Danielle PaigeKirja-arvosteluja

It took a little time to actually get started. Once it did, I was good. I was disappointed when I got to the end and found it didn't end. I don't mind stories that are a series but I want to know that ahead of time. I don't want that to be a surprise. I don't know if I will continue in the series.

I'm not entirely sure I enjoyed this as much as "[b:No Place Like Oz|17331483|No Place Like Oz (Dorothy Must Die, #0.1)|Danielle Paige|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422104962l/17331483._SY75_.jpg|24034767]No Place Like Oz" honestly. Amy was abrasive, obnoxious and kind of boring. Possibly not the smartest bulb either. For example if a native of a new country (or world) insists that what you are doing is dangerous/illegal/stupid wouldn't it make sense to listen to them? At least until you understand the lay of the land better? Recklessly running around doing and saying things has to be somewhere on the list of "When stuck in a new land don't do this".

Here's the thing - Paige has Amy go through a lot of training and reconnaissance so they could figure out what's happening. You see despite Amy being "like Dorothy" and despite her being more then slightly willing to make things right in the land of Oz, the rebellion has very little working knowledge of what's what. Dorothy is frightfully good at being a tyrant apparently--which really anyone who has had to deal with a disenchanted 16 year old who believes they deserve more will understand why she's good at being a tyrant--and the rebellion has other concerns.

Like what's up with Ozma? Also the land is dying and corrupting and Dorothy is going around cursing people into happiness (which I think maybe Dorothy is besties with the Joker from Batman?). Also the Tin Man is ten shades of creepy--you wouldn't recognize him if you didn't know who he was, and the Scarecrow--who had seemed to be becoming rather malevolent in No Place, is no nicer here. Let's not talk about the Lion.

And in case anyone was worried yes there is a romance, though it doesn't have much time to interfere with the plot (mostly because the plot doesn't have much time to be plot). Amy is rather level-headed and suspicious of the handsome, snarky, arrogant, young man who's being sneaky.

Its possible that No Place set me up for a bit of a let down. I had expected the confrontation with Dorothy--or at least her friends--to occur much sooner then it did in the book. Not the resolution, but certainly some sort of...fight? No not even that. I'm not sure what I expected but I didn't expect a book that reads more like a training montage at times. Amy does have a confrontation with the Tin Man early on, but it goes horribly wrong on many levels.

What the book failed to convince me of is that I don't think Paige will end this series with Dorothy dying. Or at least not dying willingly once she realizes everything she's done. She isn't Evil. She's a girl who got swept up in something fantastic and then couldn't cope with the ordinary. She's convinced that Ozma was the interloper, that she was the Wicked One and that she, Dorothy, was saving Oz.

The person behind it all, the one who manipulated things to begin with, played on Dorothy's fears and weaknesses expertly. Then when tragedy struck Dorothy couldn't face what she had done and thus blamed how "wrong" Oz was for her troubles. Hadn't she fought the Wicked Witch? Didn't she reveal the false Wizard for what he was? Glinda told her that was her destiny and she did it and now she's being told she was wrong. That everything extraordinary about her was wrong.

I don't blame her for turning out the way she did honestly.

Much like Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, in movie form and book form, terrified me as a child. I can't say why--there was just something about Dorothy's journey that terrified me (I read many of the other Oz books perfectly fine however). I was certain that Dorothy was the HEROINE of the book though (in a way Peter Pan never was and Alice couldn't really be). She was going to right a wrong, save a bunch of people and be the HERO.

Paige tosses that all on its head and until Ozma says something I was violently against the notion. And then Ozma says something to Dorothy that hit what had bothered me so much about The Wizard of Oz--Glinda survived all those years with two evil wicked witches running amok. Untold years. As a child I didn't believe in absolute evil and absolute good--the world was a gray gray place* and I exerted that belief onto anything I read or watched.

So unlike almost everyone else in Oz I didn't believe that Glinda was as pink and fluffy and altruistic as she appeared. There HAD to be an ulterior motive. Paige answers that question and in the process made me desperate for more.

