A fantastic f/f fairytale retelling reminiscent of the tales of The Brothers Grimm, MALICE takes the tale of Sleeping Beauty and infuses it with so much darkness and magic, with an evil sorceress at the center of it all who perhaps isn’t as evil as we’ve been made to believe.

I’m a sucker for any and all retellings and with so many stories being remade and retold, it’s hard to find a unique one among the masses. Not only did MALICE breathe new life into this old favorite, but author Heather Walter managed to make it feel brand new by giving us a villainess that’s not quite a villain, dumps the handsome prince trope, and delivers a fantastic love story between two strong women.

The characters were by far my favorite aspect and I absolutely loved Alyce. She was outcasted at an early age due to being a Vila and having magical gifts that are known among the Graces as being evil and cruel. I enjoyed seeing her transform and gain strength and eventually come into her own. Princess Aurora was also a wonderful character who was most certainly not a Disney princess. I really liked how each of them saw the other for who they truly were and not the stereotypes that society and the world painted them as.

Bottom line — a wonderfully dark and delightful fairytale that gives readers a brand new take on the old story of Sleeping Beauty. It’s magical, it’s gloomy and atmospheric, and features a lovely f/f romance. I loved these ladies so much and I can’t wait to see what Heather Walter graces readers with next. 4.5 stars.

Overall: A solid sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty that truly is all about the characters within it.

Pros:
Retelling aspects. Yall know the drill by now, I always judge a retelling based on how it measures up and this one is truly does measure up.
Characterization. I really do like our characters, especially our Aurora.
Villain origin. I suppose this goes partly with characterization, but as a villain origin story this was pretty stellar.

Cons:
Character driven. This is not a plot driven story, which is totally okay, but if you go in looking for that you maybe disappointed.

This is a very clever, compelling queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and it’s even better than I had anticipated. It’s beautifully written with vivid imagery. I was hooked from the very first page; I found the book difficult to put down as the story twisted and turned, hurtling toward disaster.

The characterization is excellent. I could understand and sympathize with most of the characters. I really liked our main character, Alyce, despite my uneasiness with some of her choices. I loved Alyce’s kestrel, Callow. And Princess Aurora was a total delight. I thought they could be so good together. I wanted so badly for them to find their happy ending, but this isn’t that kind of story. I love that Heather Walter was able to write about a villain in a way that makes her so relatable.

The ending was sad, but it felt right. I was completely satisfied. Then I noticed that this is advertised as the first book in the Malice Duology, so I am curious to learn what happens next. I will be interested in anything else that Heather Walter writes.

I highly recommend this book to fans of fairy tale retellings or romantic fantasies. Note that the story includes violence, cruelty, magical curses, swearing, and a tastefully steamy lesbian sex scene.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley, and I volunteered to review this book.

I absolutely loved this Sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty--Special thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this wickedly delicious story! This story got off to a slow start but really picked up and the second half flew by in no time. I didn't mind that though, because the Heather Walter really did a great job of developing Alyce's character and getting the reader into the head of the "villainess" and painting her background for the reader. While the story is a romance, it's so much more than just that. We see Alyce's struggle with her "Dark Grace" persona and come to understand her motives as she yearns to be seen as someone more than what everyone expects her to be. I'm so excited for book two and can't wait to discover what's next for Alyce after that cliffhanger!

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
This review will be posted on my Goodreads and I will provide a review on my TikTok page (@jennaslitpicks) by May 1st.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, for an e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Fairytale retellings are my jam and I have always been intrigued by the alluring, dark, albeit misunderstood Maleficent. These are the reasons I was initially drawn to Malice, since Alyce is author Heather Walter’s version of one of my favorite villainesses. However, the sapphic love and the gender-bending of this story kept me hooked throughout my read. Some things I always look for in a book are impactful characters, strong relational dynamics, and a clear setting. This book had all three. From the very first chapter I was enamored with Alyce and wanted to know more about her story. Aurora was a great character as well, but like I said I read this for the Alyce/Maleficent origin story content. I did feel strongly for Aurora though, I cannot fathom what it feels like to be the last of your line and have this doomsday-esque countdown looming over your head. Trying to place myself in her shoes and the loneliness she must have felt, due to the utter disregard many of her people had for her well-being must have stung. The benefit of this pain is that it made her sympathetic with Alyce and helped to secure a bond between the two. I know the saying is “hurt people, hurt people”, but I also believe that “hurt people can help people” too.

