This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the "villian" but is she really a villian? This book gives a new perspective on a story we are all familiar with but adds depth to the character we all thought was the bad guy. It is solidly YA, angsty and sappy and makes the story LGBTQ in a way that doesn't feel forced.

I really enjoyed this book! It wasn't as dark as I thought it would be to start, but once things took a turn, it was exactly what I wanted it to be. I cannot wait for book two!

This book was absolutely stunning and as a debut novel I can hardly contain my excitement for this author’s career. Heather Walter truly wrote such a perfect book about a villain. It was about love and loss and I need the sequel SO badly. I didn’t even realize this was a duology and then I got to the end and went WHAT? This book is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but with a dark twist. It is told from the enchantress’ POV and the way the author crafted Alyce was so clever and careful. I felt for her the whole way and it was hard not to root for her even as she made mistakes. The uniqueness of the world and the magic was also so fascinating. I was totally enthralled by the way blood was used by some of the characters to create magic potions. Also, I always adore reading queer fantasy so that is a huge plus and the romance was just *chef’s kiss*.

Okay, now let me tell you about the twists and turns. Actually, no I won’t because it would spoil it!! But the plot was always going in the unexpected direction and the foreshadowing was some of the best I’ve ever experienced. I absolutely loved this novel and I can’t wait to read the sequel when it comes out next year. In the meantime, go preorder before it comes out next Tuesday so you can get your fairytale retelling fix!! Thank you so much to the publisher for the ARC copy!

*This review was posted on my bookstagram account @mayahlwrites on April 5th 2021*

Malice from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine

All right, so I am a sucker for fairytale retellings. They have been my absolute favorite sub genre of fantasy since I was about 13 years old. One of the things that the past few years has gotten me really excited about is the increasing diversity that has begun to have a chance at fueling these types of stories — once upon a time, Malice would never have found a publisher. Oh, maybe a sympathetic villain story might have found a place, but to have her fall in love with the princess? Never. Voices that once were silent are finally getting to step onto the scene, and the entire literary landscape is all the better for—an infusion of creativity and new ideas is revitalizing genres that were betting forced to stagnate in them name of tradition, at the expense of diversity.

So we get a (mostly) sympathetic villain in love with a princess who dreams of reforming her kingdom. The story dives deep into some really tangled up morality and it gets <i>DARK</i> in places (Narcisse’s trial left me emotionally scarred)

One of the absolute best things about this book is the way that it does an excellent deep dive into the nature of magic; if you like intricate world building, holy crap are the Grace laws fascinating and Alyce’s magic even more so. The elite are more or less addicted to the benefits they gain from exploiting the Graces, whose blood magic can create beauty and magical enhancements. Alyce is different—her magic is not quite the same as that of the Graces, stemming from her Vila heritage (historically reviled dark magic users) rather than a light magic gift bestowed by the fae. She is based and tormented for this, forced to work in a Grace house and abide by the Grace laws even when no one treats her with any kindness. Many of the Graces suffer under this system too, though the majority have learned to exploit what averages their position can give them in turn, desperately clinging to what power and wealth they can hold on to before their magic inevitably fades. And the Graces are not the only ones who suffer under this system; one scene that struck me deeply was a short interaction between Aurora and Alyce:

<blockquote>“You’re beautiful, Alyce.” I stiffen. “No. Nothing like you.” She smiles softly. Sadly, almost. “Me? I have no idea what I look like.” “What do you mean?” The palace has no shortage of mirrors. “The moment I was born, the Graces were summoned. Every inch of my body is planned. The length of my legs. The width of my hips. My hair color. I think I was born with black hair, actually. I know my mother was.” She examines the tip of a curl. “So what you see isn’t much better than a trick. Turning a regular child into a beautiful princess with a few drops of magic.” </blockquote>

This was easily one of my favorite reads this year, and the only thing that keeps me from giving it five stars is the fact that

(mild vague spoiler alert)

I realized around the 80% mark that we were going to end on a cliffhanger. There was too much story and a vanishing number of pages left to tell it in. And then I get to the dramatic ending and lo and behold: a wild cliffhanger appears. It was well done! But just sort of structurally this is a style choice I really don’t care for in novels. Cliffhangers rarely ever make good on their promised pay off, but we do end in a perfect place to continue the story, which I definitely do look forward to reading!