From the beginning Paige paints Dorothy as a restless girl. She's kind of resigned to the fact her life is now dull, poor and ordinary. The few moments of excitement she exhibits are reserved for when people discuss her past exploit as "The Girl Who Rode a Cyclone" or when she thinks of being in Oz. Her Aunt and Uncle, while giving her all the love she could ever want, judge her for her "fairy tale" about Oz. Her best friend Mitzy basically dropped her like a sack of potatoes because Dorothy insisted on talking about Oz. The most popular/rich girl in school taunted her at every turn.

And she saw no avenue of escape. Ever.

I sympathisized with her at first. Though she began acting a bit more bratty and selfish (even before the corrupting influence of the shoes), I could see why she felt so depressed. Kansas as she paints it was deadly dull, she could look forward to a life stuck on a farm (or close to one) with a guy who doesn't think beyond feeding the animals on time, in homespun dresses twenty years out of fashion. She's 16 and wants more.

I started to lose patience with her pretty rapidly in Oz. Instead of trying to assure her uncle and aunt, she repeatedly presses them to forget Kansas. Instead of taking the time to listen to them she snaps at them to do what she wants. She pushes and cajoles and manipulates them over and over again. I could understand if it was desperation over saving Glinda or if Dorothy was more then cursorily interested in the changes of Oz, but Paige makes it very clear that Dorothy wants what Dorothy wants.

The end, when Dorothy gets what she wants, is a little heart breaking. Magic has a price and Dorothy's is steeper then she would have paid otherwise (I hope, I'm not sure honestly). It will be interesting in DOROTHY MUST DIE how this new "girl from Kansas" views things. How Dorothy will appear now a century (in our time) later to a girl who comes from a time when Dorothy's exploits are a thing of fiction and romanticized.

4.5 stars. I loved this book, I loved finding out about how Dorothy got back to Oz and how she became dark and evil. I liked learning more about Ozma as well and seeing how Oz was before Dorothy took over. This was a really great novella and it makes me want to read the next book so bad. I need it now!

4 out of 5 stars. I really liked this book. It's a twist on the classic Wizard of Oz story where Dorothy is psycho and the Tin man, Scarecrow, and Lion are all her evil sidekicks. It's got a lot of mystery to it and everything is reversed, the good guys are bad and the bad guys are good (...maybe). All of the characters are great especially Amy, she's so sarcastic I love her. I think the book started off a little slow but it picks up once Amy hits the road with Ollie and Indigo. Also I don't think the description on the back of the book describes the book accurately. On the back it talks about Amy having to take the Tin man's heart, remove the Scarecrow's brains, steal the Lion's courage, and then Dorothy must die but she didn't find out everything she had to do until the end, she just thought all she had to do was kill Dorothy. Other than that I really liked it and I thought it was a good first book to a new series. I see this series as having a lot of potential to create crazy plot twists and do things that are unexpected. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Yes, there are elements that make you think of Cinderella, but there's a lot more in this story. The queen is completely devoid of any redeeming qualities, her son is more than Farrow at first believes, and the twists going back and forth between them, as well as how her family members may and may not be still alive are deftly done. The added elements of whether the rooks remain and if so, where, coupled with the challenges Farrow faces at the end of the book left me satisfied with everything I'd read, but very hungry for more.

I tend to really enjoy books involving magic and witches, and The Ravens was no exception! The idea of a college sorority hiding a coven was just brilliant. "The Ravens", as the Kappa Rho Nu sisters call themselves, are the most exclusive and envied sorority on campus - they throw the best parties, wear the most fashionable clothes and always look perfect and gorgeous, winning everyone else's adoration and envy. What no one on campus knows, though, is that this is all possible thanks to magic.

The actual magical system was quite easy to understand, based on tarot cards and each witch's natural affinity to one of the elements (earth, water, fire and air), and I really enjoyed discovering how the sisters could work together to increase their powers. There was a real focus on sisterhood and cooperation throughout the book that I really loved to read about.

Which brings me to my biggest moan about this book: the whole Scarlett-hating-Vivi dynamic, which is a constant for the majority of the book, is brought on by... yes, you guessed it - a guy.

