I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, I do love a good fairytale retelling. So much. And give it a villain main character and make it gay? YES PLEASE.

I adored Alyce being the dark grace, and how she, therefore, had to interact with everyone - it’s not anything particularly new, but I really enjoyed how it gave her character a great backstory and motivations. She’s used and abused by everyone around her, and we get to experience that frustration and hatred along with her. Especially as, even though everyone is afraid of her, her work is still in high demand. Also, we get Callow - her kestrel! We love animal companions <3

Her relationship with Aurora was really sweet and I loved that we saw enough of Aurora to understand her drivers too - especially in escaping the palace. We get to see how they need each other, despite it all. We also see that there’s a lot more to good and evil than a black and white line between them, and both girls lean into that for us.

I did find that this was a little slow or predictable in places, but I never really minded, I was having far too much fun!

I am really excited to see what comes next in this world.

I saw "Sleeping Beauty, but gay" and was hooked, but upon starting this book I realised it was so much more. The discussions of society and beauty from this perspective was so intriguing and the writing moved me from the first page until I finished. The characterisations were just so beautiful for me to read and the plot developments kept taking me by surprise again and again. I've never been so happy that a book isn't a standalone, knowing I get to return to this story again one day,

I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley as I thought the blurb sounded intriguing, but I was definitely not expecting the story that I have just finished. It was amazing! In simple terms it was a reimagined retelling of Sleeping Beauty, but it was so much more than just a retelling.

This story focuses on Alyce, a Dark Grace living in the country of Briar where everything and everyone revolves around beauty, money and materialism. The Graces are young women who have been "blessed" with a Fae magic and in turn they use their magic to create elixirs that will bestow whatever their patrons want on themselves, or in the case of Alyce's elixirs, on others. They can become more beautiful with golden skin and perfectly coiled hair; they can sing like birds; they can dance in perfect time or they can develop warts or a rash. Whatever the heart desires, the Graces can make an elixir for it.

I totally loved this idea - it showed how selfish, jealous and self-centred the society and its nobles all were. None of them cared about the Graces and that by constantly using their blood to make the elixirs they will eventually Fade and become magic-less.

Alyce, however, is not like the others, because she is not blessed with Fae magic. She is something quite different and her magic can only be used for evil intent as has been drummed into her since she was a child. An orphan, despised, disgusted and dreaded by everyone it seems, she is living a very unhappy life until one evening when she meets the crown Princess Aurora. Expecting her to be reviled by her presence, Alyce is shocked when the princess doesn't instantly run away from her. They strike up a friendship, both surprising, but much needed for both of them. In their own way they are both prisoners of their circumstances.

Aurora is under a time constraint - she has to find her true love by her 21st birthday or she will fall into a deep sleep until awakened by true love's kiss. This part was one of the few familiar parts of the Sleeping Beauty story really. With potential suitors turning up at the palace every minute of every waking hour, she is determined to break her curse herself along with Alyce's help.

I loved the friendship and romance between Alyce and Aurora and I really didn't expect things to turn out the way they did with her parents reactions and the incident in the Black Tower. I won't reveal any more than that, but the ending was just perfect for how Alyce was feeling at that point in time! Laurel was a bit of a surprise at the end too.

I loved the fact that the MC of this book was not quite a hero, but not quite a villain in the true sense of the word either. She was both good and evil and most of her "evilness" was reactions to how she was treated by others. If others had treated her with the same respect and kindness that they showed the other Graces, then maybe Alyce wouldn't have been the way she was. I was so glad to see Aurora accepting her for who she was, no questions asked, as it should be!

I loved this book and can't wait for the next one to come out now. I definitely want to see what Alyce does next and what will happen to Aurora and Briar now after that epic ending!

This book is at once both familiar and completely original. I love how the author has taken all the great things about the sleeping beauty story and completely made them her own. I’m a sucker for a good anti-hero type novel and this definitely fit the bill. Cannot wait for the second one!

The tagline for this book is what drew me in: the princes isn't supposed to fall for the evil sorceress. I think it's the best tagline I've ever heard for a book.

