Thank you Penguin for this book in exchange for an honest review
Synopsis:
Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die, and could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.
Utter nonsense.
Let me tell you, no one actually cares about what happens to our princesses. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her.
Princess Aurora. The last heir to the throne. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. 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.
Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-
I am the villain.
Review:
Ohhh this was good!!!
Remember that old tale of Sleeping Beauty? Malice is that story told from the villain’s perspective, just more twisted.
Alyce has a dark power, and due to the fact, she is generally shunned from the world and branded as Dark Alyce. Alyce was mentally struggling with life until she came across Aurora, her is pure, kind and opens Alyce’s eyes and perspective on the world. Funny how society is like this???
I love the balance of Alyce and Aurora, it’s ying and yang and its brilliant! These two are strong and well-developed characters! What I love the most about this book is that despite the situation that Aurora has grown is she is independent! Despite the fact she has been raised by a brutal dictator, she is all for equality, fairness and helps those around her. It shows that you can go beyond blaming the environment around you to strive what you truly believe it.
Overall, I loved this journey, I loved the representation, the characters and the plot in general was wonderful. The only downside to this book was that the pacing was really slow..
Rating: 4/5
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781529101287