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City of Villains #3
City of Magic and Monsters
In this conclusion to the City of Villains trilogy—blending flavors of Once Upon a Time , Gotham , and Serena Valentino's Villains series—teen detective Mary Elizabeth embraces her villainous side . . . and the Disney Villains’ surprising origin stories are revealed.
The Villains have taken over Monarch City, and Mary Elizabeth Heart has finally joined them. When different factions begin vying for the control of magic, Mary must question where her loyalties lie—and what everyone’s motives really are.
As the Villains band together to wage one last epic battle against the corrupt forces who made them villains in the first place, the very fabric of the world starts to unravel. It soon becomes clear that Mary can’t hide from her demons, and that her real destiny as a fairy tale villain is only just beginning.
The Villains have taken over Monarch City, and Mary Elizabeth Heart has finally joined them. When different factions begin vying for the control of magic, Mary must question where her loyalties lie—and what everyone’s motives really are.
As the Villains band together to wage one last epic battle against the corrupt forces who made them villains in the first place, the very fabric of the world starts to unravel. It soon becomes clear that Mary can’t hide from her demons, and that her real destiny as a fairy tale villain is only just beginning.
214 pages, Hardcover
First published February 25, 2025
5 people are currently reading
857 people want to read
About the author
Estelle Laure
16 books583 followersEstelle Laure is a Vonnegut worshipper who believes in love and magic and the power of facing hard truths. She has a BA in Theater Arts from New Mexico State University and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and thinks everyone should have to wait tables or work in a kitchen at least once in their lives. She lives in Taos, New Mexico with her children.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
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January 4, 20242025?!?! THATS NOT A REAL Y E A R
I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2025?!?!!
I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2025?!?!!
July 27, 2025
* You need to read the previous book before you can read this final installment in the series.
May and her friends have been hiding away after the battle of Miracle Lake, practicing their magic and growing their army in Neverland, the magical lands of the fairy tales. Under the leadership of Chief Ito they plan to bring magic back to Monarch City and it's magic scarred lands. But the more May learns of the plans and when the chief turns on one of their own, she knows she has to take a true stand and set out what she was supposed to do all along. Protect the citizens of Monarch, even when they have shunned her and her legacy magic for years.
This third entry follows the line of the previous two books, due to it's high pace it feels very chaotic and there is not enough character development to carry the confusing storyline to its ending. The biggest problem I have with this, is that this series could have been one book. I think that would have made it less hard to read and it would have given the author more room to build the suspense she was desperately searching for in these three books. This last book was the easiest to read, but it doesn't take away the mark of the previous books unfortunately.
May and her friends have been hiding away after the battle of Miracle Lake, practicing their magic and growing their army in Neverland, the magical lands of the fairy tales. Under the leadership of Chief Ito they plan to bring magic back to Monarch City and it's magic scarred lands. But the more May learns of the plans and when the chief turns on one of their own, she knows she has to take a true stand and set out what she was supposed to do all along. Protect the citizens of Monarch, even when they have shunned her and her legacy magic for years.
This third entry follows the line of the previous two books, due to it's high pace it feels very chaotic and there is not enough character development to carry the confusing storyline to its ending. The biggest problem I have with this, is that this series could have been one book. I think that would have made it less hard to read and it would have given the author more room to build the suspense she was desperately searching for in these three books. This last book was the easiest to read, but it doesn't take away the mark of the previous books unfortunately.
July 14, 2025
This wasn't a terrible ending to the trilogy, but it feels like it could have been fleshed out more. The entire trilogy feels like it either could have been condensed to a single book, or else they all could have been longer, less rushed.
At this point I genuinely don't know how I feel about this trilogy. It wasn't bad, it was plenty entertaining for what it is, but by the end, the plot just feels very by-the-numbers. It's very safe, and I don't know how to explain my gripes with the character work in these books without getting too nitpicky and pedantic. It was worth reading once, but I can't say I think it's worth reading more than once.
I'll be selling my copies of the trilogy. Again, wasn't bad, but I don't see myself keeping and re-reading them.
At this point I genuinely don't know how I feel about this trilogy. It wasn't bad, it was plenty entertaining for what it is, but by the end, the plot just feels very by-the-numbers. It's very safe, and I don't know how to explain my gripes with the character work in these books without getting too nitpicky and pedantic. It was worth reading once, but I can't say I think it's worth reading more than once.
I'll be selling my copies of the trilogy. Again, wasn't bad, but I don't see myself keeping and re-reading them.
