Poor Unfortunate Soul (Book 3 in the Villains Series) by Serena Valentino, physical book, 196 pages
From GoodReads: 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.
BOOK REVIEW: I really am enjoying these villain origin stories and this one is no different. While this story is supposed to be Ursula's, I did feel like the majority of the book was placed elsewhere. It did follow characters from the two previous books in this series and it shed a huge light on how Ursula became the evil sea witch but it didn't totally feel like it was her story. I initially wanted to give this a 3.5 rating because it didn't feel like Ursula's story but it is a good story nonetheless which is why I knocked it to a 4 star. This is a gut reaction rating meaning this is how I felt when I finished the book and I felt it was a solid 4 star. It very much left me wanting to read the next book in the series which dives into Maleficent. This will be interested because we already know her back story.
4/5 Stars
2024 Reading Challenge: 29/50 complete
Comments