I found the idea of the Graces to be a nice touch, staying in-tune with the fairy theme, however with a more sinister undertone. It’s ironic how Alyce - The Dark One, with the cursed Vila blood is reviled for her tainted magic, yet is constantly sought after for the very thing they judge her for. To me though, the icing on the cake is the fact that Alyce, the most ostracized of the Graces, is the most humane. I mean that is really not surprising, but I love to see it anyway. The other Graces dilly-dally into frivolous nothings and compete over petty dramas, which heavily relay their shallowness and lack of regard for the innate beauty of life. There is nothing wrong with liking and wanting nice things, but nice things should never take precedent over being, at minimum, a decent human being.

Aurora and Alyce (we love some alliteration) serve as an antithesis, one is light the other dark, both cursed, and together they show the goodness, fragility and harm within their kingdom, Briar. Another thing I really loved, that Walter executed very well is the morally grey character landscape. I believe that morally grey characters are my favorite, because they feel the most genuine to how most people operate in society. None of us are all good or all bad, and we make decisions that can leave us teetering along the edges of morality. Briar is a complex kingdom, like most places, and it comes with its own hierarchies and prejudices. This was a brilliant taste into the world and I cannot wait to read the next installment. There’s so much left to be explored, especially with that ending.

A dark and lovely retelling of Sleeping Beauty that turns the story on its ear. Told from the perspective of the "Dark Grace" you watch a lonely young woman struggle to find and prove herself something different than what she's always been told she is. Alyce's been told half truths and lies her whole life and as she begins to discover the truth, it's little by little, in fits and starts, leading to misunderstandingand mistakes.

This story is about unlikely friendships, curses and true love, and what it happens when someone is told they are bad and dangerous their whole life.

TW for: childhood violence, gaslighting, reluctance and forced intimacy

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in return for my honest opinion.

Swoon! Expectations exceeded!
I’ve been on a fairytale retelling kick out this past month and this was exactly what I wanted.
The characters balance each other well and I was invested in their journeys.
Also love that we have FF/sapphic love representation mixed with a hero/villain trope. That’s just the cherry on top of the sundae!
The cover is gorgeous. Whoever designed it deserves so much credit.
I think people who like Leigh Bardugo will devour this. I can’t wait for other people to read this!

MALICE is a sapphic new adult fantasy retelling of Maleficent/Sleeping Beauty. If you are a YA fantasy reader on the hunt for a book with characters who are a bit older (20), this may be a good read for you. The world building and magic system is very easy to follow, so this may also be a great option for non-fantasy readers.

I liked Alyce as a narrator and I loved reading a f/f romance in a fairytale retelling. Though I think there could have been a more dynamic build-up to their romance, I did root for Alyce and Aurora as a couple.

However, I wasn’t wowed by this. Nothing was bad, but I also didn’t feel extremely attached to any of the characters, the world, or where the plot was going. I was excited that this was a new adult fantasy, but it honestly reads like a YA book with a bit of lite pussy eating. I don’t think that that’s necessary a critique of the story - I did enjoy that it was easy to follow - but I was hoping for more dynamic storytelling.

MALICE was a fast, fun queer fairytale retelling. Dedicated fantasy readers may be underwhelmed, but I personally am just invested enough to continue on in the series someday.

