Serena Valentino hits another tale out of the park. This time the tale focused on Hades. This may end up being my favorite installment of the series. The character development and pacing were on point.

I found this audiobook a little difficult to get into. The characters and the storyline were hard to follow. This could have been because it was an audiobook and maybe would have been easier to follow in print. Once I got into the story it was more enjoyable.

This series just keeps getting better as it goes on. I loved the narration of this audiobook. Highly recommend!

By far my favorite book in this series yet.

If you love Disney Villains and hearing a different side to their stories, this book. This series IS FOR YOU.

Quick, fun reads.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

This was my first book in this series and overall I loved it!
I did have to remind myself multiple times that this was a Juvenile book after reading so many Adult books with Hades in them, so it was a huge change of pace. I loved that it included more of the Greek Mythology than was covered in the Disney movie.
I will be checking more of this series out.

Book 10 in the Disney Villains series and it did not disappoint. This book follows Hades after the witches had wandered into his realm. He befriends them and makes a bargain to take over Olympus. It does continue the story but it does a really good job catching you up without being too detailed if you already read the books. I have read most of them, but somehow missed two. I was not confused, but I didn't get enough so I will be going back and reading the ones I missed. I love how much of the personality came through the narrator. It was good and I got completely lost in the story I didn't want it to end.

5 stars

This wasn’t my favorite version of Hates. He seems to fall flat from the movie version. The over all story is a nice addition to the collection. Just not my favorite.

I read many of the books in the series, but unfortunately, this was my least favorite among them. Maybe because I haven’t seen the Disney movie Hercules, I felt a little lost. I know that the connective thread between all of the books in the series is the Odd Sisters and the Book of Fairy Tales, but it just felt like there was too much of that, and not enough “new story. “

I really struggled to finish the audiobook. The narrator was fine, the story just dragged, and I got lost at time - maybe because I was losing interest and not paying attention, maybe because the story didn’t have enough connection to the Hades I know from mythology.
I’d still add it to my middle school classroom library as an example of an alternate version of a classic, and a because I love having differing perspectives of the same stories, bit it’s not one of the first that I’d recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Audiobooks for the ALC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I hate to give such a low rating, but in this case, I was so disappointed. Hercules is my favorite Disney movie, and therefore includes a favorite Disney villian for me personally. I was so keen on hearing his side of the story and yet this book was a major letdown in that regard. He may have been a cataclyst for others' stories, but it hardly felt like it was truly about him and his tale at all. He was just a prop to move along other characters' tales of woe and was hardly at the center of his own myth. The events of the movie were quickly discussed in few chapters and rushed over. As a Hercules movie fan, I was really hoping for an in depth take on Hades at the center of all that comes about, and it was just a rushed version of anything familiar and the rest devoted to other characters in the series. It could not be read as a stand alone like I was envisioning for this character. It really wasn't the moment that I thought this character would be given. Also for his humor, it really fell flat and was a poor attempt at matching the charm and sense of humor of the original character. Thank you anyways to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for access to this copy! I really wanted to love this one.

I knew that this book was part of a series when I picked it up, but thought it would be alright. However, I did feel like I missed quite a bit with this being my first venture into the series. Hades's story is told as the inner "frame" of a story that primarily revolves around the Odd Sisters, who are characters I was not familiar with.

That said, I do like that the book had more nods to Greek Mytholgy then the Disney movie did but the story also seamlessly slots into the Disney movie's cannon.

Other than that, the book was light on plot. I felt like there was a lit of action happening offstage and this book is meant to fill in gaps for other books (that I haven't read).

The audio narration is mellow and easy to understand. He lacks the fast-talking charm of James Woods but brings life to all the characters.