Malice is Sleeping Beauty reimagined, except instead of following the princess, we follow the woman who will become the evil sorceress. Alyce was abandoned as a child, raised in a house of Graces (magical girls touched with the blood of the fae), and expected to earn money for the woman who runs the house, to increase the house's reputation and standing: all whilst being ridiculed and hated by those around her.

This book is a much-needed exploration of the reasons some people do bad things. The fairytales present simplistic villains, evil (usually) women who are just evil because that's what they are. Malice explores the why, and I really like that. No one is born evil (I don't think), it's the way the world treats a person that makes them that way. And in this book, it's easy to see why Alyce feels the way she does.

The setting is Briar, a kingdom on the borderlands between the land of the fae, and the human world. Certain female children are born with the blood of the fae running through their veins, and they are taken by, and controlled by, the crown, to serve the rich: making them more beautiful, correcting undesirable physical traits, improving their learning, etc. Different Graces have different abilities. It reminds me a little of The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton in that sense.

Alyce is different, she is a Dark Grace. Her blood runs green, and her magic comes from the near-extinct Vila, the enemy of the fae. Which is where the hatred and fear of her comes from. I really liked how the world has been built and fleshed out from what we know of in the fairytale. It feels like a full world, though not overly complicated, which I liked. Walter included just enough of the worldbuilding for the story to work, and that's how it should be.

We see the story through Alyce's eyes, as the story is written in first person point of view. I understood her motivations, and I did empathise with her, but it felt like there was a depth to her character missing. It feels like there was a lack of sensory descriptions: I wanted to feel the earth beneath her feet, but I couldn't. It was like gliding over the surface of someone's thoughts and actions, I didn't quite feel really inside of her mind. Which meant that I didn't feel as emotionally invested in the story as I could have. I wanted to root for the relationship in this so much, and I did smile when certain things happened, but I never felt that burning need for things to work out for them. Which was a shame.

Thematically, the book touches on exploitation, particularly of women. In some ways, the way the Graces are exploited mirrors the way women's reproductive rights have been controlled and exploited by men. The Graces have no choice but to use their power, 'for the good of everyone', much as women have historically had no choice but to bear children: it is seen as their societal duty. I liked this thematic element to it. It added a depth to the story which I really love to see in any book, but particularly fantasy.

Overall, Malice is a well-told, interesting, needed story. I love the darkness in Alyce's character, the origin story she represents, and the way the world is built. I will definitely be picking up the next book in this series when it's released.

Full review can be found on Goodreads

🌹 The story 🌹
This retelling of Sleeping Beauty tells the story of Alyce - the Dark Grace. She's seen as different - as evil - in the eyes of the others, since her kind have spoken a curse over the royals: every daughter dies at the age of 21, unless they find their true love and get their true love's kiss. Slowly, she learns more of her history and that nothing is ever as it may seem.

This was such a original take on the Sleeping Beauty story, and I absolutely loved it. The twist on the original fairytale was my favorite; the romance between the Sleeping Beauty and the evil villain was just amazing in my opinion. I'm honestly still completely blown away by the ending, and I can't write anything coherent at this point. The world building is great, I love the idea of all the different Graces and what they can do. I honestly want to learn so much more about the Fae and Malterre - but I'm hoping that that'll happen in the next book. I kept waiting for the happy ending - not realizing that there will be another book after this. Shit, I can't wait that long! I don't want to spoil anything, but I really hated that ending. I just want a happily ever after; it is a fairytale after all.


🌹 The characters 🌹
💚Alyce/Dark Grace💚
Alyce broke my heart. I loved her, and the discrimination she indured from the other Graces and people of Briar was so terrible. I felt so bad for her for most of the book. I loved the way she started to discover her own power, which was really interesting to read about as well. Like I said, I hated the ending. I feel like Mortania's influence on her will be so much bigger than she realizes. I'm scared. It was really cool to see aspects of the fairytale coming back - like the spinning wheel and the sleeping curse. Even though the story was so different from the original story, it still contained some aspects of it - and I loved that. Some aspects of her past were revealed, but we don't really know a lot about it yet - just that Endlewild tortured her to rid her of Vila blood. I really want to learn more about her past, because it really shaped her as a person.

👑Aurora👑
I enjoyed Aurora as a character. I can't really say that I love her, but that's mostly because we just don't know her that well. The things we do know however, make me like her. She's destined to be a great queen, and she wants a lot of things in Briar to change. I'm just worried that Laurel's actions will change her original plans. The ending just makes me so bloody scared, and I'm honestly still heartbroken. I really loved the romance between her and Alyce, and I hope everything will turn out alright for them in the end.

📚💛🩸Side characters🩸💛📚
First of all, I didn't trust anyone in this story XD I liked Laurel, but didn't trust her as far as I could throw her - and hated all the other Graces so damn much. I did start to feel bad for Rose - her struggle was really well written. Kal had some great potential as well, but I didn't trust him either. The king was a crazy piece of - Damn, seriously, his plans surprised me. Can't wait to see what'll happen now!


🌹 Overall conclusion 🌹
I loved this original take on the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. The romance was really cute in my opinion, and there was both great LGBTQ+ and POC representation (although the LGBTQ+ representation was not always accepted by the people/realms in the book). I just really loved it, and I can't wait to see where the story will go. Also, I looooved the cover and I loved the rose illustrations on the 'part 1/part 2' pages!

When is the next book coming out? Asking for a friend.

Malice is veritably among the best villain deconstructions I've ever read - Alyce's story doesn't beat around the bush when it disassembles the dawning of a venomously vengeful streak, from her browbeaten and victimized beginnings to her broken and desperate spiral into violent vindication. The enchanting world Walters weaves is equal parts eerie and ensorcelling, the ghosts of past wars and whispering warnings of more evil powers lying in wait plaiting an environs where there is no love lost for Alyce's Vila legacy.

The focus of this atmospheric flip of a fairytale, Alyce is a fine-spun and abstruse anti-heroine, growing up vexed with the vitriol and vilification of her fellow Graces and the general folk of the Fae-blessed monarchy of Briar; her foremost misgivings about and then mushrooming affection and attraction to Aurora (and her astonishment to finding the feeling to be mutual) are an arrestingly moving adjunct to the main arc that follows Alyce finally accepting herself and the fulminant magic she can manifest.

The heartstrings-tugging culmination of the hardships the characters must confront - the corrupt contrivances of crowned heads, the country's heavy-handed control over the Graces' capacities, and the horror and hatred Alyce is cast out with - in a hair-raising conclusion that hits hard regardless of how much you root for the Dark Grace and her darling to rise above the ruins and debris of the havoc they catalyze on the realm. Walter has rendered a creative and compellingly distinctive retelling of the cherished chestnut that is the Sleeping Beauty chronicle, and I'm ready and raring (and more than a tad daunted) for the closing chapter of this remarkable duology.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK (Cornerstone) for kindly passing on this ARC! 💫

First of all the cover is gorgeous. When I saw it I was bought. Synopsys sounded fun
... But thi book wasn't really my cup of tea.

This was a dark retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I love that tale and I very much enjoyed the retelling of it.
This is a duology and I'll definitely pick up the second one. It was an exciting story told with a good pace.
Thanks a lot for tihs copy.

I went into this book with high expectations and that is entirely my own fault. I loved the sound of this book and honestly could not wait to get my hands on it.

Whilst it took me a long time to get to (personal circumstances unfortunately got in the way) and I found myself enjoying the book but not loving it. I'm not quite sure why but I was left feeling underwhelmed and I ended up putting it down for a week and not picking it back up.

I liked the characters and I love what Walter has done with this take on Sleeping Beauty however I found myself not loving them as much as I would have hoped.

Overall this was a good read. I'm not sure if I will continue on with the series but we will see!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been struggling to find the words to write this review because to be quite frank, Malice blew me away. There are some books that are amazing, and then there are some books that sing a song that echoes in your heart. Malice is one of those for me. I connected very strongly with the character of Malice and her circumstances on a personal level and revelled in her transformation.