What if Sleeping Beauty's true love was the evil fairy? That's the concept driving Malice. Briar is a kingdom that relies on Graces, women who can create magic elixirs with their golden Fae blood. Our narrator, Alyce, is called the Dark Grace; she is part Vila, and her green blood results in curses rather than blessings. She has been branded a monster and ostracized since birth, and she longs to be free instead of creating elixirs for the same people who ridicule her. Enter Aurora: the crown princess of Briar who is fated to die on her twenty-first birthday unless she is kissed by her true love. Together, the two set out to find a way to break the curse without one of the suitors being constantly thrown at the princess. I am a simple woman. I see LGBT+ representation in a fairy tale retelling, I pick it up. The romance between Alyce and Aurora did not disappoint; slow burn, pining, all those good things. It's wonderful and the exact thing we need to see more of in the genre.

I also really enjoyed Alyce's character arc. This is ultimately a villain origin story, which I thought was really fun. We need more of those. Her anger and resentment is so real and relatable. She fights so hard against being the monster everyone sees her as, and I found it heartbreaking whenever her good intentions get twisted. But at the same time, I loved seeing her slowly fall into the villain role. I ended up really liking the way Walter treats morality. Early on it seems as if it will be very black and white with a villain who is almost cartoonishly evil. However, who the true villain is ends up being far more complicated. Seemingly good characters do horrible things thinking they are right and just. In the end, there really are no "good guys." The final few chapters are the culmination of this, and they are absolutely amazing.

Walter has built a truly interesting fantasy world. The magic system is particularly fascinating. I loved the concept of the Graces, and Walter does a great job showing how their magic works. I also really appreciated that we see Alyce practice her Vila and Shifter magic constantly. She puts in a lot of time and effort to learn these skills, and she struggles at times. It's so refreshing to see a main character actually learning a skill instead of just being perfect at it the first time. The one issue I did have is that most of the world building is done through info dumping. It slows the pace of the book, especially at the beginning, and bogs down some parts of the narration. However, this is Walter's first book, and she's created such a great world that it didn't bother me too much.

Overall, Malice is a dark and entrancing "Sleeping Beauty" retelling that brings some great new concepts to the tale as well as a slow burn wlw romance. I can't wait for the sequel!

You can’t judge a book by its cover but the cover art is meant to catch the eye and capture interest. The cover for Heather Walter’s Malice certainly caught my attention and once I read the description, I knew I had to read it. I’m a sucker for reimagined fairy tales and this one promised plenty of intriguing twists on the classic Sleeping Beauty story. As I approached the end, however, I began hoping that there would be a second book in the series because there was no way enough could happen in the dwindling page count for me to find the ending satisfying. Luckily for me, it does look like there will be a sequel (though I can’t find anything about a tentative release date yet). As such, the ending to Malice left me torn.

Alyce lives in the kingdom of Briar as one of the magically skilled Graces… but she isn’t a Grace. While the Graces are gifted with magic from the light Fae of Etheria, Alyce’s magic comes from the parents she never knew, at least one of whom was a Vila, the main foes of Etheria and Briar who were (almost) entirely eliminated by the humans of Briar during the war. Found as an infant and raised to be the Dark Grace, Alyce has always been treated with contempt, fear and disgust by her fellow Graces and everyone else in Briar. Until she happens to make the acquaintance of the last crown princess of Briar, Aurora. Alyce soon finds herself trying to help Aurora break the curse that all the women of Briar’s ruling line face before Aurora runs out of time.

When it comes to re-imaginings of fairy tales, there are a few paths they usually take. You’ve got the modernizations and non-traditional historical settings (I personally prefer the non-traditional over the modern). Sci-fi versions (like the Lunar Chronicles) are sort of an off-shoot of this too. And then you have the alternative perspectives and villain origin stories. Malice is more along these lines but it makes more significant changes than those usually do… at least at first glance. The world building that Walter puts into this first book is pretty impressive and the complexity of things like the political relationships between the different kingdoms and within Briar were one of my favorite things about the book. There are plenty of themes around freedom and enslavement, power and prejudice, etc. saturating the text through more than just Alyce’s perspective.

