure, Alyce can curse with ugliness. She is ostracized, tormented for her looks and her heritage, until she meets Princess Aurora, the only one to see through her Vila side. But with all things, love doesn’t come easy, and Aurora is cursed to die unless her true love is found.

This book is everything I look for. Ever since reading the Young Elites, I’ve been looking for main characters who aren’t so good, who are ruthless and cruel. This book delivered. I was wary for the first half, because Alyce seemed pretty stereotypical. The last 1/4 of this was absolutely amazing though, and I look forward to rereading this and catching all of the details I missed.

The romance in this was also amazing. One of my pet peeves about fairy tale retelling is that insta love is so common. This book was as far from that as it could get. A slow burn, queer romance, that challenged the original story, what else can we ask for? Aurora and Alyce were a compelling couple, and I was rooting for them despite their differences.

The only real complaint I have about this book is that the plot was a bit slow. It wasn’t like a lot of fantasies, which are completely action driven. This book really relied on its characters to move it forward, which I liked, but made it a bit hard to stay interested.

I really loved our characters in this. No one was truly good, or truly evil. Everyone had complex motivations, which is something I need in a villain. Kal was honestly my favorite, and I really liked his character arc. That being said, Alyce has a place in my heart, for being the vengeful character we can all relate a bit to.

For fans of dark fantasy, romance, or fairy tale retellings, this book is a must. It deviated far enough from the original tale that it felt new, but threw in a ton of small nods to the tale. Plus, the cover on it is absolutely gorgeous. This should definitely make a splash in the YA world!

Thanks to Heather Walter and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this book! The whole concept of an F/F fairytale retelling is amazing to me. I love fairytale retellings in general, and this one did not disappoint. I could barely put it down. I love the worldbuilding of Briar and the Graces specifically. This book had a really original take on Sleeping Beauty. I sped through the last 50 pages trying to find out what would happen and the ending was soul-crushingly good. It was angsty in all the best ways. Many of the characters really stood out in good ways; I really felt for Rose by the end.
Some more negative thoughts: there was a lot of exposition in the beginning of the book, some of it in chunks delivered to the reader. I understand the necessity of it, but there might be a better way to sprinkle it throughout the book. The appearance of Kal felt kind of random, as did his turn towards the bad. His reveal as a villain felt unearned in some ways. Other than that, this was a great read! I highly recommend it.

I had a little bit of a hard time getting into the story. The main character set me on edge a little and was hard to like, and there were a few grammar and spelling issues though since this is an ARC I volunteered to review I’m thinking they’ll probably be fixed when the book comes out. That being said, the plot execution was well thought out and creative, and I’m sure lots of people will enjoy it, it just wasn’t my cup of tea :)

Erratum: "Noses grew bumps when hair was supposed to brittle." I suspect the author meant 'bristle', but this was an advance review copy so hopefully that's already been caught, and I detected no more such hairy moments!

This was an engrossing take on the story of Sleeping Beauty, except the beauty isn't sleeping. It's also an engrossing take on Cinderella. Except that Cinders is the one with the power. And she's called Alyce. And she's evil. So she's been brought up to believe.

Working as a 'dark grace' - that is someone with blood power to effect change - Alyce has always understood herself to be evil in her rotten core. While her 'sisters' at the Lavender house effect looks and charm and other such cosmetic facets, Alyce is reduced to undoing those same charming affectations when one rival wishes to do down another, or to removing or minimizing a quality which a rival wishes to see diminished. Alyce has no plans in life, no dream, no hope, except that one day she might accumulate enough coin to leave the land of Briar behind forever and never look back. Then she meets Princess Aurora, and everything changes, but there's many a slip 'twixt Sapphic lips and the 'A' girls are going to experience a few of them before their happy ending can greet them. Assuming there's to be one.

