I got this book for my 11 year old daughter who loves Disney and loves reading here is her review:
It’s has been really fun to hear the villains side of the story. We all know about the princesses, but it was interesting to see what happened to the villains to make them so evil.
It was easy for me to read, but I read a lot so maybe this would be hard for some younger kids to read.
I really liked this story and the characters and I can’t wait to read more of the books in this series.

Cold Hearted is the story of how Lady Tremaine became the Evil Stepmother to Cinderella. The book is really fantastic, with a really interesting plot and great characters. I had zero knowledge of Lady Tremaine going into this book, she is really not at all like the character she becomes. But can you blame her? She is really taken advantage of by her cruel new husband. I love the Many Kingdoms setting and of course the characters.

I thought I would enjoy this. A nice little salute to the villains. But honestly it was written for a YYA (young young adult) so it is very plan Jane. I can see myself buying it for someone else. But over all it does have a good story.

Thank you for the E Arc NetGalley and Disney Press. I love these books and their back stories about Disney villains. This one is about Lady Tremain, Drizella and Anastasia and how they got to be the villainous wretches we saw in Cinderella. These are oh so much fun if you are a Disney Villian fan and they often put things into perspective (ie: you just never know what someone is going through!).

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh man! This series is so much fun and I honestly had no idea what I was going to get once I dove into Cold Hearted. I mean.. from the obvious. So, yes, I knew this was going to be about Lady Tremaine and how she became the Evil Stepmother to Cinderella. I just didn't know what twists I was going to get.

Not going to lie, this was so freaking good. Another book that was hard to put down but honestly this whole series has captured my attention so easily. I don't know what I'm going to do since this is book 8 and there's no book 9 (yet).

I will say that I'm not even one bit surprised that the Odd Sisters dipped their toes into Lady Tremaine's life. It was just way too easy to predict that they tried to "help" her in any way. I was surprised that the Fairy Godmother helped out her daughters though. I'm thinking Nanny had a helping in that because she is just really sweet to think of every character in a book.

In the end, I definitely enjoyed this one and I hope Serena writes another book! Not sure who the next villain could be.. maybe Hades?

This book was so much fun to read. I really enjoy this series. Giving us a different perspective of the villains that makes you almost feel sorry for them.

Every princess has their happily ever after, but what about the villains? Just how does a villain of a story become the antagonist and what leads them to their breaking point? Well, everyone knows about Cinderella and how she was put to work in her home until she found her happily ever after, but what led her Stepmother to treat her so cruelly. Well Serena Valentino answers this and many other questions in her 8th installment in her New York Times Best selling Villains series. Cold Hearted starts off with Lady Tremaine widowed and with two headstrong daughters. Although Lady Tremaine is independent, wealthy, and able to take care of herself, she rushes herself into another marriage that takes her to a new land. It is upon her arrival to the Many Kingdoms where her life takes a turn and leads her to become Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother. Serena Valentino takes you deep into the origins of Lady Tremaine and her daughters and what made their lives go astray. Not only is this story extremely well written and adds so much to the story, but the emotions evoked throughout the story makes the reader feel exactly what Lady Tremaine is feeling. This was the very first book I read that made me feel so much for the main character and how she felt. It is because of Ms. Valentino’s writing that makes this story emotional and amazing. I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend it to any Disney fan and to fans of this series. I cannot wait to see what Serena Valentino brings into this series in the future.

I always enjoy the books in this series and as usual this story was good. It did make me really feel awful for lady Tremaine and her daughters though and Cinderella was kind of a brat. Overall the story was really good though. Enjoyed it from the viewpoint of someone moving to many kingdoms. Thank you netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

This is my first read from the Disney Villains series, and I quite enjoyed it! I loved the background story about Lady Tremaine and why she was the way she was portrayed in Cinderella. I did feel it was a bit rushed near the end though, and I definitely wish it was longer! I can't wait to read more of the series!

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this story*

I love this series so much, but for some reason this one just fell flat to me. I think it was a stretch and it just didn’t work as well as the Cruella one did. Still am excited for the next villain!!

I!!! Love!!! This!!! Series!!! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE the fact that these books connect all the Disney princesses in one universe. This is Lady Tremaine’s story, but there are mentions of Snow White and other characters from previous tales, tying every Disney story together into one universe called the Many Kingdoms. The magic from the Many Kingdoms can even reach London in our world, which is where Lady Tremaine and her daughters’ story begin. Believe it or not, Lady Tremaine’s story starts in high society London in the real world before she jumps to Disney princess fairytale land!

That’s my absolute favorite part about this book. It connects the divide between our world and the Many Kingdoms world where the Disney characters reside. This almost gives me hope that I can find a portal to an alternate fairytale reality one day (fingers crossed). This series is a reminder that there’s 2 sides to every story and things aren’t always what they appear on the surface. First, the true villain of this story isn’t even Lady Tremaine, and the stepsisters were not even evil. Hearing what really happened from Lady Tremaine’s POV not only had me actually taking her side, it made made me sort of dislike Cinderella. Geez, Cinderella was a passive aggressive B and over the top spoiled in this book. Not that this excuses her mistreatment in later years, but Lady Tremaine does have a legitimate for disliking Cinderella in this book, and it’s not jealousy. That, plus pent up annoyance from several years of her and her daughters being treated like slaves and having cracked dry hands from the chores Cinderella’s dad forced the three of them to do while Cinderella sat on a pedestal and got whatever she wanted.

This book had me infuriated. I was angry what the Many Kingdoms had done to a previously kind woman who was warped beyond repair from mistreatment and a cruel life. This book really does show there are 2 sides to every story, and the villain might not be who you think. In fact, this book has me seeing Lady Tremaine as the victim, not the villain. I’ll never see the movie Cinderella the same way ever again 😬

The only reason why I’m giving this 4/5 stars is because this book kind of depressed me a bit to be honest, and just made me feel so much pity that I ended up just feeling sad at the end of it. Also, I did not end up enjoying this one as much as some of the prior ones to be honest, but this book still deserves a strong four stars. It’s definitely a worthy addition to the series and I most definitely will be supporting Serena Valentino and this series for as long as she writes them!

Thanks to Netgalley and Disney/Hyperion for sending me an advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed this villain story. Honestly, I was very reluctant because I have never liked Lady Tremaine. I did feel connected to her and her daughters. I very much enjoyed the portion of the book that was told from before they met Cinderella. Another good good in the Villains series.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Although I know that this is #8 in the series, this is actually the first of this series I have read so far. I have heard a LOT about the series though and know that it is highly popular.

I love retellings of old tales just as much as I like retellings of old tales from the villains point of view. This book was exactly what I was hoping it would be. It was a fun new take on a classic that twists the story to be more favorable towards the villains.

Lady Tremaine's backstory was a mix of tragedy and hardships that really help to give insight to her current cold heart and cruel demeanor. When Fairy Godmother goes digging, we get to see so much of her life as well as the lives of her daughters. It is well written and absolutely well imagined. It leads the readers on this lovely reimaging tale that will make them question the villain they once hated as children.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. I literally couldn’t put this book down and finished in one reading. Ever wanted to know the true story of Cinderella’s evil stepmother and step sister? It will definitely surprise you. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book did a great job of explaining how Lady Tremaine became a villain. It gives you a different perspective and it did a great job of building on the previous books. It also linked the story back to the "real world." I have enjoyed this series a lot and it was great to reneter into that world.

I was so so excited to receive this ARC from Disney Publishing Worldwide in exchange for an honest review.
I love Serena Valentino's Villains Series and this book about Lady Tremaine certainly fits well with the other villains. Serena does a great job of giving us the backstory of these "villains" and its wonderful to see the character development all the way to the end of the book. Now to be completely and wholeheartedly honest I was left wanting something more, perhaps more villainous attributes from lady Tremaine and the stepsisters.
This book begins with widowed lady Tremaine living in London with her two spoiled daughters, feel9ing quite lonely surrounded by her deceased husbands belongings. Lady Tremaine decides its time to try to start dating again and goes to Lady Hackles, her best friend, home in the country where she is introduced to Sir Richard, shes been warned that the Many Kingdoms is run by witches but she doesn't believe Nanny. After meeting Sir Richard she is swept up in the love he shows her and decides to Marry him on a Wim and completely uproot her girls from London. Unfortunately Sir Richard isn't all he is cracked up to be and Lady Tremaine wont be living happily ever after.

*NetGalley Arc for review*
5 out of 5 ⭐️
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was 5 out of 5 for me, but I am a sucker from Disney retellings. I feel like the book was just the right length. It didn’t give you to much or not enough information.
This is about the evil stepmother in Cinderella. How she came to be and how her two daughters became how they are. It starts when Lady Tremaine's husband died six years ago and goes to a party where her friend wants to set her up with a man from the Many Kingdoms. When she gets there it isn’t what she expected. That is where the story really begins. I don’t want to tell too much because of spoilers. I do love how it's the fairy godmothers basically reading the story from the book of fairy tales for the story. If you enjoyed the Cinderella story I think you will really enjoy this book.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.

This is the sixth Serena Valentino book that I have read, and I have rather enjoyed each and every one of them. They are always super quick reads for me since I really LOVE any stories centered around Disney villains.

If I had any complaints about this book whatsoever, it would be that the ending felt super rushed. I wanted to spend more time with Lady Tremaine once she finally BECAME the villain and the evil mother she was prophesied to be. Actually now that I really take time to think about it, I feel like we didn't really have the chance to see much of her as the villain at all. There weren't really any in-depth details into her mistreatment of Cinderella, and in the end apart from one scene, her own daughters Anastasia and Drizella. The story instead is mostly focused on how Lady Tremaine meets a man after her husband dies, moves to a strange land with him as his wife, finds out life won't be the way she imagined it, and eventually her steady decline into a sort of madness.

I wouldn't say that it is absolutely necessary to read the other books before this one if you don't want. However, if you choose not to, there is some back story, specifically with the Odd Witches and Circe that you will be missing out on.

I am a huge fan of Disney and it’s villains, and this series has been greatly enjoyable. I was very excited for this addition to the series, both because I enjoy the author’s writing and because there is so little background to Lady Tremaine and her daughters to explain their actions in the classic Disney film. One is supposed to presume that they are merely spoiled and bitter by nature, reflecting their cruel treatment and jealousy onto Cinderella. However this story paints a very different picture by casting a new light on a central but obscure figure, Cinderella’s own father, who has a very direct effect on the characters, the story, and the villainous nature of Lady Tremaine as she evolves from stately grieving widow to hateful and questionably insane dictator of her household who desires nothing shy of absolute control of her children and step daughter and seeks to alter her future in a way she feels she deserves after suffering many years of unhappiness. Unfortunately, despite what may be the best of intentions, the Odd Sisters once again intervene and alter the story in ways that are most unpleasant. This is a quick but I engaging read and a true twist on a classic most people thought they knew. It will enthrall anyone who is a fan of Cinderella or Disney villains, young or older. It has a lot of detail and makes the central character of Lady Tremaine far more relatable and at least some what sympathetic. The narration flows in a rapid fashion that sweeps you into the story and links it together with other Disney kingdoms and past volumes in the series. The emotions and thoughts of the characters are pivotal to the story and make it quite engrossing. All in all, another grand addition to this series. I hope we get future stories starring Scar, Hades, Madame Medusa, Madame Mim, Gaston, Jafar, Captain Hook, Dr Facilier, Edgar the Butler, The Queen of Hearts, Shere Khan, Clayton, Mordu, Hans, Syndrome, Yzma, Frollo, Zira, Shan Yu, Randall, Rourke, Charles Muntz, Professor Callaghan, Gantu, and King Candy/ Turbo.

I don't know how to describe it, but I really wanted more from this. There was so much potential in this, and this book only tapped some of it.

I did love the way that Cinderella, the stepsisters, and Lady Tremaine were written. I was worried that Cinderella would either be villainized, or the stepsisters would be made out to be monsters. I was so happy that those routes were avoided. I liked the twist that the father was the reason for the enmity.

I really wish this had been longer. I wanted more exploration of how the stepsisters felt, and more on how Cinderella was treated. We got a bit of that, but it wasn't enough for me.

This was a quick and enjoyable read, but it could've been better. It was definitely a neat twist on the tale of Cinderella though!

Thanks to Netgalley and Serena Valentino for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!