Oh man, that was so good! This is a retelling of the sleeping beauty story, but from Malecifent's point of view--in this story, her name is Alyce, although the other "Graces" call her the Dark Grace or Malyce. There have been retellings of Maleficent, the most recent being Disney's version with Angelina Jolie, and I definitely enjoyed Jolie's version but even in that version, the female main character is beautiful and good and possibly in need of saving. In this one, Alyce is neither beautiful nor entirely good, and yet, the author does such a good job creating sympathy for her. Her character is so relatable in that you understand the feelings of helplessness and rage. How many of us have had our feelings of helplessness and rage lead to dire consequences? Alyce is exactly that character and tears apart the "good vs evil" trope. I didn't realize until the end that this book is just the first of two, but I'm so glad it is because I can't wait to dive back into Alyce's world! As a debut novel, this one truly impressed me. I can't wait to read the conclusion!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Perhaps my expectations were set too high for Malice, but I found this book to be a letdown. When I heard the news that there was going to be a sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty, I was so excited. The execution, while perfectly fine, did not work for me at all.

I understand the isolation Alyce experiences, and can relate to the bullying she has to endure. However, she is never someone I feel like I can root for - she is both viciously dull and just plain vicious. The severe retribution she takes against another character who bullies her feels like a gross and violent overreaction, and the ending, while the most exciting ten pages of the entire book, doesn't feel justified. She does not read as a morally gray character (which I love!), but as morally bankrupt.

The romance is bland; it feels as if it is forced so as to make the fairy tale and retelling fit together, but the chemistry is sorely lacking. There is more passion between Alyce and Rose than between Alyce and Aurora. I would not want Alyce and Rose together as their relationship is all hate, bullying, and violation, but it is by far the most intriguing and believable relationship on the page.

The world-building and magic system are well-written. But without interesting characters, Malice doesn't have legs to stand on. There is going to be a second novel, but it isn't one I will need to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the free advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Extremely slow pacing. Even at 30% there still wasn't much romance or story starting. I found this incredibly boring and could not get through it. Thank you to the Netgalley and to the publisher for the copy!

Loved this dark re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, set in a kingdom where people have forgotten the warrior queens that once ruled them preferring instead the favor of popularity, beauty and riches. Princess Aurora yearns to be a different kind of ruler, one who respects the history of her land. But first she must find her one true love to kiss her and break the curse that will kill her on her 21st birthday. Alyce is the Dark Grace, only respected by the people around her for the curses she can sell them to use on others. When the two young women meet, the kingdom will never be the same.

This was great! I loved seeing this told through the eyes of the "villain". We get a whole new view on who she is, and it was a great story! I loved this retelling, and I highly recommend it for readers looking for more fantasy!

Malice is a fantasy origin story of maleficent from sleeping beauty, and a good one I might add. Alyce is her name in this book and this is her journey on becoming a villain. Overall I love this book and the romance was amazing, so check it out if you live retelling

Fantastic re-telling of Sleeping Beauty, with a sapphic twist. The world building was robust, almost to the point of too much, as there was a lot of political history and historical figures to learn.

I was really rooting for our heroine Alyce, a Dark Grace who is different than the other light and beautiful Graces in the Kingdom of Briar. She is constantly bullied and shunned, and I really felt for her...until I didn't.

She just kept making decisions that didn't make sense, like trusting everyone, even though she kept getting burned. Although this mindset eventually cumulates in the somewhat hopeless cliffhanger end of this book, it was often frustrating seeing her make the same mistakes and getting hurt repeatedly.

Overall, I enjoyed this creative twist on a well-known tale. I will definitely be reading the second book in the duology to see how it all plays out.

