Reviews

City of Villains by Estelle Laure

spoopyliteatx's review

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

olivesandashes's review against another edition

4.0

i picked this up because of the cover - which, by the way, i love everything about. the story gave me vibes similar to Renegades by Marissa Meyer, only with disney characters. it was shelved as ya, and although initially it felt more like mg to me because of the writing style, i changed my mind after seeing that there is some cursing and mentions of torture and violence (although not in great detail)

i loved the nuance the characters had and the way they developed throughout the story, as well as the way the world was crafted. the retelling was cleverly and uniquely done. initially i wasn't sure if i would enjoy the story, but it drew me in pretty quickly! however, i felt that the ending was rushed and could have been better developed

gloomyboygirl's review against another edition

1.0

DNF

I was having so much fun but I just realized I could just rewatch Riverdale. This is not a bit, I'm dead serious on god. This book is Descendants at Riverdale High which I love but it's not a TV show and I have a book club I'm ignoring

inspired's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

melismatic's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

that_bookworm_guy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this book a little difficult at the start, it wasn't really what I was expecting and I found the amount of characters introduced straight away confusing. But as the story went on, it got easier to tell who was who. 

An interesting story that definitely moved quicker towards the end, but an enjoyable read.

daycia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

librarianlayla's review

3.0

3/3.5 stars.

This wasn't what I was expecting, I had really wanted a good Disney Villains story to get completely immersed in however I was left feeling a little ambivalent.

The juxtaposition of it being Disney but in the real world didn't really mesh for me, it didn't feel complete.

I enjoyed the murder mystery aspect but it was just a little lack luster with the characters and the world building. I wanted to feel more for the characters and the things at stake.

It does have some good nuggets in there but I'm just not sure it was for me.

jdalton's review against another edition

4.0

Huge thank you to Disney Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced review copy of this book.

This book was an interesting premise and mashup, crime thriller meets Disney. At times it worked and other times I was reminded “oh yeah these are basically Disney characters.” Being set in the US, albeit in a fictional city (though reminded me of New York?), threw me off as well.

Despite that, I did enjoy the book. I wanted to know what happened to Mally and Ursula. I wanted to see Mary Elizabeth succeed, so I kept reading.

If you’re looking for a different twist and enjoy Disney and mysteries, this book is for you. Though one warning, there was some language and content that surprised me for a Disney book (using Disney fairy tale characters). It didn’t bother me but could be good for parents to know.

agirlsnightbookbash's review against another edition

2.0

As a Disney lover I was super excited for this one. I was incredibly disappointed. This crime mystery was guilty of alot going on but nothing happening. There are far too many characters ad unfortunately not even the leads are fleshed out that well. There are some consistency errors and I honestly didn't like any of the characters. I will not be picking up the sequel.

City of Villains is marketed as YA but I don't believe it is gonna draw in teens. It strikes me more as middle grade.