#Malice Duology

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

The Deep by Rivers Solomon (with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes)

Yetu holds the memories for her people—water-dwelling descendants of pregnant African slave women thrown overboard by slave owners—who live idyllic lives in the deep. Their past, too traumatic to be remembered regularly is forgotten by everyone, save one—the historian. This demanding role has been bestowed on Yetu.

Yetu remembers for everyone, and the memories, painful and wonderful, traumatic and terrible and miraculous, are destroying her. And so, she flees to the surface escaping the memories, the expectations, and the responsibilities—and discovers a world her people left behind long ago.

Yetu will learn more than she ever expected about her own past—and about the future of her people. If they are all to survive, they’ll need to reclaim the memories, reclaim their identity—and own who they really are.

Fantasy, Afrofuturism, folklore, novella, adult

Malice duology (Malice, Misrule) by Heather Walter

Once 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 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 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 didn’t care, either.

Until I met her.

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t 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 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.

Fantasy, retelling, romance, fairytale, series, adult

[sapphic-book-tournament]

Part 1 of Round 1 starts tomorrow. I hope everyone is excited as I am. It's a bit much but I wanted to include all the recommendations that I got to make everyone happy.

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: Malice Duology

Author: Heather Walter

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2021

Genres: fiction, fantasy, LGBT+, romance, retelling

Blurb: Once 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 love's kiss. You've heard this before, haven't you? The handsome prince, the happily-ever-after - utter nonsense. No one in Briar actually cares about what happens to its princesses, not the way they care about their jewels, elaborate parties, and charm-granting elixirs. Alyce thought she didn't care, either...until she met her. Princess Aurora, the last heir to Briar's throne. Kind, gracious, the future queen her realm needs. One who isn't bothered that she is the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in her veins. Humiliated and shamed by the same nobles who pay her to bottle hexes and then brand her a monster. Aurora says Alyce should be proud of her gifts, that she cares for her, even though it was a power like Alyce's that was responsible for her curse...but with less than a year until that curse will kill the princess, any future Alyce might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating, and Aurora can't stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. Alyce wants to help her. If her power began her curse, perhaps it's what can lift it. Perhaps, together, they could forge a new world. Nonsense again, because we all know how this story ends, right? Aurora is the beautiful princess, and Alyce is the villain.

[les4lesbookrecs]

Misrule by Heather Walter

Book 2 in the Malice Duology

"The Dark Grace is dead.

Feared and despised for the sinister power in her veins, Alyce wreaks her revenge on the kingdom that made her an outcast. Once a realm of decadence and beauty, Briar is now wholly Alyce’s wicked domain. And no one will escape the consequences of her wrath. Not even the one person who holds her heart.

Princess Aurora saw through Alyce’s thorny facade, earning a love that promised the dawn of a new age. But it is a love that came with a heavy price: Aurora now sleeps under a curse that even Alyce’s vast power cannot seem to break. And the dream of the world they would have built together is nothing but ash.

Alyce vows to do anything to wake the woman she loves, even if it means turning into the monster Briar believes her to be. But could Aurora love the villain Alyce has become?

Or is true love only for fairy tales?"

Goodreads Dymocks Amazon WorldCat

i LOVE this series 💖💖💖💖 it was actually what inspired this blog!!!!! if you read any book i post about here i hope its this one x

[moon-axolotl]

Hi I’m back with another playlist!!! This one is inspired by the Malice Duology by Heather Walter which I just binge read and just WOW…I will never stop recommending these books!!!! Seriously GO READ THEM.

imagine this playlist as the soundtrack for a live action adaption because I’m dying for one and it would be absolutely epic!!! A lot of it is from AURORA’s new album “What happened to the heart?” which reminded me so much of Alyce’s and Aurora’s relationship throughout both books.

If you want to scream about Malice with me or have any suggestions about songs to add let me know >:)

[pleasedontmakemechooseanusername]

So, I've not yet finished misrule, and Aurora is my spirit animal, but

Listen. Listen. Listen to me.

Regan.

Someone else?

I don't care if she turns bad honestly, if Alyce doesn't get her I will.

[princessw0lf]

I'm 60 pages away from finishing Misrule and I'm going feral. I feel like this isn't gonna end well. I'm scared.

[good-books-to-read]

Going to add some more

Heartless by Marisa Meyer

Gilded by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Once & future by Cori McCarthy and Amy rose Captetta

Wolf for a spell by Karah Sutton

Bone Spindle by Leslie Vedder

Malice by Heather Walters

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Of beast and beauty by Stacey Jay

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

I have more but they are more mythological and history inspired than fairytales

Fairy Tale Retelling Book Recommendations

A favorite genre of mine. Here are the books I recommend in this category or that people have recommended to me. If you have any recommendations of ones I've missed, let me know! Always looking for more book recs.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

The Wrath and Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

Stolen Enchantress by Amber Argyle

Curse of the Wolf King by Tessonja Odette

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec

For the Wolf by Hannah Whitten

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A Craig

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns by Julie C Dao

[sapphicbookclub]

Malice Duology by Heather Walter 

(Malice, Misrule)

Once 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 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 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 didn’t care, either. Until I met her.

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t 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 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.

Genres: fairytale, fantasy, romance

Get the books from The Book Depository here! (1, 2)

[the-mic-drop]

TotK Spoilers Below Cut

Regarding Korok Forest

Nothing in either installment of the Wild Duology gave me a greater sense of dread and fear than going into the Korok Forest for the first time in Tears of the Kingdom. Not my first Lynel encounter, not my first Guardian encounter, not my first trip into The Depths, not even my first encounter with the Gloom Hands put the kind of spine-tingling horror into my soul. Sure, those all made me nearly piss myself, but the infected Korok Forest was a unique, well done brand of horrific.

So you get to that one stable, meet Kilton and Koltin, say what's good to Tera, and by now you're thinking "I wonder what's good in the Lost Woods." Now, let's say for the sake of argument that you don't go right into the Minshi Woods Chasm and try to go the original way. Immediately you can tell something's off. Instead of the surreal blue mist you remember, it's a chalky black miasma, and there's no getting through it. No clever wind puzzle either, it's impenetrable.

So now the dread is really starting to build. Both that you have to go into The Depths and that something's wrong in general. So you go to The Depths and on the little raised pathway to a central lightroot are several Koroks being vague about some problem in the Korok Forest. So you ascend up back onto the surface and are faced with... wrongness.

What you should see (depending on what time of day you get there) is shining greens, yellows, pinks, and more colors of a welcoming and safe respite. Instead, you're faced with an eerie stillness and malicious magentas. Towering over this scene is The Great Deku Tree, Protector of the Korok Forest. Except his mouth is hung open and it is clear he is not well. You approach him, quickly noting that the Master Sword is nowhere to be seen, and talk to the first Korok you come across.

To you they say "..." as they stand perfectly still, staring at the ground. The textbox doesn't even display their name.

This is the crowning moment of this horror show. The Koroks are a relative unknown, yet are quite simple. They're childlike, whimsical forest spirits that are always full of energy and enthusiasm. They are pure, innocent, yet mysteriously magical. Most don't even know they exist, let alone interact with them. Yet, here they are, in the place where logic would dictate that they are the safest, lifeless. They are spirits that have been robbed of their spirit, their identities too if the lack of names are anything to go by. And then you go to the Deku Tree himself and he can't even notice you, only groan about a pain in his stomach.

Now this is upsetting in many ways. The Calamity was powerful to be sure, but no Malice ever invaded the forest. Even the monsters that were there seemed to be either naturally occurring or only existed because the forest willed it. But now, not only had Ganondorf's power corrupted the protective fog of the Lost Woods, it infected a near godlike being. It smothered the very essence of the Koroks.

In BotW, the Korok Forest felt more than any other location like a safe haven. Untouched and safe from the dormant power of the Calamity. After all, where else would Fi, the spirit of the Master Sword itself, know it would be safe enough to recuperate for an entire century? But now, in TotK, it has been completely and thoroughly infected by Ganondorf's magic. It feels more than just wrong, it feels heretical, sacrilegious, criminal.

I can only liken this shift in tone to WW2 stories where Allied forces come across a concentration camp for the first time. You've already seen so much, been through so much, but this? This is different. The profound sense of "this shouldn't be this way" is gut-wrenching. Yet it motivates you to stay and fix it like no other quest in any game I've played. No matter how much you hate The Depths, no matter how difficult you find the Gloom Hands, no matter how under-prepared you are for a Phantom Ganon fight, you want desperately to stay until you do it. Not because the payoff might be huge, not because it's required for the plot. But because you just can't not.