I absolutely loved this book, it kept me enthralled and I was turning the page with either tears in my eyes, a smile on my face or with gasps. I loved the story of Alyce and Aurora and their natural relationship, the friendships that were devastating whrn broken, the enmity in the house that gave a sort of "Mean girls" vibe. It was a beautiful world building, even though I felt like the descriptive part was a little too much, I understood the need of the details, I appreciated that this part was split, bringing new information along the story. The ending broke me, the devastation and the hurt that Alyce felt, reminded me of my own dark places, I hope she will find answers and hope in the sequel which I am so very looking forward to.

Heather Walter has created a villain we can fall in love with in this glorious YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty. If you are a fan of characters in a morally gray area this is the book for you.

I received an ARC of Malice by Heather Walter from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

3.75 stars

Malice is the story of Alyce AKA Malice. She is a said to be dark grace, but finds power in learning she is part Vila. She is shunned and mistreated by the masses as well as those within her own grace house. One of the few kindness shown to Alyce is given by Princess Aurora herself. We know from the start that this is a dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty and I was her for the premise and it did not disappoint. The queerness doesn't defend itself on every page, which was a nice change. There is some pushback against Aurora's parents for their bigotry, but that is also some of the archaic thinking Aurora wants to live long enough to change. She believes Alyce is her chance to break a long ago curse on her family that will ultimately cost Aurora her life.

Alyce's anger and resentment for all that she has endured as the dark grace feeds into the decisions she makes. A betrayal will threaten Alyce's will, her love, and all the things she never realized she wanted until she met Aurora.

The positives of this book are the world building and magic system. They are dark and gritty showing how even the most "noble" and "clean" can be the darkest, dirtiest part of the world they build with their money, glamor, and power. I love a morally gray character, but Alyce is morally gray light, which is probably one of my only criticisms. I would have liked to see this story go a little darker. The character's are well fleshed out, even some of the side character, which foreshadowed their later importance. Malice followed some of the key points of the original Sleeping Beauty story, while weaving its own queer love story, full of betrayal, revenge, heartache, and one hurt and pissed off Vila.

The cons of the story go back to the morally gray light characterization of Alyce. I would have liked to see her develop more of the darker side of her powers. There were also a few plot holes, that if pointed out would be spoilers, but I could overlook them for the greater story being told. Was it predictable? Yes. While that might be a con for some, it's a retelling so some predictability is a given.

Malice is worth the read if you love a grim fairytale and are a fan of star crossed lovers.

I love fairy tale retelling having sleeping beauty being told like this was refreshing. Instead of Alyce being a beautiful and agreeable character she is a grease ball who hold grudges and can be petty which I don't blame her with how she is treated because she is the last Vila who are considered the enemy. She is going through a lot.
For a living she has to use her magic to curse people even though she despises it but is literally not allowed to say no. The world building was unloaded on us but i rather have more than less. Hilde was one of the few genuine characters like Aurora who was who she was and didn't care what other people thought. Alyce could be a little to naive and trusting but I could get past it. Alyce's and Aurora had chemistry and had a lot of cute fluff but it was insta lovey. A lot of book 2 was set up and i look forward to reading it.

Malice is a creative, beautiful, sapphic retelling of the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, that begs the question: what if the villain of this story was the love interest? We know from the original fairy tale that Maleficent curses Aurora as revenge for her love, Aurora's father, betraying her. It doesn't happen quite like that in this book: our "villain" Alyce is a Vila, a magical race that wields dark magic. She's one of the only Vila in the land, and also the most powerful. Nicknamed Malice by discriminatory light magic wielders, she has been determined as the villain of this land since birth, just for what she is. But when she meets Aurora, sparks fly.

I loved the writing style of this novel. It was beautifully, and perfectly fit the tone of a fairy tale in a land far away. The world building is thorough and fleshed out, the tone is darkly mystical, and the descriptions are beautiful to read. This book is definitely on the higher quality side of Young Adult fantasy.

The romance between Alyce and Aurora is sizzling. The chemistry they have is literally everything. Together, they're the sweetest couple you'll ever read; a sharp contrast to their fated to be enemies circumstances. While their romance takes a while to kick up, once it does you'll fall in love with them. I also didn't mind how slowburn it was, given they spent a while becoming friends and growing a working relationship before diving into the awaited romance.

