The Odd Sisters: A Tale of the Three Witches

Villains #6

by Serena Valentino

Throughout the Villains series, the Odd Sisters have meddled in the lives of the Wicked Queen, The Beast, Ursula, Maleficent, and Mother Gothel, changing the course of fate for the greatest villains ever known. Now, it's time for their reckoning.

This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular Villains series goes deeper into the lives of the twisted, diabolical Odd Sisters, finally revealing the dark truth about who they are and where they're from. The Odd Sisters will appeal to fans who can't get enough of the mischievous sisters, as well as draw new readers to Serena Valentino's darkly fascinating take on the Disney Villains.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings, Fiction, Fairy Tales, Magic, Audiobook

274 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2019

About the author

Serena Valentino is best known for weaving tales that combine mythos and guile with her work on the comic book series GloomCookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales, and her best selling Disney Villain Novels which have earned her critical acclaim for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty and extraordinary female protagonists.

Her Disney Villain novel series would be best enjoyed if read in this order: Fairest of All: The Story of the Wicked Queen, The Beast Within: The Story of Belle’s Prince, Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch, Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy. Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch and The Odd Sisters: A Villains Book to be released in Summer 2019. Book 7 will be out Summer 2020, Book 8 summer of 2021, and Book 9 Summer of 2022.

Serena lives in New Orleans with her dog Gozer, and a very tiny kitty named Momma.



Contact: Serena@serenavalentino.com

Reviews

[Tucker Almengor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many thanks to Disney Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if I had read the rest of the villains series but I haven't. Oh well.

So, what's this book about?
Throughout the Villains series, the Odd Sisters have meddled in the lives of the Wicked Queen, The Beast, Ursula, Maleficent, and Mother Gothel, changing the course of fate for the greatest villains ever known. Now, it's time for their reckoning.

This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular Villains series goes deeper into the lives of the twisted, diabolical Odd Sisters, finally revealing the dark truth about who they are and where they're from. The Odd Sisters will appeal to fans who can't get enough of the mischievous sisters, as well as draw new readers to Serena Valentino's darkly fascinating take on the Disney Villains

I love the fact that Disney is taking all their classic stories and putting all sorts of different twists and perspectives on them. I really adds depth to the stories.

That said, I wasn't totally a fan of this. I think mainly because I didn't read the rest of this series. While each book is a standalone novel, the whole point of this book was that it was about characters and details that were in each book.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book for those who have read at least a couple of the books in this series.

Happy reading!

-----------------

I have an Odd Sister, and an Odd Brother, and an Odd Cousin, and an Odd Mother, and an Odd-

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[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book more than the previous 2-3 books, mainly because this book is supposed to be about the Odd Sisters, and it's about the Odd Sisters (versus the other books that were supposed to be about Ursula, Gothel, Maleficent, etc. and were actually about the Odd Sisters). I think I would have enjoyed this series more had it been advertised differently; expectations in the past few books were not met because the books ended up focusing on the story line of the odd sisters rather than the villains it was advertised as. In my opinion, this is a fabulous fanfiction, but the series as a whole just wasn't my cup of tea.

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was completely f*cked up.
I do wish it had had more backstory and direct POV with the odd sisters, but it was fun regardless.

[Alaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like I've been cruising through the Villains series until this one. Honestly, I never liked The Odd Sisters so I was really hesitant to jump into this one. I'm also not going to lie that the pacing felt completely off for me. Or maybe it's just cause I didn't really care for Lucinda, Lucinda 2 (Ruby), or Lucinda 3 (Martha).

It was interesting to get a bit more background on them and to figure out how this whole family tree became to be. Also the fairy tale story books, but I kind of wish I got less Snow White? I just wanted this to be about Circe and her mother's more. I will even admit that seeing Gothel's sisters at the end was a nice surprise but I just can't say that this is my favorite book in the series.

Sorry, not sorry, but the odd sisters just annoyed me throughout the previous 5 books. Not sure if they will return or not but I am sad with what happened to Circe. I'm hoping this isn't the end of seeing her but, again, I'm not sure what's coming my way.

I guess I will prepare myself to dive into the next book of this series.

[Suhailah · Rating 4 out of 5]

6th installment of The Villains Series completed ✔️

“…the odd sisters’ beauty was so entirely out of proportion it made them compellingly grotesque.”

Finally, The Odd Sisters have got their own book! Up until now, they have been mostly peddling and meddling in the background as we have been following their impending doom and unspeakable paths of destruction.

