Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC! LMAO so apparently I missed the publication date for this I expected Malice to be more about the romance but this is Alyce's story and while romance with Aurora is a part of her story, the main plot revolves around Alyce realizing her own worth and discovering the extent of her power. Alyce went through remarkable character development. I only wish Aurora's character was a bit more developed.

Only one who thinks and care about the princess is Alyce: Dark Grace, who is powerful enough to end her life. But does she really want it? Only one year left for Prince Aurora to break the curse and survive! If Alyce helps her, they can change the future by forging a brand new world! But will she do it? Both her and princes are not so different: they are both caged in their own prisons and they need to find their ways to freedom.This is a very female driven story, that professes to show that not all heroines are perfect and beautiful. Alyce had grown up on this world that seems to be disgusted by her? She's constantly rejected by society, who look upon her as a monster, leaving her very lonely and exposed. She's full of self doubt and hatred for herself and her position in life. She's essentially a slave for the wealthy population who use her gifts to cause pain and humiliation in others. Her magic is one that destroys and it's one that few people understand. However, because of this Alyce is often able to reflect on her behaviours and their consequences, showing empathy and compassion even for those who torment her the most (such as Rose). This made her endearing and likeable. Entering into the Briar Kingdom to see what my little villain was up to was pretty fun at first. Then it started to get a bit frustrating here and there. Which, yes, I could totally see happening because it didn't seem like Alyce was truly herself anymore. Going by a different name and ruling the dark court sounds like a good time. Until it wasn't. At a dance where she is humiliated (think very much Cinderella inspiration for this scene) she meets the royal princess, Aurora. The last female of her line, an ancient family curse by a Vila, meaning she will die at the age of 21 unless she has her true loves kiss. She is the last person Alyce would expect to have as a friend and maybe something more, and Aurora is jealous of Alyce and her dark power. Aurora doesn’t flinch away like everyone else from Alyce, instead Aurora is drawn to her.

Half-Vila and scorned for it, Alyce’s powers and appearance are remarkably different from her ‘sister’ Graces at Lavender House. While they have brightly colored hair with golden eyes and the ability to grant virtues to their clients such as beauty, wit and knowledge, the upper class of Briar goes to Alyce only for curses. Of course she doesn’t provide anything deadly, and all Grace elixirs eventually fade, but through her lineage, looks and occupation, Alyce has earned herself a daunting reputation. The “true love” premise also winds up fairly underutilized and senseless. Every princess needs to be kissed by her true love to break her curse, so guys show up to kiss them constantly (unclear where they all come from when the kingdom is tiny and commoners off-limits). That’s entertaining problem-solving, but raises obvious questions: how can someone be your love when you don’t know each other yet? What happens next when you learn you’re destined to love them before having any feelings? What makes “true love” different from regular love (evidently, it still doesn’t necessarily last, and can still be selfish)? None of it is explored. She studies the board. “Because by your own logic, if they came seeking their justice, wouldn’t that mean you would deserve whatever means they employed?” 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 a power like mine was responsible for her curse. I really really loved Malice! I thought that almost everything about it was perfect, so therefore I really looked forward to reading the sequel because book one ended on a huge cliffhanger and I was indeed very intrigued by it…Misrule” is the second novel in the “Malice Duology” and was released in the year 2022. Did they break the curse, or start one? Sleeping Beauty’s dark sorceress reclaims her story in this sequel. 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. Malice is a Sleeping Beauty retelling with a twist. It’s told from the perspective of an Evil Fairy who falls in love with Aurora.

Alyce, called Malyce or mongrel or monster or half-breed, wants nothing more than to escape Briar and be free. That is, until a fateful meeting with a young woman who does not fear Alice’s touch. The two share an instant connection and a shared desire to change Briar for the better. It’s a fragile dream, and so many things threaten to shatter it to pieces. talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, unafraid to reference or not reference, put it in a blender, shit on it, vomit on it, eat it, give birth to it. trigger and content warnings: a lot of blood imagery (human blood, animal blood, getting blood for spells), kidnapping, talk of child abandonment, talk of child experimentation in the past, loss of a loved one, anxiety depiction, captivity, mention of slavery, drug use, brief mention of suicide, torture, gore, violence, murder, death. (also themes of homophobia and misogyny - always in a negative light)

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Meanwhile, people’s reactions to Alyce make little sense. Many are bizarrely aggressive in their hate, particularly the mean girl: if your housemate is a dark sorceress who whips up curses for a living and all you can do is make people temporarily prettier, are you really going to spend your days taunting and provoking her? In real life I suspect most people would just quietly avoid Alyce. But the people who like her have just as little reason, Aurora especially—what do they see in Alyce? The friendship and growing romance with Aurora is cute in its way, but whence the sexual attraction? Alyce consistently describes herself with sparse greasy hair and dry scaly skin. Yes, we should have more leading ladies who aren’t beautiful; it’s gutsy to have one who’s downright ugly and stays that way. But I needed convincing that a beautiful princess would want a piece of Alyce.