The Witch Must Burn (Dorothy Must Die prequel #2)

 

Well color me surprised. I thought this book was about Glinda but it's mostly about Jellia - although she and Glinda spend the book together. So I guess it's a two-fer.

So far, this is the shortest of the Dorothy Must Die series and two prequel novellas at 67 pages. And to be fair, not a lot happens in this book. Jellia is working in Dorothy's palace...I realize "working" might be a misnomer, as she really doesn't have much of a choice at this point, but isn't that how many of us feel in our jobs? And let's be real, some of us have bosses who may resemble Dorothy, if not in a fun, fashion sense, then in an evil, heart of darkness way.

And Glinda, running a close second in the race for Worst Boss Ever decides to borrow Jellia from Dorothy for a few months for torture sessions and manicures.

At Glinda's palace, Jellia feels under utilized as a basic servant but as a result meets brooding bad boy Nox and is introduced to the idea of his stormy expressions and the Order. She gets just a small taste of the Order too, at the end of the book.

And...that's it. On to the next one.

No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Prequel #1)

This is the backstory on Dorothy after she spent her first time in Oz wanting nothing more than to return to Kansas and then spent her time back in Kansas wanting nothing more than to return to Oz. We begin with Dorothy's infamous (at least to her) 16th birthday party, and are reminded how terrible teenagers are, no matter what universe or timeline you are in. Then Dorothy mysteriously returns to Oz and unfortunately brings Toto, her Aunt Em, and uncle Henry with her. I say unfortunately because not only are Aunt Em and uncle Henry buzzkills for Dorothy, they're buzzkills for me too. I get that they're from a different time and simple, down to earth people, but they were unrealistically annoying. But we don't have to deal with them for too long, if you know what I mean *murderous wink*.

I think it's unfortunate for Toto because he turns into an evil diva and that seems unfair to poor Toto.

Paige provides insight into Dorothy's relationship with Ozma that leads to the unfortunate mind mush incident. And while the mechanics aren't as fleshed out as they are with Amy in the Dorothy Must Die series, we see Dorothy's transition from magical virgin to becoming accidentally more powerful than Oz's rightful ruler - even though Ozma has access to the oldest, strongest power in Oz. I feel like there is a parallel with people who end up in the emergency room after "accidentally" slipping on the Mrs. Buttersworth bottle, but I could be wrong. 

While I had to push the "I want to believe button" for more than once in this book, I'm already balls deep in this series and will pretty much keep reading even if Mrs. Buttersworth herself flies in a declares she's the Queen of Oz.

Yellow Brick War by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 3)

I gotta tell you, this book seems more like a vehicle to get from book 2 to book 4. I don't really remember much about it except that Amy has returned to Flat Hill Kansas and is looking for the first pair of Dorothy's magic shoes (apparently the ruby slippers were her second pair that Glinda used to bring her back to Kansas after returning home). 

Amy has returned to her mother, who seems to be doing better without her, but is eager to make up for lost time. She also returns to high school, with Madison, now a mother, and no longer queen bee at the school. Together with Madison and Madison's baby daddy Dustin, they search the high school for Dorothy's first pair of magic shoes. 

I think this book isn't as memorable because half of it takes place in Kansas, where Amy cannot use her magic. A lot of the world-building from the first two books is missing in book 3. And while we get glimpses of characters in Oz, it's really just that. Brief glimpses.

The second half is a return to Oz and another battle between the good and the wicked. I think it all starts to run together by this point.

Having said that, I'm invested in the story and was eager to read it each time I picked it up. It just didn't have the surprises of book 1 or the adventures of book 2. Amy had a very focused task in Kansas and returned to another great battle, both of which set up the story for book 4.

The End of Oz by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 4)

This is the fourth and final installment of the Dorothy Must Die series. The first three books are dark in their own right, but this book feels a little more so. In book 4, we travel to Ev, land of the Nome King. I'm not familiar with the original Oz books, but if you are familiar with the difference between The Wizard of Oz movie and the sequel Return to Oz, that is the change of pace to which I'm referring. Remember the wheelers? Yeah, I tried to forget them too. And the queen who wore different heads? Uh huh. Although I actually could have used more heads than were actually offered.

Most of this book takes place in Ev, beyond the land of Oz, where Amy, Madison, and Nox find themselves after escaping the Nome King. They travel to...well...are carried by wheelers against their will to Langwidere's castle.

"Oh my god...I hated this movie." -Madison upon seeing the wheelers

So we learn more about Langwidere and her head collection and get some of her backstory. There is some hiding in tunnels and caves, and then...a wedding. 

One big difference in this book is that the chapters alternate between what is going on with Amy and what is going on with the Nome King's newest prisoner. Of course, there's a big battle at the end, can't not have one of those. And the book resolves, but leaves the door open for more to come.

Overall, I like these books. Look, I'm not doing any heavy thinking about life or myself because of these books, but they're short, entertaining, and fun to read. Paige also has even more novellas giving backstory on other main characters - Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and Tin Man, Glinda, the Wizard, Polychrome, Ozma, and the Order of the Wicked. Will my life change by reading these books? No. Will I read them anyway? Of course!

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige (Dorothy Must Die Series, book 2)

This is an example of where the second installment is better than the first. If you aren't familiar with the Dorothy Must Die series of books, you can read my review of book 1 here. 

Basically, this is the second book in the Dorothy Must Die series, which tells the story of Amy Gumm, a teenager from Flat Hills Kansas, who finds herself whisked away to Oz. Amy discovers Dorothy is real, and has transformed Oz into a magical wasteland and ruled with an iron fist. Amy has joined forces with other witches to try to stop Dorothy and her entourage consisting of Glinda, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin Man.

Book two picks up right where book 1 left off. But unlike book 1, I feel like the pace was better, and we get to see more of Oz - the jungle where Lulu, the monkey queen rules, and Rainbow Falls, home to Polychrome and her fake (but mayby real?) panther/unicorn Heathcliff.

Amy also settles into her magical powers more and evolves as a witch. Or maybe she's devolving, as we start to see hints of, well, wickedness creeping into her craft. And as Dorothy begins to tap into the evil of Oz's magic, we travel with her to the shadowlands and see her transformation into a literal magical monster.

And Paige doesn't pull punches. There are a lot of characters we say goodbye to in this book, some we like and others we don't. Paige even killed a few characters I was really sad to see go. And I have to hand it to her, she wrote in a few really good battles. I tried reading them as if I was watching a movie and she had some great visuals and moments of flair that were pretty satisfying. I'm actually amazed these books haven't been turned into a miniseries or movie yet (I read on wikipedia the CW was in negotiations, but that was 10 years ago!). Her characters are sassy, colorful, and fun. She has truly evil villains and wicked heroes. And while there were times I rolled my eyes (generally anything to do with the love story arc) overall, I was here for it.