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kayla_jade's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kay_slayerofbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Ok, so out of these 3 short stories my favorite was Dorothy's, in There's No Place Like Oz. Her desire to get back to Oz after her whole town looks at her like a laughing stock is understandable. But her transformation while in those shoes after she got back to Oz was freakin scary. It also shed some light on her character and explained why she was so terrible by the time book 1 (Dorothy Must Die) takes place. The other 2 stories were good too. The Wizard was still a prick, but Dorothy's story was definitely my favorite.
lizbethandthelifeinbetween's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
Loved this. Wasn't a huge fan of all three stories, but they were all unique in their own ways. Each narrator had their own strong and distinct voice. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had not been four years since I read the series as there were a lot of names and character I recognized but I could not 100% piece together how they all interact and connect. This is amazing though and Paige is an amazing and talent writer and I adore her retellings. I just love how she made Oz feel like Oz, yet like her own version as well.
This is just really well done. Highly recommenced.
Loved this. Wasn't a huge fan of all three stories, but they were all unique in their own ways. Each narrator had their own strong and distinct voice. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had not been four years since I read the series as there were a lot of names and character I recognized but I could not 100% piece together how they all interact and connect. This is amazing though and Paige is an amazing and talent writer and I adore her retellings. I just love how she made Oz feel like Oz, yet like her own version as well.
This is just really well done. Highly recommenced.
parot's review against another edition
3.0
I really liked getting the back story BUT it was slow reading because there was so much Dorothy in it.
daredeviling's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the first book in the series so much that I couldn't wait to get my hands on this prequel because I wanted to know more about this version of Oz immediately. Unfortunately, I found this set of stories much weaker than the original book. I'm actually not quite sure why I didn't enjoy it as much, but the bottom line was that I ended up feeling incredibly bored by the set of stories.
No Place Must Burn: I liked this story, but then it kind of started dragging a little, so I just wanted it to finish up because it became a cycle of Dorothy being all ~but I want it and then doing shitty things to get what she wanted and then thinking that she should feel bad but eh. And although the story had hints of Dorothy not being a great person throughout, I found her transition to complete psychopath a little sudden (even though the book hints that it happened so quickly because of the magic shoes). I understand it was just a short one-shot prequel, but I just would have liked some more development from sweet Dorothy Gale to psychopathic ruler of Oz. 3.5/5
The Witch Must Burn: This was my favorite story in the group, especially because we find out about Jellia's secret in the actual first book, so it was nice to get some background on her and find out how she got involved with the Order in the first place. I also just love her as a character so much. She's so adorable and yet badass and I love how she tries her best to stay tough for the maids under her care and make sure they're okay. And in this section, we got to find out more about Nox, which was also nice. I liked having all the ties to the story that I already already familiar with. 4.5/5
The Wizard Returns: This one was probably my least favorite out of the set. I found the Wizard pretty annoying with what a dick he was. His interactions with the monkeys just irritated me more than anything. I was hopeful he would end up on a redemption arc, but then at the end, he just backslid all the way back to how he started, so there really was basically no point to the entire story. It was also the only story not in first person, so that was a little jarring, and I definitely prefer Paige's writing when it's in first person. 3/5
It took me a while to finish the book overall. I rated this set of stories as a whole 2.5, but I thought it at least deserved a round up instead of a round down on Goodreads. I'm still pretty excited to read the second book in the series. Hopefully, Paige can do more with a longer, more continuous present-day story instead of writing about things that happened in the ~past from her world.