This feels like such a cliché I was seriously disappointed to see it in an otherwise great book promoting solid female friendships. The romantic interests in general seemed to be in the book just... because? They really do very little beyond acting as a catalyst for conflict between the two main characters.

Aside from that, the characters were well-developed, and I did like to see them grow into themselves and deepen their bond. I really liked the fact that all characters got a fair shot, even the secondary ones. Vivi and Scarlett, with their alternating POVs, were beautifully fleshed out and so relatable, despite being very different from each other.

There were a few intertwining mysteries The Ravens had to solve and, even though I had a fairly good idea of where we might end up, I was glued to the page wanting to see what might happen next. I got some serious Pretty Little Liars vibes from this, which was weird given the college rather than high school setting, but it was very enjoyable all the same.

Overall, this was a gripping read than made me regret having life commitments that meant I couldn't read this all in one setting. Despite the one major flaw for me, it really works and is a great start to a new series. I can't wait to see what the future has in store for The Ravens!


I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

5/10, I didn't enjoy this book, but maybe it's because I don't enjoy graphic novels that much at all. The palette is limited, but seems intentional, and the story itself was just so flat. It was just a princess who goes to the human world, and falls in love. How cliche, but at least there's some action in it.

I never thought The Wizard of Oz would have spinoffs but it does (this book and Wicked and maybe more that I don't know of) and they're very entertaining. I really liked the idea of a different Oz than the "original" one, especially a dark one.

The art is quite beautiful, although some panels seem to jump a bit too much between actions, leaving a sort of stilted feeling to much of the story. The story itself is fine. I was going to say that I like that women make up most of the cast but that’s not actually true. Of the named characters, there are... maybe four women? Including the protagonist? I’m not even sure that we learn Mera’s mother’s name, despite her importance to the story. Conversely, there are eight named male characters, and outside Mera interacting with her mother or female caretaker or the two random women at the ball, or the one shop clerk she steals from without facing consequences for no apparent reason, she doesn’t really interact with women much. Most of the story is her interacting with her father, her arranged fiancé, Arthur, Arthur’s father, or her friend, who I thought was female or NB but I think is actually male.

It’s not a bad story. It’s just not.... thrilling. I’m over the “I’m more than a skirt give me weapons” female power narrative. As a politician, she could make a big difference, perhaps more so than as a soldier, and she should know that, but the book doesn’t bring that up until the end, when they can “surprise” you with a detail they didn’t fully flesh out for most of the story. So the story is a lot weaker than it could be. I’m not against the direct action rally, I’m just not sure how graffiti - at least what she’s doing- is better than blowing the statue up or whatever. The book is... very confusing and small-minded, narratively speaking, in a lot of ways. It seems to have all the genre tropes of a stereotyped romance, without the good writing of a good romance. Characters do a lot of things that don’t make sense, potentially due to cut scenes or something I don’t know.

Overall, it’s all right. I wish I’d read something like this when I was younger, for the art alone, really, cause it’s miles ahead, art and story-wise, most anything I had access to back then.

Stealing Snow is a YA, fairy tale adaption of The Snow Queen.

I had no idea what to expect from this book and I still don't... I think I'll need the sequel to better understand how I feel about this book... But at this time, I don't know if a sequel is going to be made?!

Stealing Snow is based on The Snow Queen but has lots of elements of Snow White. Honestly, my local book store pegged it as Snow White to me, so I was a little shocked. I picked this book up because I loved Dorothy Must Die (plus it was on sale at my local book store and I'm a sucker for sales... go figure).

This book didn't blow me away as much as Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige (this author) did. It really felt like this book needed the sequel to keep moving the story going because it was left at such an odd place. I wanted more at the end... It wasn't just a cliffhanger, it just felt like the editor had cut out a large chunk. I felt a little bit cheated.

That being said, it was a good book! I'm not as fluent in The Snow Queen (even though I have read it, it's just been a while and there aren't many adaptions out there that I've read) so I didn't connect as well with this story as I wanted. I did re-read the fairy tale before I picked the book up, but it didn't help me much.

