Review: Malice by Pintip Dunn

Title: Malice

Author: Pintip Dunn

Genre: YA, sci-fi, mystery thriller

Publication date: February 4th 2020

Published by: Entangled Teen

Source: ARC via Netgalley for Blog Tour

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Synopsis:

What I know: a boy in my school will one day wipe out two-thirds of the population with a virus.

What I don’t know: who he is.

In a race against the clock, I not only have to figure out his identity, but I’ll have to outwit a voice from the future telling me to kill him. Because I’m starting to realize no one is telling the truth. But how can I play chess with someone who already knows the outcome of my every move? Someone so filled with malice they’ve lost all hope in humanity? Well, I’ll just have to find a way—because now they’ve drawn a target on the only boy I’ve ever loved...

My rating: ★★★★★
This book was incredible! As soon as I read the synopsis I knew it was something I needed in my brain asap! The premise was just really intriguing to me: Our main character Alice is basically trying to find out who in her school is going to release a virus that will decimate 2/3 of the world's population. There was also an unexpected sci-fi twist I wasn’t expecting at all, and I loved it! I don’t even want to say what it is because I went into this not knowing and I was pleasantly surprised. So, since the synopsis doesn’t mention it, I won't either 😉 I will tell you this though, the sci-fi aspect was very cool! And when we find out exactly what’s going on, I was mind-blown! 🤯 It was just really intriguing and really well done! And then the virus itself... damn 😬 To unleash a virus like that is just insane! What it does to humanity is awful and it’s definitely something you wouldn’t be able to survive. And it all comes down to one girl to save the world: Alice.

The mystery of who the culprit was also very intriguing. I had a couple guesses but when one of my own suspects was confirmed, it broke my heart! 😩 It was just really sad because this poor character went through so much, and while what they’re doing is all sorts of wrong, you almost understand WHY they’re doing what they’re doing.

I also really loved the characters in this book! Bandit, the cute Thai boy with blue hair... OMG! 😍

I loved him! He was arrogant but also a really sweet guy! I’m not gonna lie, when done right, I love them arrogant boys. I blame Jace Herondale 😉 Lol.

Tell me. How does a person fall in love w someone they've never met? Is it my good looks? My rock-hard body? Or my big, big...brain?

😍😂 Anyway, under all that arrogance there’s always a little sweetness to balance it out. I loved him so much 🥰

“I trust you because I noticed you long before you ever approached me on that basketball court,” he says quietly. “Because you bring two lunches to school every day, one for you and one for your brother. Because when I talk to you, sometimes you forget to blink. And so help me, that makes me feel like the most important person on the planet.”

The first time Alice and Bandit interacted in this book was incredible... Incredibly embarrassing and awkward for Alice! 😂 But I loved it! It was so funny! Throughout this whole book there were some very funny moments, but it also had some very serious, sad moments, which the book also balanced out really well!

And speaking of Alice, I loved her! She was a very likable, strong character who was smart and caring. The things Alice had to do to prevent the virus from being released was insane! I really felt for the girl because a lot of these things go against her moral compass, so she was really struggling with this throughout the book—doing what’s, in her mind, right vs doing what’s right for the greater good. It was really hard on her, but I loved how she dealt with everything.

All that being said, I obviously loved this book! It was a wonderful blend of mystery, thriller, sci-fi, and romance. I also loved the characters (the sibling relationship between Alice and Archie... I loved them!) and the premise, which was executed amazingly! It was really cool to see everything come together—all the puzzle pieces falling into place to form a bigger picture. Finding out who the culprit was was tough, but I loved the way Alice handled things and how everything wrapped up. I can already tell this is gonna be one of my favorite books of the year... and it’s only February! I highly recommend this book and I’m really looking forward to reading more from this author!

I don't know what will happen in the next days, months, or years. But I'm hopeful. Even optimistic.
The future can't come soon enough...

About the Author: Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. She graduated from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B., and received her J.D. at Yale Law School.

Her novel FORGET TOMORROW won the 2016 RWA RITA® for Best First Book, and SEIZE TODAY won the 2018 RITA for Best Young Adult Romance. Her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for the following awards: the Grand Prix del'Imaginaire; the Japanese Sakura Medal; the MASL Truman Award; the TomeSociety It list; and the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award.

Her other titles include REMEMBER YESTERDAY, THE DARKEST LIE, GIRL ON THE VERGE, STAR-CROSSED, and MALICE. She lives with her husband and children in Maryland.

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Have you read this book yet? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Let me know in the comments below! 😊
And make sure to check out the rest of the tour!