I enjoyed so much about the first 80% – 90% of the book, but the ending and set up for the next book left me torn. Without giving too much away, there are some turns and betrayals that were expected and some that felt like overkill. It goes out with a lot of drama that felt… messy and it leaves things in an uncertain place to set up for the next book, so without knowing what that book has in store, I can’t definitively say that this ending was disappointing but that’s where I wound up anyway. Because I didn’t realize going in that it was going to be Book One of at least two, I thought everything was building wonderfully toward a definitive (and satisfying) conclusion. Then as I got closer and closer to the end and saw where things were heading, I had to want there to be more. But that is the only thing about the story really driving my desire for a second book so it’s a hollow desire. I’ll read the next book because I want those answers but, given how those last events unfolded to set up this cliffhanger, I’m less sure I’ll find any continuation of the story satisfying or worth being drawn out to two books. Of course, the only way to know for sure is to wait and to read it.

In the end and on its own, Malice reminded me most of the heartbreaking frustration of Marissa Meyer’s Heartless (except that was the case throughout that book, it was a standalone novel, and it was what I signed up for). I know it isn’t that it ends with a cliffhanger because there are plenty of cliffhanger endings that I do find satisfying. I keep coming back to how it felt messy to me in a way the rest of the book didn’t and I guess that makes me nervous rather than eager for the next book.

Malice is a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty with dashes of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. I love tales that are told from the perspective of the perceived villains and especially ones that are done well. As a general word of caution, the ending to this novel does not wrap everything up nicely and the ending teeters between being both a cliffhanger and not. There is a possible sequel in the works, as stated by the author, but nothing is set in stone (title, release date, etc.). It can still be read as a standalone as it is very well-written and makes me very curious about the other material this author can come up with! If you would like an extra layer to your story experience, the author has a Spotify playlist inspired by the novel. I read this book over two days and listened to the songs between my reading sessions.

Alyce is known as the Dark Grace and is nicknamed Malyce. She lives in one of the Grace houses that serve the kingdom. A Grace is essentially a specialized fairy, such as beauty or wisdom, which can create elixirs using their blood that helps their patrons. It is a fascinating take on magic and the entire system made me want to learn more. Alyce is not a typical Grace as she is half Vila (another type of magical being), but she is being treated as a Grace in duty. She believes she is a villain because society has labeled her as one until one day she discovers that it might be more complicated. She is an amazingly well-written morally grey character that made some questionable choices, but you find yourself having sympathy for her.

She meets Princess Aurora after the Graces are invited to the Palace. There is a curse on Aurora put on her since birth that needs to be broken before her 21st birthday. I loved Aurora as she was logical in her decisions as she knows the limitations of her curse, but still wants to dream about breaking it herself and creating a better world when she becomes the ruler. Aurora and Alyce become friends where they find ways to meet and get to know the other. They each accept the other for who they are and also are fascinated to learn more about each other. Their relationship grows very naturally as they are not together all the time and it fit the situation of the story where Aurora lives at the Palace and Alyce lives at Lavender House (a Grace location). In this setting, it is not a simple process to visit the other and the author did a great job to portray all the obstacles the two went through just to talk to each other.

The story focuses on both Aurora and Alyce’s journeys of self-discovery as Alyce wants to learn more about whom she is and Aurora wants to break her curse. I liked how each of them has their own goal, but they also intertwine so they can work together. There are elements that are slowly introduced to tie this story into the Sleeping Beauty story that the reader is familiar with and I liked how the two come together. There are fascinating side characters, such as Laurel, Marigold, Rose, Kal, and even Alyce’s kestrel, Callow, all featured in the story. They each fit their roles well as the reader can somewhat predict pieces about them, but you never fully know everything until the story dictates the proper moment. It kept me very interested as a reader.

