Reimagining Myths and Legends
Serena Valentino is an American writer and comic book author who has been on the scene for about fifteen years. She is most well known for the unique way she reimagines myths and legends to be a little more real as well as a bit more guile. Her biggest work up to date is the Villains series that she writes in cooperation with the Disney Press.
As I have said earlier, the author also writes comic books which are at least as interesting as her works for Disney. It is worth mentioning that she stopped publishing these graphic novels once she made a deal with Disney. Before that, she had two major series titled Nightmares & Fairy Tales and GloomCookie which were made up of nine books in total.
Best Serena Valentino Books
Fairest of All
The Wicked Stepmother
I will be kicking this article off by sharing my thoughts on one of the best selling books by Serena Valentino, Fairest of All. It is the first book in the author’s Villains series and it tells us the story of a young princess and her wicked stepmother. Does that sound familiar? Well, that is because this is a warped version of the beloved tale Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.
This one of the best Serena Valentino books focuses on a much less talked about part of the tale which is why the Queen is such a vile woman in the first place. There is no one alive who exactly knows the reason for her situation but there is a plethora of different theories and rumors about the subjects. Some say she is a hag with a disguise, some say she dislikes Snow White because she is a stepdaughter, and some otherwise.
Heart Full of Hate
The point is, the Queen is mostly portrayed as nothing more than a vain woman whose heart is filled to the brim with hatred. This book tries to reimagine what happened in her life to make her seem so unlikeable to others today. It includes a case of tragic love and an even more tragic loss. It also does have a touch of magic in it just for good measure.
Once Upon a Time
The Tragic Existence of a Doll
Moving on with the article, the second piece I want to talk about is another one of the most popular Serena Valentino books that is Once Upon a Time. This piece is one of the author’s graphic novels that I mentioned above. In fact, it is the first book in the Nightmares & Fairy Tales series. As obvious as it already is, I should also say that it is a fantasy and horror story.
Annabelle, a mysterious doll with sentience, stands at the heart of this book’s story. Annabelle is a little bummed out about everything in life because she seems to bring bad luck to her owners. Anyone who called her theirs after she left the hands of her maker has come face to face with a tragedy and these events left her traumatized.
Stories of Disaster and Tragedy
When she gets a new owner, a young kid named Gwen, Annabelle does her best to ensure the child’s safety. In order to convince the kid that she is cursed, she tells a handful of great stories about what had happened to her previous owners and these tales make up the majority of this nominee for the best Serena Valentino book title.
Mistress of All Evil
The Sleeping Beauty
Continuing on with this Serena Valentino books ranked article, Mistress of All Evil is going to be the third book that I will talk about. This piece takes the article back to the Villains series and talks about another tale that is all too familiar. I think that it would be obvious enough if I just said it talks about a witch and a very sleepy young girl.
Everyone knows the tale, a young girl was cursed by a bad witch with unclear intentions to forever lie asleep in the words. Then, of course, a prince charming barges into the forest, slays the fire-breathing dragon, and kisses the sleeping beauty. The first kiss of true love lifts the curse from the girl and makes her the princess that she always was.
Asking the Right Questions
Well, this book of the best Serena Valentino book series asks the readers about the evil witch Maleficent. Why did she curse the princess again? Well, scratch that, how many people ever wondered how and why Maleficent became the “Mistress of All Evil? This one of the best books by Serena Valentino is able to tell a unique story thanks to these uncertainties.
GloomCookie Series
Cute and Gothic
I keep making my way through this Serena Valentino book list and the fourth piece I will talk about is going to be GloomCookie. GloomCookie is the second graphic novel series by the author and this book is its first piece. This series is set in a cute and gothic world that resembles works like Hotel Transylvania and Monster High.
This one of the best Serena Valentino books is made up of six issues of smaller comics and their main storyline is a romance story. It tells the story of a cute little girl who has a huge crush on a boy. Sadly, this boy does not care that much about her. On top of that, the girl’s arch-rival is always trying to snatch him away from her.
A Magical World Beyond Her Sight
Well, the girl ends up hooking up with her arch-rivals boyfriend after a particular chain of events. This leads her to discover the secret that her arch-rival and her boyfriend are secretly monsters who have come from a fantasy world. What follows is a lot of witty and cute content with a lot of social satire.
Mother Knows Best
Rapunzel and Mother Gothel
I am about halfway through my Seneca Valentino book reviews and Mother Knows Best is the fifth piece that I want to speak of. This is another piece from the author’s Villains series and it revolves around the well known tale of Rapunzel. I am guessing that the layout is clear by now, it goes over the tale itself quickly and explores what happened in the villain’s past to make them act the way they did.
The story starts hundreds of years before the birth of Rapunzel. Gothel is a small girl living with her mother and two sisters in a magical thicket that does not let anyone but them enter. Also for the girl’s safety, they can not leave without getting their mother to cast a spell which is kind of an interesting parallel to what Gothel ends up doing with Rapunzel.
From an Innocent Girl to a Selfish Witch
As the years slowly pass from this point onwards, it is very easy to catch the small but gradual changes in Gothel from an innocent girl to a selfish witch. The book also gives us a glimpse of something bigger than the story of Gothel, it reveals that all of the Villains stories are connected to each other. For me, this leaves no doubt that the Villains is the best Serena Valentino series out there.
The Odd Sisters
Dwelling Deeper Into the Villans’ World
Moving on with the article, I will now introduce you to one of the best rated books by Serena Valentino that is The Odd Sisters. However, this book does not only stand out with its high reader rating. It is perhaps the most unique piece in the Villains series as it does not revolve around a popular fairy tale but instead dwells deeper into the world of the author’s creation.