It feels unfair to dock this book because I haven't read the others, but there really wasn't a whole lot here. The book was able to hold its own, but it won't be my first reccomendation.l

Though they are all great each book in this series falls into one of two categories. They are stories I enjoy as fanfic type love and those I consider canon (the latter not having as many). This one I now consider canon! The narrator for the audiobook was a pretty spot on Hades and the author did a wonderful job catching his personality. We also really got to go back into the main plot of the whole series and see a bit of where it will be going for the future. It’s definitely a favorite in the series for me if not the favorite.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Serena Valentino and the publisher of the book for the eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is book #10 in the villain series. It features the Underworld and how Hades went from a god to a villain.
Hades feels alone when he is assigned the Underworld by his brother Zeus. Feeling betrayed, Hades befriends three witches, who are alive, who enter the Underworld. As a God, he makes them a deal that could change everything.

I love the Villain series and this one did not disappoint!

This was a retelling of sorts. More of an alternate perspective. This is Hade's story as it ties in to the Disney Hercules movie.

What I liked: I appreciated that it gave more of Hades back story. That he had tried with his brothers, but ultimately was given the raw end of the deal. I even like that they threw in a little bit of the Persephone story. I liked that Hades grew and morphed throughout the book and didn't stay the same, even if the ending of the book was just shortly after the ending of the movie.

What I didn't like: There was so much bringing up other characters and places from the other books. This is the first that I have read, because I loved Hercules, but I had thought that they were all stand alones. This doesn't mean that you can't read this book by itself, just be aware that you will get a lot about Maleficent and Mother Gothel, and even some Snow White and Captain Hook (?). I listened to this as an Audiobook and I had a hard time with Hades sounding like he did versus James Woods.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. They made you feel like Hades got the 'happily ever after' that he needed, too.

Following in the footsteps of prior Disney villains including Captain Hook, Ursula and Maleficent, the god of the Underworld, Hades from Disney’s Hercules, now takes his turn appearing in author Serena Valentino’s villains universe in Fire and Fate.

Fire and Fate is Book #10 in Valentino’s Disney Villains stories which shed new light on old characters in an entertaining, thought-provoking way. For a full list of the books in the series and the appropriate order in which to read them, please see the below list at the bottom of this article.

Fans of the series know that the Odd Sisters are the primary authors of the Book of Fairytales, however Hades, along with his confident quirk and charm, takes the lead in telling this story and his version of events.

Valentino captures Disney Hades' jovial, bombastic personality and voice in Fire and Fate, which is bolstered by various easter eggs (but not overkill) from Disney’s Hercules. (In fact, I think Fire and Fate relies least on the Disney film compared to its earlier novel counterparts.) However, contrary to what we might suspect of Hades’ nature, he comes to harbor a deep love and sentimentality for the Odd Sisters and their kin. Hades’ Achilles heel is his loneliness, although his immediate affection for the Odd Sisters and subsequent heartbreak over their situation seemed a little underdeveloped and unfounded. Hades is not as staunchly self-serving or cunning in this tale as I hoped he would be, although the story does reveal a great scheme and plot twist regarding the infamous Titan battle fans first see in Disney’s Hercules.

What I missed most in Fire and Fate was a rich and original character backstory. While perhaps restricted to foundational Greek mythology which does provide some general context in this book, there was no Valentino “va-voom” injected into Hades’ beginnings. It lacks the sort of thought-provoking emotional punch that leaves the reader feeling haunted and satisfactorily sad for the character. I applauded the deep dive, thought and detail which achieved this bittersweet result in the likes of Fairest of All, Evil Thing and Never, Never but was left wanting more in this one. Beyond Hades’ fallout with Zeus, his rejection from his family, and his overwhelming loneliness at effectively being banished to the Underworld, there was nothing more I (or Cerberus and his three heads) could really chew on in terms of an original twist on a renowned origin story.

Valentino usually combines compelling origin stories with clever and daring crossovers between Disney villains and the author’s original behind-the-scenes tale and characters. Fire and Fate is much more a crossover story heavily embedded in Valentino’s original universe. While the storytelling is consistent across all the novels in the series to date, Hades’ tale is mostly Valentino-universe backstory and commentary over cups of tea (literally).

