Scan barcode
josie_rmz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
skyesbookishlife's review against another edition
dark
emotional
fast-paced
5.0
I really loved this one and finally getting more info about the odd sisters. I felt this story really helped tie the rest of the series together again and enjoyed it from start to finish. The ending to this one was very well done!
chrisynthia's review against another edition
2.0
Just couldn't get into this book. Not exactly sure why but I will go back to read the series in order to see if it helps.
ariannarosereads's review against another edition
4.0
Fell short of what I was expecting, definitely disappointed. Hardly any new information. It was mostly Nanny and the FGM fighting over who they should protect. Not much action just a lot of talking. Got my hopes up for a big battle then was let down. This book was also centered around Circe as she is learning about her mothers as Snow White just tags along. It felt like the plot dragged on. Snow almost found something about the odd sisters then didn’t. Then Hazel and Primrose came to life randomly and for no reason other than to tell stories of the past with Jacob. There’s still so many unanswered questions and Valentino left us on a cliffhanger!! I really hope she writes more books about the Odd Sisters. The odd sisters are a catalyst. Once they enter a story, things turn south for the main characters. They are typically what cause the main character to turn into a villain, if they mean to or not. The Odd Sisters are the true villains, but I also feel for them because they were on their own wielding so much power and then gave all the best parts of themselves to Circe only for them to slowly go insane.
Everyone mind reading each other got super boring! Valentino’s writing had a person think a thought then a mind reader would say that exact thought. It was repetitive and annoying. Positive note: I loved the little drawings before each chapter in this book! I really wish they did it in all the books. The art was truly beautiful!
Prologue, in the voice of Circe, was long and basically a summary of the last five books. Circe is reading her sisters spellbooks and learning about them. Where did the first (original) Circe’s powers come from? How was she originally born?
Grimhilde came to visit them through the mirrors in the dreamscape but not for revenge, for help. She wants to odd sisters to bring snow white back to her. Working together they hope to get revenge and get their daughters back Circe and snow.
We find out where the house took Circe and Snow White. It was the Beginning, where the house was built. It was outside the many kingdom to keep their secrets safe if the odd sisters were away from home. The beginning was a celestial landscape filled with stars and swirling constellations. Once Circe took away her mothers powers in the dreamscape and trapped them in the house started to travel wherever her heart lead them. I’m assuming the house now listen to Circe! I want to know more about the beginning!!
Circe read in the book a fairy tales the ending to maleficent story. We find out nanny and fairy godmother help Oberon’s army and repair the damages to the castle. They are informed that true loves kiss worked and Aurora has woken up. Nanny finds peace in the knowledge that maleficent would live on in Aurora and she would be happy with her true love.
Circe notices that the cup snow white is drinking out of is hers. The odd sister‘s took the cup and many other cups from other people. As Snow White is telling why she thinks they took the cup, Circe throws it across the room and it shatters against the wall. Circe is going to MorningStar castle to talk to Nanny and leave Snow White to read the books and letters. Snow White doesn’t wanna go home yet; she likes gaining independence away from her mother, Grimhilde.
On the way to the castle she comes across Pflanze, the cat. She’s not happy to see Circe. Pflanze says when Circe took away her mothers powers every spell they had ever cast was broken. Pflanze is loyal to the sisters and reminds Circe that she was there for the sisters long before Circe was born. She watched them slowly deteriorate because they wanted to bring Circe back. All for the love of their sister. They gave all the goodness in them to her to bring her back from the dead. Since she is a part of them to hurt them would be like hurting herself. (The same thing Manea said to Gothel) She asked Pflanze why her mothers hated Snow White: The odd sisters hated Snow White but their hate switch from Snow White to Grimhilde when she escorted them out of the solstice celebration humiliating them in front of the entire court. The odd sister still want to see Snow White dead. Pflanze told her to tell snow to read why they hate her in their journals.
Circes powers are growing. She blinked to Nanny just by thinking about her. (Does she have too much power like Ursula and Maleficent, will she turn evil? Her anger has been getting the best of her)
Oberon sends the FGM a letter saying The odd sisters are trying to lure maleficent from the other side the veil to fire their side. Circe wonders if they have the power to bring people back from the dead (if they took Gothel’s mothers blood they sure would) Lucinda has been keeping a secret from her own sisters!