I guess I must first inform my readers as to who the Odd Sisters are. Well, they are a force that has been working in the shadows throughout the whole series. They are always there, watching and waiting to affect the fates of the characters whenever they please. They made the Wicked Queen, Maleficent, and Mother Grothel who they are; and they are but a fraction of the people whose fates they have messed with.
Dissipating the Mysteries
This book finally dissipates some of the mystery surrounding the sisters and gives us some long awaited information about them. It reveals just who those dark and twisted creatures are. It also tells us where they came from which is equally interesting. This one of the best Serena Valentino books does a great job of enriching the series and making it stand out from the movies that its books are based on.
Evil Thing
Cruella De Vil
I am continuing with my search for the best Serena Valentino novels and the seventh piece I am going to be checking out will be Evil Thing. This book is among my favorite works of the author as it talks about another personal favorite of mine, Cruella. I just find her to be more relatable than most other Disney villains and I think she has a much more complex character. It was nice for me to see that Valentino did her character justice in this piece.
The story of this piece launches things off by telling us all about Cruella De Vil’s childhood and the complicated relationship she had with her mother. All that little Cuella ever wanted to achieve in her life was to be seen by her mother. Her mother, however, was too obsessed with her materialistic life to ever bother to try and be a mother. That is not all either, as Cruella was also not that well with her father as well as a certain Anita.
An Absolute Success in my Book
By getting to know her past, the reader can step by step understand how Cruella turned out to be… well, Cruella. All the way from her attempts to catch the attention of her mother to the fateful car crash that I will not spoil for those who do not know about it, the reader is able to feel more and more empathetic to this cruel woman. I understand that the goal of this series is to make Disney villains feel more human and this book is an absolute success in that regard.
Cold Hearted
The Queen of Evil Stepmothers
I am continuing on with the article and the eighth one of the Serena Valentino books that I have in order for my readers is Cold Hearted. This piece takes us to one of the most iconic works of Disney Studio, the Cinderella movie. While there is no shortage of villains in the movie, this book is exclusively focused on Lady Tremaine who was the lady of Cinderella’s home.
The backstory of Cinderella is a very tragic one on its own so let me quickly go over it for those who may not know too much about it. The sweet and beautiful Cinderella was not always a servant. She once had a happy family and a nice life, at least until she lost her mother. Her father, desperate to fulfill her need for motherly love, marries Lady Tremaine and it is only after Cinderella’s father passes away that the Lady is able to treat her so poorly.
The Other Side of the Coin
The shocking thing that this book reveals is that the story I just shared is only one side of the coin. In reality, Cinderella is not really an ideal child after she loses both of her parents and Lady Tremaine initially has good intentions about her. Besides that, the past of the lady is filled with so much intense emotion that it almost justifies the things she has done. I would not say that this is the best novel by Serena Valentino novel but it is an enjoyable read.
Beautiful Beasts
Widening the Fictional World
I am slowly approaching the end of this article and the ninth book that I have in order is another one of the top rated Serena Valentino books, Beautiful Beasts. This piece is a nice change of pace for the article as it takes the focus back to the Nightmares & Fairy Tales series. As I have talked about above, the first book of the series told the story of a sentient doll who seems cursed with bringing its owners incredibly bad luck.
The second addition to the series clearly aims to widen the fictional world and introduces us to a great many side characters. Some of these characters are magical peers of the protagonist Annabelle such as Gwen and Belle while some are mythical creatures from fairy tales and folk tales such as magic trees and the beast of “The Beauty and the Beast”. Lots of new friendships and rivalries are revealed in a rather short amount of pages.
Expanding on Romance
What I particularly liked about this contestant for the title of the best Serena Valentino books is how it expands on the theme of love. Romance was a big focus of the first book’s story and it is an even bigger one in this one. There are love triangles, same-sex romances, and more drama than anyone could ever need in their life.
Never, Never
The Great Mysteries of My Childhood
I made my way to the end of the article and now, I will share my thoughts on the latest book in the series as well as the latest Serene Valentino publication which is Never, Never. This book talks about another one of my favorite Disney Characters who is Captain Hook. I can still remember watching Peter Pan as a child and wondering just who he was and why he was bad.
Well, I finally have an answer to my questions thanks to this story. According to the book, there was a boy named James before anyone else in Neverland. Before Peter Pan, Wendy, and even the Lost Boys. He had gone there once when he fell out of his pram as a baby but he was rescued by his parents just as he was about to be a permanent resident. Now, James hates the life he is living in London and wants to return.
A Heart-Breaking Fate
He seeks out the ship of the infamous pirate Blackbeard and learns how to operate a ship in order to sail to Neverland. Through his endless efforts as well as a little help from the harrowing Odd Sisters, James finally fulfills his lifelong dream and returns to Neverland. However, Neverland is a land for boys and girls. He is a man now and the whole land seems to be wanting his demise.
Final Thoughts
Reading Serena Valentino’s works opened up a whole new world of ideas for me. Before all, I had a great opportunity to revisit some of the most iconic stories that made up my childhood and they were the best nostalgia trips I have had for a while. Other than that, her work as an author also became an inspiration for me. She stuck to a completely unique field of work and put out absolutely brilliant books.
Alissa Wynn
Alissa is an avid reader, blogger, and wannabe writer. (She's a much better cook than a writer actually). Alissa is married, has one human, one feline, and two canine kids. She always looks a mess and never meets a deadline.
