I've read most of this series so far (I think I somehow managed to miss Cruella's story in Evil Thing) so when I spotted Hook's story on the shelf in my local supermarket, I snatched it up. Becoming an apprentice of the famous pirate Blackbeard and setting out on many adventures, James never loses sight of his ultimate goal. On the surface, she is an Arendellian village girl, an aspiring inventor, and the best friend of Prince Agnarr, but she is also secretly Northuldra. Disney's New York Times best-selling Villains series comes to life in this graphic novel adaptation of the book that started it all in this tragic tale of love and loss, the untold story of Snow White's Wicked Queen. Planning to ruin Christmas once and for all, Maleficent, Hades, Captain Hook, the Queen, Ursula and Cruella wreak holiday havoc with the help of their minions.

I feel like Serena would have had to map out all the villains’ tales’ way ahead of time to tie them together so smoothly.

Still, if it wasn't going to get into anything too dark or complex, it could've had a little more excitement or something. James is claimed by his parents just shy of seven days―after which he would have officially become a Lost Boy. The integration of Valentino’s original characters is well done and opens up a whole world of inner workings – both in the Disney universe and beyond.

You either hate or love them, but I'm quite impressed with the big scheme and plot they're working on, especially when you keep in mind that time in this universe is a strange and not so lineair thing. The ties that Serena Valentino can create between all the Disney villains is just such perfect artistry. The 9th instalment in the hugely successful Villains Tales series, based on Disney's most infamous pirate, Captain Hook, tells the story of young James Bartholomew, the Lost Boy who never was.Which is also why I cannot rate the book as a whole as high as I hoped to: I love James so deeply that this story is just depressing me insanely much. However, I thought these were all stand alone, each following a different Disney villain (hence why I started with the 9th book in the series), but it seems like they are all intertwined and centered around "the odd sisters", so I might have to start from the beginning instead of jumping around. I would strongly recommend to read the previous books in this series, as some of them are tied into this story. They're admired in their community and are a loving family—until their world falls apart the day their son, Sebastian, is taken. Before he gets the infamous name of Captain Hook, he is simply James, a wealthy young man from a privileged family who dreams of doing more with his life and going on grand adventures.