July 22, 2025
So I didn’t realize until I got this book from the library that it was part of a series—I just saw that Estelle Laure had a new book and thought that I’d try it. So this review is coming from someone who hasn’t read the earlier books!:
It’s a very interesting remix on Disney villains and what “villainous magic” might sometimes actually be. There are plot twists, and an immersive, imaginative, vivid fantasy world galore.
It was really good—actually pretty concise, for all that it contained! It makes me want to go back and read the books before this one!
It’s a very interesting remix on Disney villains and what “villainous magic” might sometimes actually be. There are plot twists, and an immersive, imaginative, vivid fantasy world galore.
It was really good—actually pretty concise, for all that it contained! It makes me want to go back and read the books before this one!
July 8, 2025
This was a good ending to the City of Villains trilogy. The story picks up right where the previous book left off. Mary Elizabeth has definitely matured and grown a lot in the space of these three books. I loved seeing her character develop.
If you're looking to get more of your favorite Disney villains in a new way, add this book to your collection.
If you're looking to get more of your favorite Disney villains in a new way, add this book to your collection.
September 15, 2025
The "City of Villains" series was sold as "Disney Villains meets Gotham"... But I'd more say it's Disney's Descendants meets Zootopia, and I really mean that. Instead of the gritty realism and grounded story of Gotham, we get a magical, modern city with a mystery that's just "dark" enough to be labeled as edgy. What works for a PG film like Zootopia doesn't really work in this YA story. Now, that doesn't mean that this series was bad! On the contrary, it was fun and somewhat dark. There were a lot of cool elements as well! However, I do lament on what we would've had if it really was "Disney Villains meets Gotham". A grounded story that would've reinvented villains into gang/modern criminals... And the heroes could've been in the police force or in the press. This was actually brilliantly done with characters like Bella and Jasmine within this VERY BOOK! But, when we get to the actual villains, the story somewhat misses the mark.
Mary is the most cliche of the characters in this novel... Which really makes the novel drag because of the tropes. She isn't a bad character, but she is almost nothing like the Queen of Hearts/Red Queen. She's never really mad, she's never really violent, and she never really makes a totally bonkers decision. In fact, though the characters throughout the story say otherwise, Mary is a very rational character. I think that kind of makes me sad, because she could've slowly gone really mad through the series, and then could have fought that at the end... But, instead, she is just a passive main character. Even she says in this novel that she has just been dragged along this whole time... There was so much more that could've been done... So much more that Laure could've done with the Red Queen persona... But, the other characters do have that spark of the original selves within them. Ursula, Maleficent, and the Evil Queen (Chief Ito I believe) are pretty on brand. They have a lot of those original characteristics. Ursula and Maleficent are far more loyal/friendly, but their demeanors are very similar to the original animated films. Chief Ito could've been awesome... And she had a lot of that Evil Queen energy, but she definitely could've had a bigger part in the end... James and his Lost Boys are just okay. They are really only there to be of aid to Mary rather than their own characters. Bella, Lucas, and the other supporting characters are all pretty fun... I will say, though, that Bella (the Belle stand-in) really wasn't like herself besides the fact that she loved books.
The story started out good in the first novel. The gritty reinterpretation of magic as this science being controlled by the rich to experiment on people like Ursula and Mally was very interesting... It was also cool to see the dragon form of Mally and the Kaiju form of Ursula... But the middle novel, City of Hooks and Scars, began to lose the plot. Instead of this grounded reinterpretation of these characters, we get a ton of magic, and fairy godmothers, and... Whimsy... However, I had accepted, and was even excited to see what was to come next, as the middle novel really was all setup... The only real disappointment of the novel was that there weren't really any more interpretations of classic villains... But, City of Magic and Monsters, loses the charm of both. Instead, it's messy magic rules and a cliche plot. The novel is also far too short to offer a full conclusion. The final battle in particular is almost blink and you'll miss it... But, it wasn't bad... It was a fun "turn off your brain and enjoy" type story. It wasn't bad... But, it did make me realize what we were missing with a certain character introduction... Chernabog. He's an Easter egg, but the fact that he was in this world as someone experimented on was so cool... And I realized what the series should've been...
