The tale of the young princess and her evil stepmother, the Wicked Queen, is widely known. Despite a few variations from telling to telling, the story remains the same—the Queen was jealous of the girl’s beauty, and this jealousy culminated in the Queen’s attempt on the sweet, naive girl’s life.
Another tale far less often spoken of is the one that explains what caused the Queen to become so contemptuously vile. Still, some have attempted to guess at the reason. Perhaps the Queen’s true nature was that of a wicked hag and her beautiful, regal appearance a disguise used to fool the King. Others claim that the Queen might have hated the girl for her resemblance to the King’s first wife. Mostly, the Queen is painted as a morally abhorrent woman who never loved another being during the course of her miserable life.
In fact, the theories about exactly what cause the Queen’s obsessive vanity and jealous rage are too numerous to catalog. This book recounts a version of the story that has remained untold until now. It is a tragic tale of love and loss, and it contains a bit of magic. It is a tale of the Wicked Queen…
There's a certain magic to a one day read! I was surprised by how quickly I devoured Serena Valentino's Fairest of All, the first in her Disney Villains series! I had previously read The Beast Within a few years ago and enjoyed that and already had the rest of the villains piling up, so I used my day off to give one a go and fell in love all over again!
This is definitely a series for Disney fans who know the movies inside and out, but perhaps, missed a few things. There's definitely an added quality to these well know stories. Fairest of All follows the Wicked Queen of Snow White, back when she was just the Queen. We see her as a young woman who won the heart of the king. She was a very happy woman and loved her new stepdaughter, Snow White as if she were her own.
There were hints to some other villains, really just one in particular. A story of a woman who was hurt so badly by an event, and she had the power to transform in a dragon! It was fun getting little hints to other stories to come! I can't wait to get to Maleficent's story!
We see things start to change when the Queen happens upon a mysterious mirror in her room, a gift from her new husband. It's the last of her father's creations, for he was a mirror maker. Though there's something decidedly strange about the mirror, one that causes the Queen fear. But not nearly as much fear as her husband's mysterious cousins who plan surprise visits while the king is away and terrify both her and her daughter, Snow.
This was an incredibly fast read for me and I loved that! It's so refreshing to once again be able to read a book in a day. There is definitely a magical quality to these enhanced Disney tales! I am looking forward to reading the rest to learn more about these villains I grew up with and the oddity that is the Odd Sisters.
Though you may know these Disney tales left and right like I do, these villainous stories will change your outlook of the movies we hold dear forever! And I for one, cannot wait to dive into the rest!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
I love one day reads! Yet am so sad that I got to wait for the next one in a series, or another stand-alone to take me away.
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