Show white thinks she found something about the odd sisters in Gothel’s story. When she went to show Circe the page disappeared and all it said was the story is still being written. Ooo what does that mean?
Maleficent’s death bonded the FGM and nanny. Tulip comes in the room wearing trousers and FGM is baffled. Circe thinks the fairies should start protecting other people besides princesses. If maleficent and other people like Ursula were protected with the help of fairy magic maybe they wouldn’t have turned evil or died. FGM is not in favor of this idea and she says we can’t do anything till you bring it to the fairy council first and that’s when nanny tells her that her mothers are about to put on trial. They are going to decide what the consequences should be for the damage they’ve done and to keep them from ever causing destruction again. Circe is annoyed she wants to decide on her own what to do with her mothers and didn’t want the fairies to chime in and that decision. FGM is so irritating! I wish she was more open minded and stopped bossing people around.
Snow was questioning how the odd sisters knew so much about Gothel’s ancestry and how they were able to enter the deadwoods. Suddenly a new story popped up in the book of fairy tales called the morning box.
Chapter 5 the best and most interesting chapter in probably the entire book! Nestis was Manea’s mother. She was actually loving towards Manea and trained her in witchcraft because she foresaw her bringing a powerful witch into the world. Manea had a daughter but Nestis wanted more she wanted three witches. She told Manea they will split the baby witch into three. To make them stronger she would give them her blood. She wants to reign beyond the boundaries of the dead woods. Nestis said the ancestors agreed but Manea didn’t believe her. She talked to the ancestors about her mother’s plan. They said no one in their line has tied to extend their rule beyond the boundary since the first. Nestis caught Manea talking to the ancestors and got very mad. She told Manea to give her the baby. Manea said no. Nestis ordered Manea’s lover a human named Jacob to come. He was badly injuries by two skeletons. She told Manea to give her the child or watch her lover die. Manea loved Jacob and had the baby with him all under her mother’s orders because she knew she’d birth the most powerful witch. Since all the others were created with magic. And that’s where the story ended…the pages were ripped out. Snow wants to go to Ms. T’s house to look at Gothel’s library for answers. So her and Circe head that way.
When they got to Ms. T’s house she was making a bunch of marzipan animals. They asked how she was doing since Circe gave her her memories back. She said just fine but she’s tired. She said her job is done and told them Primrose and Hazel woke up a few days ago, and are heading home. (Back to the dead woods!?) Apperentally the field was filled with rapunzel flowers. (My guess is Jacob did plant tons of rapunzel flowers by the cottage but the odd sisters told Gothel they all died but one. After Circe took your powers away and broke all their spells so did they cast a spell on Gothel’s garden that they wouldn’t grow or be seen!?)
Nanny didn’t identify as a fairy didn’t wear her wings because she thought fairies were frivolous and silly. She’d rather be identified as a witch. FGM said she’d have to wear them for the council meeting. Since Oberon was sleeping and nanny lost her memories, FGM ruled and looked after the fairylands the best she could. Nanny wants to make changes and feels Oberon and the blue fairy will come to her side. (Woo hoo! Love how accepting the blue fairy is)
Preparing for the council meeting, all the fairies flocked to nanny and FGM in a panic. The odd sisters have escaped the land of dreams. They’ve awoken and left Morningstar castle! Nanny thinks Pflanze did it! (She does have her own powers and is loyal to the sisters.)
Snow and Circe are heading to the dead woods to make sure primrose and Hazel have a comfortable transition with the passage of time and the loss of their home and sister. On the way, nanny talks to Circe through the mirror and warns her they aren’t safe. She warns her that the odd sisters are awake. Circe summons Pflanze who is presumed to be dead in the Morningstar castle with tulip crying over her dead body. If Pflanze woke the sisters from the dream world, she might not survive the ordeal. (Poor Pflanze!! Agitated she woke the sisters but sad if she’s really gone forever!)
Circe gave snow a silver flask on a chain to wear as a necklace but didn’t say why. (Must be important like a way to protect her)
Lucinda is in the “in between”. Stuck between life and death. She is looking for Maleficent. She wants to raise her from the dead. She needs to find Opal. She rests and regains her strength so she can return to the living.