I see so much potential in this series - the potential love triangles, the heroic action scenes that could come, the fairy tales that could be woven in - but it didn't hit all of the marks in just this book. It really needs it sequel. Seriously. Danielle better write it. Don't make this book a one off, it won't do the book justice.

What I didn't like about this book:
1. Snow's mental illness felt... weird. It felt forced and out of place. Sure, she has a mental illness (potentially) but she bites people and takes pills. It wasn't flushed out enough for me to believe it or respect it.
2. She's special. Every girl in every YA seems to be the chosen one, but the trope didn't feel right here (at least, not with the twist ending...).
3. There was way too much going on. I felt like my brain was being attacked because there was so many different plot points and half of which didn't get resolved. I like having my books able to stand on their own as well as be in the series - like most movies series.

Things I did like:
1. Kai and Bale. I don't know why, but I kind of enjoyed it and I want more. I want to know more about that part of the story, but I've always been a sucker for love triangles in my YAs so that one is on me.
2. Danielle has the most elegant writing style. She's truly an artist and is SO GOOD with her words. I can't express enough how much I love reading her books because she knows how to write and connect with the reader.
3. The potential is extraordinary. With so many plot points introduced, this book is set up to be a series. I'd like to see what Danielle does with this story.

Overall, this book wasn't as bad as the reviews led me to believe. I do want to keep reading this series because Danielle is wicked cool with her words (pun intended) but I don't know what to expect.

Two out of five stars.

I am really sad to say I didn't enjoy this book, which is a real shame because I absolutely love how Danielle Paige writes.

There's a lot of reasons on why I couldn't get into this book, and I feel like I need to explain them or else the mobs will attack....:
1. It's been a while since I read the first book (which I loved, by the way) and the summaries and reviews of that book didn't catch me up all that much.
2. I didn't have time to re-read the first book, so I went into this book feeling half-lost.
3. I don't know the original Wizard of Oz story, only the Judy Garland and James Franco versions, so that didn't help me much either.

That being said, it took me a while to get into this book. I kept jumping to plot summaries, YouTube videos and other forms of media to try to catch myself up. I honestly think this series needs to be one that you read back to back in a short period of time. Danielle's story is SO GOOD but it has a lot of plot details you don't want to miss. Also, if you don't know the original story of Oz as well as some other readers (haha... not me) then you'll want to know what's going on. If I would have had all of these books at the same time I probably would have done a much better job of reading them all in a row! Unfortunately, as a university student my funds are low and I had to wait until I could find this at my local used book store (that took some sweet time, let me tell you).

Aside from my obvious annoyance at myself, here are the good parts of the book:
1. We learn a lot about Amy, Ozma and the monkeys. I thoroughly enjoyed Danielle fleshing out these characters more and allowing me to see into their worlds. Ozma I found the most interesting, to be brutally honest, but mostly because I forgot a lot about Amy.
2. There's a pinch of romance brewing and I am really curious to see how it plays out. I don't know if I'll ever find the sequels to this book, but I am morbidly curious about Pete.
3. Some of the choices in this book were really stupid, but honestly... I probably would have made the same ones given the situation! I liked that this book wasn't cookie cutter YA in all forms. Seriously, it's refreshing.
4. In general, I just like when people re-tell fairy tales or other famous stories, so Danielle gets a plus for retelling Oz. Oz is so cool and whimsical and weird and exciting, so to retell it with such a change in story... yeah, it's cool. Hence why I continued this series!
5. Lots of action! Enough said.

What I found confusing and/or didn't like:
1. I don't really know where this book was going. Amy killed some major characters and Glinda is up to some tricks but... what else? I honestly just didn't know where this book was heading to. What's the end goal of this series? It wasn't obvious for me personally.
2. The author drama that went on around this book scared me away from reading it and writing this review. Hence why I posted what I did about this book - I did like it but it's just not for me. I'm almost scared into seeing what people will say about my review and rating (which is absolutely just goofy, but honestly... I think it's fair).