Therefore, a lot comes together in this little book regarding their background and future plans with a big twist revealed! It also finally reveals what’s in the journal! There are lots of returning characters, and everything really ties in from books 4 and 5.

Despite this book not exactly being as carefree to read as some of the earlier books, I still decided on a 4☆ rating because of the gorgeous chapter illustrations and impressively creative introductory map/detailed family tree of the entire kingdom. I’ve definitely been a fan of the Odd Sisters since the start of the series. They are wickedly unique. The unexpected ending definitely left things interesting, so I’ll be looking forward to continuing the series in the future!

[Lisa Andres · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will remain forever baffled at how highly these books are rated. I just...I just. No.
I'm not even adding these to a genre-shelf because they're non-categorizable to me. IDK what they are, but you can't classify them as "middle-grade" or "young-adult" based on the fact they're Disney or fairy-tales or the writing style/plot. I've read middle-grade books that have a simple writing style, but are emotionally deep and resonant. To say that these are "middle grade" because of the content/style is NOT fair to well-written children's books.

✖️-- 90% of this book is people sitting around talking and telling stories and drinking tea. What action there is, is quickly dispensed with off-page or in one line. (See below. I'll save the spoilers for after I rant about some other things.)

✖️-- Also: SO. MUCH. TEA. We get it. They drink tea.
And the question of "why the Odd Sisters need teacups" is weak and contrived.

✖️-- And a lot of that talking is rehashing what happened in the previous 5 books. IMHO, because that's the only way to make sense of the needlessly convoluted plot.
The plot is so contrived and doesn't fit together at all. There *could* have been some potential here, but it doesn't feel like it was planned out in advance -- at least to the point where you could have laid the groundwork for the plot in the past 5 books.

✖️-- 90% of this book is also dialogue. There are chapters with pages of dialogue and only a few lines of non-dialogue. Characters (again, 90% of the time) "say" or "ask" things; no variety. The other 10% has got to be them screaming or yelling at each other, because that's how (what passes for) conflict here is depicted.
✖️-- Heavy overuse of ! (exclamation points) and ? (question marks) and " " (quotation marks).

✖️-- Conflict is generated by abrupt, whiplash-inducing character turns. It's not inconsistent with past growth/development, because there is none. In the past books, Snow and the Queen have a good relationship -- loving and better than when the Queen was alive. Now, all of a sudden, the Queen wants to possess Snow again, for absolutely no reason except that the Odd Sisters need an "ally" / someone to do their dirty work for them. And instead of exploring that nuanced relationship, the Queen just turns momentarily evil, does evil things, then I guess suddenly remembers she loves Snow so she can warn her at the end. IDK anymore. Same with Pflanze.

✖️-- 90% (and that might be generous) is also Original Characters. Snow White is shoe-horned in, and the Fairy Godmother makes an obligatory appearance, but most of the book revolves around Circe, the Odd Sisters, Gothel's sisters, Nanny, Jacob, Pflanze and Oberon. (And the characters with the WORST names -- Princess Tulip Morningstar & Mrs. Tiddlebottom.) Which, yeah, isn't necessarily a bad thing, but this is a Disney Villains series; some original characters should exist, yes, but this book really drove home the point that this is the story that Valentino wanted to tell; the Disney Villains feel like side characters in someone else's story.

Now, I am not one to hatefully bash books, because I know how much time and work and care goes into them. But this is my 7th book in this series that I have read and I still have no idea what the deal is with the Odd Sisters because...

✖️-- IT'S NOT EVEN THE ODD SISTERS STORY.
Up until Chapter 16 (page 231/274), the Odd Sisters were barely in 10% of this book. This is supposed to be THEIR story, according to the book jacket, but they're barely in it.
And this goes back to the whole "everyone sits around waiting and reading or telling stories." The plot doesn't happen -- it's TOLD TO YOU. So what could have been a kinda cool story from Nestis & Manea & the Odd Sisters POVs, is just a fragmented story spread out over 274 pages and not even told in full.
Because one of the big things is that the Odd Sisters HATE Snow White and always have.
BUT WHY?!?!?
We never get an answer. The BEST -- the absolute best that is a HUGE stretch -- that I can come up with based on one line, is that being raised as the cousin/niece of King White they thought they would inherit the kingdom. Because the only thing closely resembling a clue is that they want to be Queen of their own kingdom and Snow White took what belonged to them.
So it's either:
(1) The Kingdom Thing -- which doesn't make sense, because the king's sister / their time growing up there is NEVER mentioned (which it could have been, had it ACTUALLY been their story), and because Snow White is the daughter of the king. So. Inheritance and all that.
--or--
(2) It's the Circe thing -- which again DOESN'T MAKE SENSE because they've allegedly hated Snow White her whole life, but Snow only meets Circe when she's older.
(And a grandmother. Which apparently is forgotten in this book.) If the Odd Sisters foresaw Snow taking Circe away from them (or whatever gets them pissed off) then maybe that would explain the hate? But it's never made clear.
And ultimately doesn't matter because things change at whim in this world and consistency doesn't matter.

