In my opinion a very creative spin in the classic tale and very enjoyable to read. I especially loved the slow development of the main character’s relationship and, most of the time, the main characters personal development. However the ending felt rushed too me, and <spoiler> also some plot twists in the very ending were not entirely relatable to me or, they were understandable but simply not likeable. </spoiler> I am curious to read the sequel though and can recommend this book.

If you treat a girl like a monster all her life you really shouldn’t be surprised if all that bottled up hurt and and rage and resentment breaks loose on day. It only takes a little push - like maybe trying to keep her away from her true love. Fairytale retellings are usually kind of boring in my opinion. Either it‘s too close to the original or the only things taken from the tale are the names. „Malice“ manages to come up with unique ideas while still keeping the tale of Sleeping Beauty kind of intact - at least the Disney version of it. I don’t know how many of you know the original tale but it‘s grim. The story makes me think that this is how it might have happened, only to be told and retold and ending up like the tale we know, glossing over some facts. Like women being exceptionally powerful. Or like how Aurora was not as straight as she was portrayed. This book is a sapphic retelling and just from that fact alone i knew what would eventually happen from the beginning. True love‘s kiss indeed breaks a curse, but how that comes to pass and what happens afterward is something i am not going to spoil now. This book has Fae, Vila (kind of like Dark Fae) and Graces (humans blessed by the fae with literal magic in their blood) and humans - power hungry and jealous and horrible. The usual, you know? Add a little bit of misogyny (why would WOMEN - whose bloodline was blessed by the fae because a badass queen managed to achieve something all those snivelling men back then could not - be capable of ruling?) and some homophobia and you have pretty much modern human society but with access to magic. And of COURSE they would more or less enslave anyone with magical abilities to do their bidding, all under the guise of protecting them. And sure enough, anyone who is different will be mistreated like my poor girl Alyce. She doesn’t even know where she came from. But that doesn’t stop her from growing into her power and i can‘t wait to see where here story is going in part two of this duology.

5/5 ⭐️ Ughh where do I begin? In this story, the princess, for once is not the weak unindependent little girl of the story. No. Aurora has power, she knows what she wants (which is breaking a powerful curse on her own and ruling like an independent queen did before) and she doesnt fear. A real girlboss honestly. How amazing is that? And shes not even our MC! Alyce, the actual MC, on the other hand is rather shy and doesnt have a lot of self esteem. Shes the dark grace, much more powerful than the other „golden“ graces and yet because of her background she holds herself back and is afraid of using her power. What happens when these two meet, you‘ve gotta find out on your own