This book seemed far less than some 500 pages. I flew through it, which is unusual for me, especially of late. There's always something to trip-up a good story, but this novel seemed to avoid most of the pitfalls. Maybe the name choices could have been more original for the leading ladies, but the world was totally believable and entirely fresh and alive. There was always something new and intriguing, and I found myself quickly drawn into its reality, and held to the last. In some ways the novel reminded me of my own Femarine, which is another story aimed at turning tired tropes on their head, but Malice was a very different kettle of wishes from my own invention. It's not an exaggeration to call it enchanting.

Were there faults with it? Yes; no one writes the perfect novel, but the faults were few, minor, and perhaps personal and persnickety. Alyce felt just a wee bit whiny, but not so much that it turned me off her. I grew to like her, but her mentioning of green veins, greasy hair, and scaly skin were slightly repetitious. Her picture was painted perfectly the first time! I felt it unnecessary for the extra brushwork. On the other hand (where those green veins and scales are!), someone who suffered these conditions might well dwell on them so perhaps it was in character. I liked Aurora, too; no spoiled brat she. It was a joy to see them get together, and it was done realistically and intelligently. Believe me, I adore authors who can show that kind of restraint in YA literature. Not that there's much YA 'literature' about, but this novel definitely qualities on that score.

One thing that did bother me about Alyce was how long it took her to finally give some consideration to whether her own powers might be employed to help Aurora's fatal condition. Yes, she's a femme fatal! In fact they both are in different ways, which I thought was choice! But that she never for a minute thinks about whether she could use her considerable - and especially her new-found - powers to cure Aurora until the latter virtually has to beg her to help worked to somewhat undermine their growing love. But like I said, these are very minor quibbles in the overwhelming power of the entire novel. No book is faultless, but this one comes close and I commend it. It left me green-veined with envy, and I wish the author all the success in the fantasy world with it.

An excellent addition to the pantheon of fractured fairy tales. Especially refreshing was the emphasis on complicated notions of good and evil, particularly concerning women.

I had heard nothing about this book prior to receiving the arc. When I realized it was an LGBT sleeping beauty retelling, I was very excited to see where it would go and I was not disappointed. Will definitely be recommending this book upon its release.

For fans of Maleficent and Wicked. We get Sleeping Beauty told from the other side, the Dark Grace Alyce's POV.

Set in a world where humans and the light fae joined forces long enough to defeat the Vila - magical creatures of the dark. The king of the fae bestowed the Briar crown on a human woman as thanks. In return, the Vila cursed the human queen so that all of her heirs would die but the fae lightened the curse. Each princess can break her curse and live if she receives true love's kiss.

Graces are human girls, gifted with golden fae blood in their veins that they use to create elixirs for beauty, wisdom, pleasure. Houses of Graces compete with each other for patronage but only one house has the Dark Grace.

Alyce has Vila blood instead of fae so her blood causes ugliness, sickness, and even death.

The writing is full of lush and detailed descriptions of the Graces' clothing and appearance, the food and wine, and the gorgeous Briar castle. The tone was dramatic and moody with touches of the romantic.

Because it's a retelling, it was easy to see where the storyline was going and I appreciated the author working in Sleeping Beauty touches like a spinning wheel. I wanted to know more about the history of this world. I appreciated that Princess Aurora accepted and wanted Alyce with her darkness instead of wanting to change or redeem her.

While Alyce and Aurora were well developed, the other characters felt flatter. The bad characters were very bad with no redeeming qualities. As an Alyce fan, I hope there's a sequel in the future.

Hooked early on from the premise of a sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, this book caught my attention and held it. The world-building was rich and the characters were interesting, but I found myself worrying as the remaining pages quickly dwindled down.

For the most part, it was a refreshing page-turner, boasting female characters with depth, character development, and complexity. While I would have liked more time spent on Aurora, getting to know Alyce and the other girls in the Lavender House (their residence) made for easy attachment. I could picture the world Walter built with clarity and interest. The story was gripping.

