Disney Villains Books in Order | How to Read Serena Valentino’s Books

The Disney Villains books are an interesting lot. You don’t often get to read a book from the bad guy’s perspective, but that’s just what we get in this series by Serena Valentino. There are quite a lot of them, though, so we’re here to help you out with this guide on how to read the Disney Villains books in order.

Who is Serena Valentino?

Serena Valentino got her start writing for Disney after she wrote a goth comic called GloomCookie.

The comic features a character named Isabella as the main villain of the story, but rather than demonize the antagonist, Valentino helped us empathize with her instead.

So when Disney wanted to start a new series about it’s infamous villains, they tapped Serena Valentino to write them, and they chose correctly. Since the first Disney Villains book was published in 2009, the series has experienced explosive growth with a very avid following.

The Disney Villains series is a middle-grade set of books that explores the tragedies that have befallen everyone’s favorite characters they love to hate.

Disney Villains Books in Order

Let’s get down to it. This list of Disney Villains books in order is pretty straight forward.

1. Fairest of All (2009) (Wicked Queen)
2. The Beast Within (2014) (Beast)
3. Poor Unfortunate Soul (2016) (Ursula)
4. Mistress of All Evil (2017) (Maleficent)
5. Mother Knows Best (2018) (Gothel)
6. The Odd Sisters (2019)
7. Evil Thing (2020) (Cruella)
8. Cold Hearted (2021) (Wicked Stepmother)
9. Never Never (2022) (Captain Hook)
10. Fire and Fate (2023) (Hades)
11. Kill the Beast (Expected: July 30, 2024) (Gaston)

How do authors get picked to write for Disney?

As you can probably imagine, writing for Disney is not like any other writing or publishing job.

For a normal novel, an author writes a book, pitches it to an agent and the agent tries to sell it to a publisher. If that fails, the author can always self-publish the novel (or choose to self-publish from the start).

But with Disney’s impressive legal team and dogged pursuit against all those who would infringe on their copyright, it’s an all but fruitless endeavor to write your own Disney-related book.

You or your agent could pitch it to them, but Disney doesn’t often accept unsolicited manuscripts.

While exceptions do happen, the primary way authors write for Disney is when Disney themselves invites the author to do so.

If writing books for or about Disney is your dream job, the first step is to write successful books in the YA and family-friendly book space and hope for the best.

Summary of Disney Villains Books in Order

Below is an in-depth look at each novel in our list of Disney Villains books in order.

1. Fairest of All (Wicked Queen)

For anyone who’s seen Walt Disney’s Snow White, you’ll know that the Wicked Queen is one evil woman!

After all, it’s not everyone who wants to cut out their teenage step-daughter’s heart and have it delivered back in a locked keepsake box. (And even if this sort of thing is a common urge, we don’t know many people who have acted upon it.)

Now, for the first time, we’ll examine the life of the Wicked Queen and find out just what it is that makes her so nasty. Here’s a hint: the creepy-looking man in the magic mirror is not just some random spooky visage―and he just might have something to do with the Queen’s wicked ways!

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2. The Beast Within (Beast)

A cursed prince sits alone in a secluded castle.

Few have seen him, but those who claim they have say his hair is wild and nails are sharp–like a beast’s!

But how did this prince, once jovial and beloved by the people, come to be a reclusive and bitter monster? And is it possible that he can ever find true love and break the curse that has been placed upon him?

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3. Poor Unfortunate Soul (Ursula)

The tale of the sea king’s daughter Ariel is a beloved one of losing―and then finding―one’s own voice.

The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the mergirl wants more than her world can offer, and her father demands that she live within the confines of his domain. Her rebelliousness costs the little mermaid her voice and nearly her soul. But the power of good prevails, and Ariel emerges proud and unchanged.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of Ariel’s nemesis, Ursula, the sea witch? What led to her becoming so twisted, scorned, and filled with hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives.

Here is one account of what might have shaped the sea witch into a detestable and poor unfortunate soul.

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4. Mistress of All Evil (Maleficent)

The tale is told as if it’s happening once upon a dream: the lovely maiden meets her handsome prince in the woods.

The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the maiden finds out that she is a princess―a princess who has been cursed by a dark fairy to prick her finger on a spindle and fall into an eternal sleep.

Though her three good fairies try to protect her, the princess succumbs to the curse. But the power of good endures, as her true love defeats the fire-breathing dragon and awakens the princess with true love’s first kiss. The two live happily ever after.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the dark fairy, Maleficent? Why does she curse the innocent princess? What led to her becoming so filled with malice, anger, and hatred? Many tales have tried to explain her motives.

