Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cold Hearted tells the story of Cinderella's wicked stepmother, Lady Tremaine. Once a wealthy widow, the woman and her two daughters now roam the halls of Cinderella's former house like wraiths. When the Fairy Godmother and her sister, Nanny, receive a plea from Cinderella to help her stepsisters, the two fairies look back on Lady Tremaine's story to decide whether or not she is worth helping.

This was a fairly quick read, as all of Valentino's Villians books are. While the premise was intriguing, the bulk of the short novel was spent in Lady Tremaine's past, particularly her being courted by Cinderella's father. As much as the backstory did set up Lady Tremaine's downfall into villainy quite well, I felt that the book ultimately spent too little time on the Lady's eventual madness and the squalor she forced her daughters to live in. Additionally, that particular conflict was (very) quickly wrapped up by the Fairy Godmother and Nanny, so there wasn't even much time for the reader to sit with this strange, haunting end-result of Cinderella's H.E.A.

I did enjoy the book, as I've enjoyed all the other books in the Villains series, however I would have liked to have experienced some plot points at a bit of a slower pace, so I could fully absorb what was happening.

Ever wanted to know the real story about Cinderella’s Stepmother and what made her the way she was? This story gives us the backstory of Lady Tremaine’s life and how she became known as the evil step-mother in Cinderella. Lady Tremaine was a caring and loving mother and after her husband died she’s been taking care of her family and just trying to grieve. After 6 years, her friends introduce her to Sir Richard, aka. Cinderella’s father. At first he is handsome and immediately convinces Lady Tremaine to marry him and pretends he is in love with her....but by the time she has moved into his family house... things are going very wrong. Now, let me tell you how much I disliked Sir Richard and Cinderella. Sir Richard was abusive as all heck, he stole her money, her dignity, and threatened her life along with her daughters. What really got me was that ending.... it just wasn’t fair. Lady Tremaine was tricked and even the fairy godmother and other fairies ignored her cries for help for years and set her on the path to her destruction. So overall, this was such a sad read as I found myself sympathizing and feeling so bad for Lady Tremaine and all for what? That sad ending? It is tragic.

*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I love these books! I enjoy reading the back story of the famous villains and finding out why they ended up as the villains. I liked hearing more about Lady Tremaine and the step-sisters before they came into Cinderella's story. I also liked the ending of the book and seeing how things are going after Cinderella's Happily Ever After. I can't wait to read more of these books.

I was lucky enough to snag one of the ARC’s for Cold Hearted set to release this summer! Definitely enjoyed this read as much as the others in the Villains Series. I love how @blackbirdpirate is able to make you see the POV of who we have always knows as the “villain” into something humane and relatable. If you want to know how a well to do Londoner ended up in the Many Kingdoms and became the Evil Stepmother that we know, you must pick this up. I will say this, sometimes it’s difficult to see the villains and the heroes and the heroes as the villains. ⁣⁣

EXTRA: Serena Valentino hinted at the next Villain earlier in the year and both were mentioned in this book! Trying to decide was it the one mentioned my name or the subtly hinted at one....eenie meenie minney moe...🤔😜🔥🪝⁣⁣

4 STARS

This book in the series was really good! It was really fun and there were lots of twists!

1. Fairest of All (Evil Queen) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. The Beast Within (Prince Adam/The Beast) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 Poor Unfortunate Soul (Ursula) - ⭐️⭐️
4. Mistress of All Evil (Maleficent) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. Mother Knows Best (Mother Gothel) ⭐️⭐️⭐️
6. The Odd Sisters - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. Evil Thing (Cruella De Vil) - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8. Cold Hearted (Lady Tremaine) -⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I totally enjoyed this book. I love the twists and continuations of the Disney classics.
This book was entertaining and I liked where Author Serena Valentino took Lady Tremaine story.

A very well written book, that honestly had me feeling bad for Lady Tremaine! I didnt think it would be possible. It kept my attention the whole time, and was a quick read. Highly recommend.

I was beyond excited to see the villain's get books. Lady Tremaine's book was interesting. She how she was a completely different person in the beginning of the book was interesting. I loved that characters from other books where in this one as well. This was the first book I've read out of the series and when the fairies where talking about the wars I wasn't sure if that was something from a previous book. Other than that book was very enjoyable and I couldn't put it down.

I read the B&tB retelling earlier in this series, and enjoyed it. So I was horrified by the writing by book eight. What happened? This was lazy storytelling at best. Also very suspicious there are so many five star ratings that sound like paid advertisements. Shameful.

The fairy must go and rescue cinderellas stepsister from her stepmother.
Also shows that the stepmother wasn't the bad person in the story until she had to be.

I truly cannot say enough good things about this whole series! Having grown up on these Disney tales, it's so fun that I can now read about familiar characters in a different setting and view them in a different light.

Who doesn't love a good retelling? This one hit all the marks for me and I am grateful for the opportunity to read the ARC

After losing her one true love, Lady Tremaine leads a lavish but lonely life with her daughters “Zella” & “Stasia” by her side. After a visit to a near & dear friend, Lady Tremaine has found love once again as our favorite aristocratic Londoners find themselves headed to the Many Kingdoms.

Serena Valentino continues too seamlessly weave into our favorite Disney classics while staying true to the core of the characters we all know and love. Her intriguing storytelling and attention to detail is like no other as “Cold Hearted” is an exceptional depreciation of The Tremaine’s, intertwined with the progression of the series, and eventual demise with stepdaughter Cinderella taking on much of the culpability.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley, Disney Publishing Worldwide, and Disney-Hyperion for providing me an advance copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved this book! I have a soft sport in my heart for Disney and this book is phenomenal! Plus.... Who doesn't love a good villain story!

If all of these Disney books were like this I would own them all. I LOVED IT and I wish I could give it more stars. I need more. It was beautifully written. I will be owning the paperback for sure.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

This is the second book of this series that I have read. I am a huge fan of Cinderella and the Lady Tremaine, and was curious to see how this storyline played out. The characters were well developed and you could see the progression of change that took place in Lady Tremaine. The evil stepsisters were also made aware of their wrong doings in the Cinderella story, but as a reader, I cheered for them to have a better outcome in this story.

I thoroughly enjoy how this book had lines that mirrored the original Disney film. It made fun reading because I could quote the lines of the film.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The writer was able to create the sense of frustration for what was taking place in the story and become emotionally involved with wanted a better outcome for Drizella and Anastasia.

Cold Hearted is the story of Lady Tremaine and how she went from being a lonely widow, and loving mother to Drizella and Anastasia. She had mourned her husband for several years before letting a friend talk her into attending a dinner and meeting a man who takes her breath away. Before the end of her visit she has accepted his proposal and makes plans to meet him right away at his home in the Many Kingdoms. Feeling that he loves her too she moves quickly from London to his home bringing her two daughters who are excited to meet their new father and sister, Cinderella.

Once she arrives she is surprised to find the house is not what she expected and there are no servants. Soon she realizes the mistake she made. Richard wasn't looking for a wife, he was looking for someone to cook his meals, clean his house, and watch over his daughter while he was away. After several years of neglect and emotional abuse toward Lady Tremaine and her daughters he mysteriously dies.

Lady Tremaine has gone from being an overindulgent mother to a person whose heart has broken and is no longer the woman of the past, but a hard, distrustful, sad woman bent on revenge toward the girl who refused to call her mother and told Richard that Lady Tremaine was planning to run away with her daughters.

In the beginning she refused to believe in the stories in the book of fairy tales, especially that she would become a villain. By the time Richard dies, she decides if that is what people are going to think of her, she might as well give in and become the villain.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love origin stories and villain origin stories even more. Serena Valentino has been giving origins to Disney villains for some time now and they have all been great. Cold Hearted does not disappoint. Lady Tremaine is one of the few Disney villains that does not have magic and yet she lives in the Many Kingdoms. Why doesn’t she have magic? Why is she so mean?

Cold Hearted was a great retelling of Cinderella with some wonderful new twists that really gave a good look at what may have happened in this family if we weren’t looking at it with happy fairy tale eyes all the time.

It was great to see the continuation of some details (can’t give without spoiling it). These details have shown up through the whole series and have something in common that can potentially explain the evil going on.

Hopefully there is a Book 9 to continue this amazing series.

This is the second of the Villains series I have read, and they are so fun to read! I loved learning more about the Tremaines and how the Many Kingdoms really do seem to curse mothers/stepmothers. Looking forward to reading them all!