At least, that's how I experienced it.

[antiyourwokehomophobia2]

Arcane fumbling the bag and then me seeing the first book in the malice duology in my local library really just feels cruel

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below:

Mooncakes, written by Suzanne Walker, illustrated by Wendy Xu

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft. Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town. One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home. Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery. Graphic novel, fantasy, young adult, romance, cozy fantasy, contemporary setting

Malice duology (Malice, Misrule) by Heather Walter

Once 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 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 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 didn’t care, either. Until I met her. Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t 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 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. Fantasy, retelling, romance, fairytale

[sapphic-book-tournament]

I think I'm gonna give it like a week so people have time to let me know what they want to see in the tournament before we start. Comment here or on my previous post to let me know anything you want to see. I'm so excited! Make sure to comment books even if they're tagged to make sure they make it.

[fourleafclovxr]

liveblogging fotsge because i just bought it

alternatively: soman please don't disappoint me

i have no recollection of what happened in rotsge. fair warning.

"young lad with dark red curls and a smattering of freckles" oh a school master? i want to think he's a sader & a seer so i can say that my sader meta is supported by soman but this desc reminds me of tristan/yara actually...

did soman forget his own lore. didn't august sader tell rafal that he needed the readers.

hook is actually quite a good character and pissing off BOTH twins! good for him.

these evers are. wow. incredibly in character. they rly do capture the essence of good for the sake of being good? on that note, the commentary on evers being spoiled and bored in this duology has been pretty okay (if a bit. pointless? to be honest these books were pointless)

NAMELESS BOY? rhian love interest?

the idea of pan's world is actually really interesting. a place that doesn't follow good and evil, but rather chaos, which places good and evil as the opposite of chaos— order? and hook says "that's why it's so dangerous" which i guess does make sense from his pov but. i hope this concept gets explored more later

kyma questioning whether they're good is also v interesting! comparing the good pirates to evil pan (their roles are reversed, the pirates usually evil and pan usually good— also kyma seems traditional which explains her traditional fairytale view)

"close-shaven black hair [and] violet eyes" HELLO??? lady lesso??? what is your ancestor (?) doing in neverland (it can't be a coincidence right... knowing soman it could be though) one of pan's lost boys huh?

kyma IMMEDIATELY going against pan as soon as he threatened a fluffy animal. and getting them into trouble.

pan is getting more and more creepy though... especially for a thirteen-year-old?

SADERS WORKING WITH PAN????? guys look my meta was right. the saders being on the side of CHAOS instead of good and evil?? because it'll turn out better for them??

"three children who go exploring an enchanted island" rafal i'm pretty sure that's kind of important for you...

kyma is so. good. and her conversation with the ingertroll is oddly touching. she's like the sensible, good version of evelyn sader and i am HERE for it

i deeply enjoy midas' character. i wonder what the significance of the name is? midas, the greedy king, ruined by his greed? (greed for what?) (also he said gay rights. happy pride!)

i also have to say that soman writes homoeroticism incredibly well and that he should have done this more if he wanted people to think his books had good lgbtq+ rep because they would eat it up

luoto bakthi is really. the villains in this series are a lot more sinister than in the proper sge series and i'm actually kind of impressed?

that was over really quickly! good job kyma!

MALICE ROOM 66???????

"a bug crept into the plot" ie rhian spying idk this is reminding me of agatha in her cockroach form

aladdin is so annoying. please don't call kyma your soulmate you are fifteen years old. kyma is so right stop thinking about yourself!!

SADER LORE... whose side are the brothers on? pretending not to see hook and kyma? exceptions to them aging ten years for pans? THEM TELLING HOOK TO GO TO SCHOOL?

"how much these two paying you?" "not enough." i laughed sorry mistral twins. pay your employees right!