You know the story. Princess Aurora is cursed by the evil witch, falls into a deep slumber only to be awoken by the prince’s true love kiss. Yeah, that’s not this book. In this book, the princesses are cursed to die unless kissed by their true love, all the way down the line, and of course those in Briar are distraught, but not enough to do anything about the curse, other than hosts parties and balls and invite every man with a title from all over the world to kiss the princess. Also, those with a bit of magic, the Graces, conjure up potions to keep the wealthy of Briar young, beautiful, and smart, and then they have Alice, the “dark” grace. People visit her for potions for their enemies. Abandoned by her mother, tortured by Briar’s magical emissary and despised by her fellow Graces, Alice hates Briar and everyone in it. That is, until she meets Princess Aurora and builds a friendship for the first time ever. As their friendship turns to something more, they believe they might break the curse, but things like that don’t happen. Princesses don’t fall in love with villains. Villains aren’t heroes. They don’t break curses.

I devoured this book. I started reading the print version and was enjoying it so much, I spent my Libro.fm credit on the audio version so I could switch back and forth when I wasn’t able to sit down and read without distraction. It’s not without flaws, the worldbuilding is a tad rushed and unfolds more of a historical retelling than story, but that bit is always difficult to pull off, and to be honest, I don’t want a tome of 1,000 pages just to understand Briar’s history, so I was cool with the abridged version.

Anytime you say queer and retelling, you can count me in, and this book did not disappoint. The slow burn friends to lovers romance was my jam, and I love a good story where the villain isn’t really a villain but is complex and layered and not really a stereotypical hero, either. Walter nailed that in Alice’s character. Like any good fairy tale, it goes batshit at the end, and I was left wondering how they were going to wrap it all up in such a short amount of time. Turns out, it’s a duology, something that I’m both thrilled at angry at. Thrilled because I wasn’t ready to leave these characters behind and angry because I have to wait for another book, haha!

If you want to dive in and wait for the second book probably forever (jk but that’s what it’ll feel like), this one is out in the world with its beautiful cover now.

I’m a huge fan of fairy tale retellings, but I can’t say I’ve read many that focused on the supposed villain before. In this case, it’s a retelling of Sleeping Beauty told solely from Alyce, the “villain’s”, POV. And then I saw that The Tamora Pierce blurbed it, so that’s pretty much an auto-read for me.

“I’ll never be a heroine like Leythana. In Briar, I’ll only ever be a villain.”


Alyce has known she’s different since she was a child. While the other Graces – women who have a bit of Fae blood – are pampered and feted, Alyce was locked away and experimented on because she was part-Vila, semi-demons who are corrupted Fae. Graces use a drop of their golden blood to make elixirs. Beauty Graces can change your eye or hair color, music Graces can make you more talented. Alyce’s blood, on the other hand, can be used to reverse those potions, or other negative things like making your rival suddenly clumsy or sprout unwanted facial hair. But even while doing a steady business with members of the court, she’s still largely ignored by them and bullied by the other Graces of her house. And then she meets Princess Aurora. Due to a curse from a Vila, daughters of the royal family must kiss their one true love before their twenty-first video or they die. As the last heir, the pressure is on to find her love, but Aurora seems more interested in befriend Alyce, to her own confusion. With time ticking down, can Alyce work with Aurora to find a way out of her death sentence?

“What gives him the right to tell you who you are?”


Alyce was definitely an interesting character. We’re shown constantly how she’s mistreated, yet she still managed to be mostly kind, if wary, from rescuing and raising an injured bird to taking pity on a prisoner. Because of her Vila heritage, she’s also not stereotypically pretty, with lanky black hair, dry skin and green veins. Alyce has been told all her life that she’s a monster, that she’s less than the Graces. But through the course of the book – and her association with Aurora – what she discovered is that that’s not why she’s treated like that: it’s fear and jealousy that she’s more powerful than them. Learning to truly use and harness that power, with the help of a shady character, gave her the confidence to stand up for herself, and to question the truth of what she’s been told about the Vila.

“There’s nothing for me here. I’m tired of being a villain.”
“You were never a villain to me.”


But let’s be honest: what I was really here for is the relationship between Alyce and the princess. I liked how the relationship between them developed, slowly and in fits and starts. I thought their misunderstandings on both sides were believable, considering their upbringings, but I was frustrated with how on again/off again they were. Like Alyce, Aurora was desperate for control over her own life. She didn’t want to just simply wait around for the right man to kiss her, and enlisting Alyce into her schemes to find an alternative seemed like the best path. To Alyce, the idea that you could even chose your own path was revolutionary and even foolhardy, but eventually Aurora’s confidence inspires Alyce to stand up for herself. The thought that Aurora wished she could be more like Alyce – more capable of showing non-princessy emotions – was shocking and what really set into motion the rest of the book.

