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Looking for a high fantasy sapphic romance fairy tale retelling? If so, Malice by Heather Walter might interest you. Scroll for details! 😉
Title: Malice
Author: Heather Walter
Pages: 464 (paperback)
Narration: 1st person (Alyce)
Genres: High Fantasy
Installment: Book 1 of the Malice Duology
Tropes: good versus evil, opposites attract
Once upon a time, a dark fairy, a Vila, cursed the line of princesses to die in Briar. The curse could only be lifted by true love’s kiss. But when Alyce, the Dark Grace, feared and hated for her magic, meets Princess Aurora, she’s determined to break the curse created by the same emerald blood coursing through her veins. Aurora is the queen Briar needs; kind, gracious, and the first one to truly care about Alyce. But we all know how the story of Sleeping Beauty goes, don’t we?
Malice is fairly new as it was published in April 2021 and I had never seen this book on any social media or Goodreads recommendations before I went to my local bookstore. (For the first time since Corona hit btw. Oh, yes, sweet bliss.). A sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty? I had to snatch it right up. I’d never actually read a retelling of this fairytale before and I was excited to see how it would play out. That said, on to the review! 😉
My brain couldn't catch up with my feelings
It started a little bit slow, which is normal for a High Fantasy novel as the world needs to be established first and foremost. Even though the first half of this book was a little bit of a drag, the history of Briar and the fae was enchanting nonetheless. And once the story did pick up, you couldn’t put it down.
The second half of Heather Walters debut novel was magnificent. There were a lot of twists and turns, the amount of which I had not seen coming. I did have my suspicion about some things, but I was not expecting the level of severity concerning the plot twists and developments. The last 100 pages (at least) were so overwhelming I had to take a break before reading the ending. I simply sat there and stared at the wall because my brain couldn’t catch up with my feelings.
Trust Issues Come in Handy
The amount of flawed characters in Malice is mind-blowing. Most of them are morally grey and it’s safe to say my trust issues are finally good for something. At least when it comes to books. The amount of time I took contemplating whether I could trust specific characters has me laughing now. Sometimes I was lulled into safety, but then my trust issues reared their ugly head and were like, “No, no, no, pull back. You know what we talked about.” Yeah, so long story short, I need help. 😀
I'm here for you
As with the plot, the romance is also a slow-burn, which was a little frustrating at times, not gonna lie. But it does pick up with the story and, other than that I couldn’t get as attached to Aurora as I wanted, I have nothing negative to say here.
This novel will make you feel ugly emotions like rage and a desire for revenge. In case you ever need to talk about it with somebody, my ears are always open. 😉
Did I succeed in making you want to read Malice by Heather Walter? If so, you can buy a copy here: Thalia | Amazon USA
