Top Ten Tuesday: Retellings from the Villains' Perspective

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme run by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is Villains.
I've decided to look at retellings from the perspective of the original stories' villains! Here we have origin prequel stories and sequels! The first three I've read, the rest are either on my TBR pile or on my wishlist!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer


Fairest is a prequel story to The Lunar Chronicles, giving us the origin story of the Evil Queen that is Queen Levana - one of the most incredible villains I've ever read. Queen Levana is despicable and cruel and enjoys the torment of others. And yet, there's a reason why she is the way she is. Fairest tells us her story, what she had to go through, and the maltreatment she herself received at the hands of her older sister. The only way Levana could free herself was to destroy everyone else, and she became a monster. With Fairest, we come to understand and sympathise with Levana, but not to the point where we find her actions justifiable. But it's an incredible story, a wonderful insight, and Queen Levana is a fantastic villian! Just FYI, if you haven't read The Lunar Chronicles, don't start with this one! Read the first three books first, then Fairest. It will spoil too much to read this first.

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Review: Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch by Sarah Henning (eProof) - Everyone knows what happens in the end.
A mermaid, a prince, a true love’s kiss.
But before that young siren’s tale, there were three friends.
One feared, one royal, and one already dead.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since her best friend, Anna, drowned, Evie has been an outcast in her small fishing town. A freak. A curse. A witch.

A girl with an uncanny resemblance to Anna appears offshore and, though the girl denies it, Evie is convinced that her best friend actually survived. That her own magic wasn’t so powerless after all. And, as the two girls catch the eyes—and hearts—of two charming princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at her own happily ever after.

But her new friend has secrets of her own. She can’t stay in Havnestad, or on two legs, unless Evie finds a way to help her. Now Evie will do anything to save her friend’s humanity, along with her prince’s heart—harnessing the power of her magic, her ocean, and her love until she discovers, too late, the truth of her bargain.

The rise of Hans Christian Andersen’s iconic villainess is a heart-wrenching story of friendship, betrayal, and a girl pushed beyond her limits—to become a monster. From Goodreads.

I received this eProof for free from HarperCollin's Children's Books via NetGalley for the purposes of providing an honest review.

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Review: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Heartless by Marissa Meyer (proof) - Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. From Goodreads.

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Review: Fairest by Marissa Meyer

Fairest by Marissa Meyer (bought) - WARNING! I cannot review this book without spoiling the others in the series. Read no further if you're planning on reading this series and don't want it spoilt for you.

Fans of the Lunar Chronicles know Queen Levana as a ruler who uses her glamour to gain power. But long before she crossed paths with Cinder, Scarlet, and Cress, Levana lived a very different story—a story that has never been told... until now. From Goodreads.

ETA: Since reading the book, I have discovered that Cinder is problematic when it comes to setting and the lack of or incorrect Asian culture through reading other posts, and therefore - although I haven't changed my review for the purposes of transparency - I can no longer recommend this book or series.

Do read these posts for more:
Review of Cinder on The Book Smugglers.
Review of Cinder on A Novel Toybox.
Posts reblogged on Fuck Your Racism.

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