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A review by booksborrowed
Malice by Heather Walter
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"Vila were not the monsters the Etherians would have you believe."
This book is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I liked that the FMC is the "villian". An orphan halfling, Alyce is raised to believe she is descendent of evil. She is admonished because of her green Vila blood, always being recognized as the "Dark Grace" and avoided. The Grace are humans, blessed by Etherians, with gold blood that must be drained in order to access their magic. The Grace are saught after and highly admired by Briar society, that is, until their blood runs silver.
The magic system is unique to me and was easy to follow throughout the story. What I was not a fan of was the pace of the first half of the book. Information was drawn out and repetitive ("Dragons Teeth" times thirty-one), and certain scenes could have been cut or even rethought.
The end, however, made it all worthwhile. Everything came together quickly and set up the interest in the sequel well. I look forward to the author perfecting their craft, as this debut has a lot of promise.
This book is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I liked that the FMC is the "villian". An orphan halfling, Alyce is raised to believe she is descendent of evil. She is admonished because of her green Vila blood, always being recognized as the "Dark Grace" and avoided. The Grace are humans, blessed by Etherians, with gold blood that must be drained in order to access their magic. The Grace are saught after and highly admired by Briar society, that is, until their blood runs silver.
The magic system is unique to me and was easy to follow throughout the story. What I was not a fan of was the pace of the first half of the book. Information was drawn out and repetitive ("Dragons Teeth" times thirty-one), and certain scenes could have been cut or even rethought.
The end, however, made it all worthwhile. Everything came together quickly and set up the interest in the sequel well. I look forward to the author perfecting their craft, as this debut has a lot of promise.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexual content