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moonlightmelody's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
is it perfect? no but gay ass bitches who love each other in a non-toxic way but are still morally ambiguous for reasons outside of their relationship
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Grief, Murder, and Slavery
Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child abuse, and Torture
Minor: War, Physical abuse, and Medical content
sapphicreadsbychloe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Malice is a dark new adult fantasy book about finding one's place in society. It is a sleeping beauty retelling, with also some themes from Cinderella.
We follow Alyce. She lives in a human world where each year, about a dozen gifted children are born: the Graces. She is one of them, except for the fact that her gift is different... She is the Dark Grace. The queendom she lives in is cursed: every decedent of the crown will die at the age of 21 if they haven't kissed their true love. Aurora is the last crown princess, and she just turned 20.
---
First, I must say I am NOT a fan of fantasy. I find it very difficult to dive into complex world-buildings, and even though this world wasn't as complex as others, you must know that there are several realms, races and names to remember. If this doesn't scare you, then you can jump into it!
This book is also about true love. How you find it, how it can shift with time, how everything isn't always perfect... That was an interesting and realistic point of view, that I actually appreciated a lot. The slow burn romance was well-executed. I found it cute, believable, and I wanted to fight for them.
Alyce, Alyce, Alyce... This character blew my mind, and not exactly in the best way. So right, she is tortured and morally-gray, which is good I think, but how frustrating was she ! I really liked the character of Aurora however, who was sweet and so full of hopes. What happened with other characters actually was slightly predictable and I thought this was a tiny bit disappointing.
The ending (and by that I mean the last hundred pages) seriously confused me. The pace was SO intense in comparison to the rest of the novel, it was chaos. Maybe it is because I'm not used to fantasy, but this was too much for me. I also did not like the ending. I found it very frustrating, like all the work done over time was all for nothing. I would like to read the second book for a (hopefully) better ending.
Finally, this book talked about politics, and I really liked its views on it. It was really hopeful about change, and provided believable and plausible ideas to make things better. It resonnated well with our world and challenged my thinking. This was really good.
3.75 stars.
We follow Alyce. She lives in a human world where each year, about a dozen gifted children are born: the Graces. She is one of them, except for the fact that her gift is different... She is the Dark Grace. The queendom she lives in is cursed: every decedent of the crown will die at the age of 21 if they haven't kissed their true love. Aurora is the last crown princess, and she just turned 20.
---
First, I must say I am NOT a fan of fantasy. I find it very difficult to dive into complex world-buildings, and even though this world wasn't as complex as others, you must know that there are several realms, races and names to remember. If this doesn't scare you, then you can jump into it!
This book is also about true love. How you find it, how it can shift with time, how everything isn't always perfect... That was an interesting and realistic point of view, that I actually appreciated a lot. The slow burn romance was well-executed. I found it cute, believable, and I wanted to fight for them.
Alyce, Alyce, Alyce... This character blew my mind, and not exactly in the best way. So right, she is tortured and morally-gray, which is good I think, but how frustrating was she ! I really liked the character of Aurora however, who was sweet and so full of hopes. What happened with other characters actually was slightly predictable and I thought this was a tiny bit disappointing.
The ending (and by that I mean the last hundred pages) seriously confused me. The pace was SO intense in comparison to the rest of the novel, it was chaos. Maybe it is because I'm not used to fantasy, but this was too much for me. I also did not like the ending. I found it very frustrating, like all the work done over time was all for nothing. I would like to read the second book for a (hopefully) better ending.
Finally, this book talked about politics, and I really liked its views on it. It was really hopeful about change, and provided believable and plausible ideas to make things better. It resonnated well with our world and challenged my thinking. This was really good.
3.75 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Torture and War
agustdefault's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
okay WOW. i was so excited when i picked up this book and it was even better than i hoped!!!! i can see how some might think its boring because the first 2/3 is not very plot-heavy, but i tore through this book. heather walter u are a genius and a beautifully dark writer. i cannot get over this book a sapphic fairytale????? everything i love alyce and aurora they are so cute and in love and wven tho i wished their relationship progression had been shown more i can also appreciate that it was not the center of the story and that this novel is truly about the progression of alyces character. god do i love a good villain origin story this was everything!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death and Torture
ceresper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide and Torture
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
MALICE is a well-crafted Sleeping Beauty retelling which features a protagonist struggling against monstrosity until it feels like her only path for survival. Alyce is fantastically self-centered in a way that is at once completely understandable and the makings of an excellent villain-protagonist. She's trapped in a brutal system which pretends to be a gilded cage for most but has always been pointedly cruel to her. The rivalry between her and Rose was well-developed, with a sense of history and several meaningful shifts when Rose drifts from being the main antagonist to merely an annoyance as Alyce's problems become so much bigger than what's happening in Lavender House.
The romance is fine, I guess, not my favorite but not terrible. It's not the core of the story and I don't think it's trying to be. As a retelling, this doesn't require any knowledge of the source material. While it's more than referential, it remixes and reframes the pieces until it's a new story which can stand on its own. I actually think it reads much better if you're not trying to see where it compares to the older story. I like how it dives into the Fae side of the story without moving the setting away from the kingdom, their lives are affected by the big deeds and magical pacts of hundreds of years prior but they just have to get through today, and the next day.
I was troubled by the way it uses references to the Pleasure Graces without actually clarifying what their role is. It felt like it was heavily implied that they're sex slaves (where slavery feels like too strong of a term for the other Graces even though they're just as trapped, but feels extremely appropriate if the Pleasure Graces have involuntary sex work as part of their Crown-mandated position). If all that's happening is their gift is used in potions that help other people have better sex then I wish the novel had taken the time to clarify that point. Instead, it uses a scene with someone pretending to be a Pleasure Grace, intimating that she's there to provide the kind of service to a new bride that has historically been associated with concubines and sex workers, and doesn't provide clarification. If the Pleasure Graces are sex slaves then that should have been the rallying cry, not the much weaker claims about wishing for the system to be "better" somehow. Basically there's just enough detail to be very uncomfortable and not enough for me to be sure that I'm incorrect about my guess. Ultimately it's a small part of the story and I'll keep an eye on how that aspect is handled (if at all) in the sequel.
Overall this is a solid retelling and a good novel which depicts the slow slide of a trapped young woman into the monster everyone already thought she was.
The romance is fine, I guess, not my favorite but not terrible. It's not the core of the story and I don't think it's trying to be. As a retelling, this doesn't require any knowledge of the source material. While it's more than referential, it remixes and reframes the pieces until it's a new story which can stand on its own. I actually think it reads much better if you're not trying to see where it compares to the older story. I like how it dives into the Fae side of the story without moving the setting away from the kingdom, their lives are affected by the big deeds and magical pacts of hundreds of years prior but they just have to get through today, and the next day.
I was troubled by the way it uses references to the Pleasure Graces without actually clarifying what their role is. It felt like it was heavily implied that they're sex slaves (where slavery feels like too strong of a term for the other Graces even though they're just as trapped, but feels extremely appropriate if the Pleasure Graces have involuntary sex work as part of their Crown-mandated position). If all that's happening is their gift is used in potions that help other people have better sex then I wish the novel had taken the time to clarify that point. Instead, it uses a scene with someone pretending to be a Pleasure Grace, intimating that she's there to provide the kind of service to a new bride that has historically been associated with concubines and sex workers, and doesn't provide clarification. If the Pleasure Graces are sex slaves then that should have been the rallying cry, not the much weaker claims about wishing for the system to be "better" somehow. Basically there's just enough detail to be very uncomfortable and not enough for me to be sure that I'm incorrect about my guess. Ultimately it's a small part of the story and I'll keep an eye on how that aspect is handled (if at all) in the sequel.
Overall this is a solid retelling and a good novel which depicts the slow slide of a trapped young woman into the monster everyone already thought she was.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Sexism, Misogyny, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Murder, and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Death of parent
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Child death, and Xenophobia
Different magical beings. Several kinds of beings have been wiped out of existence and have experienced immense hate.clovelatte's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: War, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Torture, Murder, Misogyny, Genocide, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Bullying
Minor: Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
cameronreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I really enjoyed this! It was definitely one of the most interesting retellings I've ever read - I loved how it twisted the source material, staying true to it but also being its own original story. I loved how the plot progressed - there was one major plot point that I guessed very early on, but there was plenty of twists I wasn't expecting! The story itself was really interesting and I was completely engaged throughout the book. I loved the take on villainy it presented and I found I adored reading from the villain's perspective, especially because sometimes I find the typical hero's morals get in the way some times which really annoys me, and that absolutely wasn't the case here. The main character Alyce was great and progressed so much as the story went on as well, and I really really loved the romance and the pacing of it. I loved the ending so so much, it was exactly what I wanted to happen!
However, I did have a couple of issues: there was a little bit of info dumping, not enough that it was hard to read or boring but just took me out of it a little; there was that one character centred plot twist that was painfully obvious and could have been less so; there were quite a lot of time skips and training montages, which isn't a major problem just something I'm not a big fan of; and there were a couple of instances where Alyce assumed what Aurora was thinking and made mistakes, which does annoy me. Overall though, I did really like this book and would one hundred percent recommend, and I'm waiting in anticipation for the sequel!
However, I did have a couple of issues: there was a little bit of info dumping, not enough that it was hard to read or boring but just took me out of it a little; there was that one character centred plot twist that was painfully obvious and could have been less so; there were quite a lot of time skips and training montages, which isn't a major problem just something I'm not a big fan of; and there were a couple of instances where Alyce assumed what Aurora was thinking and made mistakes, which does annoy me. Overall though, I did really like this book and would one hundred percent recommend, and I'm waiting in anticipation for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, and Torture
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Sleeping Beauty retelling I absolutely never knew I needed. Can I just say, I loved Alice SO much! She was such an interesting character, and honestly reminded me a lot of Tea from The Bone Witch. I loved her journey with developing her magical abilities and realizing who she was. I loved the romance! This was a great book, but the ending was killer! I can't wait for the next one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Violence, Torture, Child abuse, and Death
raynaf10's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture