The premise itself was cheesy, but how could I refuse something with so many Disney references?! The book itself was messy and uneven. It leaves something to be desired. Overall, the vibes were good, but the story itself doesn't make much sense.

4 stars = Great! Might re-read.

The reviews on Goodreads for this made me nervous, but I enjoyed this one. I thought the re-imagined origin stories for some of the Disney villains was clever. The way things played out raises some interesting philosophical questions about culpability. The world-building takes awhile and could have been clearer, both in the early pages and as the story moved on. But in the end I enjoyed it. (There's some awkward wording that comes from this world building, like the use of the word Legacy to describe individuals and groups, but then in other places "Legacies" as the plural. The inconsistency might have been cleared up in final edits. I learned to just read around those spots.)

I liked Mary Elizabeth and Bella as sleuths and as a team. The mystery was engaging, although I figured out the culprit early on. There weren't any characters I particularly liked or clicked with, but I enjoyed watching the story play out. This was a fun escape for a few hours. I will definitely pick up the second book to see what happens next for these characters. (Some language, magic, hints at sexual harassment)

📚 City of Villains by Estelle Laure 📚
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Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, but by night she’s an intern at the Monarch City police department. She watches with envy from behind a desk as detectives come and go, trying to contain the city’s growing crime rate. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar―once upon a time the epicenter of all things magic.

When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is thrilled when the Chief actually puts her on the case. But what begins as one missing person’s report soon multiplies, leading her down the rabbit hole of a city in turmoil. There she finds a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets, and what seems to be a sea monster lurking in a poison lake. As the mystery circles closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring it back.
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I really enjoyed this book in the crime series and honestly can’t wait to read more from this series. I really did enjoy how well written this was. Estelle is such a talented author and I can’t wait to read more from this wonderful author.

Mary Elizabeth Heart is such a great feminist main character and I really enjoyed following her journey throughout the whole story. It was such a great premise to combine Disney’s villains and Gotham. That was such a great idea and so unique to see these villains described in a different way. This is honestly such a great fairy tale story that I would highly recommend to those who love a feminist main character and following her journey to save Monarch city.

This was such a great and fun read. I received an early copy of this from NetGalley for an honest review, so thank you so much.
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Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
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Thank-you to NetGalley and Disney-Hyperion for an e-Arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Described as Disney Villains meets Gotham in a gritty crime inspired series - I was intrigued to give it a read.

My first impression, that while listed as YA and except for some language and adult situations, the story and pace felt more MG.

The introduction of James (Captain Hook), Mally (Maleficent), and Ursula and who they were before they were villains was an interesting take for their origin stories. However, while there was significant character development and world creation, I felt there was something missing from the overall story.

Fans who enjoy origin stories of classic Disney Villains, will enjoy reading this book. I know I am curious to read the next book in this series!

City of Villains is a fun and interesting twist on Disney magic and characters. Mary Elizabeth is a great protagonist that really grew on me. She has trauma in her past and lives with that trauma everyday, I truly like how the author showed that and built on it through the story. Doing an urban fantasy type story with Disney characters is what initially drew me to this, what an interesting idea, and I was not disappointed. The plot kept me guessing till the very end, I was not expecting where this was going. It's a very unique twist on Disney stories and I can't wait to see what happens in book 2!

Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior and a police department intern for the Monarch City Police Department. Magic, once part of the populace's lives, has seemingly left the world and taken countless lives with it, leaving denizens of magical families called The Legacies left to fend for themselves against the up-and-coming Narrows families, who seek to gentrify the neighborhood now known as the Scar.  A victim of horrific loss, Mary Elizabeth is Legacy, as are her friends, many with recognizable names: Mally, the withdrawn teen whose pet raven is the only thing who brings her comfort; Ursula, Mary Elizabeth's boyfriend, James and his best friend, Smee. When Legacy teens start disappearing from the Scar, Mary Elizabeth is put on the case, along with detective Bella, but they are in no way ready for what they find once they start digging into what's really going on in the Scar.

Gritty, with memorable Disney characters and a taut, well-paced storyline, City of Villains is the first in a new YA series that acts as a new origin point for Disney villains. There's a gritty feel that makes for a perfect noir setting; our favorite villains are goth without being over the top, and I loved every second of their complex backgrounds. The subplot of magical families versus gentrifiers who want magic by association is brilliant fantasy writing that takes storytelling in a fresh direction, and Mary Elizabeth's traumatic family history sets the stage for bigger reveals in future books. Give this to your teen Disney fans that are ready for some new stories about their favorite villains. Talk this up to any of the teens you've been feeding the Twisted Tales books to - they will thank you.

City of Villains is the first book in an all new Fairy Tale-inspired Crime series from Disney Books. We follow Mary Elizabeth, a teenage girl living in the Scar, an area where once magic was prevalent, but now supposedly no longer exists. Having lost her family tragically, Mary's main goal is to one day become a police officer. In addition to her schooling, Mary currently works as an intern for the Monarch City Police Department.

While her main duties generally involve pushing paperwork, when a classmate of hers, Mally Saint, disappears, the Chief actually assigns her to the case, partnering with a young detective, Bella. Mary is over the moon to finally have the chance to prove to the Chief what she can do. She sees this as her opportunity to seal a position within the department after she finishes school.

Mary and Bella begin their investigation, but instead of gaining any clarity, the mystery only thickens. After Mary's best friend, Ursula, disappears as well, Mary knows something more sinister is happening than just kids running away from the Scar, but who will believe her!?

Even though I found this story intriguing, I did want to get to the bottom of the disappearances, the writing and overall plot are a little basic for my tastes. I think this could have used another round of editing, perhaps cutting out some of the romantic aspects, changing Mary's age, and allowing this to fall more into a higher Middle Grade, or Tween, category. I just personally feel it is a better fit within that space than in YA; and that's okay! Tweens and Middle Graders deserve great stories as well!

I did like the appearance of some of my favorite Disney characters, Maleficent, Ursula and Captain Hook, with aspects of this story providing possible origin stories for all of them.

Overall, I think this is a solid premise for a series and I would be interested in picking up the second book. I'm not entirely sure where it will go from here, but I would like to find out. Thank you so much to the publisher, Disney Books, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity!

DNF 10%

I just could not get into this. The writing didn't appeal to me and the characters were strange. I know I did not get very far, and I am older than the target audience but It just wasn't for me no matter how much I love Disney

This book has an excellent premise, but did not seem to go anywhere. The character set up in the beginning was very good, but I cannot imagine where book two will go.

I love fairy tale retellings and this was a good one! This was an interesting book. I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen and reading while trying to do other things. While this book did seem to feel like it was a little on lower end of YA, almost middle grade, it still was a fun read.

The series was a little slow in the beginning and took a little while to figure out who was who in the story (characters names to fairy tale characters...and that could have just been me), but once I did, I became super invested and wanted to keep reading.

I'm hoping the series continues that I can learn more about the characters. I want to learn what happens to her and what her life brings her after the big decision she had to make at the end of the story.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC book in return of my honest feedback!

I feel like this book really just missed the mark.

First, the writing was definitely more telling than showing and I did not feel connected to any of the plot or characters. I also felt that we were dropped into the story after all friendships and relationships were developed. And then we were not shown much to prove the validity of those relationships. We just had to believe that any feelings were real.

This is also a world where there used to be magic, and it's now called The Scar. However, there is mention of California?! I don't understand exactly what this world is supposed to be like. There is no real worldbuilding except for being told that magic used to exist.

And then finally, this might just be a 'me thing' but I wished for more out of the names of the characters. Or I guess, the characters themselves. This story is supposed to revolve around Disney characters, and some of the characters have the same name as their Disney counterpart (Ursula, Flora, Fauna, Merryweather). But then there are others that have a more 'normal' name. For example, our main character is called Mary Elizabeth, but she is obviously based on a Disney character. And there is Dally who runs Wonderland (a club the teens frequent), who I'm pretty sure is based on the White Rabbit. However, I'm not 100% sure about him. And there are others who are supposed to be Legacy (people who used to or are descended from magic) but their names and characterization do not tell me who they are supposed to be.

I was really hoping for something that had more life to it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 stars

Hmmm… this book leaves something to be desired, but it isn’t a total waste of time! :)

My Moodboard: https://www.pinterest.com/ashton_reads/city-of-villains-aesthetic/

Goodreads summary:

Mary Elizabeth Heart is a high school senior by day, but by night she’s an intern at the Monarch City police department. She watches with envy from behind a desk as detectives come and go, trying to contain the city’s growing crime rate. For years, tension has simmered between the city’s wealthy elite, and their plans to gentrify the decaying neighborhood called the Scar—once upon a time the epicenter of all things magic.

When the daughter of one of the city’s most powerful businessmen goes missing, Mary Elizabeth is thrilled when the Chief actually puts her on the case. But what begins as one missing person’s report soon multiplies, leading her down the rabbit hole of a city in turmoil. There she finds a girl with horns, a boyfriend with secrets, and what seems to be a sea monster lurking in a poison lake. As the mystery circles closer to home, Mary finds herself caught in the fight between those who once had magic, and those who will do anything to bring it back.

The concept of City of Villains is very interesting and is probably its strongest asset. Estelle Laure has created a Renegades + Descendants + Nancy Drew world that approaches infamous Disney villains from an entirely different angle while still including intriguing characters and magic for days. As the various threads of mystery begin to unravel and characters begin to change, the anticipation really hooks you to the finish. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t have a great amount of plot; by the end, it doesn’t quite feel like you’ve read a whole book, making this a solid introduction to the world and the characters but not as solid of a story arc on its own.

Also, I have to address the writing; although it gets better by the end, the content feels YA while the writing style feels MG. It’s honestly a little insulting how childish the language is at the beginning since this is targeted for teens and young adults - I’m seventeen, and I promise I understand things without the internal dialogue’s over-explaining, thank ya.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. It was comfortably paced and kept me company, but I’m not sure I recommend it if you’re looking for anything older than a younger-YA novel.