Snow and Circe landed the house in the deadwoods. Circe prepared the house for primrose and Hazel just in case they arrive there. Snow is looking for the last pages of the mourning box. Snow wonders if they should waken Jacob but how!? She wonders how they were able to even come into the deadwoods. (I assume because Circe is made from the odd sisters and they are most likely Manea’s children that’s how they share the blood)
Primrose and Hazel arrive. They tell Circe they were in the in between. They know everything that happened because they listened to the living all those years. They all go to wake Jacob and the sisters tell Circe to do it. They said Jacob will be happy to see Circe. A spell somehow came to her and he woke. Circe feels a connection the sisters. Primrose seems different, meaner and less lighthearted (is it the blood?) primrose and Hazel seem to be able to read Circe’s mind…(they must all share the blood of Manea)Jacob tells a prophecy of Circe, one made from three, “ does she bring her mothers crashing down on us or have they been safely stowed away“. The sisters and Jacob are about to give her answers!! Finally! New information!
Jacob had the ripped pages from the mourning box story because he ripped them out to protect Gothel. The fairytale book was once Manea’s and it now belongs to the odd sisters. The pages told the rest of the story. Jacob was killed and Nestis took Lucinda and split her into three. Manea was to raise them equally and give them each names. Ruby and Martha, but they will always be Lucinda. Nestis thought Lucinda split into three would be the most powerful witches but Circe is the witch the ancestors foretold (most powerful witch in the line). Circe is Jacob’s granddaughter, how cute!! Manea sent the odd sisters away (not sure why, but it seems to break Jacob’s heart. That’s probably why they came back and destroyed the dead woods for revenge) Circe is the true heir of the dead woods after the odd sisters die (how do the odd sisters stay so young for so long without the Rapunzel?? I wonder if Circe will kill them). I find it odd that primrose and Hazel are helping Circe.
The fairy counsel is a joke! I agree with Nanny why is there a need for bows and tea for war planning. They aren’t taking the odd sisters punishment seriously. FGM still isn’t taking accountability for Maleficent turning evil and failing her like Nanny has. FGM ostracizes anyone who is not a prince or princess. She needs to be more accepting like Nanny. This chapter was excruciating to read. FGM really gets on my nerves! We do find out Nanny and the FGM saw the odd sisters when they were babies. They were Nanny’s first case. She gave them to the Whites a royal family in need of a child. Nanny saw that they had evil in their future but she gave them a chance to change their fate just like she did with Maleficent. That is why the fairies stopped helping witches. Oberon finally chimes in and says the fairies need to extend their reach to anyone in need and that the odd sisters have resurrected Maleficent and she is on her way to destroy the fairylands. Oberon wants the fairies to protect the fairylands and the dead woods where Circe and snow are. FGM is ticked and says she’ll step down before protecting the dead woods and Oberon basically says OK nanny is in charge then. (I like Nanny way better anyway!)
Snow White finds Lucinda’s journal. Various notes about various people. She loves Maleficent and wanted her to join them so they made the stars align so she would turn into a dragon. She is upset that Gothel was her true sister and she chose her fake sisters. They wanted their family back! There is a tea cup spell (finally we learn why they were stealing everyone’s cups). They basically are the odd sisters’ voodoo dolls. They have objects of desire (interesting that the shadowman is in there, I wonder what objects belong to who). Snow White is on the last page. It says she will take from us what we cherish most, must kill her. They foresaw how Circe would come to love her that’s why they were planning on killing her when they visited in the first book!! (What a silly reason to kill someone.) When Circe broke Snow White’s cup in anger, it hurt Grimhilde and she’s being forced out of the mirror. The mirror shattered! Snow white will never see her mother again just like the odd sisters wanted! Grimhilde’s almost lifeless body laid on the floor with cuts all over her body. Just then the odd sisters came out of the empty mirror all contorted and locked Snow White and Grimhilde in the room with them. Duh duh duhhh!
They told her that Grimhilde helped them resurrect maleficent‘s dragon form by capturing opal. She helped them get Pflanze to help them escape the dreamworld. She even put the apple outside snow whites door all to get snow to come back to her. Grimhilde whispered I love you and then smashed into a million pieces. Snow felt horror, grief and relief. The odd sisters tell her she has a black heart after all wishing her mother dead and hating them. They tried to kill snow when Circe, primrose and Hazel broke in. Circe told snow to drink the flask necklace she gave her (must be some safety spell).
