Malice

Starred review from November 16, 2020
The villain takes center stage in Walter’s superlative debut, a refreshing spin on Sleeping Beauty. Alyce, called “Malyce” by the Graces she lives with at Lavender House, has the green blood of the Vila, an evil race of magical beings, running in her veins. The Graces, meanwhile, are gold-blooded, gifted with Fae magic as part of an alliance between the humans of Briar and the Fae of Etheria. Known as the Dark Grace, Alyce is rejected publicly, even as the rich and powerful solicit her dark magic in secret. Thus, it is assumed that the invitation to Princess Aurora’s 20th birthday party sent to Lavender House does not extend to Alyce—but she attends anyway. There she meets the princess, who is desperate to break the Vila curse that will kill her on her 21st birthday if she hasn’t found true love. Alyce feels responsible for her people’s spell and agrees to help Aurora—meanwhile working to build her own power in secret. As Aurora’s 21st birthday approaches, Alyce must come to terms with her growing feelings for the princess while navigating the political minefield of Briar, as the king hopes to exploit her powers for his own gain. The story grows deliciously darker at every turn, though the youthful protagonists still ensure plenty of YA crossover appeal. Fairy tale lovers of all ages will be thrilled.

January 1, 2021

DEBUT Once upon a time a fairy cursed a line of princesses to die. The Vila, those who cursed the princesses of Briar, have all died out--all except for Alyce. Living in a Grace house, a place where those who have magic in their blood can sell their spells to the people of Briar, Alyce serves as the only Dark Grace. People who look for beauty and wisdom also look for curses and vengeance. Alyce knows she is thought to be a monster, and most of the time, she is pleased to show that side to people. But now she has found a friend: the princess Aurora, who sees Alyce as a person. Their friendship grows, but Aurora must find her true love or die, and she has less than a year to discover it. If Alyce's ancestors were the ones to curse Aurora's line, maybe she can discover the cure and show the truth about her power. Yet it could be that truth will destroy it all. VERDICT Walter's debut weaves together fairy-tale tropes into an exciting, twisted tale of friendship, love, and legacy.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton

Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2021
An outcast and a spunky princess dream of revolutionizing their world even as one of them approaches her final, cursed days. Long ago, the War of the Fae annihilated the Vila and their homeland, Malterre, but no one who survived the war--the humans of Briar and the light Fae of Etheria--seems to mind. Everyone knows that the Vila were nothing more than evil beasts, and that includes Alyce, the half-Vila forced to serve as Briar's Dark Grace. The light Fae blessed Briar's Graces with beauty and magical, golden blood, which they use to craft potions for paying customers throughout the land. As the Dark Grace, green-blooded Alyce bleeds life into mild curses that Briar's citizens use against one another. Alyce's hexes are nothing compared to the generational curse that one powerful Vila placed on the Briar Queen: to bear only girls, who must find their true loves before their 21st birthdays or die. The curse has already killed the current Briar Queen's two eldest daughters, locking the crown in a race against time to find a suitor for 20-year-old Princess Aurora. As Alyce soon discovers, after a chance meeting with the princess, Aurora doesn't want to marry a prince. Instead, she plans to break the curse, and who better to help her than the last Vila alive? Alyce and Aurora draw closer to one another, unable to articulate their budding romantic feelings, and that angst fuels much of the novel's drama. The anti-Vila racism Alyce endures grows darker and more deadly as the novel progresses, and her obliviousness to an obvious betrayal plot may frustrate readers expecting a heroine with a better eye for danger. Finally, a sudden series of terrible twists of fate--some unresolved, others resolved all too quickly--forces readers to contend with a shocking and abrupt cliffhanger ending. The unexpected cliffhanger at the end of this Sapphic "Sleeping Beauty" will leave readers impatient for a sequel.

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