The beginning is slower as the world and characters are set up, but the plot moves at a decent pace and picks up to a fantastic climax. The political and magical elements were all well-written and the world-building was very well done. The story is more young adult than an adult, so it is accessible to a wider audience. As an adult, I found this a very enjoyable read that was both easy to read and captivating as it is a fascinating take on a classic tale. I really hope that the sequel does get created and I can get my hands on it as soon as possible because I want to read as much as I can about the world and characters that Heather Walter created. An overall entertaining escape read, especially for fans of fairy tales.

**I want to give a special thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Del Rey Publishing, for a review copy of this enjoyable novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**

I really enjoyed this sleeping beauty retelling for a variety of reasons.
1. The magic system is super interesting
2. The politics and laws add a level of complexity to the story
3. Instead of a prince, the love interest is the villain!!!!
I absolutely love when a fairytale retelling changes the story into something completely new, and this book definitely delivered! There was a bit of a slow start seeing as it is a new world with many laws you must acquaint yourself with, but after that initial info dump, the story, the characters, and the world were absolutely fabulous.

I think I would have liked this more if I didn't have any expectations for it. It was slow and boring and the characters were bland and didn't have any chemistry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review ended up being a LOT longer than I thought so for a quick “I’m in the library/bookstore/Amazon right now and need to know if this book is good this second” (I’ve been there, it’s okay), I think this book is something unique in terms of the concept and well done in the story and I definitely recommend it to fans of The Belles or Girl Serpent Thorn. However, do read my full review for some more in-depth thoughts on this book cause it REALLY got me thinking.

On to the review:

I have a lot of feelings about Malice. About Alyce, our tragic hero, and the story this book tells. And it makes me ask a lot of questions. When you spend your life beat down by a world that treats you like something wicked, how long would you last until you were wicked right back? How many times have you wanted to tear the world down for all the wrongs it has done to you? And if you had the power and the will, would you?

Alyce is not a heroine. She is on a slow and steady slope into villainy from the first page. And taking some time to think, I had some conflicting thoughts on the idea of a queer villain origin story. As a queer reader, near the end. this book feels a little bit like a tragic lesbian romance which, as someone who grew up with that as my main source of representation, was not always comfortable. But I think that’s not something inherently bad. I think the main question running through my head during the last 15% of this book was this: with the large expanse of history within media of the queercoding of villain characters are we at the point in our history and our representation where we can have queer villain origin stories when we have been mainly seen as villains for years? While I do not have this answer as I am only one person and this is a larger discussion, I do think with the rise in LGBTQ stories there is a case for reclaiming that image of the queer villain and remaking the stories taking them for ourselves. After all, there is a stark difference between being portrayed and coded as a villain for your queer characteristics and just being a wicked character who happens to be queer. And this book definitely falls into the latter category.

Okay, enough of my philosophy rant.

This book takes its source material, the original sleeping beauty folktale by Hans Christian Anderson (which I saw MANY references to the original story that I appreciated including the graces with their powers and the pewter plate instead of gold) This book is a slow burn into villainy but when it gets there... whoo boy does this book go hard and get dark. Like, do you feel like season 8 of game of thrones would have been a LOT more satisfying and make more sense if it was built up properly? Well, honey read this book I promise you it is all you wanted but better done. Now, this book while a well-done debut, I do have some positives and negatives to share.

The Worldbuilding in this story is very light and the writing style is very easy to get through, however, that does come with some drawbacks as the fantasy setting is as such very simple and a little bit basic, and VERY European centric in its style. I feel like more can be done with this concept and the world felt a little one-dimensional.

What the world lacks in structure it makes up in character and its vibe. The world of Malice is externally beautiful but ugly and cruel and wicked at its core. And I love seeing a story that is dark and mean and painful for all involved. Including the reader.

While the characters were all interesting and the main couple is WLW the book feels lacking in overall diversity in terms of characters of color and other lgbt rep.
I enjoyed Alyce's character and watching her fall into darkness was very painful and heartbreaking. I loved Aurora as a character as I think she was brilliant but I wish we had seen more of her as a person.
The pacing was pretty spot on. I never felt like the story was dragging and the twists and turns kept me invested til the very end. I will warn you though, the last 15% of this book is a rollercoaster ride that will tear your heart to shreds and will take you along for lots of wicked deeds whether you like it or not.

I have a lot of conflicting feelings about this book but overall a well-done debut and I look forward to the sequel!

Sapphic sleeping beauty retelling? Say no more.

No, literally, I was hooked just from the premise. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of retellings, but when it's sapphic? A must-read. And this didn't disappoint me at all. Alyce was endearing and frustrating in equal parts: you root for her when she starts to grow more comfortable with herself just and you want to throttle her when she's naive. I love characters like this--ones who are flawed and don't always make the right decision. Aurora was the perfect love interest, her sunshine the perfect compliment to Alyce's gloom. If I had any complaint about the characters, it's that I wanted Alyce to be darker from the beginning--but if there's anything I love more than a good villain, it's a good corruption arc.

The pacing could feel a bit slow at times, but it was consistent throughout; there was constantly something going on and it built up well until the climax of the story. I cannot stress enough how anxious the last few chapters made me--it just kept ramping up and up and up. It maybe even ramped up too much too fast, and right at the very end, which was also approximately when I realized there was going to be a sequel, but that's another matter. The moral of this story is this: If you like retellings--or just like sapphic fantasy novels!!!--I would absolutely recommend Malice.

I received an Arc of this book from netgalley. I rated this book 4/5 stars. The premise of the book excited me and I wasn't not extremely let down. I thought that the characters were complex and I enjoyed the fact that the characters were morally gray.
Alyce: In the books we learn Alyce is called "the dark grace" because her powers are different compared to other graces. I thought her character was given great depth and I enjoyed reading the book from her perspective. Another great thing about her is she is wlw.
Aurora: Aurora is the love interest of the book but she is not only that she is the princess. I thought her character could have been given more, most of the time I only thought of her as the love interest not a character. She is also wlw.
The whole book in general was good. My favorite part was how the story developed overall but the beginning fell flat for me.
I think most of the characters felt like they were only there for Alyce's character development, once they left the scene I forgot about them.
One great thing about this book is it challenges the concept of good vs. evil.

4/5 Overall
3/5 Characters
4/5 Plot
5/5 Setting

A queer retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a couple of elements of Cinderella thrown in. Complex characters, a very interesting magic-system, and an ending that leaves you wanting more. Definitely recommend this one!

First and foremost, THAT COVER! I mean, seriously, it is gorgeous!

But it is what's underneath the cover that matters, isn't it? So, without further ado, I am going to quote the Oprah Magazine:

"Walter's spellbinding debut is for all the queer girls and women who have been told to keep their gifts hidden and for those yearning to defy gravity." - O: The Oprah Magazine

Once upon a time there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that can only be broken by true love's kiss. Yes! A retelling of Sleeping Beauty with LGBTQ representation. It is dark, it's magical and compelling!

"Take care you don't become what they think you are."

One would think that members of the kingdom would care about the Princess Aurora and the fate which might befall her, but it is hard to care when you are busy collecting jewels, purchasing elixirs to harm others or to make themselves beautiful and trying to impress others. But there is one who cares - The Dark Grace, a Vila known as Alyce. She is feared, she is mistreated, but she is … (read the book)

"If there is someone, I hope they deserve you."

There are a lot of characters in this book - unique characters from a Kestrel, graces, Fae, and Alyce! I did not have a hard time keeping track of them so that was a plus. Another plus was the unique world that was created.