The series, as is, is very good! The mystery at first of the Fall and the Great Death all really build up the world... But what if we never went beyond into characters wanting to control magic? What if there wasn't really anything to magic but the science of it? Part of me wishes that the series had a grounded and a magical plot. There's this shady, science/magic storyline where we get characters like Chernabog, Maleficent, Ursula, and more... But then there's the grounded Batman/Gotham-esque plot where the rich are getting richer off of these experiments... Then, we could could get reinterpretations of Cruella De Vil (perhaps the riches fashion designer in Monarch, who funnels her money into the experiments), Jafar (who, maybe, did some shady things to take control of a company), or even a reinterpretation of Scar. Now, this may sound similar to the original series, but everything would be plussed, besides the magic. The magic would just be a fact of life rather than a full storyline. Then, you'd get those big character reinterpretations and a more fleshed out world/story. In the center, you'd find Mary, who has a very grounded life and storyline within herself... And, she'd be thrown in the highest highs of Monarch, and the lowest lows... It would've been SO interesting!
So, this novel/series isn't bad... It's incredibly interesting and has a fun premise, but so much more could've been done.
Mary is the most cliche of the characters in this novel... Which really makes the novel drag because of the tropes. She isn't a bad character, but she is almost nothing like the Queen of Hearts/Red Queen. She's never really mad, she's never really violent, and she never really makes a totally bonkers decision. In fact, though the characters throughout the story say otherwise, Mary is a very rational character. I think that kind of makes me sad, because she could've slowly gone really mad through the series, and then could have fought that at the end... But, instead, she is just a passive main character. Even she says in this novel that she has just been dragged along this whole time... There was so much more that could've been done... So much more that Laure could've done with the Red Queen persona... But, the other characters do have that spark of the original selves within them. Ursula, Maleficent, and the Evil Queen (Chief Ito I believe) are pretty on brand. They have a lot of those original characteristics. Ursula and Maleficent are far more loyal/friendly, but their demeanors are very similar to the original animated films. Chief Ito could've been awesome... And she had a lot of that Evil Queen energy, but she definitely could've had a bigger part in the end... James and his Lost Boys are just okay. They are really only there to be of aid to Mary rather than their own characters. Bella, Lucas, and the other supporting characters are all pretty fun... I will say, though, that Bella (the Belle stand-in) really wasn't like herself besides the fact that she loved books.
The story started out good in the first novel. The gritty reinterpretation of magic as this science being controlled by the rich to experiment on people like Ursula and Mally was very interesting... It was also cool to see the dragon form of Mally and the Kaiju form of Ursula... But the middle novel, City of Hooks and Scars, began to lose the plot. Instead of this grounded reinterpretation of these characters, we get a ton of magic, and fairy godmothers, and... Whimsy... However, I had accepted, and was even excited to see what was to come next, as the middle novel really was all setup... The only real disappointment of the novel was that there weren't really any more interpretations of classic villains... But, City of Magic and Monsters, loses the charm of both. Instead, it's messy magic rules and a cliche plot. The novel is also far too short to offer a full conclusion. The final battle in particular is almost blink and you'll miss it... But, it wasn't bad... It was a fun "turn off your brain and enjoy" type story. It wasn't bad... But, it did make me realize what we were missing with a certain character introduction... Chernabog. He's an Easter egg, but the fact that he was in this world as someone experimented on was so cool... And I realized what the series should've been...
The series, as is, is very good! The mystery at first of the Fall and the Great Death all really build up the world... But what if we never went beyond into characters wanting to control magic? What if there wasn't really anything to magic but the science of it? Part of me wishes that the series had a grounded and a magical plot. There's this shady, science/magic storyline where we get characters like Chernabog, Maleficent, Ursula, and more... But then there's the grounded Batman/Gotham-esque plot where the rich are getting richer off of these experiments... Then, we could could get reinterpretations of Cruella De Vil (perhaps the riches fashion designer in Monarch, who funnels her money into the experiments), Jafar (who, maybe, did some shady things to take control of a company), or even a reinterpretation of Scar. Now, this may sound similar to the original series, but everything would be plussed, besides the magic. The magic would just be a fact of life rather than a full storyline. Then, you'd get those big character reinterpretations and a more fleshed out world/story. In the center, you'd find Mary, who has a very grounded life and storyline within herself... And, she'd be thrown in the highest highs of Monarch, and the lowest lows... It would've been SO interesting!
So, this novel/series isn't bad... It's incredibly interesting and has a fun premise, but so much more could've been done.
July 1, 2025
Had to wait 3 years for the conclusion to this trilogy and it did not disappoint. If you love Disney Villians, this is an origin story with a twist!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews