Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Malice by Heather Walter

61 reviews

orinthebard's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I love a villain origin story. Love to see plot points from the original fairy tale clicking into place, in new and unexpected ways. Love that it's gay and that homophobia doesn't really exist in this world, though heteronormativity does and Alyce deals with a lot of othering as the Dark Grace. And of course the brilliant world building of the Grace system, the magic and political intrigue. This is MY kind of book.

The only thing I don't love is Alyce's inner voice. She's a bit insufferable, always jumping to conclusions and spouting off overly dramatic one-liners. But I'm already reading the next book because

what in the Daenerys Targaryen was that ending?? How was she ok with killing Laurel and a bunch of random servants? Was she possessed?

I need to know what happens next.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying and Murder

Grace on Grace bullying, magical murder

msradiosilence's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Tldr; Alyce is a bad bitch and I wish she’d gone off the rails sooner. 

Read my full review at: https://www.rainyreader.com/single-post/malice.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Classism, Grief, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Body horror, Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Murder, and Self harm

lunar_song's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

Review coming soon

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Death, Racism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Lesbophobia and Sexism

charley34's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Minor: Murder, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, and War

abbs15norm's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death, War, Murder, Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Blood

Minor: Classism, Confinement, Genocide, Homophobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, and Alcohol

arys_library's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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

5.0

One of my favorite books of the year! A sapphic sleeping beauty retelling?! What else could you need?

I loved that this book was told in the villains point of view. I think it really revealed thoughts and perspectives that we can’t get with an average protagonist. I absolutely loved this book snd I’m so excited to read the second!

The world building was incredibly and unique. Usually I only see this storytelling type of world building in the beginning of Disney princess movies. It was really easy to understand and picture in your head. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Murder

Minor: Biphobia and War

thehappylittleelf's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.75

I thought there could be no more clever twists to Sleeping Beauty, but boy was I wrong! This is a really clever re-telling with a fantastic magic system and a compelling main character. How do you get me to cheer for the utter destruction of the world? 
This. This is how.
I was hooked all the way through. Kudos for the author, this is a really creative story. I have already bought the sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Blood, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, and Drug use

Moderate: Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Misogyny

bluberrybooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

2.75


I enjoyed this book untill the king reviled his plan to everyone. 

I liked the relationship between Alyce and Aurora. I liked the tension that was building. The story writing was great untill the end. 

A lot of events happened that came out of nowhere. Kal being evil got example, we get no hints that he is was a villain at all. I thought a lot happened at the end that I wish didn't. This book was very disappointing to me. 

Sage is also only tied to Indeguous communities. Unless the author is Indeguous, it shouldn't be included in the story fiction or not.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail

dusksolace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Murder, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, and Death

Moderate: Confinement, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Homophobia

Minor: Suicide

bookdragonenby's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad 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

4.5

I love this book, I wish that the romance had made a bigger aspect. But Alyce needed her time to grow and find herself. I had my suspicions of Kal and Laurel and sadly I was proven correct with their betrayal of Alyce in the end. As I read this book during class I wanted to throw it so badly at the end. The sequel can't come quick enough to quench my anger at the Briar King and Laurel. I was satisfied with Alyce's revenge, but now I simply want Alyce to be reunited with Aurora. I'm worried to see how much my heart will be broken in the sequel, but we'll find out soon enough.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, and Violence

Minor: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Cursing