Everyone knows the story of Cinderella and her Ugly Stepsisters, but Anastasia and Drizella Tremaine weren't always terrible. Once upon a time, long before the glass slipper and the ball, the two girls had hopes and dreams of their own. Their father left them alone with their mother when they were young, and since that day, their lives have been difficult and painful. Now, the girls are teenagers, and their mother has drilled into them the importance of marrying for wealth, not love. But their plans do not match up with their mother's, and they must keep their plans for the future a secret.

For the most part, I really liked getting to know the sisters and their backstory. It made them more human, and true to real life, shows that most people aren't born wicked, life's circumstances make them so. I definitely had a lot more empathy for them, even if I still don't like them. This story was infinitely better than the Disney Villain novels, and I'm excited to see how the rest of the Dark Descent novels end up.

I received this ARC courtesy of NetGalley, in return for my honest review.

The most interesting take on Cinderella's sisters since the animated direct to VHS movie that told the stories about things that happened after she married the prince.

This was a very interesting prequel of sorts to the well-known story of Cinderella. It was interesting to read in the perspective of the “wicked” stepsisters, Drizella (Drizzy) and Anastasia (Annie). This novel does a very good job of balancing your sympathies for these characters with your inherent disdain of what they ultimately become. Really intriguing read that balances everything well. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!

I really enjoyed the Wicked Ones and it's take on the original Cinderella Story! This books features and discusses trauma well and found this added a new layer of depth and dimension to the original story.

A very interesting take on Cinderella. I think this is as realistic a portrayal of trauma as you can get in a fairy tale environment, and I adore the acknowledgement that Cinderella dressing the mice is really weird. I think there could still have been a bit more dimension added to the characters, and the pacing throughout the novel was a bit off.

A Cinderella retelling that secifically focuses on the evil stepsisters, Anastasia and Drizella. This was a fun read, although predictable because we all know these girls aren't going to have a happy ending, don't we? Still, I liked this look into their separate stories and the idea that they both had hearts that could be broken.

I found this book to be very interesting. Seeing the characters of Anastasia and Drizella live their lives from their point of views brought a new light to the story. I know that canonically Cinderella is 19 in the Disneyverse so I knew this story probably wouldn't focus on her happily ever after. Which partly makes me happy because I love Anastasia's relationship with the baker in the sequels. Both the sisters voices felt unique to me and I wasn't confused at all with the point of view change. And the subtle hints of possible magic was interesting as well.

SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING: My only complaint with this story was the ending. At 95% of the book Anastasia and Drizella decided to change their ways and despise Cinderella when really it was all their mothers fault. Granted, I do understand that they can't take their rage out on their mother and this could actually be a decent representation of abuse victims.

An enjoyable look into the motivations of the recognizable but previously unexplored personalities of the Cinderella's stepsisters, as well as the villianous nature of the stepmother. However, I would have liked to see more interaction between the sisters and Cinderella while I can understand where their actions came from towards their mother it was hard to believe just how they jumped to such intense hatred for Cinderella. I also felt that the side characters could have used more development.

Life is full of stories, and it is so sad that so many times one only gets to hear one side of the story. That is why I love when authors can delve into this type of storytelling. Hearing the stepsisters story brings another dimension to a tale that we all know and love. Let’s be honest in the movie there is so little attention given to Drusilla and Anastasia. Now we do learn more about them in the sequels, but one must wonder why they are so evil. This book does just such a lovely job of showing both girls side of the story and making it a more realistic version of how Cinderella caught the prince’s eye. I truly loved being able to see the relationship between both sisters and how each of them had dreams and goals. This book truly shows how nature and nurture can really change how someone develops and grows. It breaks my heart that Lady Tremaine felt that she needed to continue to manipulate the girls to the point where they lost their dreams just like she had so long ago. I think this is a fabulous book and one that lovers of the Cinderella story will enjoy reading.
Thank you so much to Disney Publishing and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

A retelling of Cinderella focusing on the step sisters Drizella and Anastasia. I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. I have to say this story had me rooting for the wicked step sisters and I never thought that would happen.

Love fairy tale retellings, and appreciated this one done from the perspective of two "villians." Looking forward to others in this series.

<i>"'Ugly stepsisters,' Anastasia replies. 'They called us ugly.'
Drizella nods, then smiles. There's something in the look on her face that would have scared Anastasia before tonight, but now there's a familiarity to it, the darkness in Anastasia rising up to meet her sister's.
'There's all kinds of ugly,' Drizella continues. 'If people though we were ugly then, just wait.' She turns back and looks at the moon, waiting a few beats before speaking again. 'We will be absolutely wicked.'"</i>

TL;DR: A prequel-of-sorts to Disney's 1950 <i>Cinderella</i> which attempts to both (1) humanize Cinderella's 'ugly' stepsisters and (2) show how they came to be so 'ugly' (on the inside). Unfortunately, IMO, trying to do both prevents Benway from successfully doing both. Since Drizella and Anastasia are sympathetic characters for most of the book, their 'turn' at the end requires a large suspension of belief, which ultimately didn't work for me -- and also raised a lot of questions about the plot of the story.

<i>Disclaimer: I received an ARC from Netgalley & Disney Publishing in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Vibes: Disney's 1950 <i>Cinderella</i> + <i>Ever After</i> + Great Expectations' Miss Havisham with a dash of anachronistic feminism

Genre: YA/NA Fairy Tale Retelling
*Both Drizella and Anastasia read older than their 16/17 y/o characters (IMO) and I think Disney fans of any age might give this one a shot.

Romance Meter: 🖤 🖤 ♡ ♡ ♡

Character MVP: ...
I guess *maybe* Drizella...? The ending kinda undercuts any lingering affection for the characters.

Verdict: 3.5 stars, rounded down to 3.

I wanted to love this, I really did.

And I will say this: it was *much* better than Valentino's take on the Cinderella story / Lady Tremaine because...woof. That one HURT.

Going in, I didn't know anything about this story -- except that it was the first in a new series -- The Dark Ascension series, which I can't find much about online -- and that it was about Cinderella's stepsisters.

And, if I'm being honest, for about 2/3 of the book I thought it was a version of the Twisted Tales stories, or like what I thought Valentino's Villains series was going to be, where we got a slightly different version of the story that showed and/or redeemed characters we thought were villainous.

For most of the story, Drizella and Anastasia are largely sympathetic characters: Lady Tremaine is painted as a deliciously & humanly cruel villain (i.e., her cruelty comes from human emotion and not any fantastical magic, making it all the more terrifying because it's more *real*) who manipulates and terrorizes her biological and step-children in a sociopathic way.

Drizella and Anastasia, then, are very much the victims in this story: abandoned by their father, cruelly mocked* by their new stepfather, and then pitted against Ella and emotionally abused by Lady Tremaine. Yet through it all, like Ella, they remain if not kind, at least close to, and supportive of, each other.
<i>*It really kinda bothered me that Ella's father mocked the girls at the party or event that they were at. He's a paper-thin character, and to be so casually cruel doesn't seem in keeping with his character -- at least not without more development. It just seemed like an unnecessary addition to the sister's victimhood.</i>

Much of the story, then, revolves around them trying to escape from Lady Tremaine's Miss-Havisham-like tyranny.
Drizella abandons her singing lessons to learn science from...the Fairy Godmother? At any rate, a widowed independent elderly woman headed to the Sorbonne.
Anastasia gives up her flute lessons to pursue a romance with the stablemaster of the Palace.
And for a minute, you almost believe that maybe all 3 girls could live happily-ever-after and that the real story is how they banded together to escape Lady Tremaine's tyranny.

Which, TBH, I kinda would preferred.

Because the ending, however much it was telegraphed throughout the story, just seemed to give in to typical notions of beauty and goodness. Drizella and Anastasia are 'ugly,' and don't get happy endings. Ella is 'pretty,' and we know how her story ends. When Drizella and Anastasia lose out on this chance at happiness, they do a 180 and completely "give in to their dark sides," letting their mother's deceptive words twist their emotions even though they KNOW that's what's happening.

So, yeah. Disappointing on that front.

But on the other hand, the way this story is constructed raises A LOT of questions.
One of the details that Benway adds is that the Prince is having a "debut ball" where he's....presented to society, I guess? And while it does provide a chance at redeeming the shallow love-at-first-sight trope of the movie (Cinderella and the Prince DO meet before the Marriage Ball, and he knows a TINY BIT about her), for me, it didn't really work.

For one thing, Lady Tremaine knows the Prince is interested in Ella AND she knows that she's pretty and talented. It's also made clear that she knows her bio-daughters are NOT (and she reminds them of that at every turn.) So it doesn't make a ton of sense -- to me -- as to why she would seriously pin all of her hopes on rising out of poverty on the untalented and unattractive ones. Better to marry Ella to the Prince and ride her success. I get that she's the villain and she delights in torturing these girls because...mothers and daughters fight? IDK; that was weak IMO...but it's a bit of a plot-hole for me.

Second, I felt that "OMG Anastasia and Drizella are so WeIrD" was a bit heavy-handed. It seems to be that every single girl in this entire town/kingdom is pretty and talented EXCEPT for Drizella and Anastasia? Clearly not everyone is on Ella's level, but there are no other average-looking girls? No other lower-middle-class girls? No other unfashionable awkward girls? And ALL of these pretty, talented girls are mean? No one is kind to them?
Again, it just requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief here.

Finally, for someone who's holed up in her falling-apart-manor-house, and is seemingly ostracized by most of society, Lady Tremaine still manages to somehow wield a ton of social capital and power. Not sure how that works.

So...yeah. Wanted to love this, but too many questions/plot holes and capitulating to the easy, formulaic ending just didn't work for me.

I really liked the characterizations of the step-sister and the way they were fleshed out in the book. Anastasia especially was in line with what we see of her as a romantic in the direct-to-video sequels to the original movie. The third-person, present tense voice of the writing I also found to be very engaging. You really empathize with the sisters and want them to get their happy endings, which makes it all the more of a gut-punch when they don't. Can't say that I was a fan of the rather tired trope that corsets are only useful as torture devices, though.

As someone who loves classic twist retellings, naturally I was drawn to this title. Cinderella isn’t necessarily one of my favorite Disney films, but “The Wicked Ones” had me look at the story in a new way.

Drizella and Anastasia are written sympathetically so that the ending is griping, but disappointing. I thought that with this style of retelling, there would be some redemption but that wasn’t the case. “The Wicked Ones” is the 1st in The Dark Ascension Series, which I imagine will be very popular and a collection that I’m sure will look lovely on many young adult bookshelves. I especially love Robin McKinley’s fairy tale retellings, but they are a bit too graphic for my classroom bookshelf, so I imagine The Dark Ascension Series will be a nice compromise.

As a science teacher, Drizella’s arc was especially interesting and I hope inspires younger readers. My only real issue with “The Wicked Ones” was I know some readers will have issues with the abuse, especially emotional abuse, Lady Tremaine puts her daughters and Ella through. It is written so thickly, I struggled with a few parts. Students may need to talk through parts of this book as they read it.

Thank you Disney Worldwide Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC preview.

This is an amazing book that feels like a sneak peek behind the scenes of Disney characters.

The stories of Drizila and Anastasia has so many layers that I adored. I enjoyed how it was side by side to the movie, and we got to learn their point of views and feelings.

Superb book for every Disney lover.

I really wanted to like this book, but I found that I just couldn’t get fully into it. It was definitely interesting to see the stepsisters perspectives and how much they were hurt. It made me empathize with them a little bit until the end of the story. I feel as though I was hoping for more with the ending but in understanding Cinderella realized it wouldn’t happen. Overall I give this story a 3/5 stars. Thank you beta galley and publishers for the advanced copy.

Trigger warnings for abuse by a parent/step parent
It was an interesting twist to Cinderella showing the POV of the sisters but just wasn't as good as I was hoping for.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Disney Publishing Worldwide and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

I enjoyed this book a lot. I found the tale of Cinderellas stepsisters really interesting to read and it did help explain a lot of their behaviour and resentment of Cinderella. In many ways they are just as much victims of their mothers abuse as Cinderella is, and they sadly become products of the environment they were raised in. One thing I will say is that the physical abuse of Cinderella and her stepsisters by Lady Tremaine is described not in overly explicit terms but certainly in enough detail that some might find it upsetting, so be aware of that. Overall, this was a good read and I do feel it adds good backstory to the characters.