Did not finish this book and considering how long ago this review was due, I wanted to make sure I closed this out. Thank you for the opportunity and allowing me a chance to read this book. I do plan on getting to it this year, hopefully, but I just never got around to it.

This book was given to my by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Wow wow wow. This book was amazing! The concept of the novel felt so fresh and new. I loved the interweaving of time travel all throughout the book. The MC, Alice, has this task thrust upon her so suddenly. It is so fascinating to see the why behind he choices she makes. I will say that I figured out the maker pretty early on but that made it so much more interesting to read and see how things played out. The characters and relationships were great and they made sense. The one thing I didn’t understand was some of the logistics about time travel. I got sort of confused reading those parts but overall an extremely entertaining story.

Highly highly recommend this book.

Good easy read. Your standard distopian ya read but the girls saving the boy instead of the other way around.

In a shattering flash of electricity Alice was visited by a voice claiming to be from the future. A voice that would go on to inform her that one of the students at her school is the creator of a virus that, in her time, has killed all but a third of the human population. A voice that charges her with finding out who this person is and stopping them before it is too late. But the voice’s orders often feel contradictory or nonsensical and Alice finds herself questioning if following its orders is really the best way to save the future. Is there anything that she can do to save the future outside of the voice’s orders? And why is it so insistent that she avoid one specific boy?

There is a lot to recommend Pintip Dunn’s Malice. The concept is interesting, the idea of a sort of indirect time travel and the implications of that fascinate me. So does the way the story was laid out, with Alice being pulled in different directions by the voice and her own feelings and fears, but it does so while laying out a solid path to who the virus maker might be and building layers of characterization for most of the cast.

The characters for the most part felt like characters. They felt like they existed for more reasons that to support the romance sub plot between Alice and Bandit and, more importantly, most of them felt like they could have been the protagonists of the book if it had been written from a different angle. Even the nameless background students feel like they could have been characters. Alice notes people interacting in the background as part of describing her surroundings. The only real exceptions here have their reasons for being comparatively out of focus, though there were a couple of characters that I found myself wishing we had seen more of.

The plot is well laid out, a reader can pretty easily catch on to where things are going. Though enough unexpected happens that the book never gets boring. Even the romance subplot is well done, it feels like Alice is actually getting to know Bandit rather than just them suddenly being in love. It fits well with the plot too, supporting and complementing it rather well.

One of the only things I have a real complaint with is how the confrontation with the virus maker was handled. It felt rushed in an odd way, almost like Dunn only had so many pages she was allowed and was running out of them. There was all this set up baked in for the virus maker, right up to the climax where the virus maker sounded both heartbreakingly young and so far gone that it sort of made the rest of the ending not work for me. It was not the worst ending that I have ever read by any means, but I would have liked for it to have been given a little more space to settle in.

I had a lot of fun with Malice. There were moments when I wanted Alice to go ahead and figure out what was going on so that we could get into the fighting back part. There were moments where something clicked and I just knew where things were moving. It was a book that I was willing to go with the flow on and see how things fell into place. The writing was well plotted and, while Malice is vehemently a standalone book, I find myself looking forward to what Dunn writes next. So, this earns a four out of five from me.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

I loved the premise behind this one, and the story seemed like it was going to be nonstop twisty-turny goodness. And in some ways it was; in others, it was pretty problematic.

The pluses: I liked Alice and Bandit, and the Avengers/Harry Potter references were a lot of fun. The story definitely had me turning pages to find out what the heck was going on and what would happen next.

The minuses:(spoiler, only on Goodreads: Inconsistencies. Things like Bandit saying initially that he and Charlie weren't really that close, since the guy was a hermit hiding in the woods, but later he's the son he never had.

I had a real problem with how many times present Alice was willing to kill someone on nothing more than a few mental shocks from and the word of future Alice that it was necessary. I mean, okay. The virus was obviously horrific, and she was apparently well placed to maybe have an influence on it. But murder? She was clearly woefully unprepared to go that far, yet she blithely grabbed a gun and took it with her fully intending to shoot not one person, but two. And how she just turned her back on her best friend was...disturbing. They were besties, but Alice threw all of that away in a heartbeat (again, just because future Alice said to) and then barely even thought about it afterwards beyond a "oh well [shrug]" moment or two.

Some of the "mysteries" were pretty obvious--I suspected the culprit pretty early on--but the reasons behind their culpability felt two-dimensional and shallow. Other things--like that person's supposed redemption and Alice's relationship with her father/reasons for her mother's having left--felt like they were explained away/resolved much too easily.)

So...yeah. This isn't going to be my favorite book by this author, but it's not going to stop me from wanting to pick up her next one, either, so there's that.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars / B-

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

I was given this book by netgalley as an arc in exchange for my honest opinion. I wanted desperately to like this book and unfortunately it fell very flat for me. While the synopsis sounded amazing I just couldn't get into it and struggled to finish.

