Review to come! 
 Update 7/24/15: 
 This review is also featured on my blog Novels and Necklaces 
 Actual rating 3.5 stars 
 Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a fan of all things Disney. Put simply, I'm a Disney fanatic. So if there's a story that has Disney characters...well count me in! I wasn't actually aware when I picked this up that this was a prequel novel (I know, I know. I should have probably researched a bit more, but what can you do?). So it kind of upset me that the story was being continued in the movie. I don't know if there are going to be more books in the series, and if there are, I'll probably check them out because I did actually enjoy this a great deal. However, if the series is just this and then the movie...well I'm not exactly a happy camper then. I don't know what it is, but it just kind of bugs me, especially with how much I did enjoy this book. 
 This book definitely has an interesting premise. What happens to all the "evil" characters after the princes and princesses got their happily ever after? I loved being able to read about Mal (Maleficent's daughter), Jay (Jafar's son), Carlos (Cruella de Ville's son), and Evie (the Evil Queen's daughter). Every character is snarky, sassy, and a lot of fun. There were a lot of Disney references, both Disney past and Disney present, which made the story even more fun. I won't say who all makes an appearance, but it definitely makes for some great surprises and moments while reading. Melissa de la Cruz's attention to detail is phenomenal, and you could tell she spend a lot of time making sure this book would be a hit for Disney fans. Honestly, this attention to detail really what made the book special for me, and an enjoyable read. 
 However, even though this is marketed as a YA novel, it is definitely middle grade. It reads like MG and is written like MG. Not that this is something that makes or breaks a book for me, but I do wish I would have known beforehand that it was MG (again, this was my fault for not doing a bit more research...but I got distracted by the Disney aspect and didn't care, I wanted needed to read it). There were some younger moments that distracted me while I was reading, and I do think the book could have been made to be YA if the writing was elevated a bit. Nevertheless, it was still a good book that I think is a hidden gem. It's actually makes for a fun game to see how many Disney references you can pick up on while reading. This is a quick, easy read that is sure to appease any Disney fan. 
 Happy reading :)