Here is one account, pulled down from the many passed down through the ages. It is a tale of love and betrayal, of magic and reveries. It is a tale of the Mistress of All Evil.

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5. Mother Knows Best (Gothel)

Evil is made not born.

The tale of the legendary golden flower is widely known. The story has been told many times and in many ways. But always the flower is coveted by an old witch to keep herself young and beautiful.

And always the flower is used to save a dying queen, who then gives birth to a princess with magical hair. Not willing to lose the flower, the old witch steals the princess and locks her away in a high tower, raising her as her own. But the princess always finds out who she truly is and manages to defeat the old witch.

And yet this is only half the story. So what of the old witch, Mother Gothel? Where does she come from? And how does she come across the magical golden flower? Here is one account that recounts a version of the story that has remained untold for centuries . . . until now. It is a tale of mothers and daughters, of youth and dark magic. It is a tale of the old witch.

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6. The Odd Sisters (2019)

Throughout the Villains series, the Odd Sisters have meddled in the lives of the Wicked Queen, The Beast, Ursula, Maleficent, and Mother Gothel, changing the course of fate for the greatest villains ever known. Now, it’s time for their reckoning.

This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular Villains series goes deeper into the lives of the twisted, diabolical Odd Sisters, finally revealing the dark truth about who they are and where they’re from.

The Odd Sisters will appeal to fans who can’t get enough of the mischievous sisters, as well as draw new readers to Serena Valentino’s darkly fascinating take on the Disney Villains.

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7. Evil Thing (Cruella)

Cruella De Vil is the perfect villain: stylish, witty, relentless…and possibly cursed.

From her lonely childhood, to her iconic fashion choices, to that fateful car crash (you know the one), Cruella tells all in this marvelous memoir of a woman doomed. Even the cruelest villains have best friends, true loves, and daring dreams. Now it’s Cruella’s turn to share hers.

This latest novel by the author of the wildly popular and darkly fascinating Villains series brings readers a tale told by the Evil Thing herself―a tale of the complicated bonds of female friendship, of mothers and daughters, and of burning, destructive desire.

After all, nothing is as simple as black and white.

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8. Cold Hearted (Wicked Stepmother)

This was supposed to be her happily ever after…

It’s a familiar tale: A kind and beautiful young girl, reeling from loss. A doting father, frantic to bring a mother’s love back into his daughter’s life. And the selfish, cruel woman who insinuates herself into that family―a woman so unfeeling, so cold hearted, that when her new husband dies, she makes the girl a servant in her own home.

But who is that evil stepmother, that icy lady of the house? How did she become so closed off that, in the face of a child’s grief, she thought only to seek wealth and power for herself and her abhorrent daughters?

Before that fateful ball, before the glass slipper and the prince, there was another story―a story of love and grief, of hope and of dreams dashed. It is the story of Lady Tremaine.

Even the coldest of villains are sometimes wives and mothers, women who loved and lost and hoped for something grander for their lives . . . once upon a dream.

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9. Never Never (Captain Hook)

Before Peter Pan and Wendy. Before the Lost Boys. There was just a boy named James who wanted to get back to Neverland.

As a baby, James Bartholomew fell out of his pram and was taken to Neverland. James is claimed by his parents just shy of seven days―after which he would have officially become a Lost Boy.

Once he returns to London, he never stops thinking about Neverland. As he grows up, he hates his life in London, and everything to do with growing up and eventually becoming a gentleman. So he seeks a position on the ship of the infamous pirate, Blackbeard.

On Blackbeard’s ship he learns to be a cutthroat pirate, and eventually becomes captain of his own ship, which James is determined to sail to Neverland. With the help of the Odd Sisters and a bit of magic, he just might get his wish. But returning to Neverland comes at a price―and now that he’s grown up, the whole world seems to be rooting for his demise…

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10. Fire and Fate (Hades)

Take a dive into the Underworld and explore how Hades turned from god to villain.

Ruler of the Underworld is not the title Hades would have chosen for himself, but when he and his brothers made a deal to split the world in three, Hades drew the short straw. And a deal is a deal.

But eternity proves a long time to be shoved into a role he never wanted, and with each passing day of being treated as a villain, he grows more vengeful. When he discovers he wasn’t invited to the celebration of his nephew Hercules’ birth, Hades reaches his limit.

So he does what he does best: Hades cuts a new deal. But when you’re a god, making a deal with the Odd Sisters has the potential to rewrite more stories than just your own . . .

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Looking for more books in order?

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