Disney Villains Books in Order
Part ofSerena Valentino Books in OrderExplore the Disney Villains series by Serena Valentino with books in order, plot summaries, reading order tips, and background on these interconnected retellings of classic animated villains.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
22 books
Fairest of All
by Serena Valentino
2009
Fairest of All tells the Wicked Queen's story from shy young bride to feared stepmother, tracing how grief, a cruel father trapped in a magic mirror, and the whispers of three witches slowly twist her love for Snow White into something deadly.
Fairest of All
by Serena Valentino
2009
The Beast Within
by Serena Valentino
2014
The Beast Within looks at the prince from Beauty and the Beast before the curse, charting his vanity, his toxic friendship with Gaston, and the role of the Odd Sisters and Circe in turning a handsome noble into a literal monster.
The Beast Within
by Serena Valentino
2014
Poor Unfortunate Soul
by Serena Valentino
2016
Poor Unfortunate Soul gives Ursula a tragic backstory, from a human childhood and rejection by a seaside town to her fraught connection with King Triton, showing how being forced to hide her true self twists her into the sea witch we know.
Poor Unfortunate Soul
by Serena Valentino
2016
Mistress of All Evil
by Serena Valentino
2017
Mistress of All Evil follows Maleficent from an abandoned child raised by crows to an outcast prodigy at the Fairy Academy, tracing how heartbreak, betrayal, and the influence of the Odd Sisters lead her toward the curse that defines Sleeping Beauty.
Mistress of All Evil
by Serena Valentino
2017
Mother Knows Best
by Serena Valentino
2018
Mother Knows Best reveals Mother Gothel's origins in the Dead Woods, her complicated relationship with her witch sisters and their terrifying mother Manea, and the desperate choices that drive her to steal Rapunzel and hoard the magic of the golden flower.
Mother Knows Best
by Serena Valentino
2018
The Odd Sisters
by Serena Valentino
2019
The Odd Sisters finally puts witches Lucinda, Ruby, and Martha at the center of the series, uncovering their fractured family history with Circe, their ties to gods and fairy courts, and the terrible cost of the chaos they have unleashed.
The Odd Sisters
by Serena Valentino
2019
Evil Thing
by Serena Valentino
2020
Evil Thing is Cruella De Vil's own account of her life, from a childhood defined by a distant mother and doting father to glittering parties, obsessive friendships, and the moment her love of fashion hardens into something ruthless and cruel.
Evil Thing
by Serena Valentino
2020
Cold Hearted
by Serena Valentino
2021
Cold Hearted explores Lady Tremaine's life before she became Cinderella's stepmother, following a widowed London socialite who marries for love and security, only to find herself trapped in a cold household where resentment slowly freezes into cruelty.
Cold Hearted
by Serena Valentino
2021
How the Villains Ruined Christmas
by Serena Valentino
2022
How the Villains Ruined Christmas is a picture-book caper where Maleficent, Hades, Captain Hook, the Evil Queen, Ursula, and Cruella plot to wreck the holidays, sending minions and disguises that create chaotic fun for young Disney fans.
Never Never
by Serena Valentino
2022
Never Never traces Captain Hook's journey from James Bartholomew, a London boy who once visited Never Land, to a ruthless pirate captain, as his longing to return, training under Blackbeard, and bargains with the Odd Sisters twist a dream into obsession.
Never Never
by Serena Valentino
2022
Fire & Fate
by Serena Valentino
2023
Fire & Fate follows Hades, who never wanted to rule the Underworld, as loneliness and years of slights from Zeus and the other gods push him toward a dangerous friendship with the Odd Sisters and a bargain that can reshape many destinies.
Kill the Beast
by Serena Valentino
2024
Kill the Beast retells Beauty and the Beast from Gaston's perspective, tracing his childhood bond with the prince, the trauma that shatters their paths, and the way pride, fear, and Odd Sisters magic turn him into the hero he thinks he deserves to be.
Heartbroken
by Serena Valentino
2025
Heartbroken journeys into Wonderland to uncover the Queen of Hearts' past, following her first days in a shattered world, her desperate attempts to impose order, and the mysterious events that leave her seeing red whenever anyone breaks the rules.
Series background & context
Disney Villains is Serena Valentino’s ongoing sequence of novels that step behind the curtain of classic animated films and ask how each villain became the person we see on screen. Rather than simple retellings, the books form a connected gothic saga that moves across kingdoms, seas, and even the Underworld.
The series begins with Fairest of All, which follows the Queen from Snow White from her days as a shy young woman to the moment she becomes the so-called wicked stepmother. Valentino lingers on grief, jealousy, and the strange power of a magic mirror that holds her father’s trapped soul. The Beast Within turns to the prince from Beauty and the Beast, tracing his vanity, his friendship with Gaston, and the curse that forces him to confront the uglier parts of himself.
Poor Unfortunate Soul gives Ursula a history beyond the events of The Little Mermaid. Here she is tied to King Triton in complicated ways, and her rage grows out of being forced to hide her true nature. With Mistress of All Evil and Mother Knows Best, the focus shifts to Maleficent and Mother Gothel, expanding the world of the books into Fairylands, dead forests, and covens that have been shaping events for centuries.
Running through all of these stories are the Odd Sisters, three witches who delight in meddling with fate. They appear at crucial moments, offering mirrors, potions, and dangerous advice. In The Odd Sisters they finally take center stage, and readers learn how their own tragic family history links Snow White, the Beast, Ursula, Maleficent, and Gothel.
Later volumes push beyond the original princess tales. Evil Thing is a darkly funny memoir from Cruella De Vil, told in her own voice as she moves from lonely childhood to infamous fashion figure. Cold Hearted follows Lady Tremaine from hope and romance to the bitterness that eventually warps her relationship with Cinderella. Never Never tracks James Hook from a boy obsessed with Never Land to the pirate captain determined to destroy Peter Pan.
More recent installments turn to gods and other icons. Fire & Fate explores Hades, who never wanted the job of ruling the Underworld and grows more dangerous the longer he is treated like a villain by his own family. Kill the Beast revisits Beauty and the Beast from Gaston’s perspective, showing how a boy who once shared adventures with the prince became the man chanting for the Beast’s death. Heartbroken journeys into Wonderland to uncover why the Queen of Hearts clings so fiercely to order and cries for heads to roll.
Though each book stands on its own, the Villains novels reward reading in order. Side characters, especially the Odd Sisters and Circe, move between stories, and choices in one kingdom ripple into another. For readers who grew up with Disney films and now want something moodier, sadder, and more complex, this series feels like slipping into the hidden passages of familiar castles.
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