Going with a 3.75 star rating for this book. This was a pretty good sci-fi novel with futuristic aspects blended with a slight mystery. The writing was great, the characters were cool, I just didn't connect with them 100% so that's why I couldn't give it a full 4 star rating.

Alice was such a confusing girl. She seemed to be easily swayed by her future self into doing things that were morally wrong. She did seem to have a good head on her shoulder, but with so much going on in the future and not really understanding or truly living in the present she goes haywire.

Bandit is a boy that's obnoxious, but also sweet. As much as I found his remarks cringe worthy, I ended up truly enjoying him and how sweet he was with Alice. The way he interacts with Alice was funny.

Archie is the younger brother of Alice who is scared deeply by the disappearance of their mother. He is the epitome of a child going semi-serial killer. He stayed true to his nature from beginning to end.

Charlie was aggravating and evil. I cannot stand him! Other, older Alice was frustrating! Overall, this was a good read.

Wow this book was just so good and so easy to get lost in. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and I just didn't want it to end. I just couldn't get enough of these wonderful characters and I just loved getting to see their journey. I will most definitely be reading more stories from this wonderful author.

Another fabulous book by Pintip Dunn! So many twists and turns in this time-travel page turner. It was easy to get lost in the energy of Alice and guessing who would turn out to be the Virus Maker. Thank you for letting me read!

I have to say that I almost put this one down. It was kind of weird when she got a shock and then could hear things in her head. It was kind of out of place and just really off. But I kept going on and loved it. I loved the story and the writing and the flow was great. I think that the Covid going around just makes this one even scarier. It was interesting and well paced if not kind of weird.

Pintip Dunn is one of my favourite authors since I first discovered her book back in 2017. Ever since that, I have been waiting for her new book to be published and Malice is here. I'm a sucker for science fiction and time travelling story. So, I'm so excited to dive into the story.

Honestly reading at this time of the year with the coronavirus thing happened...it wasn't that great instead I kind of scared though I did manage to finish reading this book. Pintip Dunn has once again written an amazing story that me, myself cannot put this book down. No, I mean seriously, I have to keep on reading so I need to know how the virus will forever vanish from the world. The story pace is fast and quick for us to dive into the story without a hiccup.

Overall, I do not want to spoil much of the story because seriously, you guys need to pick this book up. It was really good and grips you hard right from the moment you step into the story. Highly recommended

'Malice' is a fantastic new young adult science fiction novel full of thrills, suspense, and a great mystery that has to be solved before it's too late. I've read the author's work before so I knew that the writing was going to be wonderful. Also, I like reading science fiction but this book turned out to be so much more than that. I ended up absolutely loving this novel which was a genuine surprise to me.

There's so much that happens in this story that I'm not quite sure how to write this review without giving away any spoilers. Like I mentioned, this book takes place in the present but the main character's older self (from ten years into the future) plays a big part in the plot, so it's definitely science fiction. Especially when you factor in the worldwide virus that gets released and kills most of the population. I also mentioned that it was so much more than that. There's a serious mystery aspect that slowly unravels throughout the story as Alice and the reader tries to figure out who the Maker is - the person responsible for creating and releasing the virus. There are a lot of twists and turns that I didn't see coming and kept me on my toes. I will admit that I figured out the big question (who is the Maker?) pretty early in the story. There's so much more to the plot that I couldn't stop reading. There were tons of false leads, red herrings, lies, secrets, and untrustworthy characters. It kept me guessing throughout the book which I ended up reading in one sitting because I just had to see what was going to happen next and how things would end. There's also a romantic aspect to the story, which I normally don't like when it's inserted into a book that's not a romance because it always seems to take over the story and overshadow the main plot. That didn't really happen in this book. I actually enjoyed the romantic parts and how it tied into the story line.

The characters were all very well written, especially Alice, our main character. She's complicated, devoted, loving, loyal, smart, determined, and will stop at nothing to do what she believes is the right thing. All of these positive qualities paired with her flaws made her incredibly realistic and I easily connected with her right from the beginning of the story. The other major characters were mostly well rounded and realistic too, like Archie, Bandit, Zeke, Lelana, and future Alice. The minor characters were pretty flat and stereotypical but that didn't bother me because they weren't essential to the story. I loved getting to know each of them and see their characters shift and change throughout the story. At one time or another, most of them are possible suspects for Alice to consider so they made great and confusing red herrings. The last thing I want to mention is the author's writing style. Point of view is very important to me personally as a reader and can literally make or break a book for me. I almost always prefer the first person POV. Luckily, the author chose to write the novel in the first person from Alice's perspective. I love that she wrote it this way because we got to really know her character during the story. We get an inside look at her thoughts, emotions, hopes and dreams, fears, insecurities, and innermost thoughts. I think it was the perfect choice for the book and only made it that much better. I highly recommend this book to fans of YA science fiction, mystery, thriller, action and adventure, and even romance.

