Poor Unfortunate Soul
If it wasn't for "The Beast Within" sucking me into this series, I probably never would have read this book. I knew that "The Beast Within" was part of a Disney Villains series written by Serena Valentino, but I did not know that the series went together and actually built off of each other (so here I am going back to read book #1 of the series now, oops!).
Anywhoooooo I am glad I read this book! First I will admit, Serena Valentino is not the most talented author that I have ever read, nor does she have an amazing writing style, but her storytelling does pull the reader in. I have always enjoyed The Little Mermaid but never been a "fanatic" of it. This book provides an interesting alternate side to the story giving background into Ursula and her life. It's a super quick read and I would recommend it to Young Adults or Disney enthusiasts!
I love the way that Valentino strung together this book with the previous two using, mainly, her fictional characters, The Odd Sisters. There is another interesting touch of Valentino's incorporation of Greek Mythology throughout this series. It was interesting for me, as the reader, to see the juxtaposition between this novel and the Disney film of The Little Mermaid. Valentino includes direct quotes from the movie along with specific scenes. This made the book more enjoyable because I felt like I had two movies scrolling through my head as I read. One "film" being what was happening to Ariel in The Little Mermaid and the other being what Ursula was up to when she was not "on film" in the Disney picture.
There were times, however, throughout the book that I was confused. At times I felt like the author went into too much detail regarding the story I already knew and not enough time on the story she was telling me. I also was confused at times feeling like I missed something in the story or like events weren't clearly described. I almost felt left out of certain things as the reader.
On the other hand, Serena Valentino had huge surprises at the end of the book and an amazing lead into the next novel in the series. I just felt like it took almost the entire novel to get to that "huge surprise". Sometimes I got bored during the book, and with it being only a 193 page book, that isn't very positive.
I did, however, give this book 3 stars...
I enjoyed the author's craftsmanship of incorporating Greek Mythology and other Disney stories into this one. I enjoyed her ability to stay true to the Disney tellings of the story and not to recreate the stories we all grew up loving. Lastly, I enjoyed her ability to be raw and real with the reader and that each of these books has its own theme or lesson.
I am excited for Serena Valentino's next book in the Villains series to come out. Regardless of her poor writing style, she has me hooked...
Anywhoooooo I am glad I read this book! First I will admit, Serena Valentino is not the most talented author that I have ever read, nor does she have an amazing writing style, but her storytelling does pull the reader in. I have always enjoyed The Little Mermaid but never been a "fanatic" of it. This book provides an interesting alternate side to the story giving background into Ursula and her life. It's a super quick read and I would recommend it to Young Adults or Disney enthusiasts!
I love the way that Valentino strung together this book with the previous two using, mainly, her fictional characters, The Odd Sisters. There is another interesting touch of Valentino's incorporation of Greek Mythology throughout this series. It was interesting for me, as the reader, to see the juxtaposition between this novel and the Disney film of The Little Mermaid. Valentino includes direct quotes from the movie along with specific scenes. This made the book more enjoyable because I felt like I had two movies scrolling through my head as I read. One "film" being what was happening to Ariel in The Little Mermaid and the other being what Ursula was up to when she was not "on film" in the Disney picture.
There were times, however, throughout the book that I was confused. At times I felt like the author went into too much detail regarding the story I already knew and not enough time on the story she was telling me. I also was confused at times feeling like I missed something in the story or like events weren't clearly described. I almost felt left out of certain things as the reader.
On the other hand, Serena Valentino had huge surprises at the end of the book and an amazing lead into the next novel in the series. I just felt like it took almost the entire novel to get to that "huge surprise". Sometimes I got bored during the book, and with it being only a 193 page book, that isn't very positive.
I did, however, give this book 3 stars...
I enjoyed the author's craftsmanship of incorporating Greek Mythology and other Disney stories into this one. I enjoyed her ability to stay true to the Disney tellings of the story and not to recreate the stories we all grew up loving. Lastly, I enjoyed her ability to be raw and real with the reader and that each of these books has its own theme or lesson.
Lesson of "Poor Unfortunate Soul" (according to Serena's website): the consequences of forcing someone to hide their true selves, to make them feel loathsome, and not worthy of love. And giving in to the hate and pain that causes.
I am excited for Serena Valentino's next book in the Villains series to come out. Regardless of her poor writing style, she has me hooked...
Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch (Villains)
by Serena Valentino (Goodreads Author), Walt Disney Company
The third novel in Serena Valentino's (Fairest of All, Beast Within) "VILLAINS" trilogy, featuring the story of the Little Mermaid from the perspective of the sea witch Ursula.
Sourced from: Goodreads
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