Malice: A Novel

Features of Malice: A Novel

A princess isnt supposed to fall for an evil sorceress. But in this bewitching and fascinating (Tamora Pierce) retelling of Sleeping Beauty, true love is more than a simple fairy tale.Walters spellbinding debut is for all the queer girls and women whove been told to keep their gifts hidden and for those yearning to defy gravity.-O: The Oprah MagazineOnce 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 loves kiss.Youve heard this before, havent you? The handsome prince. The happily ever after.Utter nonsense.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 didnt care, either.Until I met her.Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briars throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isnt 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 a power like mine 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 cant stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps its what can lift it. Perhaps together we could forge a new world.Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, dont we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-I am the villain.Book One of the Malice Duology