The world Heather Walter has created is rich, vibrant, inherently flawed and incredible. This is a book about a villain and her story, and yet it’s so much more than that. The fantasy world that Malice is a part of has such unique races that I was craving more information with every page. I liked the way that this knowledge was imparted to the reader from two very different sources as well, making us question the validity of the information at every step.

That’s one of the core themes of this novel; truth and especially the truth of history. The old adage that history is written by the victor is in play here, although it’s not quite as simple as that. What happens when the victor’s story gets manipulated and usurped? Their power diluted over time until they don’t really have it anymore? That’s the situation that Princess Aurora finds herself in and she’s most definitely not a sleeping beauty. There is nothing passive or damsel like about Aurora and she’s incredible. She’s the type of strong female character that we need to see more of in YA.

Unfortunately, both Malice and Aurora are playing a game with only half the cards and this is a world where power reigns, and while they have the power of truth and good on their side that isn’t enough. This is a book about a villain, not a hero and Walter delivers that in full colour and heart-wrenching emotion. Even as I read the final scenes of the book a part of me was begging for it not to happen, and I realised that we’re pre-conditioned to fight against the villain. The problem is that things aren’t that black and white, and Malice is a book of greys upon greys. Very few characters in this book are not grey (I can count two, and one of them I suspect is probably quite grey, we just don’t know anything about her – yet) and even when you think you’ve worked one out, Walter is there with a scene that changes your entire perspective.

Malice isn’t all sour and dour though; it’s fun, flirty and beautiful too. It’s filled with Sleeping Beauty, Disney and fairytale easter eggs as well. This is a fantasy novel that is a treat to read. It's a book for people who like something different, who like characters who don’t fit into those nice neat little boxes. It’s a book about an underdog who finds someone who understands them and wants them for who they are, not who they want them to become. There’s female friendship and romance, a unique magic system, intrigue and so much more. It’s definitely a must-read for fans of fairytales!

This is definitely for fans of dark retellings of the childhood and Disney fairy tales many of us experienced growing up.
While this had many references to being and Aroura/ Sleeping Beauty story, I felt that there were traces of the Cinderella tale, especially in the first half of the book. Alyce is treated horribly by her fellow Graces and housemother which certainly made me think of the evil stepmother and stepsisters Cinderalla had to deal with.

The premise of this story was just really intriguing. A re-telling of a classic princess story where the princess and the Maleficent-type character fall for each other. I was really interested to see how that would play out.

I did find this book quite slow for the first half to 60%, the plot moves very slowly and while Alyce's character did feel fully formed I'm not sure if the surrounding characters were fleshed out enough to carry the story so far with a slow-moving plot.

As the story moved along though I enjoyed seeing how Alyce's world twists her into a monster that she always feared she was. The author did a great job of making you empathise with her so much so, to a certain extent, you can understand her rage.
It was also fun to see the echoes from the original and Disney fairy-tale with the spindles and forest of thorns; And of course Alyce's final transformation.

This was an enjoyable read, but I did find it a bit repetitive and the dialogue was a bit clunky in places. I thought that the world was really interesting and particularly liked the idea of the Graces having a limited amount of power. In terms of being a villain origin story, there were some good ideas, but I thought that the character of Alyce was quite weak as a protagonist. Overall, I had a good time with this book, but I probably won't remember it for any length of time.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It's well written and the world building is interesting. Unfortunately the story didn't keep my attention and it fell flat
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This retelling was just magical.
I fell in love with Malice and her story.
It was one of the best twists I've read and the end was just perfect.
I would recommend it to anybody who loves a good fairytale retelling.

Fairytale retelling. Female Sapphic villain lead. This book has so much going for it, but for me it fell flat.
The two female leads are lacklustre and flat, but there are a few back up characters I enjoyed. Rose was the best Mean Girl in the Grace Quarter, let's give her a book.
The story is great, but the writing let's it down. I feels like a lot of info dumping without building anything out of it. And the pace.... The middle dragged and the end was filled with a lot of stuff that just didn't make up for the rest.
And how many times can we squeeze 'Dragon's teeth" into a page?
Grab this book for a long weekend read when there's nothing else to do.

