Misrule

Misrule by Heather Walter

Book Two of The Malice Duology

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Misrule is the second book in The Malice Duology by award-winning author Heather Walter. Alyce has been hated and mistreated her entire life, and been taught to revile her heritage and the magical green blood that runs through her veins. Called Malyce or mongrel or monster or half-breed, she wants nothing more than to escape Briar and be free. That is, until a fateful meeting with Princess Aurora. The two share an instant connection and a shared desire to change Briar for the better. It’s a fragile dream, which fell apart when Alyce’s own magic is used to curse her love to sleep.

Rage turns Alyce into the monster everyone wanted, and exacts vengeance against all of Briar. She encases her sleeping beauty in the library they loved, and spends a century trying to break the curse. In the meantime, other magical outcasts make their way to the fallen Briar and its mistress. She creates a Dark Court and they wage war against the Fae.

When a human kisses Aurora and breaks her curse, Alyce must explain the destruction of Aurora’s home and the slaughter of everyone she’d known. Allies she’s depended on for almost a century plot against Alyce, and she struggles to hold on to the woman she loves all while facing war with the High King of the Fae.

Misrule, like the first book, is a rollercoaster of emotion. It makes readers question true love, as Alyce fights jealousy, forgiveness, and the push and pull of relationships under immense strain. It’s full of betrayals and revelations, and Alyce makes a wonderfully tortured protagonist. She is a perfect heroine-turned-evil queen, and readers ache for her to be redeemed.

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Visit the author’s website and follow her on Twitter.

Misrule book design credit: Elizabeth A.D. Eno

Advance Reading Copy provided by Random House Publishing Group via Netgalley at my request.