Book Review: “Malice” by Heather Walter

Dear friends,

My health continues to be somewhat shaky this month, but I’m determined to keep updating this blog. Recently I’ve been doing a LOT of reading, and right now I’m excited to say I’m on the Court of Thorns and Roses, famous YA fantasy series. I am a few chapters in now and it’s already gripping!

Before I started reading that series though, I read Malice by Heather Walter. This YA fantasy novel is an EXTREMELY original, fun take on the original Sleeping Beauty legend, which we are familiar with (the family-friendly retelling of) from the animated Disney film. NOTE: Featured Image above is Sleeping Beauty by Edward Burne-Jones.

It’s hard to review this book without giving away a lot, so I’m going to keep it short. In this retelling of the famous tale, our main character is Malice, “the Dark Grace”. Long, long ago, the faerie kingdom gifted humans with golden, magical blood for some humans, and those humans with such powers are called “the Graces”. The golden-blooded Graces are doted upon, living in special houses which seek patronage, ultimately seeking to become a Royal Grace for the royal family. There are beauty Graces, music graces, etc.

But there is only one Dark Grace.

Malice is a green-skinned, black-haired young woman, living in Lavender House with Rose, a Beauty Grace, and others who spurn and mock her. She has no friends except her crow, and she lives in a dank, dungeon-like room of the house. Her clients seek her for horrible elixirs: pimples on the backside of their enemy; a whooping couch that deprives a rival singer of their voice for a month; ugliness in liquid form. They pay her handsomely for these horrid potions, and then leave. Without so much as a thank-you. Not only that, they revile and fear her, what to speak of thank-yous.

WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THIS BOOK

There’s a lot I enjoyed about this book. The first thing that really stood out to me was its unique and well-developed magic system. Early on, Walter intrigues her reader as she reveals more and more of the world of humans and faeries, with Grace magic at its center. There are realistic pros and cons to the Graces bequeathing elixirs to their customers, such as rough rivalries, a harsh class system, and relationships being coiled around, over, under and through someone’s ability or disability to acquire the perfect elixir – and the pressure on the Graces to create them more, better, faster!

One example of the magic system that really effects the novel’s characters is that, after some time the Grace blood fades, the golden hair turns silver, and a once magical human being Grace becomes a regular human with 0 powers. The frantic urgency to not let that happen soon, juxtaposed against the urge to use more of one’s blood drops to strengthen an elixir, is a suspenseful line in the tale. Plus, the Dark Grace Alice (nicknamed ‘Malice’ by her housemate Rose, a snobby Beauty Grace) has green blood, and it can do…dangerous things.

Another thing I enjoyed about this book were its characters. Alice is an underdog that you find yourself rooting for through the tale, but boy does she make mistakes with terrible, dangerous consequences for herself and those around her! And those she loves. It’s not just the crow that she ends up connecting to, let’s just say that.

This book is very suspenseful, with a great magic system, realistic but edgy pacing, and characters that feel alive. Things get from bad, to worse, to point-of-no-return for our protagonist, Alice, and her loved ones. And since she is so virulently hated by so many, it’s hard for her, or us, to know who is really her friend. This doubt tickles at you throughout the novel, dark and breathy, making you wonder…and wonder.

Forward-Thinking

Honestly, there is not a list of cons for this book, for me. If there is, it would be the mistakes that only get worse and worse as the novel goes on; but sharing those would be spoilers.

But one more thing I do want to share, without treading into spoiler territory, is…this book is forward-thinking. It has LGBTQ relationships, and a lot of the self-loathing that young Alice feels is relatable for teens, for gay teens, for trans teens, for anyone who is bullied or made to feel lesser than by others because of how they look, who they are attracted to, their abilities compared to others’, etc. This book is an excellent book for any teenagers, but I think especially those who have experienced bullying, and any LGBTQ teen.

Not only that, there is a playlist for the book! How cool is that?

Find at more at the author’s website. Malice is the first of a duology, and was just published in April of 2021. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the next one!

I leave you with some cool fanart. Go read this book!

Until next time,

Chaitanya