Fairest of All (Villains Series Bk 1)

Soooooo I just finished the Disney Villains Series by Serena Valentino by reading it backwards (oops!). If you have been keeping up with my blog, you already know this, but I started with the second book in this series, The Beast Within, unaware that they actually connected to each other. While reading The Beast Within, there were parts that really confused me and that I honestly felt like I had no idea what was going on, which may have led me to think that Valentino did not go into enough detail or that her writing was lacking description...Now, hold on Valentino lovers!

It was my fault, not hers! Now that I have read the first book in this series, the entire thing makes SOOO much more sense... crazy right?! I have never been a huge Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fan, but this book was still pretty good. It definitely captured my interest and is a quick and easy read. However, I just am not in love with Valentino's writing style. I do love the way she stays true to the original Disney stories, but I still feel like something is missing. I've been putting a lot of thought into exactly what I thought was still missing, but I cannot quite put my finger on it for some reason. 

Fairest of All tells the story of the Queen, Snow White's stepmother. It left me wanting to rewatch the movie and to be able to see some of the connections. The book explains the Queen's, who was never truly given a name, background. Her father was the Maker of Magical Mirror's. Without giving away too much, the Queen longed to impress her father without ever being successful. She met the King of the land and he asked her Father for her hand in marriage, but her Father thought there was no way the King would ever love such an ugly hag. The Queen and her husband, the King, spent their time together with his daughter, Snow, whom the Queen deeply loved as her own child. Snow and the Queen did many things together until the King passed away in battle. His passing forever changed the Queen. A gift from the King prior to his death was a beautiful Magical Mirror in which her deceased Father would appear and talk to her. Her longing for his approval continued at this time. She wanted him to see her as the fairest of all in the Kingdom. Anyone whom he considered "fairer" than her, she would find ways to rid of....eventually including her beloved daughter, Snow. With the help of the Odd Sisters, her husbands cousins, she was able to achieve her goal of getting rid of Snow, but did she earn power from this or did it lead to her downfall...(huge twist at the end that made me wish the book continued)

I would recommend this entire series to any Disney lovers, but don't expect an earth-shattering writing style. Expect a creative telling of a classic story.

In each of her books, Serena Valentino includes a theme. The theme was evident throughout this book and really had me thinking throughout reading it about vanity, grief, and insecurities. 

"Fairest of All: the danger of losing yourself in grief, and succumbing to insecurity."