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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Much like Malice, I devoured Misrule. Alyce’s journey was captivating through all its challenges.
The conclusion to Walter's Malice duology is a beautiful story about love, loss, and finding the inner strength to believe in one's self.
I admit I enjoyed the idea of the reimagined story put forth in the first book, Malice, but I struggled to enjoy the characters. Misrule completely changed my mind. The characters shine in this installment. The new characters bring a lot to the story and the returning characters evolve into more believable, stronger/weaker characters. The conflict between Alyce and Aurora makes for an interesting and engaging plot point to help further the reimagining of the classic fairy tale. I also really enjoyed the LBGTQIA + representation that did so without it becoming gimmicky but rather rolled as an expected and normal part of the story.
Walter also does a really good job with world-building and weaving together multiple fantasy races. I would recommend this to readers that enjoy fantasy works and enjoy retellings of classic tales in new ways.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I admit I enjoyed the idea of the reimagined story put forth in the first book, Malice, but I struggled to enjoy the characters. Misrule completely changed my mind. The characters shine in this installment. The new characters bring a lot to the story and the returning characters evolve into more believable, stronger/weaker characters. The conflict between Alyce and Aurora makes for an interesting and engaging plot point to help further the reimagining of the classic fairy tale. I also really enjoyed the LBGTQIA + representation that did so without it becoming gimmicky but rather rolled as an expected and normal part of the story.
Walter also does a really good job with world-building and weaving together multiple fantasy races. I would recommend this to readers that enjoy fantasy works and enjoy retellings of classic tales in new ways.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I'm disappointed that I didn't like this book as much as the first in the series.
Spoiler
Misrule takes place a hundred years after the end of Malice, with many of the same characters recurring. I was glad that Aurora's curse was broken fairly early in the book, and it was interesting to hear about the Dark Court. However, it was lot harder for me to root for Aurora and Alyce this time around. Right up until the last forty pages, Alyce was displaying a lot of abusive tendencies, specifically towards Aurora. She was very controlling, jealous of anyone who spent time with Aurora (or anyone Aurora liked), and was even actively spying on Aurora. She kept saying things like "Aurora will understand why I did [insert terrible thing] if I can only explain," or "Aurora doesn't understand because she's confused." While I understand that Alyce had a traumatic upbringing, she doesn't seem to have grown at all as a person in the hundred years between the two books. She's just as emotionally immature, and just as incapable of knowing how to have a deep relationship, despite now having friends. Heather Walter's writing is excellent, the plot is tight, and the reveals were unexpected and interesting. But as far as the romance goes, I'm just not convinced they're good for each other, even by the end of the book.
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was utter slop. The author took goodwill built up by the first and discarded it.
The story takes places a full century after the first. The main character somehow has not matured past being a teenage girl. She has supposedly established her own territory but jumps from one flitting emotion to the next. It is clear the author had no idea how to develop relationships aside from two teen sapphics who are toxic and tiring to everyone else around them. There isn’t even a decent relationship between the main character and her supposed “family” of allies that spent a century together.
Nearly 500 pages and only 20 or so were bearable. An absolute waste of time.
Nearly 500 pages and only 20 or so were bearable. An absolute waste of time.
**3.5 stars*** I’m so conflicted about this book. The ending was great, but I was bored for large chunks of it, and found Alyce’s responses to people alternately frustrating and enraging. I hate when “love” is used as an excuse to overlook bad behaviour. Alyce’s behaviour is somewhat understandable from the point of view of someone who has been abused and is emotionally stunted, but how did she not do a moment of self reflection in 100yrs? She’s over a century old with the emotional maturity of a 14yr old and that really, really bothered me.
If you can disengage your brain it’s an entertaining enough read, and there were lots of good ideas. I love this world. Lots of new characters to love, and they provided the impetus for the real emotional moments (both sad and funny). I just had high expectations and it fell short for me. And as good as the ending was, it couldn’t redeem the whole.
If you can disengage your brain it’s an entertaining enough read, and there were lots of good ideas. I love this world. Lots of new characters to love, and they provided the impetus for the real emotional moments (both sad and funny). I just had high expectations and it fell short for me. And as good as the ending was, it couldn’t redeem the whole.
2.5/5
Jestem autentycznie zawiedziona, spodziewałam się czegoś lepszego. Jak pierwszy tom naprawdę mi się podobał to ten był po prostu słaby
Jestem autentycznie zawiedziona, spodziewałam się czegoś lepszego. Jak pierwszy tom naprawdę mi się podobał to ten był po prostu słaby