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skylarsbookshelf 's review for:
Malice
by Heather Walter
"Light and darkness. Monster and maiden."
Thank you to Del Rey publishing for gifting me this ARC, all thoughts are my own and any quotes are not representative of the final publication.
4-4.5*
This book immediately pulled me in going back last year when it was advertised as a sapphic YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty, told from the perspective of the villain, which sounded like something I absolutely needed. I was fully correct in this, and it's definitely up there with one of the most enjoyable YA books I've read in quite some time.
We follow Alyce, a young woman with dark powers feared across the land of Briar. Alyce is a half-breed of a feared creature called the Vila, and possesses dark magic able to place curses on people in exchange for a fee. She is constantly ostracised and mistreated for her powers, powers she doesn't even want to use to cause people harm. She longs for a world in which people can see her for who she is, and wishes only to escape Briar. Then we meet Aurora, crown princess of Briar. As princess, she is born with a curse placed on her: she will die when she reaches the age of 21, unless she finds true love's kiss. Aurora is everything Alyce thinks she is not, and she too longs for a new Briar. They form a relationship and work towards breaking her curse and making Briar into a place that accepts everyone. All the while, Alyce is discovering more and more about her powers, struggling to find who she truly is and wants to be.
This book really did take me by surprise with how much I enjoyed it. I am a fan of fairytale retellings, but have never read one about Sleeping Beauty, and I thought it was really well done. Despite us all knowing the fairytale very well, I think Malice manages to make it its own thing, and it didn't feel too predictable in the plot. It did have its predictable moments, something that I've come to somewhat expect in YA books of late, but the book overall took some different routes to what I expected, and I was so happy about that. The ending in particular definitely shocked me and went vastly differently to my expectations, and I was genuinely shocked with how the book left off, in the best way.
The romance between Alyce and Aurora in this book was truly something special. They had great chemistry from the moment they meet, and the contrast between the two of them, while also being so similar, was very well done. It was for sure one of my favourite YA romances I've read in quite a while, and it had very high stakes, particularly towards the end which I really liked. It is of course a sapphic romance, something I am so happy to see in what's sure to be a very popular YA book, the representation is much needed and appreciated.
I also just loved the characterisation in this book, particularly of Alyce. She is quite a complex character with a lot of internal struggles and moral dilemmas, and being in her head while she tries to find a balance between "good and evil" was so interesting to read. You're never quite sure which route she will take, and it makes for a very interesting time. It's a great story of loneliness and being an outsider, and I think it was very well done. Some of the side characters were less well characterised or developed, but honestly I didn't mind too much. The focus of the book was very much on Alyce, and so her development was the most important to me.
Overall, I think this is a really great story, and an excellent example of how to do a fairytale retelling well. It feels familiar, but also new, a balance that is quite difficult to find in my experience. I highly recommend checking this out on release, I don't think you'll regret it!
Thank you to Del Rey publishing for gifting me this ARC, all thoughts are my own and any quotes are not representative of the final publication.
4-4.5*
This book immediately pulled me in going back last year when it was advertised as a sapphic YA retelling of Sleeping Beauty, told from the perspective of the villain, which sounded like something I absolutely needed. I was fully correct in this, and it's definitely up there with one of the most enjoyable YA books I've read in quite some time.
We follow Alyce, a young woman with dark powers feared across the land of Briar. Alyce is a half-breed of a feared creature called the Vila, and possesses dark magic able to place curses on people in exchange for a fee. She is constantly ostracised and mistreated for her powers, powers she doesn't even want to use to cause people harm. She longs for a world in which people can see her for who she is, and wishes only to escape Briar. Then we meet Aurora, crown princess of Briar. As princess, she is born with a curse placed on her: she will die when she reaches the age of 21, unless she finds true love's kiss. Aurora is everything Alyce thinks she is not, and she too longs for a new Briar. They form a relationship and work towards breaking her curse and making Briar into a place that accepts everyone. All the while, Alyce is discovering more and more about her powers, struggling to find who she truly is and wants to be.
This book really did take me by surprise with how much I enjoyed it. I am a fan of fairytale retellings, but have never read one about Sleeping Beauty, and I thought it was really well done. Despite us all knowing the fairytale very well, I think Malice manages to make it its own thing, and it didn't feel too predictable in the plot. It did have its predictable moments, something that I've come to somewhat expect in YA books of late, but the book overall took some different routes to what I expected, and I was so happy about that. The ending in particular definitely shocked me and went vastly differently to my expectations, and I was genuinely shocked with how the book left off, in the best way.
The romance between Alyce and Aurora in this book was truly something special. They had great chemistry from the moment they meet, and the contrast between the two of them, while also being so similar, was very well done. It was for sure one of my favourite YA romances I've read in quite a while, and it had very high stakes, particularly towards the end which I really liked. It is of course a sapphic romance, something I am so happy to see in what's sure to be a very popular YA book, the representation is much needed and appreciated.
I also just loved the characterisation in this book, particularly of Alyce. She is quite a complex character with a lot of internal struggles and moral dilemmas, and being in her head while she tries to find a balance between "good and evil" was so interesting to read. You're never quite sure which route she will take, and it makes for a very interesting time. It's a great story of loneliness and being an outsider, and I think it was very well done. Some of the side characters were less well characterised or developed, but honestly I didn't mind too much. The focus of the book was very much on Alyce, and so her development was the most important to me.
Overall, I think this is a really great story, and an excellent example of how to do a fairytale retelling well. It feels familiar, but also new, a balance that is quite difficult to find in my experience. I highly recommend checking this out on release, I don't think you'll regret it!