"Evil Thing" Is A Story Made To Make You Love The DeVil You Love To Hate

Title:  Evil Thing
Series:  (Villains  #7)
Author:  Selena Valentino
Format:  eARC
Length:  352 pages
Ex;ected Date Of Publication:  7/5/20
Publisher:  Disney BookGroup
Rating:  5 Stars


Cruella De Vil is the perfect villain: stylish, witty, relentless...and possibly cursed.


From her lonely childhood, to her iconic fashion choices, to that fateful car crash (you know the one), Cruella tells all in this marvelous memoir of a woman doomed. Even the cruelest villains have best friends, true loves, and daring dreams. Now it's Cruella's turn to share hers.

This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular and darkly fascinating Villains series brings readers a tale told by the Evil Thing herself-a tale of the complicated bonds of female friendship, of mothers and daughters, and of burning, destructive desire.

After all, nothing is as simple as black and white.





My Thoughts
Evil Thing is the 7th offering in Serena Valentino's Villains series.
Highlighting 101 Dalmations' Cruella De Vil.
Readers are introduced to the broken girl behind the iconic villainess.
The only child of Lord and Lady De Vil.
Cruella grew up a very sheltered and cosetted child.
A lonely bird in an extremely gilded cage. Where nothing mattered more than the appearance of perfection. The trappings of class and social position.
And the mandate from both Cruella's parents that she "distinguish herself".

Though her father loved her dearly. As a busy lord, he is never there for her in the parental sense.
Her mother...
Is a beast of another breed altogether.
Because though she has nothing but time.
She prefers spending her time shopping, traveling, and living the glamorous life of an aristocrat.
Instead of nurturing her lonely child.
And leaving Cruella searching for the motherly approval and acceptance that she is sadly never destined to receive.

Adversely.
It is amongst the people that she has been raised to view as being beneath her.
The family servants, her governess, and even her untitled best friend, Anita.
That Cruella does find both acceptance and even love.

At least until the death of her father.
And the further alienation of her mother.
At its heart, this is a story of a "poor little rich girl".
A girl turned woman who was given the world. But who was never given a solid position in the life of the person who mattered most.
Her mother.

This story is written with an emotional depth that gives it a universal appeal.
Cruella is divested so fully of her demonizing qualities. That one can't help seeing her for the broken and utterly desperate human that she has been left to be.
The transition between the past that created her, and the fulfillment of that creation.
Is nothing less than seamless.
Although the relationship that one has with the character that they thought they knew. Wil be forever changed.

I would like to thank Netgalley and The Disney Group for providing a copy of the work on which my unbiased critique is based.

About Serena
Serena Valentino is best known for weaving tales that combine mythos and guile with her work on the comic book series GloomCookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales, and her best selling Disney Villain Novels which have earned her critical acclaim for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty and extraordinary female protagonists.

Her Disney Villain novel series would be best enjoyed if read in this order: Fairest of All: The Story of the Wicked Queen, The Beast Within: The Story of Belle’s Prince, Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch, Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy. Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch and The Odd Sisters: A Villains Book to be released in Summer 2019. Book 7 will be out Summer 2020, Book 8 summer of 2021, and Book 9 Summer of 2022.

Serena lives in New Orleans with her dog Gozer, and a very tiny kitty named Momma.
Contact: Serena@serenavalentino.com

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