Malice is a solid fairy tale retelling, taking us into the perspective of the supposed villain in a story where every person in the kingdom is hellbent on using and abusing those with powers. It starts slow, building up the misery of a life spent creating potions and curses for people who only see you as a means to an end, until an unexpected love starts to bloom. The back half of the novel is explosive, flying through reveal after reveal until the final ascent into the Sleeping Beauty villain we all know and love. It’s a gripping finale, one that had me instantly picking up the second book.

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A Few of My Favorite Things

The Blood Magic System

Blood magic is typically a horrible, forbidden thing in fantasy novels, something that only the most evil of witches and wizards do to exact vengeance or terror. In Malice, it’s a common every day practice, with blood mixed into every mundane potion in order to enact any kind of magic. There are different types of magic, all associated with different colors of blood, and the cost is essentially a ticking clock toward no longer having any magical abilities. That clock creates an underlying urgency and fear among the magic users, leading them to make desperate decisions to hide fading magic. They are pitted against one another at all times, with every friendship more of a ‘keep your enemies closer’ situation. It makes for a lonely, frustrating life and the perfect origin story for a villain modeled after Maleficent. 

A Fae History

I love a Fae history – they’re always steeped in lore, mystery, and magic that humans barely understand. This one was complete with dusty books hidden in a forgotten library, deep magic that’s more sinister than good, and a teacher who is not at all who he seems to be. We get the history slowly, unwinding a war that cost the kingdom many of its princesses over the centuries, due to a curse that has enacted endless vengeance. The Fae sit across the ocean, not involving themselves in human affairs, but their looming presence creates a tension that war is always on the horizon. As part Fae, Malice is something of a novelty, revered and hated by those around her. They force her to become a monster against her will, sending her into villain territory by sheer hatred and neglect.

The Love Story

I was surprised at how well the love story was done. This isn’t a sweeping romance novel, but more of a slow burn as a relationship blooms that starts out one-sided from Princess Aurora. Malice has been so beaten down that she can’t imagine being loved, and we watch as Aurora pulls their orbits closer together until the final push toward love and connection. That moment should be the start of a happy new beginning, but it spurs villains to come out of the woodwork and curses to take root that ruin everything the novel slowly builds up. Malice acts in the face of love, becoming a monster in order to save Aurora, and I’m excited to see how their story ends. She did it all for love, but the cost was so great I question whether love is even possible.