Mother Knows Best, Serena Valentino
Mother Knows Best, Serena Valentino
List: $23.00 | Sale: $16.10
Club: $11.50

Mother Knows Best
A Tale of the Old Witch

Author: Serena Valentino

Narrator: Lucy Rayner

Unabridged: 7 hr 59 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/15/2025


Synopsis

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES • This enchanting novel examines the tangled truths behind one of Disney’s most devious villains: Mother Gothel.

Sometimes…she just let herself drift into other worlds—worlds she desperately wanted to inhabit. The world of magic. And this day was no different…

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.

About The Author

Serena Valentino is known for her groundbreaking work on the comic book series GloomCookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales. Her first novel, Fairest of All, is a fresh take on the story of Disney’s Snow White from the perspective of the film’s villain, the Wicked Queen.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Fifi’s Bookshelf on January 27, 2025

OH MY GOSH THE NEXT ONE IS A MOTHER GOTHEL STORY I’M FREAKING OUT HSHSHSHHSS THIS IS EVERYTHING I HAVE EVER WANTED IN LIFE TAKE MY COINS......more

Goodreads review by Michaela on August 11, 2018

I was so excited for this book that I preordered it as soon as I could. Mother Gothel's story is so mysterious, but considering the timelines presented in the movie and the TV show, this book doesn't fit into canon at all. I'm sure I could have appreciated this book more if I wasn't so obsessed with......more

Goodreads review by Janinas.Library on February 10, 2021

Band 5 der Disney Villians Reihe war leider bisher der Band, der mir am wenigsten gefallen hat. Das lag vor allem an der Rolle der verdrehten Schwestern, der drei bösen Hexen. Seid sie in der Reihe aufgetaucht sind, geht es gefühlt nur noch um sie und nicht mehr wirklich um die Bösewichte, um die es......more

Goodreads review by Jammin Jenny on March 20, 2021

This series is so much fun. In this one we learn the story of Gothel, the witch who had Rapunzel hidden up in a tower. We see how she became the evil witch, how she started out as one of three sisters in a dead forest, living with a mother who was a necromancer and very magical. The Odd Sisters also......more

Goodreads review by Dena on August 11, 2018

Oh wow, I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't that. It was MUCH spookier than I anticipated. When Mother Knows Best showed up in my mailbox, I thought my ten-year-old daughter might like to read it, but I'm glad I read it first because I think it would be too much for her. Plus, it's a young a......more