A slow pacing that isn't my personal choice made this a little difficult to get hooked onto but once the ball started rolling at a considerable speed, it gave enough to keep me by the edge. From interesting themes like time=travel that can impress the right audience to likeable characters who you can't help but root for, this speculative science-fiction has factors to become a favorite even though it didn't meet all my expectations.

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

YAY! I finally read Malice. Honestly, once I started to pick it up.. I just knew that I couldn't put it back down. No matter what.

In it, you will meet Alice. Now she seems to be the only real normal person at this STEM school for geniuses but that's because she kind of is. She only really got into the school because they thought she would be just like her older brother Archie. Turns out, she's a genius with a camera and can take pretty awesome photos.

Besides that, she is also the harry potter of this world. She's going to save everyone from some evil person called the Virus Maker. Of course, she has no idea who it actually is right now because the virus isn't a thing yet. No, it wont come out into the world killing millions and millions of people until the future.

Sounds familiar right?

Well, unlike what is happening in the world, Alice has a chance to fix everything before it even happens. At first the clues were kind of annoying because "older" Alice wasn't very helpful. Eventually we get to find out who the virus maker really is and at that point - I had no idea how things were going to play out.

Overall, definitely enjoyed this book.

LOVED this story! Pintip Dunn never ceases to amaze me with anything she creates. MALICE had me hooked right from the start; I couldn’t put this book down!

Speculative science fiction fans might enjoy this novel by Dunn, in which the main character Alice is visited by the consciousness of her future self and tasked with killing someone at her high school to prevent the creation of a deadly disease in 10 years time. The main character makes many questionable choices given the dire circumstance for humanity and the novel plays very loosely with the dynamics of time travel and reality. Malice does not hold up too much scrutiny, but if you're wanting something fun with a science edge and lots of twists and turns, then it could be just what you're looking for.

Verdict: Kinda fun and kinda not.

I enjoyed this book more than any other Pintip Dunn book (that I have read). The concept is unique and the character growth and depth is profound.
Thanks to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for the opportunity to read and review Malice by Pintip Dunn!
Alice begins to hear a voice that’s telling her what to do. She soon realizes that the voice belongs to her future self, and is warning present time Alice, about a future virus that is going to destroy the world. Future Alice wants her to kill the virus maker. As the story unfolds, I kept thinking that I had figured out who the virus maker was, but I just kept getting hit with one surprise after another! The story concept is interesting and I especially like the mystery surrounding the virus maker. Bandit is intriguing but I want to know more about Zeke. Alice goes through a whirlwind of back and forth time travel, possible futures and the shocks and surprises that are thrown at her. This is the absolute best Pintip Dunn book I’ve read! 4 stars!

One day Alice begins to hear a voice in her head who threatens her with an exceptional amount of pain if she doesn’t comply with orders. The first order is to tell Bandit, one of the popular kids, that she loves him.

The voice turns out to be her own voice from ten years in the future. The future Alice warns her that someone at her high school is going to make a virus that decimates the population. Future Alice wants her to do everything possible to stop the virus from being made – even if she has to murder the virus maker. The voice is the first one to call Alice by the name “Malice.”

You would think that Bandit would be a jerk. He basically rules the school. He is kind to Alice even though her profession of love has confused and embarrassed him a little bit.

Alice is on a quest to find the identity of the virus maker. She even finds a portal in her mind to go to the future. Alice has a feeling that future Alice is not telling her the truth. She finds out a few things before the future Alice sends her back.

If you like books about time travel with a hint of a dystopian novel, then you should read “Malice.” There are plenty of twists and turns. I promise that you will not be bored.

If you are an evil genius who wants to destroy the planet, this is not the book for you.

I received this ebook from InkSlinger PR as part of a book blog tour. All opinions are my own. Obviously.

Malice by Pintip Dunn is a science fiction story with a strong romantic foundation – and enough twists and turns to have me hooked right from the start of the book; and the interest didn’t let up until I actually finished the book.

Alice (Malice) is in high school with her home life in tatters – her mother abandoned her brother and her 6 years back and her father is merely a figure head; and one that has no actual interest in her life and is the epitome of an emotionally unavailable parent. In fact, her whole life revolves around her brother, Archie and her best friend Lalana and her strict rule to not date in high school.

When she experiences an anomaly – as much as being zapped by electricity and hearing the Voice of a woman claiming to be Alice of the future – can be considered an anomaly, puts her on the path of a gorgeous boy, Bandit and a journey that will test all her strength, her beliefs and faith in the very humanity!

This was my first book from Pintip Dunn and if you enjoy a dash of romance with your mystery and science fiction; then this is a book that you should not miss either! The writing style of the author reels you in with everything that she has so expertly weaved into the book and its plotline.

Within the pages of Malice, you will find a girl’s journey to understand how love and attention plays a significant role in a human being’s life and it will the love she has for her near and dear ones against the strong moral code – before the book ends, our protagonist will travel further than she had ever dreamed, find her illusions shattered and yet find strength in hope, against all odds!