I’ve been anxiously awaiting this next story in the Villains series by Serena Valentino and seeing it show up on Netgalley then getting approved was such a delight, so thank you for that! This story was amazing, and a great addition to the Villians storyline. Cruella is such an under appreciated villain and FABULOUS from top to bottom. Anything Serena writes, I will read.

I received a copy of Evil Thing by Serena Valentino from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

4.5/5 stars You’ve heard the story of the evil woman that attempted to make a fur coat out of poor, helpless dalmatian puppies. But do you really know the woman behind the plan? Evil Thing takes you into her recollections of the infamous events. You see a side of Cruella that you have never seen before.

Valentino expertly delves into the mind of Cruella and gives us a fascinating back story to the well-known villain. Her character development and storytelling were seamlessly written. As you read through her memoirs, you may just find that you are softening towards the villain you thought you knew (although skinning puppies is still gross).

Reviews will be posted on Netgalley, Goodreads, Amazon, Instagram, Twitter, and Barnes and Noble.

First of all Serena Valentino is one of my favorite authors of all time! I haven't met a single book she has written that I didn't like and this one is no exception. I loved every bit of this store, it was as if I were sitting right there with Ms. De Vil!

What made Cruella De Vil into the person she is when we see her in 101 Dalmatians? Was she born evil, hating puppies? Or were there circumstances in her life that led up to that point? Evil Thing addresses her early years and how Cruella became cruel. 


Written in the form of a memoir, the book opens during Cruella's childhood. At the age of eleven, she is taking her lessons every day with her governess Miss Prickett, sees her father rarely, relishes the hour a day she gets to spend with her mother, and has one best friend, Anita. Cruella's mother is dismissive of her and seems to count down the seconds until their hour is up. This is a trend that continues through the whole book and is something that everyone except for Cruella picks up on.

The night the book begins, Cruella and Miss Prickett return to her room after spending time with her mother, who blew them off. She did, however, leave gifts for Cruella, which is how she guages someone's love for her. Later, her father returns from his trip, also bearing a gift, a pair of jade earrings, which Cruella does not fully appreciate until he says "they cost a fortune."

A common theme throughout the book is Cruella trying to get her mother to love her, and she always feels that she falls short. I have to say that I never thought I'd sympathize with Cruella De Vil, but with the way she was raised, it's painted like her life was always headed in that direction, if only a couple of things hadn't gone wrong. Maybe if she'd been allowed to return to school, or if her mother hadn't manipulated her out of her inheritance with the promise of love, maybe if Jack hadn't died...maybe things could've been different for her, better. 

I read this in one sitting, and flew through it. Cruella was written so well, a character with cruel tendencies but humanizing moments. I can't describe how much I loved it, and how my heart ached for the young Cruella who so desperately wanted to be loved. I'll be purchasing a copy of this for sure.

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.

Our society is fascinated with the back story of typical villains, and we should be! Movies from my childhood (circa early nineties) introduce villains without backstories. We were just supposed to assume they were bad people; we were supposed to assume that we didn't like them. As I've grown older, I've become fascinated with backstories of villains. I want to feel a little bit of sympathy for them.

This book does that with Cruella De Vil, the villain from 101 Dalmatians. We meet her as a small child and follow her life through her notorious dog theft. The author doesn't spend a whole lot of time on the part of the story that we already know which was perfect for me. The author spent more time on her childhood relationships which explains Cruella's motivations.

Many thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.

Cruella's story, told from her point of view. In this book, you are Cruella as a child, teen, and adult, so you can see how she changes and becomes evil. I really appreciated seeing how she grew up and also her friendship with Anita, who we all know as the owner of Perdita. Quick read.

This book was received as an ARC from Disney Book Group - Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I absolutely was looking forward to the release of this book since I am a huge fan of the Villains series by Serena Valentino. All of the books so far were brilliantly written and I expected nothing less from Serena and I must say, this was the BEST villains book in the series (in my humble opinion). I loved the approach she took in focusing of Cruella's childhood and her friendship with Anita and the influence it had to the personality she had during the events with the dalmatians. I did like the roles of the odd sisters in the previous books but I loved how Serena left them out with Cruella because when I heard of the release of this book, I was figuring out in my head how their role would be and I could not come up with anything so I was happy to see that I didn't have to think about it. I was cheering, screaming, dreaming and smiling all throughout reading this book. I can not wait to buy a hardcopy for myself and add it to my villains' collection. This sure is a book that you don't want to miss.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.