Oh snap!! Circe put her blood in the flask!! Snow drank Circe’s blood!! The odd sisters are pissed they want to destroy everything. Then Jacob, their father comes in and gets them to relax. (Weird how Jacob talks and the odd sisters are strangely calm…)Tells them he loves them and that he never wanted to send them away but they had no other choice. They all sat down and calmly listened to him (again weird, every book someone is like hey sit down and listen to my story). He told them that the ancestors saw that the odd sisters would destroy the dead woods if they stayed. Nestis wanted to extend her reach beyond the dead woods just like the odd sisters are doing now so the ancestors stopped her and forced Manea to give the odd sisters to the fairies. Jacob and Manea tried to fight the ancestors but they were too powerful. Manea feared her daughters! Jacob wishes he could go back and keep them in the deadwoods and never created Gothel or her sisters. Then they would have ruled as queens instead of wandering around the many kingdoms lost. Definitely gave Jacob and the sisters closure!!
We find out Lucinda changed Manea’s spells. She twisted them which made them rebound and slowly degenerate them. They are being destroyed just like Maleficent. Circe took all the goodness from them and they are left with nothing but darkness and hysteria. (If they stayed in the deadwoods, they would have been taught not to tamper with the spells and none of this would have happened. I think the ancestors had way too much say!)
Lucinda wants to keep their promise they made in the dreamlands. Their promise wrapped in hate. To kill everyone so Circe would only have them. They became the queens of the dead and made all the night creatures living in the walls come to life. They want dominion over all so they unleashed the creatures of the deadwoods on the many kingdoms and the fairylands. Harpies, dragons, gorgons and many other creatures started making their way out of the dead woods. (Yes! I’d love to see more of the creatures and hear their stories!)
Oberon warned Manea that sending the odd sisters away would be a mistake. He is filled with regret for taking them in. He is the one that charged nanny with the odd sisters. Plot Twist: He took nanny’s memories away because of all the chaos and heartbreak she suffered. They are preparing for battle. Fairies against witches!
Opal switched loyalties. She no longer was loyal to Maleficent but Circe for she saw what Maleficent turned into. As the fairies prepared to fight Maleficent, she died another painful death. (Literally brought to life to do the odd sisters bidding and then died a second painful death…Which probably means Circe killed the odd sisters…)
Nope just kidding! Circe sacrificed herself by plunging a piece of mirror glass in her heart! When she died, she gave all the good parts of them back and they would no longer be mad. Will they want to live without Circe their daughter!? Circe saved everyone!! The odd sisters still haven’t woke up yet.
Snow is desperate to get Circe back she wants to use Gothel’s flowers to bring her back. Primrose tells her if they bring her back the odd sisters will go mad again. Snows evil said comes out and she recommends killing the odd sisters so she can have Circe back. (I mean I also thought this but it is completely out of character for Snow) Hazel said Circe made her choice. She knew she could kill her mothers or kill herself and they would be restored back to their whole selves. Snow is still not having it. Hazel told her to take comfort knowing that Circe is know living within her mothers (just like nanny found comfort in knowing Aurora was made from all the good parts of Maleficent). Snow White is still very upset that this isn’t how it’s supposed to end. Then Gothel and all the ancestors said Circe and the odd sisters are in the in between and will be given a choice of who stays and who goes.
In the between, the odd sisters where back to their old selves, the sisters Circe once knew not the mad meddling women they turned into after bringing her back from the dead. Mrs. T was there serving them in their kitchen and Pflanze was there too even though he was too weak to talk to them. They are all happy the odd sisters are themselves again, but they wish Circe didn’t have to die to reverse their spell. (I was wondering how to reverse the spell because I thought Maleficent could have just killed Aurora and been herself again.)
It ends on a cliffhanger! What in the world! They are all still in the place between and they have to listen to know the answer. What in the world!? Why not add a few more pages and tell us if Circe or the odd sisters live again? Snow obviously wants Circe back but she’s not impartial. She hates the odd sisters but they literally haven’t been themselves. I’m not saying they didn’t do some messed up things and deserve to come back to life but goodness. Maybe they should all stay in the between together.
Everyone mind reading each other got super boring! Valentino’s writing had a person think a thought then a mind reader would say that exact thought. It was repetitive and annoying. Positive note: I loved the little drawings before each chapter in this book! I really wish they did it in all the books. The art was truly beautiful!
Prologue, in the voice of Circe, was long and basically a summary of the last five books. Circe is reading her sisters spellbooks and learning about them. Where did the first (original) Circe’s powers come from? How was she originally born?
Grimhilde came to visit them through the mirrors in the dreamscape but not for revenge, for help. She wants to odd sisters to bring snow white back to her. Working together they hope to get revenge and get their daughters back Circe and snow.
We find out where the house took Circe and Snow White. It was the Beginning, where the house was built. It was outside the many kingdom to keep their secrets safe if the odd sisters were away from home. The beginning was a celestial landscape filled with stars and swirling constellations. Once Circe took away her mothers powers in the dreamscape and trapped them in the house started to travel wherever her heart lead them. I’m assuming the house now listen to Circe! I want to know more about the beginning!!
Circe read in the book a fairy tales the ending to maleficent story. We find out nanny and fairy godmother help Oberon’s army and repair the damages to the castle. They are informed that true loves kiss worked and Aurora has woken up. Nanny finds peace in the knowledge that maleficent would live on in Aurora and she would be happy with her true love.
Circe notices that the cup snow white is drinking out of is hers. The odd sister‘s took the cup and many other cups from other people. As Snow White is telling why she thinks they took the cup, Circe throws it across the room and it shatters against the wall. Circe is going to MorningStar castle to talk to Nanny and leave Snow White to read the books and letters. Snow White doesn’t wanna go home yet; she likes gaining independence away from her mother, Grimhilde.
On the way to the castle she comes across Pflanze, the cat. She’s not happy to see Circe. Pflanze says when Circe took away her mothers powers every spell they had ever cast was broken. Pflanze is loyal to the sisters and reminds Circe that she was there for the sisters long before Circe was born. She watched them slowly deteriorate because they wanted to bring Circe back. All for the love of their sister. They gave all the goodness in them to her to bring her back from the dead. Since she is a part of them to hurt them would be like hurting herself. (The same thing Manea said to Gothel) She asked Pflanze why her mothers hated Snow White: The odd sisters hated Snow White but their hate switch from Snow White to Grimhilde when she escorted them out of the solstice celebration humiliating them in front of the entire court. The odd sister still want to see Snow White dead. Pflanze told her to tell snow to read why they hate her in their journals.
Circes powers are growing. She blinked to Nanny just by thinking about her. (Does she have too much power like Ursula and Maleficent, will she turn evil? Her anger has been getting the best of her)
Oberon sends the FGM a letter saying The odd sisters are trying to lure maleficent from the other side the veil to fire their side. Circe wonders if they have the power to bring people back from the dead (if they took Gothel’s mothers blood they sure would) Lucinda has been keeping a secret from her own sisters!
Show white thinks she found something about the odd sisters in Gothel’s story. When she went to show Circe the page disappeared and all it said was the story is still being written. Ooo what does that mean?
Maleficent’s death bonded the FGM and nanny. Tulip comes in the room wearing trousers and FGM is baffled. Circe thinks the fairies should start protecting other people besides princesses. If maleficent and other people like Ursula were protected with the help of fairy magic maybe they wouldn’t have turned evil or died. FGM is not in favor of this idea and she says we can’t do anything till you bring it to the fairy council first and that’s when nanny tells her that her mothers are about to put on trial. They are going to decide what the consequences should be for the damage they’ve done and to keep them from ever causing destruction again. Circe is annoyed she wants to decide on her own what to do with her mothers and didn’t want the fairies to chime in and that decision. FGM is so irritating! I wish she was more open minded and stopped bossing people around.
Snow was questioning how the odd sisters knew so much about Gothel’s ancestry and how they were able to enter the deadwoods. Suddenly a new story popped up in the book of fairy tales called the morning box.
Chapter 5 the best and most interesting chapter in probably the entire book! Nestis was Manea’s mother. She was actually loving towards Manea and trained her in witchcraft because she foresaw her bringing a powerful witch into the world. Manea had a daughter but Nestis wanted more she wanted three witches. She told Manea they will split the baby witch into three. To make them stronger she would give them her blood. She wants to reign beyond the boundaries of the dead woods. Nestis said the ancestors agreed but Manea didn’t believe her. She talked to the ancestors about her mother’s plan. They said no one in their line has tied to extend their rule beyond the boundary since the first. Nestis caught Manea talking to the ancestors and got very mad. She told Manea to give her the baby. Manea said no. Nestis ordered Manea’s lover a human named Jacob to come. He was badly injuries by two skeletons. She told Manea to give her the child or watch her lover die. Manea loved Jacob and had the baby with him all under her mother’s orders because she knew she’d birth the most powerful witch. Since all the others were created with magic. And that’s where the story ended…the pages were ripped out. Snow wants to go to Ms. T’s house to look at Gothel’s library for answers. So her and Circe head that way.
When they got to Ms. T’s house she was making a bunch of marzipan animals. They asked how she was doing since Circe gave her her memories back. She said just fine but she’s tired. She said her job is done and told them Primrose and Hazel woke up a few days ago, and are heading home. (Back to the dead woods!?) Apperentally the field was filled with rapunzel flowers. (My guess is Jacob did plant tons of rapunzel flowers by the cottage but the odd sisters told Gothel they all died but one. After Circe took your powers away and broke all their spells so did they cast a spell on Gothel’s garden that they wouldn’t grow or be seen!?)
Nanny didn’t identify as a fairy didn’t wear her wings because she thought fairies were frivolous and silly. She’d rather be identified as a witch. FGM said she’d have to wear them for the council meeting. Since Oberon was sleeping and nanny lost her memories, FGM ruled and looked after the fairylands the best she could. Nanny wants to make changes and feels Oberon and the blue fairy will come to her side. (Woo hoo! Love how accepting the blue fairy is)
Preparing for the council meeting, all the fairies flocked to nanny and FGM in a panic. The odd sisters have escaped the land of dreams. They’ve awoken and left Morningstar castle! Nanny thinks Pflanze did it! (She does have her own powers and is loyal to the sisters.)
Snow and Circe are heading to the dead woods to make sure primrose and Hazel have a comfortable transition with the passage of time and the loss of their home and sister. On the way, nanny talks to Circe through the mirror and warns her they aren’t safe. She warns her that the odd sisters are awake. Circe summons Pflanze who is presumed to be dead in the Morningstar castle with tulip crying over her dead body. If Pflanze woke the sisters from the dream world, she might not survive the ordeal. (Poor Pflanze!! Agitated she woke the sisters but sad if she’s really gone forever!)
Circe gave snow a silver flask on a chain to wear as a necklace but didn’t say why. (Must be important like a way to protect her)
Lucinda is in the “in between”. Stuck between life and death. She is looking for Maleficent. She wants to raise her from the dead. She needs to find Opal. She rests and regains her strength so she can return to the living.
Snow and Circe landed the house in the deadwoods. Circe prepared the house for primrose and Hazel just in case they arrive there. Snow is looking for the last pages of the mourning box. Snow wonders if they should waken Jacob but how!? She wonders how they were able to even come into the deadwoods. (I assume because Circe is made from the odd sisters and they are most likely Manea’s children that’s how they share the blood)
Primrose and Hazel arrive. They tell Circe they were in the in between. They know everything that happened because they listened to the living all those years. They all go to wake Jacob and the sisters tell Circe to do it. They said Jacob will be happy to see Circe. A spell somehow came to her and he woke. Circe feels a connection the sisters. Primrose seems different, meaner and less lighthearted (is it the blood?) primrose and Hazel seem to be able to read Circe’s mind…(they must all share the blood of Manea)Jacob tells a prophecy of Circe, one made from three, “ does she bring her mothers crashing down on us or have they been safely stowed away“. The sisters and Jacob are about to give her answers!! Finally! New information!
Jacob had the ripped pages from the mourning box story because he ripped them out to protect Gothel. The fairytale book was once Manea’s and it now belongs to the odd sisters. The pages told the rest of the story. Jacob was killed and Nestis took Lucinda and split her into three. Manea was to raise them equally and give them each names. Ruby and Martha, but they will always be Lucinda. Nestis thought Lucinda split into three would be the most powerful witches but Circe is the witch the ancestors foretold (most powerful witch in the line). Circe is Jacob’s granddaughter, how cute!! Manea sent the odd sisters away (not sure why, but it seems to break Jacob’s heart. That’s probably why they came back and destroyed the dead woods for revenge) Circe is the true heir of the dead woods after the odd sisters die (how do the odd sisters stay so young for so long without the Rapunzel?? I wonder if Circe will kill them). I find it odd that primrose and Hazel are helping Circe.