No Place Must Burn: I liked this story, but then it kind of started dragging a little, so I just wanted it to finish up because it became a cycle of Dorothy being all ~but I want it and then doing shitty things to get what she wanted and then thinking that she should feel bad but eh. And although the story had hints of Dorothy not being a great person throughout, I found her transition to complete psychopath a little sudden (even though the book hints that it happened so quickly because of the magic shoes). I understand it was just a short one-shot prequel, but I just would have liked some more development from sweet Dorothy Gale to psychopathic ruler of Oz. 3.5/5
The Witch Must Burn: This was my favorite story in the group, especially because we find out about Jellia's secret in the actual first book, so it was nice to get some background on her and find out how she got involved with the Order in the first place. I also just love her as a character so much. She's so adorable and yet badass and I love how she tries her best to stay tough for the maids under her care and make sure they're okay. And in this section, we got to find out more about Nox, which was also nice. I liked having all the ties to the story that I already already familiar with. 4.5/5
The Wizard Returns: This one was probably my least favorite out of the set. I found the Wizard pretty annoying with what a dick he was. His interactions with the monkeys just irritated me more than anything. I was hopeful he would end up on a redemption arc, but then at the end, he just backslid all the way back to how he started, so there really was basically no point to the entire story. It was also the only story not in first person, so that was a little jarring, and I definitely prefer Paige's writing when it's in first person. 3/5
It took me a while to finish the book overall. I rated this set of stories as a whole 2.5, but I thought it at least deserved a round up instead of a round down on Goodreads. I'm still pretty excited to read the second book in the series. Hopefully, Paige can do more with a longer, more continuous present-day story instead of writing about things that happened in the ~past from her world.
ellen5525's review against another edition
3.0
Overall 3.5 stars.
No place like Oz - 4 stars
The witch must burn - 3 stars
The wizard returns - 3 stars
No place like Oz - 4 stars
The witch must burn - 3 stars
The wizard returns - 3 stars
jkropik06's review against another edition
4.0
WARNING: This review will contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
No Place Like Oz (4/5 Stars)-
Wow. This story made me hate Dorothy even more than the first book did, it actually took away any remorse I felt for her during the first novel. This followed Dorothy after she defeated the Wicked Witch, but before she took took the crown to Oz. It was the lead up to how she became princess, and it showed how truly vile she really is. Ozma welcomes her to Oz happily, but is weary of the red shoes she used to get there, knowing they are very powerful. Eventually the shoes give Dorothy power, and she starts to spiral downhill. She was rude to her aunt and uncle the whole time, but at the end she accidently kills them when trying to defeat Ozma. She then uses all of her power to erase all of Ozma’s memories, making it as if she is a child. She cries for her aunt and uncle, but her sadness soon vanishes when Glinda, bad bad Glinda appears and tells her she is the new princess. What a terrible, but beautifully written start to a vile characters story.
The Witch Must Burn (5/5 Stars)-
This story took place in the point of view of my favorite character, Jellia. She is a character I had all the respect for in Dorothy Must Die, but this review is about the short story… which, again, I LOVED! After the events of the first story, Dorothy has taken control. Jellia is left as the head maid, trying to keep the castle up to Dorothy’s standards. When Glinda comes to visit, she takes interest in Jellia for an unknown reason. She manipulates Dorothy into letting her have Jellia for the summer, and this is where Jellia meets Nox. Soon it is made known that GLinda is to use Jellia for her magic harvesting machine, shit hits the fan, and Glinda leaves Jellia to die after she is deemed useless. Nox takes Jellia to safety, and this is when she joins the The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. Sidenote, this also showed that Glinda is not completely with Dorothy, and she does still have somewhat of a good side. Barely. SPOILER FOR BOOK ONE IN THE SERIES AHEAD: This story had me missing Jellia… I don’t completely remember what happened to her, but I do know that she took blame for Amy’s action and it resulted in her death. (Or something close to it).
The Wizard Returns (3/5 Stars)-
This story was most definitely my least favorite of the lot, but i still enjoyed it! It followed the Wizard after he “left” Oz. He must complete three trials and prove he is a better person, but the problem is he lost his memory. Pete is his guide in these trials. First, he comes upon the land of the wingless ones, where the Anti-Dorothy monkeys live. He meets Iris, a very sweet monkey who knows Queen Lulu’s companion is a fraud. The wizard, Hex, exposes the fraudulent monkey and takes credit for what Iris did, therefore failing the first trial. In the second he saves Iris’s life from the Lion, gaining some of his memories back, and finally in the last trial he goes down to the land of the fairies where he makes the choice to stay in Oz, gaining all of his memories back. The fairies think he is on their side, but Hex really wants to gain the kingdom back… so yeah he is still a dick.
