Reviews with content warning for Slavery - Misrule

Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Misrule by Heather Walter

21 reviews

frantically's review against another edition

2.0

I was really disappointed by this; it seems Walter can't put together a reasonable plot without a fairytale as base. Aurora & Alyce lose all sympathetic traits they once had, their forceful fluffy moments can only exist because of all the hurt they bring upon other people. Alyce is a horrible ruler who only cares for her own interests and it's a wonder the court survived this long with her as its mistress. Also, two

100 years time skips

?? Really?

Content Warnings

booksthatburn's review against another edition

Go to review page

The first one wasn't really my thing, and I think I don't like "will they get back together" plots where their original romance was brief and one person truly became awful in the meantime.

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Well, the library *finally* got this second book in the duology! I mean, it's not their fault it took so long - there's been tons of issues with our supplier - but I was thrilled to get my hands on it because I have been eagerly awaiting this conclusion after loving the dark turn the ending took in the first book.

At the end of Malice, we are left with the visual of Alyce having shifted into a dragon and essentially destroying all of Briar after one too many betrayals...and of course, Aurora is in her cursed sleep situation. Misrule pretty quickly jumps the reader 100 years forwards in time...Aurora is still asleep, but Alyce has rebranded herself as Nimara and is now the leader of the Dark Court, having waged a decades-long war against the Fae for revenge, and to free and bring together all the "ugly" creatures (shifters, demons, imps, goblins, etc.) in one place, one home, again. Other than Aurora still being asleep, things are pretty much perfect for Nimara. However, when a human, Derek, washes up on the Dark Court's shores, and Aurora is finally awoken, Nimara/Alyce will have to figure out how to keep the home she made for her outcast brethren, win Aurora back (she may or may not have overly embraced the "monster" side of herself while Aurora was asleep), and contend with quite a bit of back-stabbing and secret plots and ulterior motives...plus her own insecurities that just won't seem to let her go. Oh, and there's the powerful vila, Mortania, whose spirit is still very alive and strong within her.

This story was nonstop from start to finish. And I mean that in the "there are battles and death" way, of course, but also in the "constant scheming and secrets-coming-out" way too. There were so many twists, small and large, throughout that I have to admit, a few times I did get a bit lost in them. I actually want to start here, to get my few criticisms out of the way early, because for the most part I had a truly great time reading this. I know I mentioned in the first book how some of the background info about the realms and history of Briar and Malterre and the Fae, etc. all seemed a bit confusing and underdeveloped. And I know I didn't do myself any favors by picking up this second book so long after the first and without a reread, but I have to be honest and say that I didn't get it all as cleared up as I would have liked. There was definitely some clarity, but after a while I ended up stopping trying to figure it all out and to just go with the vibes and flow of the story. That was the right call, and made the reading experience more fun, but definitely I would have loved a little cleaner, clearer world-building. With that, and possibly this didn't help my world-building confusion, there were (as I said) many twists and allegiance switches (both real and fake) that I found myself a bit turned around a few times. Plus, in general, I did feel like many of the characters other than Alyce were fairly surface/type-cast. In particular, there was one new character, Regan, who I mostly enjoyed reading because, to be honest, I couldn't get a bead on her...and when her finale arrived, I liked the way it went, and why, but the writing of it al it unfolded throughout the second half of the novel felt a bit forced on it's way there. It was a weird feel and I really wanted to like it, objectively I did, but subjectively it just felt a little off the whole time.

One last note here, that is related in my head. Alyce spent her whole life being mistreated and lied to and manipulated...and yet continues to not be able to spot it or be suspicious of it where she should be. Now, I know there was some interesting commentary here on one's inner voice and insecurities and how strong they are, but still, after so much duplicity, you'd think she'd be at least marginally more suspicious of everyone, and not just a random few. It seemed very inconsistent, who she chose to believe and who she chose to alienate, and how hard she dug into those, even after myriad experiences to (or being straight up told) the contrary. Minus Aurora, of course, because, ahhhh the blinding power of love (and everlasting hope of belonging), but at least Alyce recognized what she was doing, in that case.

Otherwise, even though this second book felt almost like a different style altogether, as compared to the first, I was really into it. I loved that once Walter went dark and intense, she kept it there. There is really no coming back from certain decisions and I appreciated that she didn't try. Plus, the dark and creepy Maleficent vibes (the "uglier" sides of magic and magical creatures) were awesome - brought to life so well and I had some amazing visuals in my mind. Walter made this novel, this second half of Alyce's story, something altogether new. To that end, the 100 year jumps that were made really fit the story. I do think, after so much hurt, that much time is necessary to assuage feelings and realities, before people are prepared to even think about alternative options/paths. And there were some really wonderful messages in there, on that point, about cycles of jealousy, hate, love, power, and fear and how they can all get tangled up and mimic each other - and what it takes to end that type of cycle. Speaking of the end, though the review isn't over yet, this seems like a place to point out that I loved the ending. I mean sure it had the sorta cheesy fantasy "fixing the world threatening issue" plot finale, which was solid, but also, the way Alyce and Aurora's story ended was....perfect. Nothing else would have felt right or been believable for me, and it gave the exact right combination of sweet and longing and matched the cyclical storytelling style with the time parallels to how the beginning.