So what is my overall opinion? The book is good and if you've read the first novel and want to continue this series, PLEASE DO IT. I think Danielle is ridiculously talented and this is a really cool series. Buuuuuut... I'm the type of reader who likes to dabble in different books and jump back into this series. This book was REALLY hard to jump back into after some time, even with the summaries. That means for me that this series isn't for me. I like being able to jump back into a book without having to go find summaries to know what's going on. And that's a ME problem, not an author problem. Danielle can write whatever way she wants!

One out of five stars due to my lost-ness.

Dorothy Must Die was a fantastic take on The Wizard of Oz!

I so desperately wanted to pick up this book for ages and when I finally got my hands on it I was not let down! It was definitely an incredible read and it was very unique! I didn't expect this novel to be anything spectacular, and it was!

It definitely wasn't my favourite YA novel, but it was an incredible take. It was original, unique and is a good read for someone looking for a retelling.

I did have a few problems with this book - first off it starts out super slow. I felt like at the beginning there could have been more action or introductions to different characters. Despite the slow movement, it was still interesting. I wasn't turned off by the beginning of the book, I was just slightly disappointed.

Once the novel gets going, I felt like the story was pretty obvious. Most of what was going to happen I guessed, except for the final note of the novel. I would have loved a more unpredictable plot, but this also didn't make the book any less enjoyable.

Overall, the take on this book was incredible. It's a great, unique idea and I really want to pick up the next book to see the story be continued. Hopefully the next book will continue with Dorothy's story, maybe another take on the continued series of The Wizard of Oz.

Four out of five stars! I enjoyed it! I can't wait to read the next novel.

For anyone who wondered what happened after Dorothy went back to Kansas.....its definitely not what you thought!

* 5 stars for being entertaining (super pre-teen-young-adult, but still entertaining);
* minus one star for complete insensitivity to world-building (a native munchkin calls something "magic 101", and everyone gets it);
* minus one more star for an EXTREME case of plot hole / armor at the very end: one that was clearly added with a singular purpose of spinning the book into a sequel.

But a fun book nevertheless!

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas.
I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked.
I've been trained to fight.
And I have a mission:
Remove the Tin Woodman's heart.
Steal the Scarecrow's brain.
Take the Lion's courage.
Then and only then—Dorothy must die.

The title of this book and the cover were the first things that grabbed me, even before I read the synopsis. It's the darker, more dangerous, twisted version of Oz... Dorothy's back and she's a bitch. And it's fucking fantastic! Couldn't put it down once I started reading. I absolutely love fairytale retellings and Dorothy Must Die was one of the BEST. So excited for book 2!!!

*Only you can make Oz a free land again*

I didn't like it. The situation changed constantly with no character development.

3.5/5½

3.75/5½

2.5 Stars
-
Guys— COLLEGE!! And SORORITIES!! And WITCHES!!!

Add in 2 powerhouse authors and I thought for-sure this was going to be amazing.

It was not.

DNF at page 130

Why I DNF'd: The story. Where the heck was the story??

I wanted to like this so bad!! You see, I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I want to try to broaden my horizons and read more of it. I've had luck with retellings, so this was all over my radar!! Alas, I was just not feeling it.

It starts with Snow in a mental hospital, and that was the only part I liked. I felt like that world was explained and the characters felt real. Once she left there it was like an outline took over instead of an actual book. There was no world, it was just oh you fell down a tree and here you are in Algid... and BTW it's cold here & you are a princess with powers. And Snow's just like-- are all these guys here single??(cause she crushes on EVERY guy she comes across). After that random things started happening just to happen. It didn't feel believable, it felt... lazy? I don't know where this book goes from there, but I don't really care. I don't feel like the author took enough time to care about the world, so I'm not going to take time to care to read it.

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3.5 Stars

Amy Gumm is a just a high school girl living in Kansas with her pill-popping mom in a trailer. She's bullied at school and has had to take care of her self for a long time now. Her only goal is to leave and never look back. Then a tornado comes and lifts her trailer to a strange land. Amy has landed in Oz, but this isn't the Oz from the books and movies. This Oz is a lot more desolate and is ruled by Dorothy. It turns out Dorothy returned to Oz and was crowned a princess. Once she got a taste of power, she became insatiable. Now she rules Oz with fear and death.