I wrote this review with the intentions of refreshing my memory in the future, hence its summarizing qualities. Anywho, the novellas were all enjoyable, but the Witch Must Burn is definitely my favorite! The Wizard returns was kind of weak, but I still liked it.
No Place Like Oz (4/5 Stars)-
Wow. This story made me hate Dorothy even more than the first book did, it actually took away any remorse I felt for her during the first novel. This followed Dorothy after she defeated the Wicked Witch, but before she took took the crown to Oz. It was the lead up to how she became princess, and it showed how truly vile she really is. Ozma welcomes her to Oz happily, but is weary of the red shoes she used to get there, knowing they are very powerful. Eventually the shoes give Dorothy power, and she starts to spiral downhill. She was rude to her aunt and uncle the whole time, but at the end she accidently kills them when trying to defeat Ozma. She then uses all of her power to erase all of Ozma’s memories, making it as if she is a child. She cries for her aunt and uncle, but her sadness soon vanishes when Glinda, bad bad Glinda appears and tells her she is the new princess. What a terrible, but beautifully written start to a vile characters story.
The Witch Must Burn (5/5 Stars)-
This story took place in the point of view of my favorite character, Jellia. She is a character I had all the respect for in Dorothy Must Die, but this review is about the short story… which, again, I LOVED! After the events of the first story, Dorothy has taken control. Jellia is left as the head maid, trying to keep the castle up to Dorothy’s standards. When Glinda comes to visit, she takes interest in Jellia for an unknown reason. She manipulates Dorothy into letting her have Jellia for the summer, and this is where Jellia meets Nox. Soon it is made known that GLinda is to use Jellia for her magic harvesting machine, shit hits the fan, and Glinda leaves Jellia to die after she is deemed useless. Nox takes Jellia to safety, and this is when she joins the The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. Sidenote, this also showed that Glinda is not completely with Dorothy, and she does still have somewhat of a good side. Barely. SPOILER FOR BOOK ONE IN THE SERIES AHEAD: This story had me missing Jellia… I don’t completely remember what happened to her, but I do know that she took blame for Amy’s action and it resulted in her death. (Or something close to it).
The Wizard Returns (3/5 Stars)-
This story was most definitely my least favorite of the lot, but i still enjoyed it! It followed the Wizard after he “left” Oz. He must complete three trials and prove he is a better person, but the problem is he lost his memory. Pete is his guide in these trials. First, he comes upon the land of the wingless ones, where the Anti-Dorothy monkeys live. He meets Iris, a very sweet monkey who knows Queen Lulu’s companion is a fraud. The wizard, Hex, exposes the fraudulent monkey and takes credit for what Iris did, therefore failing the first trial. In the second he saves Iris’s life from the Lion, gaining some of his memories back, and finally in the last trial he goes down to the land of the fairies where he makes the choice to stay in Oz, gaining all of his memories back. The fairies think he is on their side, but Hex really wants to gain the kingdom back… so yeah he is still a dick.
I wrote this review with the intentions of refreshing my memory in the future, hence its summarizing qualities. Anywho, the novellas were all enjoyable, but the Witch Must Burn is definitely my favorite! The Wizard returns was kind of weak, but I still liked it.
deanie's review against another edition
4.0
In Dorothy Must Die, we see very different versions of the Oz characters we known and love, and there's a lot of confusion and ambiguity around it. This collection of prequel novellas provides some much needed clarity. How did Dorothy Gale turn into an evil queen? Is she really evil, or is someone else behind it? Is Glinda a good witch or a bad witch? What happened to the Wizard when he left Oz? And what, exactly, is up with this Revolutionary Order of the Wicked? Lots of questions... and thankfully this book has lots of (entertaining) answers. It's a great addition to the Dorothy Must Die series.
leah1611's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
jewishdet's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25