Disney: The Wicked Ones

I’m really loving this Disney series and been acquiring may titles for our location. This is really neat that we get the famous steps sister s side of the story from Cinderella. I think a lot of old and new fans of the tale will highly enjoy this one!

The Wicked Ones is about Cinderella’s sisters, Anastasia and Drizella, better known as the ‘Ugly Stepsisters’, before they took on this role. It was heartbreaking to see the way they had been treated throughout their childhood, from family leaving or passing away, to the way their mother treated them, only slightly better than the way Ella was treated. I rooted for the sisters throughout, with potential love for one and a kind tutor for the other, and even though I knew deep down that this could not have a terribly happy ending, the writing was so beautiful and the characters so captivating that I was shocked by the twists at the end, and I found myself feeling awful for the sisters and what they went through. It was great to see how they took on the nickname of ‘ugly stepsisters’ which had been used against them, and chose to weaponise it and become what other people saw. After reading this, I think I can safely say that I’ll never watch Cinderella the same way again because the sisters were more complex and intricate than the movies suggest, and the author did an excellent job of portraying this. I would definitely recommend to any fans of Disney books, and the movie Cinderella.

Growing up as a huge Disney fiend, I have a very special place in my heart for these retellings/reimaginings of the stories I know so well. This was brilliant!!

I love the world of Cinderela amd the sisters / Disney in any of its forms so I was so excited to be able to read this book. I really enjoyed it just as much as I thought I would.

I am a huge fan of Disney retellings and so was very excited to be able to review this one. It was a great insight into the world and lives of the Step-Sisters and gave some really valuable context around why they are the way that they are. It's changed my perception of the characters completely and I absolutely love when a book can do that.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me an arc!

I love retellings of fairy tales, and I especially love the Ugly Stepsisters. I rooted for these two throughout the entire book. I longed for Anastasia to find true love and for Drizella to become more than her mother had planned for her. I also loved that the story didn't center around Ella, as I feel like she would have probably overpowered their stories.

That ending though? I refuse to accept it as canon and will be pretending it didn't happen. I have the sads.

I enjoyed reading the insight into how the stepsister's personalities from Cinderella were founded. The story follows Anastasia as she finds and loses true love. Her sister Drizzella strives to step out of the shadow of their mother and not to become like her, to create her own dreams.

But as the story goes, both ultimately lose their way and their dislike towards Cinderella is generated under the guidance of their mother lady Tremaine. I was rooting for both sisters throughout the story and it was really enjoyable to see life before the Cinderella story itself.

Another great book for the collection and look forward to reading more. Highly recommend it to any Disney fans and fans of Cinderella.

Really enjoyed this! Fast pace and was nice to read Drizella and Anastasias story and see this perspective of why they’re such horrible characters normally!

A very interesting take into the Cinderella story!

Ive always been interested in Cinderella's two stepsisters and the author does a bloody brilliant job of bringing these two characters to life, and making them more sympathetic to the audience.

The exploration of the sisters relationship and navigation of just how traumatizing it was to grow up in this loveless house was so well done, throughout the entire book I was simply unable NOT to root for them.

The ending was also BRILLIANT.