I love a beauty and the beast story as much as the next girl, and this sapphic retelling was no different. There were parts I loved and parts I didn't which accounts for the rating but honestly, if you're looking for a saphhic fantasy romance read I would pick this up!

For a while I went off retellings as most follow the same formula with nothing truly changed or unique about them.
This book however swept me off my feet and I loved how the author has chosen to turn this tale on its head.
That fast paced glorious storytelling at the end when everything comes to ahead had me sat on the edge of my seat.
I’ve never been one for sleeping beauty… but this has made me a convert

Wanted to enjoy this one, especially for the beautiful setting and imaginative descriptions that painted a very vivid picture. However, Alyce was not character I could get behind. I get she's a villain and an anti-heroine at best, but there should be something worthy at least to root for. Alyce came across as shallow and selfish and just too much of a 'woe is me' character to really make want to be in her corner, and this killed any enjoyment I had for this one.
Second star is for the gorgeous world-building and descriptions, but that's as good as this one got for me

I adored this book so so much! Malice is the perfect fairy tale re-imagining and makes you question everything you know about your favourite evil fairy.

Whilst the premise of this one was really good I found that I was not hooked. Sadly I DNFd.

I felt as though the prose of this book was written in a way that was trying to be "too fantasy" and I am not a fan of that unfortunately

Absolutely brilliant! I loved this so much! I'm so excited for the sequel. Malice was INCREDIBLE! Would certainly pick this book up again. I loved the way it retold such a classic fairytale in such a queer way. Absolutely fantastic

Original and smart, I was gripped to the end. Deliciously dark and thrilling, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a dark and stormy evening than curled up with a tale of wickedness and danger.

A sort of villainous re-telling of sleeping beauty this was a read I at times found gripping and yet once finished I find it hard to tell how much I liked it overall. It kept me reading all the way to the end ( which is usually a good sign) but ultimately I didn't fall in love with it either so I think its sitting firmly in the middle ground for me.

Alyce's character arc was the most captivating part of the story for me. I felt for her when the other graces bullied her and enjoyed her friendship/relationship with Aurora and the strength it gave her.

I found the narrative a little too slow for me at the start of the book but the second half definitely picked up and felt more readable.

I wasn't sure what to expect when picking up this book, but I am so glad I did. Heather Walter's world setting and story telling was wonderful. A great twist from a so-called villains perspective, to see that the light creatures are more of the villains in the end. I loved the relationship in this story and would love to hear more from the world of Alyce and Briar.

Very enjoyable maybe a bit reminiscent of Marissa Meyers Lunar Chronicles while it also stand on its own with its flawed characters and morally grey villain (I'm a super for a morally grey character), I would love for it to go darker but I'm a horror lover. I'd highly recommend this book!

Brilliant and a bit silly. I enjoyed this for what it is - a subversive YA retelling of a fairytale that gives voice to queer lives. There were a few moments when I found it predictable or cliche, but in fairness it's a fairytale...

I like the idea of queer-coded villains (and, thanks to Disney, that's most of your classic fairytale villains) finally getting to be themselves and subvert the story. It's really Alyce's outsider status that makes her a 'villain', not her actions or character.

Readers' copy gifted through NetGalley after publication. With thanks.

A sapphic twist on Sleeping Beauty! I think I enjoyed the magic and darkness throughout this book more than the relationship between Aurora and Alyce. Following Alyce as she discovers her history and learns to control her magic was so much more interesting.

A dark, queer twist on the original sleeping beauty? What's not to love.

I really liked all the characters and the story as a whole. The writing style was lovely and I felt like I whizzed through it. The world building was really well done and felt like it had so many layers to it. I also really loved the magic system, and watching as the characters learned to weird their magic.

I wasn't expecting that ending. And in all hope, I have my fingers crossed for the sequel.

Sleeping beauty retelling, yes please I'll have some of that. This book did not disappoint intact it smashed all my expectations. What a ride! A dark read with lots of twist and turns. I love that this book was about the "villian" but is that really who she is or just how she's been painted to be? It left me with lots of questions to mull over. The story was gripping and kept me engaged throughout wanting to know how it was all going to pan out. Excellent world building and the magic systems and kingdoms were explained clearly. Great characterisation. I was rooting for Alyce the whole way. I loved the ending! Ahhh I need book 2 now! I'm too impatient to wait. What a fantastic fantasy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for sending me an eARC of Malice in exchange for my honest thoughts!