Let me say more things I liked, because this review started tough, but there was so much I was into! While the overarching retelling remains Sleeping Beauty, of course, I loved the continued shades of other fairy tales and nursery rhymes sprinkled in, as in the first one (Little Mermaid, for one, and Beauty and the Beast again). I thought the disaster that was Aurora waking up was so great, because really, how could it be anything else (even in the original?!) after having been asleep for that long and everything you know falling to ruin? Finally, and a real highlight, was the high quality fantasy-style exploration of how loving an idea/ideal always falls short of reality. And even better, an unpacking of how claiming to love someone and want to change the world when you have the power, but having trouble with the reverse when the power balance is overturned, gave some profound insight on privilege and the comfort of those visually similar to you. There's great meditation on what it is that makes a monster, and how it’s easier to love a "monster" when the power lies with you, versus the other way around. Walter really dived into the conversation about whether those power/privilege barriers are to large to overcome with a single interpersonal connection, and if not, how do you move past that cycle of the previous ~millenia~ of being at odds and power shifting and revenge and what it actually takes to make things right/better.

Although there were some developmental holes and/or a lack of continuation in the quality and depth of the development from the first book (in the world and character aspects), I felt like this was still a spectacular conclusion to the plot and to Alyce and Aurora's story in particular. I had so much fun reading this book. It has that nostalgic fantasy feel to it, mixing the magical/fanciful with metaphors/messages about life, but all of it is "overpowered" by the adventure of the story and the journey the plot takes you on. I felt fully immersed in the world of Briar and the Dark Court throughout both books and that quality escapism was exactly what I wanted/needed. If you are looking for a fantasy escape in your life, let me really recommend this duology!

“It has always interested me the ways in which a tale will change based on who is telling it.”

“Tragedy teaches us things about ourselves and about others. […] Sometimes we do not like what we see. But we have to look anyway. We have to know.”

Content Warnings

shatteredspace's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

bisexualwentworth's review against another edition

Go to review page

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really liked Malice when I read it last year, and I wasn’t sure the sequel was going to hold up. To my pleasant surprise, I liked Misrule even more.

It’s been one hundred years since Aurora fell into an enchanted sleep and Alyce burned most of the kingdom of Briar to the ground. All but one of the side characters are dead. Alyce, now going by the name Nimara, rules over the Dark Court, a place of refuge for all the creatures who are welcome neither are the fae courts nor in the human realms.

Misrule is a very different beast from Malice. This is a book about morality, about moral greyness, about collective memory and trauma, about personal and cultural growth, and about the very concepts of good and evil. Everyone in this book does awful things, and no one in it feels fully irredeemable. Needless to say, I was impressed.

There were a lot of plot twists that I didn’t see coming and that were executed very well. The character of Derek in particular was utilized in some very interesting ways. I won’t say more than that because I want readers to be able to go on that journey themselves.

And of course, the sapphic element of this book is fantastic. The romance is much less important here than it was in book one, but I loved the way that Heather Walter explored Alyce/Nimara and Aurora’s relationship. If you’re okay with fictional relationships being angsty and a little fucked up, I think you’ll enjoy this one.

The beginning of the book was slow and very confusing, mostly because nothing was the same from book one, but once the plot got going, I read through to the end in two days.

I do have one major issue with this book, and it’s more of an issue because it seems to be a pattern in Heather Walter’s work: the only important character who is firmly stated to be a dark-skinned person of color dies in service of the nonhuman but white-coded main character’s growth. This happened in Malice as well, and there simply is no excuse for this in 2021/2022.

Content Warnings

victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I was obsessed with Malice at the beginning of the month and let me tell you, the second book in this duology was just as amazing.

The prologue picks up a year after the events of the first book, then jumps to 100 years later where so much has changed. The Dark Court now rules the land that used to be Briar and Alyce’s journey is not over yet.

This is one of those stories that will stay with me for a very long time, living rent free in my brain and heart. I loved these books with my entire heart and felt every emotion.

I highly recommend you read this book if you like:

Fairytale retellings

Sapphic fantasy

Dragons, Fae, and Magic

Coming of age/self discovery

Content Warnings