Like Hazel (and Primrose, who are both magically alive again, because why not) who can suddenly fling around curses despite (1) NOT having had Manea's blood as stated here (again, EW with the blood drinking) and (2) being kidnapped from a nearby village and not having any magical blood.

Maybe she learned in the "Place Between"? IDK. Plot events happen by convenience and contrivance here: people can read each other's minds, people sleep for a long time and suddenly know/understand things....

But the part that REALLY gets me is reading through 95% of this book to get to this:
"Either way their story would live on in the book of fairy tales, as all their stories had, if readers looked deep enough. Surely the book would contain the story of how the old queen Grimhilde had captured poor Opal. Or how Snow White was finally free of her mother. Or how the odd sisters had used old and sinister magic to bring Maleficent back from the dead. Or the story of a brave young woman named Tulip who made peace between the Cyclopean Giants and the Tree Lords. All their stories were there, written or waiting to be written."
The INFURIATING thing is that these are ALL events that the readers of this story were TOLD happened -- off "screen" -- even though they should have been a focus of the story Valentino was telling.
The Odd Sisters using "old and sinister magic" to bring Maleficent back and escape from the Mirror Plane or whatever SHOULD have been the focus of part of this book: it's their story. But instead, we just get the Fairy Godmother getting a crow with the news and freaking out before running off to make, you guessed it, TEA.

I am so confused by these books. And I keep expecting clarity and answers which is 100% on me but still. I don't feel like it's too much to ask as a reader.

[Wonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

5! It was over WAY too soon! I am already wanting the next novel...AND I mean NOVEL...This was more of a novella size! Such a great spin on the Disney villians...so much so I want more... and am finally going to finish this series out! Anyone know if there are more after Hades???

[Autumn Ramirez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was a bit darker, but so cool. This one came out as soon as I finished book #5. I was so excited. Loved this book. I’m such a kid at heart, so I couldn’t put it down. Loved having such a detailed story line of the villian.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blessed with good fortune – by the witches, fairies, tree gods and whatever other magical beings Disney and Serena Valentino rallied in my favor – and today received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of the long-awaited sixth book in the Valentino villains series: The Odd Sisters.

Three things (because all things in Valentinoland happen in threes): Yes, it is the best day ever; yes, I read the book in one sitting (thank you, Mardi Gras holiday); and no, I most certainly am not about to spoil it for you.

Usually I like to sleep on my reviews: give those many ponderings that swirl about the Jess brain time to calm down. But there is no calm today – just excitement to share some abbreviated thoughts with you!

The Odd Sisters arrived on my doorstep at approximately 9:30 a.m. (the book, not the characters themselves, thank goodness) and immediately scooped me into its clutches immediately. The tale of three witches is one giant tea party among many, though I am not sure “party” is the right word. The story transcended my expectations and held my interest right to the very end. It answered many lingering questions and provoked others, stoking my curiosity along the way. Needless to say, my pup sitting beside me witnessed many “ooos” and “ahhhs” as I visited various lands, including Morningstar Kingdom and the Fairylands, over my very own hot cuppa tea this morning.

The format of the Odd Sisters’ story is quite different to its predecessors in only the most positive and inviting way. The reader is roped in to a unique prologue and is later privy to a peculiar list which enhances the reader’s experience and immersion into the story. Just enough of the Odd Sisters and their weird and wonderful ways are exposed – I was originally concerned that the loss of mystery from the sisters’ repertoire would leave me feeling a bit empty. But, most artfully, Valentino delivers a bewitching backstory, carefully balancing the interests and motivations of familiar characters with the protagonists’ plight. Sisters do indeed have secrets, and the secrets uncovered in this book are frightfully satisfying.

[K Whatsherface · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can we get another 5-10 pages? Please. The ending. It was interesting we got a story based on original characters to this series. This is definitely a book you cant read as a standalone. Most of the series is like that. I get the vibe this is the end of an arc. Changes are happening in the next book...at least I think so. Looking forward to the next book. Anyone know who the villain is this time yet?

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this twisted tales story. I’ve read them all and I really adored this book because of the picturing in this one as well. Gave me a visual of the kingdoms and the people in them. Would totally recommend reading this book. But of course read the books in order as it would make too much sense!

[Sian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately I was highly disappointed with this book. For starters, I thought the overall plot was shaky, but I’m willing to give it the benefit of the doubt, since I’ve not read any of the others in this series and I probably don’t understand a lot of its nuances. It just doesn’t work as a standalone story.

But, my GOD the grammar and description was basic. It felt like Valentino had written this book like her readers were idiots, who kept needing to be reminded of the familial relationships on every page. There was overuse of exclamation and question marks in almost all the dialogue which I thought made it feel very one note all the time. None of the description seemed very original, a lot of phrasing was repeated, and let’s not forget her love of a triple. A lot of the time she would dumb it down and tell us how each character was feeling, before going on to show us through description anyway, meaning we lost a lot of potential for growing tension and conflict.

Circe’s relationships with all the other characters she interacted with were simperingly twee, with lots of ‘darling’ and ‘dear sweet’ - again it fell flat for me and it’s so frustrating because there was so much great potential for building intricate and layered relationships between characters.

But, to end it on a plus, I thought the illustrations were great.

[Yas · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need our light. Otherwise we are in darkness and we are alone.

۳۰درصد آخرش طوفانی بود و رازها برملا شد:)
این جلد مربوط به هیچ کدوم از ویلن های دیزنی که دیدیم نیست بلکه داستان کارکترهای محرک(خواهران جادوگر)برای ویلن شدن هست. داستان و اصل و ریشه خواهران جادوگر.
شروعش همون ادامه مهمونی قصر تولیپ توی جلد ۳ بود. فضولی‌های سیرسه و سفید برفی و تعارف چایی و سفیدبرفی تو چقدر خوبی و فلان و بهمان. صدبار جلدهای قبلی رو مرور کرد😭😂
تشکری گرم از نَنی بابت دفاعش از شرورها🥲👌🏻چه خواهر نچسبی داری ولی (که فک کنم همون فرشته سیندرلاست آه)😒
پایان متفاوتی هم داشت. آرت‌هاش جالب بودن که البته قیافه‌ی کارکترها خیلی شبیه هم بود و کاش رنگی بودن🥲

[Sanemsrgz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Güzel bir kitaptı, diğerlerine bakınca çok kötü değildi ama kat kat da iyiydi diyemem. Şunu söyleyebilirim bu kitapta çoğu sorumuza cevap bulduk ve yeni şeyler öğrendik. Yine dikkatli okumama rağmen anlamadığım noktalar oldu. En merak ettiğim 3 kardeşin fincan tutkusunun nedeniydi. En güzel yer oydu bana göre, nihayet öğreniyorsunuz onları saklamalarının nedenlerini. Seri Fransada karışık bir biçimde basıldı. Ama bu kitap bence mutlaka diğer kitaplardan önce okunmalı ( 1 ve 2 den başlayamadım ama diğer bütün kitapları okudum) keşke bir ve ikiyi de bundan önce okusaydım ama yapacak birşey yok.

[Louise Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book so much I read this in a matter of hours. I loved finding out more of the odd sisters story, this book had so many twists u just didnt see anything coming , I do feel like there is alot more to we still don't know about the odd sisters and there story i do hope we get more books about them and know more of there story x

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

New favorite in the series.

[Jeanette]

No rating. I put this down as a DNF after 120 pages.

Call me weird, but I like to think about my fairy tale characters with some semblance to good will or any possible hopeful intent as beings or entities. Definitely not needing either Borderline Personality Disorder or Bipolar I medications. And especially I think of them as loving their Mothers. And if they rebel upon former or later generations, it's a flaw, not a life time commitment for various felony count secession or attachment crusades.

Emotional volcano cartoons. Daughters and mothers get theirs back at each other? But always within hyperbole of swooning for love or eyes exploding with revenge or hatred. It's almost as bad as Dickens!

Not for me- and I don't want to even imagine these women.

Would only that any magical or spiritual kingdom would let me visit my own Mother. Or even see her in a mirror.

UGH! Women are better than this. Sorry- mean girls gone bad or worse than psycho or next day radiating halos? Huh! Don't get the popularity for this psychological nasty.

[Meredith Spidel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is so fun! I love it! What a cool spin on the far less-told tales of the Disney villians, this one no exception. A perfect read for any Disney fan. Thanks for sending us a copy for review, Disney Books!

[Katherine "Kj" Joslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a wonderful series, I am so happy I read it!!

[Ayla Stierwalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!!, this book was amazingly good, it answered a lot and I do mean a lot of question. I know the last 5 book were like OMG I hate these witches... But in all reality they were just like the other villains. Making bad choice and then having to deal with the consequences of their actions. I really like how the story was written and how Snow White was in this as well. I am so sorry for Nanny and all the heartbreak she had to endure with the odd sisters and Maleficent, she really tried to show them unconditional love only to fail when she shouldn't have. I truly hated the Fairy Godmother ways of thinking she is at fault for a lot of the drama, there is a lesson to learn there but I haven't quite figured it out yet her story has yet to be told. Hopefully I will have a better option of her, but right now I feel that she is the evil one thinking the way she dose. Everyone who needs help should have a fairy even if they have evil within them. This one did leave you with a cliff hanger and I really what to know what they decide!! I really like this one it was truly original and makes all the total chaos and, destruction make total since if they had stayed where they truly belong no fairy-tales would exist. They had to be the evil, had they turned not into what they are, who knows maybe the fairy would have disappeared not having princess to care for. I really just like this stories it was a page turned and just made all the books so far make since.

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sixth book in the Villains series, and continue to love Circe and Snow White, and their budding friendship. We learn a lot about the Odd Sisters - where they came from, what happened to them when they were young, and what their original purpose was. I also liked seeing Jacob again in the Dead Woods, and Mrs. Tiddlebottom at the cottage. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

[Denise Stragazzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because my sister said “if you finish a book from start to finish in a day, then I’ll read The Nightingale” Sooooo mission accomplished. But this one was not my favorite from the series. I liked how you learned more about Snow White’s mom, but didn’t like the ending at all.

[Robert Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Serena Valentino has done it again but this time it’s with characters created from her own imagination that include the reimagining of some of our most beloved Disney characters to tie it all in. The writing in this book is beyond amazing a truly takes you to a place of understanding of why the odd sisters are what they are. Referencing back to the original Disney characters while incorporating brand new characters is something only a true writer can do. It takes a true writer to understand the complex world of the Disney villians and at the same time create villians we love to hate! If you are a Disney fan, these books are for you! Bravo, bravo, bravo!!!

[Xanthi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a chore to read and it shouldn’t have been.
It was also quite confusing.
I intend on going back and reading the first few of the series I missed but I won’t be rushing to, as this series has not been as good as I had hoped it to be, judging from the three books from it I have read so far.

[Steph_d · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such an awesome tie up book!.
I really enjoyed how the author merged all the stories nicely together to create such an awesome Disney world over all with them all interlinking.

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this was not how I was expecting this one to go. Like, at all. For one thing, The Odd Sisters was a lot more fast-paced than I've come to expect with the Villains series. It seemed to leave a lot out, which is how I felt about the Beauty and the Beast one as well, although I don't think I felt that way with any of the other ones. So much of it was explaining the backstory of things that had happened in previous books, and I think a lot of it would make more sense if it was more directly related to the Odd Sisters' story from the get-go.

There were also a lot of things that were building up that just kind of ended in a very flat way. I definitely did not enjoy the ending, which was very confusing. I also don't expect it to necessarily be explained in the further books in the series, as I know they switch the direction away from the Odd Sisters and Circe, and more to the villains themselves.

I'm not sure how I feel about The Odd Sisters as a whole, but I definitely think I was missing a lot since I'd read all of the books so far apart from each other. I definitely want to listen to them all over audio in quick succession before continuing on with the series as it is, since the rest of the books are less related to the central story.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughtful and Yet Just a Little Bit Provoking

The age old search for what is the human condition is pretty well encased in this pleasingly thoughtful tale meant to make you ponder what really is good and evil. Our society has so long held it a maxim that there is good and evil in the world that we have forgotten to see just how caught between those two ideals we humans usually are. That is not to say that both good and evil cannot be witnessed here, but that all too often we are too quick to identify a fellow human being one or the other without nearly enough information to actually substantiate our claim. We could all stand to use a lot more time to just get to know each other instead of so quickly jumping to any conclusion!

[~Amber~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have not cared for the odd sisters throughout the series they kind of just got on my nerves. I will say I was pleasantly surprised that I ended up liking this one fairly well. I enjoyed hearing their story. I am loving how these stories are interconnected though.

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my fav in the series. Confusing plot

[Molly Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a wonderful time listening to this book! It was great fun, and I can’t wait to start more!