Malice by Heather Walter

Description From Goodreads:

A princess isn’t supposed to fall for an evil sorceress. But in this darkly magical retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” true love is more than a simple fairy tale.

Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.

You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.

Utter nonsense.

Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either.

Until I met her.

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am Alyce, the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay me to bottle hexes and then brand me a monster. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.

But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.

Nonsense again.

Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—

I am the villain.

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My Review:

Did you all really think I wasn't going to read a sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty? When I found out my library had this it was placed on hold immediately. This book had a very strong start and I did enjoy it from start to finish, however, I cannot help but feel a little disappointed over a few things.

First, I liked Alyce a lot. I absolutely loved every one of her interactions with the other characters. It was great getting to see other sides of her beside her anger and her insecurities. Without the small moments the author puts in for Alyce, I probably wouldn't have liked her as much as I do now. I also really enjoyed seeing her learn more about herself and watching her discover more about her powers. It was interesting learning about the lore of her kind through the discovery of her abilities. I really wish we could have learned more about the Vila in this book.

Aurora was interesting as well but I could not connect with her much. I understand the whole point is that she is under a lot of stress due to her curse, but it would have been nice to learn more about her as a character. I feel like by the end of the book, I didn't know much. She felt more like a plot device for Alyce's character development.

The romance itself was also okay. I felt like they didn't have a lot of moments together of just them getting to know each other. Most of their romantic scenes are Alyce either being jealous or pining for Aurora but ultimately because of her insecurities not feeling like she could do anything. Their relationship as a whole just felt a bit flat for me.

Finally, while I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the book, by the time I reached the second half, the plot became very predictable for me. I was not surprised or shocked at how the book ended or where the plot was going. That's probably what disappointed me most about the book, but again still not a bad read.

Overall, I still think this is definitely worth it if you love sapphic romance and fairy tale retellings as, again, this is not a bad book at all. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to read the second book, but I do look forward to reading other works by this author.

Read this book? Tell me your thoughts below!