On the other hand, a lot happens in the last third of the book that does not wrap up as well as the developments that came beforehand. I find myself hoping for a sequel in order to provide resolutions for things both presented earlier and opened up by the ending. I'm not the biggest fan of the ending, but since it is something of a open ending, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to reading more should there be a continuation.

Finally, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I struggle with a lot of world building and this book had that. It wasn't super enjoyable for me to read until the last 150 pages or so - and then it was an INTENSE page turner. Also loved that it was a f/f Sleeping Beauty retelling. Want more fairy tales like this!

Who needs Prince Phillip to break her curse when she has a misjudged, quite lovable evil sorcerer! Yes, my friends, this is creative, sappy, angsty, intriguing, captivating retelling of Sleeping Beauty!

After reading this quite tempting blurb and magnificent cover, eventually I started scream : “I WANT THIS ASAP!” Thanks to the publishers heard my cry for help and they didn’t reject me this time!

You know how the fairy tale stars, a wicked, vengeful fairy curses the princess to die : a curse could be only broken by true love kiss. But in that case: princess does not need a knight in shiny armor, a sexy prince or Christian Grey to break the curse! ( Christian Grey only works to break my morning curse: I’m heavy sleeper!)

Princess Aurora actually needs Alyce who is branded, humiliated, shamed as villain because she has gifts: horrifyingly darker, mind blowing gifts you cannot ever imagine. She is outcasted, labeled as monster and abandoned to live a lonely life.

But is she really the villanelle of this story? Because everyone in the Briar only cares about jewelries, glamorous parties they throw, charm-granting elixirs they use. They’re selfish, hedonistic, self centered people who never care about princess or future of Briar if she really dies!
Only one who thinks and care about the princess is Alyce: Dark Grace, who is powerful enough to end her life. But does she really want it? Only one year left for Prince Aurora to break the curse and survive! If Alyce helps her, they can change the future by forging a brand new world! But will she do it? Both her and princes are not so different: they are both caged in their own prisons and they need to find their ways to freedom.

There are some plot holes in the story that I wish were written differently ( I cannot exactly tell those points without giving spoilers so I’m shutting my mouth ) but I mostly enjoyed the detailedly depicted, unique, mesmerizing world building.

I truly loved Alyce and the author’s different approach to the villanelle’s mind and her true feelings. In the regular fairytale universe there is strict line between good and evil: but the author shows that there are so many grey areas and evil we thought can have goodness and light in her/his heart just like the good ones have dark sides. Their choices define who they are, not their abilities or powers!

Well, I’m giving 3.5 stars and I’m happily rounding them up to 4 original, breathtaking, well-developed, smart, new age fairy tale stars!

I think I enjoyed this version of fairytale more and I don’t say no to a sequel!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine/ Del Rey for sharing this digital copy of this anticipated novel in exchange my honest opinions.

WOW, this is the first book in awhile that I've really enjoyed. I liked the twists and turns the author provided on this updated version of Sleeping Beauty. I did figure out a few of the twists coming, but the ending was unexpected (as unexpected as a retelling of Sleeping Beauty can be). All in all, this was a well-written and exciting book.

This was a 4-5 star read. I thought it was an unique, clever, and well done reimagining of Sleeping Beauty! It face me a much needed break from my normal genre! I liked the way it was written, I also had some intense feelings for some of the characters! Very unputdownable, especially if you are a fan of fantasy or reimagining of old fairy tales! I would definitely recommend to any of those who love what I mentioned above, as it’s a very riveting story! Would also recommend to those looking to dip into this genre! The writing was beautiful, the characters developed amazingly, and I felt they did a great job of reimagining a timeless story!

Will make sure to buzz around platforms and use lower Amazon reviewer number on release date!

This is not my typical read and I don't remember wishing for it on NetGalley but apparently I did. I enjoyed the build up of how Alyce went from being misunderstood and treated poorly to coming into her power. I'm wondering if there's going to be a sequel?