“Remember what I said, Alyce. About monsters.” The words are low, spoken in a tone that wakes something deep in my core. “Take care you don’t become what they think you are.”


I liked the worldbuilding, though there was a lot going on. From the formation of the Grace Houses to the Fae to the Vila to Leythana and why Briar’s always ruled by a queen… it’s a lot to take in. It did feel like it took a while for the plot to get moving just due to the sheer amount of not-quite-infodumping required to get the reader familiar with Alyce’s backstory and the situation she’s in, but once that happened the story moved along quite well. There was a twist toward the end that I thought glossed over some of Alyce’s development into a villain and, without going into spoilers, I didn’t like that it seemed to take away some of her own volition.

Overall, this is exactly what it set out to be – a sapphic fairy tale retelling from the villain’s POV – and I’ll definitely be picking up the second book in the duology.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

There isn’t a happy ending in this sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it was viciously satisfying. Heather Walter presented a new side of the tale - one that is dark and powerful, while also giving us a villain to adore. The ending left me wanting more, so I am excited there will be a sequel.

If there was a word to describe this book, it would be mesmerizing, this book felt like magic was coming off every page as I turned it to find out what happened next! This book literally grabbed me and didn't let go until I finished it in one sitting!

I love love so much that this Sleeping Beauty retelling had a queer rep in it, it was such a beautiful take and it has stolen my entire heart! There are also dark elements that were paired with the most beautiful eerie writing that I have ever read and it just added to the entire vibe of this book, it's just delightful and I would so re-read it again!

I am really looking forward to the next book from this author now!

Malice is a sapphic reimagining of Sleeping Beauty. Sounds amazing, right?

So obviously I had some high expectations for this book, and for the most part this book met them! I really enjoyed the world and I liked the characters. The plot was interesting and engaging.

My only critique is that I would have liked a little bit more worldbuilding, specifically related to the neighboring kingdoms and parts of the magic system.

Overall, I really enjoyed book and would recommend it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!

(My full tiktok review will be coming soon and I will update this once it is posted!)

A wonderfully imaginative alternative perspective on "Sleeping Beauty," Malice had me hooked from the start. I'm a sucker for a sympathetic supervillain and boy oh boy does Malice deliver on that.

Malice is told from the perspective of Alyce, The Dark Grace, a Vila living among humans and Graces (half fairy, half human) in a kingdom under a fragile peace. The Vila were all but eradicated in the War of the Fae, a war explicitly designed for their genocide. And yet, Alyce carries within her the magic of these dark beasts, and is both feared and reviled by all others in the Briar kingdom as a result. In fact, some have schemed to have her killed since the very day of her birth. But for the time being, Alyce is relegated to practicing her dark arts in private, fulfilling the secret desires of the humans in her realm whose wishes cannot be satiated by the other Graces. While the Graces all have gifts of healing, wisdom, or pleasure, their magic cannot be used with malintent or to do harm in any way -- but Alyce's can.

On the edge of Briar, far from the Grace district where Alyce lives, is a tower, a relic predating the old castle, on the verge of collapsing into the ocean. The tower is thought to be long-abandoned, but Alyce has always felt a strange pull toward it. And once she enters it the first time, everything she thought she knew about herself, about the Vila, and about Briar is called into question. It houses a prisoner, whose name she later learns is Kal, a man who himself is Vila. He is bound to the tower by the most powerful of curses, held to the shadows and destined to fall into the ocean as it collapses. Alyce isn't sure at first that she can trust him, but he seems to know much more about her than she knows even about herself, and he tells a very different narrative of the history of her people, one she can only hope is true.

At the same time, there is the small matter of the crown princess, Aurora. The last of her line, Aurora is destined to die on her 21st birthday, within the year, if she cannot receive the kiss of her true love. She has already lost two older sisters to the curse, and while there seems to be no end to the long line of aspiring suitors, no one has come close to breaking her curse. It's beginning to seem as if no man ever will. When Aurora meets the Dark Grace, she is immediately fascinated, sensing something deeper and more intimate within Alyce than anyone ever has before. Can Alyce break Princess Aurora's curse? And if she does, what would that mean for Briar?