Along the way Amy meets The Order of the Wicked and learns that they believe Amy is the only one who can take Dorothy down. And they begin training Amy to do just that. Throughout the process, Amy must wrestle with figuring out what the meaning of good and wicked really is. She also must decide if she's really capable of killing someone... even if it is the most evil person she's ever come into contact with.

My Thoughts:
I almost DNF'd this book. But I'm glad I didn't! Why did I almost DNF it? The first 1/3 of it bored me to no end. I didn't like Amy. The writing felt juvenile. The world building was ehhh. But after I pushed through that part, I started to actually click with this book. Reading it became fun and exciting.

At first Amy was just okay for me. Once she got to Oz she became really bland and boring. And the world of Oz at first felt really fake and convenient. What I mean by that is I didn't believe in the world. It just sort of felt like the author was throwing things in and not really building something for me to imagine. Like I said, that changed for the better as the book went on, but the beginning of the Oz part was just not impressing me.

Amy ends up joining The Order of the Wicked and training with them, which I have to admit was not my favorite part either. Some of it was really boring to read and I wasn't feeling the Nox crush. Amy was in a life or death situation and her thoughts toward Nox just felt so inappropriate for the situation. For instance, a robot/human girl shows up half dead and bleeding, and when Nox picks her up to help her, Amy gets jealous. Really??

Amy then infiltrates Dorothy's palace in disguise and THIS is where it gets good. I loved it from there on. It was interesting, creepy, and even thrilling at times. I really loved some of the themes where Amy questioned who she could trust and the meaning of good and wicked. That stuff really made the book for me.

I also really liked Dorothy's 3 freakish sidekicks. The Lion, Tin Man, and Scarecrow were all scary and crazy in their own ways. The Scarecrow was obsessed with doing Frankenstein-type experiments that scared me to even think about. And when he was described with his felt tongue.... ewww, my skin crawled. The Tin Man was more like a scary Swiss-Army knife. And the Lion was like a steroid-head who liked to eat people. It was really rather terrifying- and I loved it!

The ending was definitely abrupt. All I'll tell you is that very little is resolved. And because of the last 1/3rd of the book, I definitely want to continue the series.

OVERALL: It started out slow, but ended on a high note. Dorothy Must Die is a super interesting look at a dystopian Oz, where Dorothy is evil and another girl from Kansas is commissioned to bring her down. This is certainly not the best retelling I've ever read... but I would say it's worth a try.

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(review also posted on Netgalley)

The Monarchs picks up where The Ravens left off--Scarlett and the coven are working to repair their group from the previous semester's drama and fallout. However, from the first page, there are hints of new problems--like a hand, reaching out of a crypt. Despite this, Kappa is working towards change, such as creating a journal/guestbook to host people's secrets and avoid misinformation and lack of information from causing trouble again. And yet, after the house begins to behave oddly (cracks in foundation, plumbing issues, fires) our characters try a new spell and lose their magic, which begins their journey of rebuilding trust and regaining their magic.

This book is very plot-driven, which is great for YA! The characters read very similarly to one another, which might be in part because of the third person perspective limiting how much we get to see of each character. Still, well-written and fast paced enough to keep me turning the page.

I would recommend this book to my high school students who are already invested in magic and maybe dark academia style books, but I would not recommend it to students who are just moderately curious about magic and sororities. That is to say--definitely put it on a bookshelf and make it available to students, but I would not feature nor teach this book.

Full Review on my blog!

Let me first start with saying that the series is a roller coaster of emotions perfectly twisted together to form a lovely book series! The End of Oz was a beautiful end to this series! This time we also get a point of view from Dorothy, and she’s something else!