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this imaginative re-telling of Sleeping Beauty. I felt so bad for Alice, all she wanted was happiness and to be accepted as she was. She was not the evil person the fairytale made her out to be and her relationship with Aurora was sweet. The ending made it seem that their could be another book in the works, and I hope I’m right because I want a happily ever after for them.

A sapphic retelling of sleeping beauty where the princess falls in love with the evil sorceress? SIGN ME THE HELL UP. The moment I read the premise I was so so excited to read this book. I was lucky enough to snag an arc and I was not disappointed. This was such a great and really fun retelling. The story revolves around Alyce, a Dark Grace, graces being half fae who can bestow gifts such as beauty, wisdom, or in Alyce’s case.... darker gifts. Alyce is half Vil, and the last of her kind, making her the most hated and feared amongst the Graces. However, one day she meets Princess Aurora... and they both find that they are both prisoners in their cages and find solace in each other. The romance was great and I was rotting for Alyce the entire time. Everybody just takes from her and treats her like absolute garbage and when she finally finds out the true extent of her gifts and what it truly means to be part Vila, I was so amped. The story was great and honestly I would highly recommend this for anyone who loves an interesting romance fantasy book or a fairytale retelling with a twist. The ending had me begging for more and I would honestly love a sequel to see where Alyce goes and what happens with Aurora... seriously please give me more Heater Walter.

*Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

4/5
There is nothing I love more than a story reimagined and retold, but make it sapphic and I just might push all my responsibilities aside to read it as soon as possible. Malice brings a new side to the Sleeping Beauty story, one that is dark, twisted, and full of power. Heather Walter gives agency and authority to these characters in a story that was beyond overdue for a refresh. The world of the original story seemed to lack in world building, but that is not the case here. Here, there are clear distinctions in a world reevaluated from the get go.

I initially didn't know what to expect from this, as is the nature of reading a retelling, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. This book follows Alyce, who takes on the role of Maleficent, as she grapples with her own identity and ties to her past. Alongside this is her growing friendship and eventual romantic relationship with the princess Aurora. Walter ties in some significant connections to the original story, while at the same time bringing new meaning to the elements that coincide with that. Overall I think this was executed well, if not a bit convoluted at times due to the amount of history and information being conveyed to the reader. Towards the end, I found it did take on a few too many developments that I'm not sure panned out in the way the author intended. This could just be because it isn't clear to me whether or not this is a standalone or part of a larger series. I hope it's the latter. All together an interesting read!

This is a mixed review. I wanted desperately to love this title. Ultimately, I will recommend it to people, especially people looking for Sapphic fantasy. That said, I had a few major issues - revealing that the princess falls in love with Alyce in the copy took much of the urgency out of one of the major plotlines. There were a few major holes in the world-building/magic system that frustrated me throughout and were never addressed. (Namely, if Alyce's magic is intent based and has been proven to fade when her intent fades, then really much of the plot should be unnecessary.) I was, however, excited to see that there was room for Alyce's anger and vengeance, and she was given space to be messy and complicated. That's not something you see a lot of with female characters, so it was refreshing. Overall, a good book, but one I will continue to quibble with.

*Thank you so much to the publisher, the author and Netgalley for giving me an Earc of "Malie" in exchange for an honest review.*An amazing imagivitive retelling of Sleeping Beauty unlike any other I've read. Told from the POV of Aylce aka The Dark Grace, the "villian" was wonderful. I loved how morally grey she was. The story was excellent, doing what ever great fairytale retelling should, twisting well-known elements of the orginal tale into new and exciting things. I really liked the Graces, i though they were interesting (and vile). I loved Aurora and Aylce and wish this wasnt a standalone, if only so I could see what comes next.

Oh my goodness gracious! This book was incredible. I couldn’t put it down and read it in one (staying up much too late). I’m so glad I came across it.