This is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it also had the feel of other fairy tales as well and it also has a Maleficent vibe. A scene at the end also gave me a minor Game of Thrones vibe as well. Fans of retellings and fantasy will enjoy this book. I am not a big fantasy fan, but I do enjoy a good retelling. This is book one in the Malice Duology.

One thing that I felt shined in this book was the emphasis on identity, relationships, knowing who you are, and coming into your own. This book is marketed as a romance and it is - but for me it was more about self-realization and knowing your worth. Terrific themes.

A solid debut. I believe the next book will be even better than this one. Like Alyce, I believe that Heather Walter is just coming into her own.

Captivating. Dark. Magical.

3.5 stars


Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Malice sucked me into its deliciously dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty and refused to let go. I finished the book hours ago and, even now, it has not left my mind. I doubt it will for a very long time. Its exploration of corrupt political structures and interesting magic system alone were enough to keep me reading–but what Malice does best is ask what it means to be a villain. What would we do to save ourselves? What violence would we commit to protect the people we love?

Malice centers around Alyce, the only Dark Grace in a world where Graces are revered. Where the Graces are half fae, golden blooded, and treasured for their abilities, Alyce is feared. The Dark Grace's gifts are a far cry away from the wisdom, beauty, and other wonderful blessings her 'sisters' can grant. No, Alyce's talents are crude, unspeakable. As part Vila she is seen as a mongrel, marked by her green blood and penchant for harm to come of her talents. Everyone sees her as a monster. Except, of all people, Princess Aurora–and she will die if she doesn't kiss her true love before her 21st birthday, a curse sewn into her bloodline long ago marking her for death.

This book is slow paced and the romance is a slow build, but I found the world so fascinating that I didn't mind much. Where often times slower paced books lose me, I found myself itching for more information on the other Graces, the state of Lavender House and, of course, for even a lingering glance between Alyce and Aurora. It has always bothered me that Aurora is so...passive in the original fairytale. But not in Malice. Aurora's agency, ambitions, determination and visions for the world were refreshing. Aurora and Alyce's relationship was the brightest spot in this book. Every interaction they had left me giddy.

Dark, new adult, sapphic, morally grey. What more could you ask for?

I can't wait to see what happens in the sequel. I'm not exaggerating when I say the last fifty or so pages had me on the edge of my seat.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Malice is a dark, sapphic retelling of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty but instead, we follow Alyce, the villain of said story. Set in the immersive world of Briar, Alyce is shunned by society for being half-vila rather than half-fae. She doesn’t get the power to bless people with beauty or wisdom, she can only harness her abilities to inflict curses on others leading to her being labelled as the Dark Grace. She slowly begins to form a friendship with Aurora, the cursed princess of Briar who is doomed to die on her twenty-first birthday if she doesn’t receive her true loves first kiss. Both women are caged in their own way and have to work together to find the freedom and futures they desire.

So happy to be able to say that one of my most anticipated reads of the year lived up to my expectations! Malice was absolutely incredible. Walter turned basically everything about the original story of Sleeping Beauty on its head and gave us a luscious gem of a story. The exploration of morally grey characters in the role of the protagonist is always a treat, especially in this instance where we get to trail Alyce into her descent to villainy. Despite her being cast as the villain, Alyce was a character that was easy to empathize with and understand why she would forsake everything to become the monster everyone made her out to be. With Aurora, I liked how Walter gave her a sense of agency rather than making her the typical damsel in distress one would usually come across in a fairytale. She has her own goals, drive and vision for her kingdom which felt like a breath of fresh air after reading one too many underdeveloped royal characters.

As always, I love a good slow-burn sapphic romance in my books so the relationship between Alyce and Aurora was one of the highlights of this book for me! Representing queer relationships in genres outside of the contemporary genre is always so important so I'm glad this book handled it well.

Definitely a must-read for anyone who has ever wished for a morally grey, deliciously dark and sapphic fairytale retelling! I hope this duology gets the hype within the book community it deserves.