I loved the dual perspectives in this book, showing us a whole new side to Dorothy. I especially appreciated the way we saw events from both Amy and Dorothy’s point of view, and seeing them both figure things out and watch everything click into place was just so satisfying. It amazed me how well Danielle managed to create such a distinction between Amy and Dorothy’s voices, while showing us just how similar they were at the same time.

Amy Gumm is going to be added to my list of bad ass favorite female protagonists. And she is also one of the few protagonists that didn’t annoy me ONCE the entire series. Danielle Paige wrote such a beautiful and relatable character. Her personality was consistent but her growth throughout every book was astonishing. She had her dark moments and she had her good moments and through it all I liked her. Honestly, character development in general, in this series is insane, and watching all the characters change and mature over the course of the 4 books was such a lovely experience. Each character has their own voice, personality, and background enabling you to submerge yourself into their lives.

The book picks up right where the 3rd book ended, when Amy, Nox and Madison escaped on the yellow brick road. Yes, I know… Madison is with them! In the book 3, Yellow Brick Road, Madison and Amy make up and are new best friends! Madison was an old enemy of Amy’s but got pulled into Oz when the Nome King opened a portal into their high school to get Dorothy’s first pair of shoes. The yellow brick road takes them to an old enemy of Nox’s, her name is Lanadel, they have a complicated past and I’m going to be honest Nox was a terrible person in the past. It takes them a while to convince Lanadel to help them. Meanwhile the Nome King and Dorothy have planned to get married, I know what you’re thinking, two powerful, evil people getting married, this CANT HAPPEN D: But the wedding is something else, the Nome King is up to something for sure (not gonna spoil that :p) but Dorothy finds out through her new servant.

Meanwhile Dorothy is planning the wedding, Madison, Amy, Nox, and Lanadel acquire an invitation to the wedding, which is a masquerade party. Even though it’s a masquerade party Dorothy knows Amy is there and uses her presence as a way for her to escape. A big battle happens and Amy is stuck choosing between Nox and saving Oz, how unfair is that?! Amy of course being such a good-hearted person chooses to save Oz and move back to Kansas. Amy is back to her normal life but now has a friend (Madison) and they go back to class as seniors. But of course there’s a small twist at the end which is soooo *heart-eyes*, you’ll have to read the series to find out though!

Honestly, this series is amazing and so unique you have to check it out and give it a chance! I highly recommend it!

Check out my reviews of the rest of this series!
Dorothy Must Die
The Wicked Will Rise
Yellow Brick War
The End of Oz
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Full Review on my blog!

The first book was a bit more entertaining, but I still really enjoyed this one! This was a great sequel!

One of the things that I really love about The Wicked Will Rise is how strong the main character, Amy Gumm, is. Amy Gumm is a really good heroine. Flawed, as expected but I really saw her develop in this book; discovering more about herself, and realizing who she is and who she will become. I loved how she went through with what she believed in. I know, I know that probably sounds stupid but still …. :c Amy has these amazing powers that are connected to darkness, and didn’t try to stop using them, but rather welcomed them and she tried her best to control it.

I love the relationship between Amy and Nox, I liked how the story didn’t revolve around them which was nice; it was literally perfect.

Throughout the beginning of the book, it seems like all is going according to plan. Get the Tin Man’s heart, the Lion’s tail, and the Scarecrow’s brain before she can properly kill Dorothy, restore the magic to Oz, right? Wrong. When the reader least expects it, BAMMM! Major plot twist. This isn’t a typical plot twist that will surprise you and then you’ll get over it in a few minutes. No, no, no! The plot twists in this series so far are very powerful, and amazing and will make you LOVE the series!

I know this book seems really short, but it’s jam-packed with suspense and action. Danielle Paige does an amazing job describing Oz. I absolutely LOVEEEE how she includes the same landmarks, like the yellow brick road, the Emerald City, which really makes reading so enjoyable. What makes this book even better is the character development, an improved story line and more plot twists.

I REALLY, REALLY LOVED THIS SEQUEL. Y'all should definitely check this series out! I highly recommend it!

Check out my reviews of the rest of this series!
Dorothy Must Die
The Wicked Will Rise
Yellow Brick War
The End of Oz
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