Malice is such a phenomenon in bookish, sapphic circles that frankly, I felt like a bit of a fraud until I finally got around to read it so I could join the hype.

And Malice sure did deliver all the things I’ve been promised: morally gray protagonist turned evil, star-crossed sapphic lovers, a rich, intriguing world and feminist undertones. Color me stoked.

The pacing picks up as the story progresses, but I’d say the the first third was a little too slow for my personal taste. I definitely enjoyed the story and progression Alyce goes through, but I think that the immense hype around Malice gave me expectations that the book simply couldn’t meet. That’s obviously more my fault than the book’s, but it still influenced my enjoyment.

Personally, I wasn’t fully convinced of the chemistry between Alyce and Aurora. I can see how it would develop over time, but it was slightly too rushed and unbelievable for me - I just didn’t really feel the sparks between them. I also wish that Aurora would have gotten a little more development and depth. I honestly feel that she’s an equally as intriguing character as Alyce, and I wanted to see more of her.

Altogether, I still think that this was a really strong debut, and I’ll surely pick up the sequel to see how their story concludes! Now that things have picked up, I have high hopes.

Malice by Heather Walter is a deliciously subversive fairy tale, loosely based on Sleeping Beauty. The heroine of the story, a Dark Grace called Alyce, is destined for a life of misery and dark magic. Until she meets and falls in love with Aurora, a princess who defies traditional expectations. Together, Alyce and Aurora must somehow break the curse that binds them both. I found this story beguiling, exciting, subversive and beautifully written. Walter has taken the archetypal fairytale, and turned everything on its head. Wonderful stuff!

Overall I was highly invested in this storyline. The magic system and the world building was descriptive and pretty easy to understand. I would definitely appreciate a more in depth look at Vila magic and what the limitations are like we’ve gotten about the Graces. The pacing was a slower at the start and then felt rushed right at the end. But I was highly entertained, I was invested in Alyce and there were some twists and turns along the way that kept me turning the pages!

Can’t wait to finish off this duology and see what will happen next!

I enjoyed this book. It was a very interesting take on the traditional fairytale of sleeping beauty, and I thought it was a wonderful idea for it to be sapphic.
The reason why this is only 4 stars is that it didn't really pull me in. Yes, I liked it, but I won't reread it and I wasn't that invested in it.
With the characters, I thought it was quite interesting to have Alyce as a morally grey character (especially liked the ending), and Aurora the counterbalance to that. I didn't like Kal at all. He felt very manipulative.

I will be reading the sequel when it comes out, but it's not too high up on my TBR list.

Thank you to NetGalley for supplying me with this!

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh, I do love a good fairytale retelling. So much. And give it a villain main character and make it gay? YES PLEASE.

I adored Alyce being the dark grace, and how she, therefore, had to interact with everyone - it’s not anything particularly new, but I really enjoyed how it gave her character a great backstory and motivations. She’s used and abused by everyone around her, and we get to experience that frustration and hatred along with her. Especially as, even though everyone is afraid of her, her work is still in high demand. Also, we get Callow - her kestrel! We love animal companions <3

Her relationship with Aurora was really sweet and I loved that we saw enough of Aurora to understand her drivers too - especially in escaping the palace. We get to see how they need each other, despite it all. We also see that there’s a lot more to good and evil than a black and white line between them, and both girls lean into that for us.

I did find that this was a little slow or predictable in places, but I never really minded, I was having far too much fun!

I am really excited to see what comes next in this world.

I saw "Sleeping Beauty, but gay" and was hooked, but upon starting this book I realised it was so much more. The discussions of society and beauty from this perspective was so intriguing and the writing moved me from the first page until I finished. The characterisations were just so beautiful for me to read and the plot developments kept taking me by surprise again and again. I've never been so happy that a book isn't a standalone, knowing I get to return to this story again one day,