MIDAS HAS GOLD POWERS??? ok maybe the name had a more obvious meaning. should have expected that

hephaestus and the pirate captain are such an iconic duo.

midas saving rafal was the obvious choice to be honest. which brother has been a manipulative lying asshole? not rafal! and his little speech about it being midas' choice was nice.

uniting the schools under pan huh? i see where tlea rafal got the idea from

aladdin ffs STOP being jealous of hook i'm pretty sure he has more love interests (cough. rhian and rafal. cough) than kyma??? and you have more important things to worry about???

rhian is. so evil. i see it now. literal snake

fala is back!!!!

midas has THREE school masters fighting over him. it's pretty easy to forget he's the First ever reader but that says something about him.

"what he'd assumed about himself had guided his actions, and because of his actions, his true nature had irrevocably changed." this is such a clever thing to say actually! the it's not who you are, it's what you do messaging is rly coming through.

the storian guiding pan... writing his story for him... and to HELP him... i could say a lot about destiny but i won't bc it wouldn't be coherent

midas :(

i'm becoming a rafal supporter tbh,,,

rafal & hook reunion! finally!

(can't only men be seers. anyway) sader family showdown!! the elders supporting rafal the boys supporting pan and marialena??

the storian "keeps [their] world alive with its tales"?? how??

RHIAN????????????????????? i mean it makes sense the evil school master but like. But Like. school years trilogy rafal?? what??

the saders having different visions Precisely because the divergence was necessary for the future to become reality. this says a lot about seers. they're not all-powerful nor all-knowing, they're just tools trying to enable the "best" future, the stable one, the one that doesn't result in what. death?

whose side are they on?? their own or this grand unknown destiny's??

midas having nothing but rafal. okay soman. OKAY.

BOTIC REALLY IS A LESSO??????????????????

so pan has the power to change the future? to get the story back?

pan's thoughts on free will vs a good life are actually pretty interesting.

marialena you SNAKE. but also her being evil and her family being good. the interaction between good & evil, and the seers who are seemingly above it. huh. but why would she support rhian... what is her big picture...

midas is being so soft with rafal i really. i'm becoming a midas supporter too i fear

ok rafal is still evil never mind

holy shit rhian just MURDERED a guy. he's plenty evil.

so what happens when both brothers are evil? by nature or by choice?

WHAT IS MARIALENA'S AIM.

midas :(((

how is botic a lesso. man is pathetic

"good always wins" rhian doesn't that go against your ENTIRE philosophy of balance

NOT THE GOLDEN ARROW it is NOT midas' fault.

the rafal -> hook -> kyma relationships. nice.

"his princess" no more aladdin!! yes!!

"when a lost boy serves his purpose, it's time for him to grow up. only there is no growing up in my world." that hits deep tbh.

MIDAS :(((( his lines about how he became more than a boy in gavaldon... how it's not The End... his belief in rafal to his last moments... rafal BETTER make this right

oh my god the gold. seriously. the entire school?

"two brothers, eternal once more" wow. AND WHO WAS THE GUY FROM THE FIRST SCENE. i doubt he's a sader but??

the tale of pan and pen?????

the concept of pans being good and their shadows being evil is v interesting especially when you remember that you kill pan by killing his shadow.

the evil always wins, it always destroys the balance. so the evil has to be eliminated by the storian. and that's why the shadow is the thing that has to be killed. wow.

SO THE MAN WAS A PAN. OKAY.

"a gold-soaked corpse ready to fly" soman rly did write quite a few good quotes in this book

"far from the tyranny of men" midas :( kyma :(

RHIAN JUST MURDERED HIM???? WTF??????? RAFAL???????????

rhian you bastard

how is he the school master

i mean i knew it made sense but. this is incredibly unsatisfying.

oh the pirate captain is blackbeard is he.

do they KNOW it's rhian?

uhh is he calling himself "deviant and perverse" for being. straight. i mean. okay i guess.

[les4lesbookrecs]

Malice by Heather Walter

A princess isn’t supposed to fall for an evil sorceress. But in this darkly magical retelling of “Sleeping Beauty,” true love is more than a simple fairy tale.

"Once 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 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 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 didn’t care, either.

Until I met her.

Princess Aurora. The last heir to Briar’s throne. Kind. Gracious. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t 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 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."

Goodreads Dymocks Amazon WorldCat

[pleasedontmakemechooseanusername]

I still feel offended by the fact that Alyce never went to see Regan train and so we never saw that.

Alyce, you robbed us of too much.