Lots of things to love about this novel. The worldbuilding is phenomenal, although a bit hard to keep track of at the beginning. You don't fully appreciate it until the end, which just made me want to give this book a second read. The main character has remarkable depth, although I would have liked to have seen the side characters developed a little more. At the same time, the flatness and homogeneity among many other characters well supports the isolation and xenophobia that Alyce feels as a stranger in this land. The romance was well done to a point, and then it just sort of got weird once it got intense. That stretch was kind of an awkward read, but you're definitely rooting for the couple! Trust and emotional intimacy also seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere at several points, but overall it's believable. Solid debut with a powerful ending that definitely left me eager for the sequel.

My tremendous thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC in exchange for the review.

This is what I like to see from a retelling! The familiarity of the original story taken to new heights and made into a completely new & INTERESTING take. The characters were well developed, the magic system was REALLY cool, and the world was fascinating yet still left a little bit of mystery.

I absolutely loved that the MC, Alyce although still insecure about herself in this world who despises her, held her own ground and was not afraid to bite back at the bullies. I loved that this was a sapphic retelling and it totally made sense. You were rooting for these two and their happy ending. The magic system was REALLY cool and unique. Women who are "blessed" with fae magic work as "Graces" to produce elixirs (with their golden blood) to create enchantments for their clients; whether it's RE: beauty, knowledge, etc...). LIKE HOW COOL IS THAT?! Then there is the world itself. The story takes place in Briar but there are other lands referenced frequently that I hope we get to see more of in book 2. There's a land where the Fae reside and a land where the now "extinct" (for lack of a better term) Vila (basically evil fae) lived.

The ending of book 1 was wild and honestly, pretty badass for a YA fantasy book. I can't wait for book 2! The only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 stars was because I felt like the romance, although you were rooting for them, felt like it wasn't fully developed yet.

MALICE is an incredible fantasy debut novel that ticks all the right boxes – compelling protagonist wrestling with her darker impulses, lovely sapphic romance and creative world-building that takes what we know from fairytales and gives it a unique twist.

Alyce is reviled for her Vila heritage that gives her the ability to curse others in contrast to the Graces whose magic is used to enhance people’s beauty, wit and other qualities. Of course they still visit Alyce in secret to pay for her magic elixirs to cause harm to their enemies, even while they shun her in public. This leaves Alyce with an understandable grudge against the people of Briar – until she meets its princess Aurora who is nothing like what she expected.

I loved Aurora’s independence and determination to break the curse on her own terms instead of handing over rule of her land to whichever man bestows True Love’s Kiss upon her. The blithe way she befriended Alyce because of her differences instead of scorning her for them, and then her earnestness in pursuing her after Alyce pulls away won my heart. I understood Alyce’s hesitance given that a Vila ancestor of hers cursed Aurora’s bloodline and the royal family want her to keep away from Aurora, but the push & pull between them was SO GOOD, I held my breath hoping for them to fall together instead of apart, even with all the odds against them.

As someone who’s been waiting their whole life for a lesbian retelling of Sleeping Beauty, I’m definitely the target audience and this book absolutely thrilled me. But I’d also recommend it to fantasy lovers in general who are interested in retellings with a fierce feminist angle! Basically everyone should read this and flail at the cliffhanger ending with me until the sequel arrives.

QUICK TAKE: I had zero expectations heading into MALICE, and lo and behold, I freakin' loved it. A twist on the classic fairy tale of SLEEPING BEAUTY, I thought Walter did a great job reinterpreting a classic while putting her own spin on it, with excellent world-building and plenty of magic and fantasy. A little annoyed at the open-endedness, but looking forward to seeing where the story goes next.

Wow, this book was so incredibly enjoyable, I couldn't put it down! The story was amazing, and you could really tell the author put a lot of time and effort into the world and the magic system. Often it gets a bit tedious when there are elaborate explanations and descriptions, but I didn't have that issue at all while reading this one. The writing style was really good and easy to follow, I flew through the book.

Long ago there was a war between Etheria, the Fae lands, and Malterre, the land where the Vila live. The human kingdom of Briar, under the leadership of the queen Leythana, sided with the Etherians. In return for helping to rid the lands of the Vila, they were blessed by the Fae with a portion of their magic in the form of Graces, young women with golden blood that can be used to create elixirs to ensure beauty, wisdom, and other qualities. However, before disappearing, the Vila cursed Leythana’s line, and with a softening of the curse by the Etherians, each heir must find their true love and be kissed prior to their twenty-first birthday or they will die.

