Book Review – Malice by Heather Walter
Malice by Heather Walter (Malice #1)
Fantasy | Young Adult | 473 pages
Published on 13 April 2021 by Del Rey
Synopsis
The princess isn’t supposed to fall for an evil sorceress. But in this darkly magical retelling of Sleeping Beauty, true love is more complicated than a simple fairy tale. Perfect for fans of Naomi Novik and Holly Black.
Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die, and could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.
Utter nonsense.
Let me tell you, no one actually cares about what happens to our princesses. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her.
Princess Aurora. The last heir to the throne. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she… cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.
But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating – and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.
Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-
I am the villain.
My rating:
Review
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.
3.5 stars
Buy Malice by Heather Walter from Waterstones or Blackwells.
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