*Thank you Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own! This book releases on January 26th, 2020 if it sounds like something you’re interested in!*




If you enjoyed this review, you can friend me here on Goodreads and follow my Bookstagram/Pinterest/Twitter @ashton_reads. Thanks for reading!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect going into City of Villains Book 1.. I love Disney villains which is why I requested this arc on NetGalley. This book did not disappoint! Right from the beginning you are questioning things and trying to figure out the mysteries presented. I am looking forward to reading more in this series!

So this was a very interesting take on Disney villains. You could see that the author was influenced for current events and the theme is social justice oozes from it. I respect what she was trying to do. And I do think as a YA or MG book this is a smart way introducing social injustice but you would really need to show the parallels for the child.
I also think that I would have liked the characters to have their original names. That through me and kind of distracted me as I was trying to figure out who they were. Some were obvious and some I’m still confused on. But all in all it was a Once Upon A Time for teens that was written well.

A wonderful mish-mash of Disney classics and contemporary mystery, it makes the reader long for the films of their childhood. If you enjoyed DESCENDANTS, the KINGDOM KEEPERS series, or Disney in general, you will enjoy CITY OF VILLAINS

I wanted to like this!! I really did! I am a sucker for fairy tale retellings, and the fact that this had a Gotham City vibe had me so excited. The cover is also really great! However, I only made it to about 30% of the book because I could not get past the fact that it reads like a middle grade but has YA moments. It just felt so disconnected. I think it would have been better if it was middle grade and was a true middle grade novel.

With that being said, that is just my humble opinion. There could be many other people who love it, so try it out for yourself! I think the students would like it; especially if they are asking for a recommendation for a book like The Descendants.

I had been so excited when I had been granted an e-arc of this book. It sounded right up my alley: a creative new imagining of the Disney characters we all know and love with a Gotham-Esque twist but the reality was a bit of a letdown. The opening tableau was gripping and interesting and did a great job and setting the stage and stakes and introducing us to our primary players while giving us a mystery that had me curious and felt new and interesting, what followed however just felt unoriginal and disappointing.
The first scene at the high school felt like a mashup of Descendants and Riverdale without the charm of either. Part of the problem I had was that the author had a tendency to more often describe what the characters were wearing than what they actually looked like so as I'm sitting there trying to cling to anything to keep me from picturing the cast of the Descendants as these characters I had very little to dispel those images for quite some time. In that opening high school scene, we met nearly a dozen characters, 7 outfits were described and only two characters' actual physical descriptions were given in any kind of detail, and one of those characters wasn't even named. When you are dealing with very well-known characters from fairytale and Disney stories that have been used in many different adaptations you have to work hard to differentiate your versions of these characters from all the other iterations but I just wasn't given enough.
One of my other difficulties was that, given the focus on outfits and very stilted dialogue, it just felt juvenile to me, like better suited for middle grade and yet the gritty crime side of it like the Mad Hatter case would keep it from being suited for that age group. I really wanted to like this book and I kept trying to turn off the part of my brain that kept nitpicking but ultimately, I feel like this book just wasn't a good match for me. I don't know who it would be better suited for but I just really struggled with it. It had a lot of promise and potential but the execution really held it back. Maybe if it had stronger dialogue or descriptions it might have landed better but as it is, I did not have a good time with it.

Review:

This story is written for teens and adults might not find a little silly. The concept of the story is is fun and focused on what Disney does best. The world the author created could have been drawn out a bit more. The reading age says teen but I find it is closer to 9-13 year old kids. Teens might find it a bit silly.

Pree Teen Review:

I loved this book it is everything I wanted to know about the Villains in the Disney world. The story is hard to put down and I can't wait to read book 2. I loved this book and everyone should read it. I finished the book over the weekend. Awesome

The story overall is written to the young preteen age group so it is fast pace and very easy to read story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy of City of Villains by Estelle Laure.

Than k you Netgally for the E-arc for an honest review
Sadly I did not finish this book for a few reasons.

I read 25% of the book and I never felt attached to the characters or plot. There were several plot lines happening simultaneously that I felt pulled in different directions. Knowing there would be Disney characters embedded into the story, I had higher hopes for their involvement. Instead, the characters felt childish against a serial killer and abduction plot.

This book was an interesting premise and mashup, crime thriller meets Disney. At times it worked and other times I was reminded “oh yeah these are basically Disney characters.” Being set in the US, albeit in a fictional city (though reminded me of New York?), threw me off as well.

Despite that, I did enjoy the book. I wanted to know what happened to Mally and Ursula. I wanted to see Mary Elizabeth succeed, so I kept reading.

If you’re looking for a different twist and enjoy Disney and mysteries, this book is for you. Though one warning, there was some language and content that surprised me for a Disney book (using Disney fairy tale characters). It didn’t bother me but could be good for parents to know.