I love fairytale reimaginings and this sapphic retelling of Cinderella is full of twists and turns and great fun to read. It’s dark, compelling and magical , an enjoyable YA read. Our preconceived ideas of good and evil in the tale are completely overthrown and it’s a feminist retelling , empowering for young people.

Malice is truly magnificent. It’s sensory and so very creative. Yes, it’s a re-telling of Sleeping Beauty but it’s so much more!

You’ll recognise familiar fairy tale/mythical tropes. The odd one out who is seen as a monster and reviled; humans with a strong desire to emulate gods; sacrifices; transformations; coming into power; villains and rivals but also tropes with a spin and a twist (such as the Royal Wedding and potions). I loved the world building. Fabulous creation myths too.

I enjoyed Heather Walter’s writing style. Analogies are fitting:

“My breathing comes fast and sharp, sawing in and out of my lungs like cook’s serrated knives.”

Alyce as an initiate works so hard to master her powers in often extreme conditions. She’s a fabulous character that I think many will be able to identify with. I noticed a few of the Major Arcana journeys in the story … Alyce on the Fool’s journey takes several incremental leaps but in my opinion, only really takes her leap at the end of this, the first book in a duology. I didn’t expect that! I really can’t wait to see what happens!

I thought Malice was powerful story. I felt ALL the emotions from the dark to the light. It captured my imagination and those 480 pages just flew by. If you enjoy fantasy then this is a MUST.

Malice is marketed as a dark Sleeping Beauty retelling, and it definitely felt reminiscent of the recent Maleficent movies. In a world where Graces are able to craft elixirs for beauty and wisdom due to the small amount of light fae blood they possess, Alyce is a Dark Grace – cursed with being part Vila, the dark fae who lost the war years ago. Her magic is only capable of causing harm, and she’s forced into making elixirs to cause ugliness, clumsiness and similar for people to use against their enemies. Despite only wanting to be left in peace, Alyce is made into Briar’s villain because of this; someone to deal with only in the dark and to shun where others will see.

Both of us definitely expected Alyce to be more of a villain from the get-go but the story is beautifully laid out to show her slow descent into her own need for vengeance. However, her ultimate status of villain can not be truly blamed on herself, instead, it is what the world crafts her to be from their prejudice and exclusion to the secrets hidden in the abandoned tower at the edge of the city.

Malice is also a sapphic retelling of this classic tale, however, the romance is arguably just one of the many plot points, with Alyce’s character development as she uncovers more about her abilities being at the forefront of the story. The romance though, between Alyce and Aurora, is a major highlight and strength of this book. It’s somewhat a slow burn as the two don’t want to confront their feelings due to the curse but it’s so lovely and soft seeing the two grow their friendship and trust in (and with thanks to) an abandoned library.

Also, it’s worth pointing out that there may be a steamy scene that would require audiobook listeners to swap to headphones.

One of the key parts of Malice is the exploration of captivity and how it varies for the people of Briar. Outside of Alyce’s experience, we also get to learn of how Aurora is a victim to the control of her father – as well as all the Graces too. With rules in place to keep all of their freedom and choices limited, it’s easy to see that Heather Walters has explored controlling and abusive ruling throughout different hierarchies, sometimes this abuse is easy to miss or overlook when you (Alyce) is experience the most brutal and obvious of harm.

Overall whilst we both enjoyed this book and will recommend it to people, we did find it didn’t quite hit the mark with what we were expecting as a villain focused story. The last 30% or so of the book definitely made up for our disappointments and it’s made us both very curious to see how Heather Walter handles this established sapphic relationship now that Alyce has truly become the villain they all expected her to be.

Loved the world and feel of this book which is what kept me reading although there was quite a bit of info-dumping and the Part One felt like a prologue to Part Two and the ending felt rushed/not given enough space. I'm curious to see how the story continues but I have mixed feelings!