** I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

City of Villains was so fun! While I don't think it lived up to the hype of the Gotham City line, I do think that it was a fun ride that readers will enjoy. It wasn't quite action packed, although the last few chapters definitely were. I liked the riddles of figuring out who characters were in "fairy tales" and the little twists on their lives. The concept of "normal" people living with Legacy's without powers was interesting. I felt that there were a few things I didn't completely enjoy, but it was a quick read.

Mary Elizabeth was a fun character to follow. However, I felt that we didn't really get to know her deeply, just superficially. However, because this is the first in a series, her arc has some continuation to it. I struggled with her relationship with James and her always trusting him. Maybe that just comes from my slow to trust nature, but it still got to me.

I do know that I have students who love fractured fairy tales and retellings. Due to it being a mystery, there is definitely an audience for it in my library.

Less Gotham more Zootopia.

“City of Villains” begins as a city that recently lost its magic leaving behind a gaping hole filled in by poisonous water and detective intern Mary Elizabeth hungry to make a name for herself on the force when a fellow Legacy student goes missing.

I understand why the parallels to OUAT are being made but for me this was more like Zootopia but with less charm.

The writing style is difficult and it seems as though everyone is an exaggeration so there is little doubt as to who character is supposed to be which was frustrating especially with this being based in a real world Gotham City like setting. I really didn’t have any attachments to any of the characters which is what made it hard to stay focused on the plot which was one long drag until the last handful of pages which were so packed it seemed as though they were written first and little thought went into the build up.

I think this story has potential it just stumbled on the execution focusing too much on whose who of Disney and less about building a multiple dimensional group to push the story forward as well as serve as the villain. Much of this story you can piece together in the first 5 chapters leaving little surprises which only makes a book that isn’t that long seem like it’s going to take years to finish.

I can respect the idea but the finished product needed a lot of work that I’m not sure can just be narrowed down to book one troubles but we’ll see this may end up being a series I end up returning too once it is complete but for now this is where I get off.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

It was fine. It was a quicker read than I expected. I’d recommend it to fans of Disney, particularly those who are fans of The Descendants and/or the Disney villains. It will entertain and has mystery and adventure, but it could have used an extra dose of all of those.

Remember all those Disney princess movies you loved as a kid? Well, here is a whole new way to look at them. City of Villains is the first in a new series that has readers looking at Disney villains in a whole new way. First, I want to say to all authors and publishers, when it comes to fairy-tale retellings I am so here for it! Keep them coming! I am loving it. As far as this novel goes, get ready for some gritty, dark crime-noire. An especially delightful part about this reading is picking out familiar different characters as high school students in a whole different world. I like that that novel is fantasy but still brings up some real-world issues like wealth inequality, gentrification, etc. Also, I have to say- great first sentence.

Disney has put out of lot of fractured fairy tale versions of their work in the last few years, this one unfortunately is not a high point. Most of the characters don't have much of a connection to their Disney versions (I kept forgetting who the lead was supposed to be) and some of the reimaginings leave something to be desired - was it necessary for Ursula's pre-villain self to be skinny? The backstory involving the disappearance of magic is interesting but it feels overall like the author developed the story independently of the Disney characters and just pasted them on afterwards.

City of Villains gives the reader a different backstory on how some of our favorite Disney Villains were created. Mary Elizabeth and her friends all live in the Scar. Monarch was once filled with wonder and magic. Everyone from all around the world came there to have their wishes and dreams fulfilled. But in a tragic event one of the largest building in Monarch disappears one night taking with it some of the Monarchs most influential people, leaving behind a dangerous and poisonous lake and no magic to be found. From that day on Monarch becomes renamed the Scar, to represent all that was lost on that tragic day.

Mary Elizabeth and her friends are Legacy, children of people who once held magic but either lost their magic or were lost in the disappearance of the Wand. While they are not strictly evil they tend to skirt on the outside of society. James runs with his gang of pirates, Ursula blackmails those who can be of use to her, and Mary Elizabeth longs to be a part of the Scar's police department. Working with the police department causes Mary Elizabeth to be considered an outsider, but due to a tragic event in her past she feels drawn to the police chief who helped her family so long ago. When kids from her high school start to go missing Mary Elizabeth gets wrapped up in trying to help bring the kids home.

I liked how you could really see how James and Ursula developed into the villain's we know and love today. Even before the transformation you could see underlying characteristics that play true to their villainous selves. Mary Elizabeth was where that characterization fell apart for me. She seemed to be almost to good to be seen as the Queen of Hearts that she will eventually turn into. It also took me a moment to remember who the true villain was in the book once they were reviled. I would have loved to have them spread throughout the book a bit more then just having them introduced at the beginning and then falling out of the story till the end. I am so glad this book is just the first in the series as there are so many lose ends that need to be tied up in the next book. I will be interested to see where the author goes in the next book.

While the concept is great, modern day Disney villains, the execution for me fell a little flat. I found a lot of characters that were just name dropped with, with main characters not fleshed out enough. I think that fans of Batman and Descendants will enjoy this, but I didn’t land well for me.

I wanted to like this book, but it wasn’t for me. The idea was really cool, but the story itself was too hard to get into. There was just so much info thrown at the readers right up front that it made it seem like a chore to read. I know a lot of teens who will love this, but it just was not for me.

Thank you thank you NetGalley and Disney publishing! I loved this book so much ! It was like my childhood had returned to me in a different way and I am just so happy about it!

This book is everything a Disney fan could want especially especially if you love AU and the villains! The villains are the main characters but are teenagers in high school trying to deal with the fact that Magic no longer exists! There is so many cameos of different villains but in this novel, the story revolves around: Captain Hook , Ursula, Maleficent and the Queen of Hearts!!!! I just loved everything about it and the world the author created is so gorgeous to step into and explore ! It was descriptive and there was a lot of throw backs to classic Disney lines by the characters !

This was such an easy read and was super fast paced ! And man that cliffhanger at the end has me counting the days until the second book is released !!! I am so excited to continue on the journey into this awesome world !!!

City of Villains By Estelle Laure Book Review

Summary

Mary Elizabeth Heart lives with her aunt in the part of the city known as the Scar. Most of the people who live in this part of the city are legacies of those who have lost their magic. When Mary Elizabeth isn’t at school or hanging out with her friends at Wonderland, she is working with a detective for the local police named Bella. When Mary Elizabeth’s classmates begin to go missing, Mary Elizabeth and Bella dive into the case.

Thoughts

This was a very quick read. I had a lot of fun trying to determine who some of the Disney characters were (some were really obvious, while others took some thinking). I wasn’t super attached to the character of Mary Elizabeth, and I kept imagining Bella as Detective Santiago from Brooklyn Nine Nine.

The story arc itself was gorgeous. Information was revealed in bits and pieces at just the right moment to provide some extra suspense. I do wish there was a little more geographical information so I could picture the layout of the city better in my mind.

Target Audience

Based on some of the subject matter, I would say this book is appropriate for young adult readers. I would be hesitant to consider this a middle grade novel.

Conclusion
This was a quick fun read that many teenage girls will enjoy reading. I am interested in seeing the second installment.

Rating: 4 Stars

A spellbinding story perfectly combining a modern mystery and all the classic characters we love to hate. Estelle Laure's imaginative take on the origins of Disney's most terrifying villains speaks to current events in the world today about racial injustice and police corruption. Charming and filled to the brim with iconic Disney moments, City of Villains is a magical familiar and original take that will resonate with readers of all ages.

This is a dark, twisted tale that reminded me a bit of Once Upon A Time.
There once was a city called Wonder, where there was magic. We don't learn too much about this city, except that magic dies and no one knows why.
13 years later and rich, city folk are buying up the land and encroaching in on the Legacies ( people who formerly had magic, or their decsendants). When a couple of Legacy kids go missing, Mary Elizabeth is on the case.

I found this book a little hard to get into. There was a bit of an info dump up front and your introduced to A LOT of characters- many of whom you'll recognize. The story was a little clunky at times, but overall I was compelled to find out what happened. The ending held a few surprises and left room for the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the chance to read this ARC.

I found this novel started a little slowly, but I got into it a bit more as it progressed. Disney fans will love the nods to classic characters and seeing the progression of villains. I could easily see suggesting this to kids who grew up on the Descendants movies/books. It also shares the classism toward villains, which is an interesting wrinkle that students might draw parallels to in today's world. While I found the mystery aspect somewhat predictable, I think that the characterization, relationships, and decisions Mary Elizabeth has to make are what keeps the reader interested. I always have students looking for mysteries, and I think some will enjoy this one.

A fun, but dark, mashup of a police procedural and YA fantasy, with Disney character crossover to boot. As the first of a series, this was a fun, but overly complicated, set up to what is likely to be popular with my upper MS/lower HS students. Mary Elizabeth, orphaned and raised by a loving and quirky aunt, is determined to become a cop, even though expectations for legacies like her are the opposite. When magic disappears from the city, taking a sizable number of citizens with it, the formerly magical legacies are now down on their luck. Mary Elizabeth, her "bad boy" boyfriend, James, and her morally ambiguous best friend Ursula, are figuring out how to get by in a world turned upside down when teens start going missing. Mary Elizabeth is on the case through her internship with the local police. Is magic returning? Who is behind the disappearances? There is a lot of set up, side characters, and back story in this first book that doesn't get resolved in this novel, and that's a bit frustrating. That said, I think fans of Disney and Disney villains, dark fantasy, and crime stories will enjoy this quick read.

Marvel and Disney mash-ups? Count me in! Mary Elizabeth is aware of many mysterious happenings around her town, and her internship on the force gives her a chance to make change as her friends go missing. This reads like a middle grade detective book; I wish there were more first-person perspective than droning setting descriptions. The second half of the book reads quicker than the slow beginning, but the villain origin twists are well thought out and I can see students enjoying this book. Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley.

Estelle Laure paints an entertaining story, complete with adventure and loads of references to classic stories. I love the potential for using popular culture to appeal to young readers!

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

It was such a treat to read this book. I loved the modern twist combined with the gothic scene of the DC Universe. They had my three favorite villains featured combined with a plot that was enriched with a lot of action and drama that it will be virtually impossible to put down. I could not help but to forsee the enlightening conversations that will spark in our teen book club from everyone reading this book. I enjoyed it very much.

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

This was a fun middle-grade reader mystery and the twist is excellent. Although I am not a fan of Disney Villains being specifically incorporated in settings so far-fetched from their classic Disney stories (I am too much of a purist for my own good), I did think it was a fresh and relatively interesting character revamp. One criticism I have of the book is the explanation of how Mally Saint changed her name to, or later preferred to go by, Maleficent. It was forced and cringeworthy. The transition didn't work for me.
Ultimately, the pace and background of the story makes for light but engrossing reading. I would have loved this book as a kid and think it would also make a great TV series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I don't know if it's the books I've been requesting lately or I just need a break from YA novels, but I'm considering taking a break from reading them. I keep running into the same problems and cliches every single time, and I keep stopping early on in the novel because of those things. A part of me knows it isn't fair to judge a book if I only read 20% of it, but that's still a lot of pages, and if I don't care about any of the characters in that time, I really don't know how to make myself keep reading.

This seemed like a very cool idea, but the problem is that it's extremely front-loaded. Our narrator explains the world to the reader rather than allowing her own actions and those around her to draw us in to her world. There is actual dialogue where she explains her relationship to another character with verbal backstory. That same character then tells the main character she's insightful, intelligent, and all these things I as a reader haven't seen her display yet.

This is not to say it's all bad. Ursula's character was shaping up to be interesting, and having given up so early I can't say much about character development or plot. In the pages I read, I didn't get a clear idea of Mary Elizabeth's personality, or why she hung out with Captain Hook and Ursula. Maleficent would've also been interesting to follow, especially if the reader was shown her vindictive and petty side rather than just told about it. These Disney villains have such big and distinct personalities; these characters so far all felt very flat.

I know it's not fair to judge a book based on what I was expecting or wanting, but going into this I was thinking it would be a teen version of The Wolf Among Us. If you're interested in this concept and want to see it done well, I suggest that game or the comic Fables it was based off.