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theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-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? Yes
3.5
After reading and absolutely obsessing over Malice, I was thrilled to dive into Misrule as soon as possible. The previous book left us on a bit of an intense, emotional cliffhanger and I had to know what happened next...
...what I wasn't expecting was for this book to take place 100 years in the future. That threw me for a loop, I'll be honest. It also made me a little bit frustrated because it showed that Alyce really hadn't grown at all in that time, but completely given in to every bit of evil that was plaguing her from the get-go.
However, that meant there was nowhere to go but up. It just took a while to get there.
This book was a great deal slower than the first and didn't really suck me in until the final third of the story. I kept expecting crazy twists or exciting magic but instead, it became a bit boring, focusing more on the political intrigue and how all of the creatures/monsters were harmed or taken advantage of over the years.
That being said, the ending was really well done. While there were plenty of predictable moments throughout the book, the conclusion was something that gave me pause. I wasn't fully expecting the resolution, which was super pleasing. In addition to that, it also made the slower aspects of the story more beneficial. I believe that if I were to reread it, I would appreciate it more for how it turned out.
I also feel the need to mention that I read this over the course of a month (as a buddy-read) when it would typically be a book I would finish in a matter of days. If I pick it up again in the future, I'd be curious to see how it would make me feel if I flew through it a little quicker and if that would make it feel like an easier, less monotonous read.
As a duology, I'd give it 4 stars. It's a unique twist on Sleeping Beauty and I really enjoyed how the classic fairytale was reimagined!
...what I wasn't expecting was for this book to take place 100 years in the future. That threw me for a loop, I'll be honest. It also made me a little bit frustrated because it showed that Alyce really hadn't grown at all in that time, but completely given in to every bit of evil that was plaguing her from the get-go.
However, that meant there was nowhere to go but up. It just took a while to get there.
This book was a great deal slower than the first and didn't really suck me in until the final third of the story. I kept expecting crazy twists or exciting magic but instead, it became a bit boring, focusing more on the political intrigue and how all of the creatures/monsters were harmed or taken advantage of over the years.
That being said, the ending was really well done. While there were plenty of predictable moments throughout the book, the conclusion was something that gave me pause. I wasn't fully expecting the resolution, which was super pleasing. In addition to that, it also made the slower aspects of the story more beneficial. I believe that if I were to reread it, I would appreciate it more for how it turned out.
I also feel the need to mention that I read this over the course of a month (as a buddy-read) when it would typically be a book I would finish in a matter of days. If I pick it up again in the future, I'd be curious to see how it would make me feel if I flew through it a little quicker and if that would make it feel like an easier, less monotonous read.
As a duology, I'd give it 4 stars. It's a unique twist on Sleeping Beauty and I really enjoyed how the classic fairytale was reimagined!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Murder, Blood, Toxic friendship, and War
Moderate: Grief and Torture
Minor: Self harm
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.
I really liked Malice when I read it last year, and I wasn’t sure the sequel was going to hold up. To my pleasant surprise, I liked Misrule even more.
It’s been one hundred years since Aurora fell into an enchanted sleep and Alyce burned most of the kingdom of Briar to the ground. All but one of the side characters are dead. Alyce, now going by the name Nimara, rules over the Dark Court, a place of refuge for all the creatures who are welcome neither are the fae courts nor in the human realms.
Misrule is a very different beast from Malice. This is a book about morality, about moral greyness, about collective memory and trauma, about personal and cultural growth, and about the very concepts of good and evil. Everyone in this book does awful things, and no one in it feels fully irredeemable. Needless to say, I was impressed.
There were a lot of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that were executed very well. The character of Derek in particular was utilized in some very interesting ways. I won’t say more than that because I want readers to be able to go on that journey themselves.
And of course, the sapphic element of this book is fantastic. The romance is much less important here than it was in book one, but I loved the way that Heather Walter explored Alyce/Nimara and Aurora’s relationship. If you’re okay with fictional relationships being angsty and a little fucked up, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
The beginning of the book was slow and very confusing, mostly because nothing was the same from book one, but once the plot got going, I read through to the end in two days.
I do have one major issue with this book, and it’s more of an issue because it seems to be a pattern in Heather Walter’s work: the only important character who is firmly stated to be a dark-skinned person of color dies in service of the nonhuman but white-coded main character’s growth. This happened in Malice as well, and there simply is no excuse for this in 2021/2022.
I really liked Malice when I read it last year, and I wasn’t sure the sequel was going to hold up. To my pleasant surprise, I liked Misrule even more.
It’s been one hundred years since Aurora fell into an enchanted sleep and Alyce burned most of the kingdom of Briar to the ground. All but one of the side characters are dead. Alyce, now going by the name Nimara, rules over the Dark Court, a place of refuge for all the creatures who are welcome neither are the fae courts nor in the human realms.
Misrule is a very different beast from Malice. This is a book about morality, about moral greyness, about collective memory and trauma, about personal and cultural growth, and about the very concepts of good and evil. Everyone in this book does awful things, and no one in it feels fully irredeemable. Needless to say, I was impressed.
There were a lot of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that were executed very well. The character of Derek in particular was utilized in some very interesting ways. I won’t say more than that because I want readers to be able to go on that journey themselves.
And of course, the sapphic element of this book is fantastic. The romance is much less important here than it was in book one, but I loved the way that Heather Walter explored Alyce/Nimara and Aurora’s relationship. If you’re okay with fictional relationships being angsty and a little fucked up, I think you’ll enjoy this one.
The beginning of the book was slow and very confusing, mostly because nothing was the same from book one, but once the plot got going, I read through to the end in two days.
I do have one major issue with this book, and it’s more of an issue because it seems to be a pattern in Heather Walter’s work: the only important character who is firmly stated to be a dark-skinned person of color dies in service of the nonhuman but white-coded main character’s growth. This happened in Malice as well, and there simply is no excuse for this in 2021/2022.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Slavery, and Death of parent
Minor: Gore
Additional content warning for the sort of dubious consent inherent in a sleeping beauty retelling.vaniavela's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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
Alyce has just lost Aurora. Feeling guilty and remorseful she changes everything she used to be. At the end of the day, if everyone considers her evil and a villain, why not become one for real?
I found the book overall to be well paced. I enjoyed reading how everything has changed over the years since the end of the previous book. I was surprised in that it had better development than Malice; considering that so much changed in the kingdom, I was worried that it would be a rather political book.
I loved the sapphic representation and the character development. I must admit that it was a little tricky to fully empathize with the main characters for some of the plot, as I didn't entirely like their attitudes. Still they were understandable for all the events that were happening.
I really enjoyed the addition of new characters in the Dark Court, as we were allowed to read how Alyce interacted with all of them. Also, it was a nice element to give personalities to each of them, as they made the story move forward as needed.
I especially liked that the relationship between Alyce and Aurora was not perfect. Different things happened as the story went along and they both held on to who the other was before; understandable and real. There was a slow but I would say satisfying development in their relationship so I was pleased with the ending they had.
Overall, I liked the sequel.
CW: war, manipulation, violence, torture, dead bodies, body horror, self-harm for magic, self-mutilation, blood, gore, grief, death, character death, fantasy racism/prejudice, nonconsensual kiss, trauma
I found the book overall to be well paced. I enjoyed reading how everything has changed over the years since the end of the previous book. I was surprised in that it had better development than Malice; considering that so much changed in the kingdom, I was worried that it would be a rather political book.
I loved the sapphic representation and the character development. I must admit that it was a little tricky to fully empathize with the main characters for some of the plot, as I didn't entirely like their attitudes. Still they were understandable for all the events that were happening.
I really enjoyed the addition of new characters in the Dark Court, as we were allowed to read how Alyce interacted with all of them. Also, it was a nice element to give personalities to each of them, as they made the story move forward as needed.
I especially liked that the relationship between Alyce and Aurora was not perfect. Different things happened as the story went along and they both held on to who the other was before; understandable and real. There was a slow but I would say satisfying development in their relationship so I was pleased with the ending they had.
Overall, I liked the sequel.
CW: war, manipulation, violence, torture, dead bodies, body horror, self-harm for magic, self-mutilation, blood, gore, grief, death, character death, fantasy racism/prejudice, nonconsensual kiss, trauma
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death, Body horror, and Grief
Minor: Death of parent and Blood
wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and War
livlamentloathe's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Bullying, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Abandonment, Torture, and Gaslighting
There is no racism/sexism based on skin or gender. But there is racism based on magical creatures like imps vs. fae, etc.pey333's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Slavery, and Murder
litalia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, Toxic friendship, Blood, Bullying, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
maiahhtratchh's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really did quite love this book! My only qualm being that I felt Mortania could have been used more effectively (maybe this is just me wishing it were a trilogy). The ending of Malice with her got me so pumped up and then she was just kind of an afterthought more so throughout this (I thought). Still loved the book! It got me all anxious not knowing what was gunna happen. So many times I had to stop myself from jumping to the end. But THE END. It was very good. Those are my favourite types of endings the ones where it kind of leaves things up to interpretation and leaves it bittersweet. They love one another and they want each other to be happy but they are not sure if it’s with each other. It’s very realistic, especially after everything that happened at the end of Malice. It’s the 100 years later (TWICE) that messed me up because that’s so much time apart for them I almost started to cry
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, War, and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
schnaucl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.5
I liked it.
I was so glad Heather Walter didn't have Aurora and Alyce immediate resume their relationship. There needed to be real consequences for everything that happened at the end of Malice. Even if Aurora could somehow get past the murder of almost everyone she knew and the destruction of her home, Alyce leaving her sleeping for 100 years when she knew she could be could wake with a single kiss from someone else is unbelievably selfish and cruel. (And would also ensure in the normal course of things that everyone Aurora knew probably would have died of old age).
I like that they had to rebuild trust and that they also had to spend time apart and figure out who they were before they could think about maybe trying to be together again.
I'm also glad Callow lived!
I'd really like to see more books from this author.
I like that they had to rebuild trust and that they also had to spend time apart and figure out who they were before they could think about maybe trying to be together again.
I'm also glad Callow lived!
I'd really like to see more books from this author.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Grief, Child death, Animal death, and Death of parent
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