The fairy counsel is a joke! I agree with Nanny why is there a need for bows and tea for war planning. They aren’t taking the odd sisters punishment seriously. FGM still isn’t taking accountability for Maleficent turning evil and failing her like Nanny has. FGM ostracizes anyone who is not a prince or princess. She needs to be more accepting like Nanny. This chapter was excruciating to read. FGM really gets on my nerves! We do find out Nanny and the FGM saw the odd sisters when they were babies. They were Nanny’s first case. She gave them to the Whites a royal family in need of a child. Nanny saw that they had evil in their future but she gave them a chance to change their fate just like she did with Maleficent. That is why the fairies stopped helping witches. Oberon finally chimes in and says the fairies need to extend their reach to anyone in need and that the odd sisters have resurrected Maleficent and she is on her way to destroy the fairylands. Oberon wants the fairies to protect the fairylands and the dead woods where Circe and snow are. FGM is ticked and says she’ll step down before protecting the dead woods and Oberon basically says OK nanny is in charge then. (I like Nanny way better anyway!)
Snow White finds Lucinda’s journal. Various notes about various people. She loves Maleficent and wanted her to join them so they made the stars align so she would turn into a dragon. She is upset that Gothel was her true sister and she chose her fake sisters. They wanted their family back! There is a tea cup spell (finally we learn why they were stealing everyone’s cups). They basically are the odd sisters’ voodoo dolls. They have objects of desire (interesting that the shadowman is in there, I wonder what objects belong to who). Snow White is on the last page. It says she will take from us what we cherish most, must kill her. They foresaw how Circe would come to love her that’s why they were planning on killing her when they visited in the first book!! (What a silly reason to kill someone.) When Circe broke Snow White’s cup in anger, it hurt Grimhilde and she’s being forced out of the mirror. The mirror shattered! Snow white will never see her mother again just like the odd sisters wanted! Grimhilde’s almost lifeless body laid on the floor with cuts all over her body. Just then the odd sisters came out of the empty mirror all contorted and locked Snow White and Grimhilde in the room with them. Duh duh duhhh!
They told her that Grimhilde helped them resurrect maleficent‘s dragon form by capturing opal. She helped them get Pflanze to help them escape the dreamworld. She even put the apple outside snow whites door all to get snow to come back to her. Grimhilde whispered I love you and then smashed into a million pieces. Snow felt horror, grief and relief. The odd sisters tell her she has a black heart after all wishing her mother dead and hating them. They tried to kill snow when Circe, primrose and Hazel broke in. Circe told snow to drink the flask necklace she gave her (must be some safety spell).
Oh snap!! Circe put her blood in the flask!! Snow drank Circe’s blood!! The odd sisters are pissed they want to destroy everything. Then Jacob, their father comes in and gets them to relax. (Weird how Jacob talks and the odd sisters are strangely calm…)Tells them he loves them and that he never wanted to send them away but they had no other choice. They all sat down and calmly listened to him (again weird, every book someone is like hey sit down and listen to my story). He told them that the ancestors saw that the odd sisters would destroy the dead woods if they stayed. Nestis wanted to extend her reach beyond the dead woods just like the odd sisters are doing now so the ancestors stopped her and forced Manea to give the odd sisters to the fairies. Jacob and Manea tried to fight the ancestors but they were too powerful. Manea feared her daughters! Jacob wishes he could go back and keep them in the deadwoods and never created Gothel or her sisters. Then they would have ruled as queens instead of wandering around the many kingdoms lost. Definitely gave Jacob and the sisters closure!!
We find out Lucinda changed Manea’s spells. She twisted them which made them rebound and slowly degenerate them. They are being destroyed just like Maleficent. Circe took all the goodness from them and they are left with nothing but darkness and hysteria. (If they stayed in the deadwoods, they would have been taught not to tamper with the spells and none of this would have happened. I think the ancestors had way too much say!)
Lucinda wants to keep their promise they made in the dreamlands. Their promise wrapped in hate. To kill everyone so Circe would only have them. They became the queens of the dead and made all the night creatures living in the walls come to life. They want dominion over all so they unleashed the creatures of the deadwoods on the many kingdoms and the fairylands. Harpies, dragons, gorgons and many other creatures started making their way out of the dead woods. (Yes! I’d love to see more of the creatures and hear their stories!)
Oberon warned Manea that sending the odd sisters away would be a mistake. He is filled with regret for taking them in. He is the one that charged nanny with the odd sisters. Plot Twist: He took nanny’s memories away because of all the chaos and heartbreak she suffered. They are preparing for battle. Fairies against witches!
Opal switched loyalties. She no longer was loyal to Maleficent but Circe for she saw what Maleficent turned into. As the fairies prepared to fight Maleficent, she died another painful death. (Literally brought to life to do the odd sisters bidding and then died a second painful death…Which probably means Circe killed the odd sisters…)
Nope just kidding! Circe sacrificed herself by plunging a piece of mirror glass in her heart! When she died, she gave all the good parts of them back and they would no longer be mad. Will they want to live without Circe their daughter!? Circe saved everyone!! The odd sisters still haven’t woke up yet.
Snow is desperate to get Circe back she wants to use Gothel’s flowers to bring her back. Primrose tells her if they bring her back the odd sisters will go mad again. Snows evil said comes out and she recommends killing the odd sisters so she can have Circe back. (I mean I also thought this but it is completely out of character for Snow) Hazel said Circe made her choice. She knew she could kill her mothers or kill herself and they would be restored back to their whole selves. Snow is still not having it. Hazel told her to take comfort knowing that Circe is know living within her mothers (just like nanny found comfort in knowing Aurora was made from all the good parts of Maleficent). Snow White is still very upset that this isn’t how it’s supposed to end. Then Gothel and all the ancestors said Circe and the odd sisters are in the in between and will be given a choice of who stays and who goes.
In the between, the odd sisters where back to their old selves, the sisters Circe once knew not the mad meddling women they turned into after bringing her back from the dead. Mrs. T was there serving them in their kitchen and Pflanze was there too even though he was too weak to talk to them. They are all happy the odd sisters are themselves again, but they wish Circe didn’t have to die to reverse their spell. (I was wondering how to reverse the spell because I thought Maleficent could have just killed Aurora and been herself again.)
It ends on a cliffhanger! What in the world! They are all still in the place between and they have to listen to know the answer. What in the world!? Why not add a few more pages and tell us if Circe or the odd sisters live again? Snow obviously wants Circe back but she’s not impartial. She hates the odd sisters but they literally haven’t been themselves. I’m not saying they didn’t do some messed up things and deserve to come back to life but goodness. Maybe they should all stay in the between together.
killahkayyy_'s review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
After 6 books, the meddlesome odd sisters finally get their turn to tell their story and boy was I disappointed.
Let’s start with the good stuff. As per usual, the writing was good. Character development was good, too.
However, I feel like the odd sisters weren’t the star of their own story either! The fairies and all the stories of the past were at the front row. Then when the odd sisters were at the forefront, it wasn’t interesting enough for me. The reveal at the end seemed like something just thrown at the reader. Like it did nothing for the story but make me upset that I read through this boring story for that!! It really showed itself as a children novel.
I would say don’t waste your time, but the series as a whole has been great. Just listen to this one on audiobook at 3x speed.
Let’s start with the good stuff. As per usual, the writing was good. Character development was good, too.
However, I feel like the odd sisters weren’t the star of their own story either! The fairies and all the stories of the past were at the front row. Then when the odd sisters were at the forefront, it wasn’t interesting enough for me. The reveal at the end seemed like something just thrown at the reader. Like it did nothing for the story but make me upset that I read through this boring story for that!! It really showed itself as a children novel.
I would say don’t waste your time, but the series as a whole has been great. Just listen to this one on audiobook at 3x speed.
ivywitch's review against another edition
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
headrickjeanne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
darkdiamond8989's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was cute. It was a darker version of a fairytale retelling compared to others. Serena Valentino writes good, dark fairytale retellings.
The poisoned apple on the cover of The Odd Sisters I thought was very clever and made it that much more exciting to read.
The Odd Sisters mentioned various characters and situations from the previous Villains books in the Villains series.
With the poisoned apple on the cover and various witches mentioned throughout the plot, The Odd Sisters would be a good book to read during Halloween or Fall.
The poisoned apple on the cover of The Odd Sisters I thought was very clever and made it that much more exciting to read.
With the poisoned apple on the cover and various witches mentioned throughout the plot, The Odd Sisters would be a good book to read during Halloween or Fall.