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Cover of Malice

Malice

Heather Walter

480 pages

A lush, sapphic villain origin story that asks what happens when the monster decides she would rather burn the kingdom down than lose the girl.

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What it feels like

Reading this book feels like watching a storm gather over a gilded, rotting kingdom. It wraps you in an atmosphere of dark magic and deep, aching isolation, anchoring you in the perspective of a protagonist who has been told her whole life that she is a monster. The pacing is a steady, deliberate burn, focusing heavily on the intoxicating, forbidden pull between two young women trapped by their destinies. The prose balances the lush cadence of a classic fairy tale with a sharp, cynical edge that tears down the facade of happily-ever-afters. It is a deeply satisfying experience for anyone who loves a sapphic villain origin story, reveling in the catharsis of a heroine who finally stops playing by the rules of a world that hates her and embraces her dark power instead.

Mood
  • darkly magical
  • oppressive
  • romantic
  • gothic-tinged
Tone
  • cynical
  • yearning
  • defiant
  • bitter
Pace
steady
Themes
villain origin story · sapphic yearning · societal alienation · reclaiming power · corrupting prejudice
The writing
Lush and immersive, balancing a classic fairy-tale cadence with sharp, cynical interiority.
The arc
The protagonist moves from isolated self-loathing to a desperate, world-burning love that ultimately embraces the villain label.
Who it's for
Readers who crave dark, sapphic fairy-tale retellings and love the catharsis of a protagonist choosing to burn the world down for the girl.
Content notes
  • bullying and ostracization
  • emotional abuse
  • violence
  • blood

About the book

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.

Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who, in an act of vengeance, cursed a line of princesses to die. A curse that could only be broken by true love’s kiss.

You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.

Let me tell you, no one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses. Not the way they care about their jewels and elaborate parties and charm-granting elixirs. I thought I didn’t care, either.

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 it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.

But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating—and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.

Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I—

Description from Open Library.

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