A word of caution to this tale: Fire and Fate readers who are new to the Valentino villains series may get lost in the whirlwind of history, dark magic, time and space in this universe. It is a lot to digest and may be overwhelming if the reader is not familiar with the lay of the land from earlier novels. However, Valentino does a good job of countering this with the lengthy dialogue and tea party scene-setting in many of the chapters in Fire and Fate in which the characters are re-introduced and readers reminded where they all fit in. Many snippets of events from other stories are provided, and many questions answered that were posed in earlier books.

The partnership between Valentino’s writing and John York’s narration ultimately made for a very pleasant audiobook reading experience. Despite the missed opportunity for a rich backstory, Fire and Fate is a warm return to the Deadwoods and successfully pieces together more of the Odd Sisters’ tale through Hades’ eyes.

I love the reader in this audiobook. Their ability to do different voices is just stunning. This whole series is such a fun one. I will have to go back to reread it as there is so much being built on the with the odd sisters that sometimes I forget what has happened previously. I enjoyed this story. I think that it is interesting that Hades really isn’t the person we know him to be. I understand him not being happy about how Zeus divided up resopsibilties after the war with the Titians, but I thought it interesting that he still wanted to make amends with his brother. The only thing I didn’t enjoy about this book was the ending. It was very abrupt to the point where I even went back and relistened just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. If you are wanting to read this title, I do highly suggest reading back the series as this book has lots of references to past stories already covered in this series.
Thank you so much to Disney Audiobooks and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to and advance copy of this title.

This is a 3 1/2 stars for me. It is a solid book that I really enjoyed. It name drops other members of the Disney-verse which is a nice tie. It was an easy listen and the narrator for me was perfect. Explore a character and story that you thought you knew from a different angle.

Thank you to Disney Audiobooks for this ARC audiobook via NetGalley.

I have never read any of the other Disney Villains from the series, but since I've been on a Greek mythology retelling binge I was curious to see Disney's rendition of one. You can tell that this book is interwoven with previous books from the series, but if you are familiar with Disney characters, you should be able to jump in and follow along just fine without reading the others from the series.

The beginning of the story is kind of a mix of both Disney lore and Greek mythology. It provides some background for young readers that would be helpful if they are unfamiliar with Greek mythology on how Hades became kind of the underworld and his relationship with Persephone. But if you have seen the film or know Hades' story, you should already be familiar with these things.

The story doesn't really start to develop into its own until Chapter 7. I found myself not really connecting with the story. I think this is because the story connected more with other Disney characters than Greek characters Since this is a Disney book, don't let that sway you. This story just wasn't for me.

The narration was great and the narrator sounded as snarky and sarcastic as the voice actor playing Hades from the Hercules movie was. That made it more enjoyable and easier to engage with.

I love twisted fairy tales, but I just really didn’t love this one. In the next installment of the Disney villains series, we go to Hades from Hercules. Now, maybe this is my problem. I’ve seen Disney’s Hercules maybe once 30 ish years ago, and so my mind is as clear on the story as others.

What I like about this series is that there is a link of the book of fairy tales between all of them, with even some stories interconnected (we got a little Snow White, Little Mermaid, and Sleeping Beauty in this one). I also love villains as hero twists. And for this one the length was great (audiobook ran 4 hours - 3 at my 1.5x preferred listening speed) so I finished it in a day.

My dislikes aren’t anything more than I just wasn’t as connected to the story as others. But, once again, my familiarity with Hercules is very little and a long time ago. So, don’t let that sway you, except that I do think a basic understanding of the Disney story helps a lot in this series.

Themes: 💀🔥🧚‍♀️🧚🧚‍♂️📖🌪️🔀🏰

My feelings: 🙂🙃

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This is the first Villains book that I have ever read and I loved it! Full disclosure, I’ve never seen the movie but I don’t think it really matters. I loved hearing this story from Hades’ point of view and actually found myself taking his side. Who wants to live in the underworld when they don’t even have any pie! I can’t wait to read the Ursula book next!

I’ve been looking forward to this installment, as Hades is one of my favorite villains. Serena has captured his personality and vibe perfectly, the dialogues are on point, this one will read just as good. The book did, however, leave me wanting more, I would love to have explored Hades’s backstory a little deeper and generally spend more time with him, so to say.