The ending was a bit messy and disappointing, but this will likely be resolved when the next book comes out, so I'm not worried.

Overall, I strongly recommend this book. It's beautiful, heartbreaking, sweet, tragic and joyfully perfect. And the audiobook narrator is amazing as well!

I really enjoy a fairy tale retelling, and Malice tackles one of my favorites – Sleeping Beauty. (And a times it felt like a smidge of Cinderella thrown in for good measure.) Malice started a little slow for me, (necessary to introduce the reader to the kingdom of Briar and the Grace system) but once I got into it, Alyce’s story turned into a page turner.

Alyce is known as the Dark Grace – she is not a true Grace, but part Vila and gifted with a darker magic than the traditional Grace’s gifts of things like beauty and wisdom. Ms. Walter turns the Sleeping Beauty tale on it’s head, telling the story from Alyce’s perspective. She’s not the villain that everyone thinks – she’s lonely, isolated, and used by people throughout the kingdom for her “evil” gifts – and it turns out Alyce doesn’t understand her true powers.

This was a fun tale to read, and it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Looking forward to finishing up Alyce’s story in the sequel!

Malice is absolutely magical.

These characters leap off the page. Without giving away too much, author Heather Walter is an expert at telling this tale, giving this retelling a fresh feeling.I am constantly enthralled with a read that provides the reader a look into unique worldbuilding. and mythos.

I am in no mood to spoil this read but it was fabulous!

Malice is THE dark fairytale retelling you have been waiting for! It's the story of Sleeping Beauty with a giant twist. The story is told from the villain, Alyce's perspective and she is in love with Aurora. Can Alyce find a way to save Aurora that doesn't involve a prince? She only has a year left to lift the curse that was created by a power like her own. Can she do it? Or will the story end like we all already know? I was floored by how excellent Malice is. If you're looking for a dark, page-turning fairytale retelling, this is definitely one not to be missed! Be sure to check out Malice today.

This was a spectacularly dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Heather Walter was not afraid to push the boundaries and I loved that.

Alyce is part Vila, the evil race who cursed the Queens of Briar. They would always have daughters who would only live to the age of 21. Well, unless they find their true love and kiss them. Aurora is a Briar princess and 20 years old. She's on her last year of life, her older sisters have both died without finding their true loves and the future of the kingdom is on her.

Alyce was found as a child and after much torture, they decided she could live out her life as a Dark Grace. The Graces provide potions to the people of the kingdom in exchange for money. But their lives aren't as glamourous as they may seem. Their magic has to run out eventually and that's when they're just tossed to the side. Alyce, being a Dark Grace (or the only Dark Grace) is feared by many. She's ridiculed and treated as an outsider. She is not one of them and several want everyone to know that.

This story is dark and starts well. Then the pacing slows down a bit then it picks back up around 60% and I couldn't put it down. I recommend this book for adults who like YA or mature teens. It's more New Adult with teen angst. There is profanity and a closed-door sex scene.

I loved this one much more than I expected to!
It was so captivating and well put together.
I need more.

This book was a great retelling of sleeping beauty with a twist. The characters were lovable and relatable. I'm definitely interested in reading the next.

I wanted to love this so badly but I feel like this millennial nostalgia re-dux has been run into the ground. While sometimes it felt relaxing that things repeated themselves, mostly I felt irritated. It easily could’ve been a novella without losing any of the energy. As is the trap of revivals and retelling, everything felt overly familiar in a way that made it difficult to keep my attention, even as some twists happened towards the end I was never surprised. Maybe it just wasn’t for me! I’m sure teenage me would’ve loved it and that is the intended audience.

Such an interesting twist to a fairytale that has been told over and over again. I definitely enjoyed this telling the most! Also, very fantastic representation! Cannot wait for more!