Alyce is a young woman who lives in Briar and is known as the Dark Grace; however, Alyce’s blood is green, the color of the Vila. For years, Alyce has felt like a prisoner, tortured as a child for her power and always threatened by those around her. As Alyce begins to come into her magic, with the help of some unlikely allies, she meets Aurora, the princess of Briar who is a year away from her twenty-first birthday. When Aurora and Alyce meet, they find commonalities in the limit of their stations and grow closer, but it seems as if power brokers in the kingdom have begun to manipulate the board. And Alyce and Aurora are right in the middle of the action.

As a reader, I enjoyed Malice a great deal. The novel was an interesting retelling and could have even been a standalone; however, as I neared the conclusion, I felt there was more to Alyce’s story and wasn’t surprised to discover that Heather Walter intends to continue. And there’s ample foundation to do so. The history of Briar and the surrounding lands was well conceived. Additionally, the magic system was interesting and kept me wanting to read as Alyce discovered and used her power. Alyce was also sympathetic as a misunderstood protagonist. All the pieces assembled nicely to create a tapestry for the story to take place.

Overall, readers who enjoy fairytale retellings and those who appreciated Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles, as the Grace system reminded me a great deal of the way the Belles functioned, will find much to appreciate in Malice. I know that the sequel to Malice will be one that I look forward to.

This book was so much fun! I loved the unique take on the Dark Fairy that cursed Aurora. I will say, the last 5% or so of the story got a little muddy for me, as far as the action went. But overall I greatly enjoyed it!

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine and Del Rey, for the chance to read and review this book.

Alyce is a evil sorceress, feared and shamed for her power by the same nobles who asks her hexes and elixirs. It was a power like hers who cursed a line of princesses to die and now it's Aurora, the last heir of Briar's throne, who risks her life if she couldn't find her true love kiss. Alyce didn't think she would care about the Briars, with their lifestyles made of parties and jewels and charm-granting elixirs, but when she meets Aurora everything changes.
Aurora is kind and gracious and she doesn't fear or shame her and Alyce starts to think of a way to save her. Even though she's the supposed villain in the fairytales.

I really loved reading Malice, the first book of the Malice duology, It's absolutely original, a queer retelling of "Sleeping beauty", full of strong and powerful female characters, with a captivating plot and a skillful writing style. Told by Alyce's POV, the story is amazing and I loved the way the author builds the relationship between Alyce and Aurora, in a world with magic and cruelty and where the villain isn't who everyone believes.
I totally recommend this book and I can't wait to read the next one!

I found myself greatly intrigued when I came across this book. As a self-proclaimed romance junkie and a big fan of reimagined fairy tales, I just knew that I had to read this book. After finishing this book I have to say that I'm left with some conflicting emotions. What really worked for me? The whole storyline concept. In fact I thought it was brilliant. I loved the fact the the author took the old Sleeping Beauty story and put a fresh and unique spin on it. Trust me when I say that this book will keep you on your toes as far as the twists and tweaks to it go. I also enjoyed the main characters of Aurora and Alyce. Again, I liked their freshness and originality. Now, what didn't work for me? The pacing. This book is so slow going that I felt that I was walking through molasses and there is slow burning and then there is just sputtering along, and in my opinion that is exactly what this book did. It sputtered along with the very rare glimmer of a spark that just faded away into nothing and then wash and repeat. This was incredibly disappointing, frustrating and in my opinion really put a damper on what should have been the building of this duo's relationship. In the end, I feel that this was a very clever idea that fell just a bit short in its execution. Still I felt it was well worth the read and I do look forward to continuing the story in book two.

I just finished Malice by Heather Walter and I must admit I’m having a hard time deciding how I feel about it. It seemed like it was going to be a Sleeping Beauty retelling but to avoid spoilers I won’t go into that. This book had lots of elements that I liked. The slow burn love story for one and the magic system for another. But the world building was a bit messy and hard to keep up with and some of the devices used to keep the main characters apart were trite and convoluted.

I gave it a 3.5. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either.

#malice #netgalley

Another great retelling!

I really enjoyed this new take on Sleeping Beauty. It was very well paced. Despite it being almost 500 pages, it was a quick read and I felt engaged the entire time. I could easily picture the setting in my head and I can't wait to get back to this world. It had a couple of plot conveniences that annoyed me and the main character wasn't as gray as I wanted her to but overall I thought it was a very good debut. I wouldn't recommend this book to people who primarily read epic fantasy because you'd probably find it underwhelming but I'm pretty certain that everybody else will enjoy this story.

Thank you to Del Rey for an advanced reading copy!