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bitchburgerbibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
Reading the back stories of the characters was interesting.
hckilgour's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
No Place Like Oz: of the three stories this was the best. It truly acted as a novella/prequel should and have light onto something not fully understood in the main series. Overall, you expect Dorothy to act much like she did in the original books so when she starts off as just a frustrated kid you feel for her. Then as the book progresses, she doesn’t exactly become wicked, she more becomes selfish. And the way Em and Henry got taken out, I knew there was a tragedy surrounding them but I didn’t expect them to get taken out wicked witch of the east style.
The Witch Must Burn: I can see why Jellia might have been chosen as the focus of the story, but after reading it, it didn’t give light to anything really, only more questions. And seeing as she was only a secondary character in the first book, I could’ve thought of others I’d be more interested in a story for. After reading this one, I’ve now got more questions about Jellia and fairies as well as the machine for mining magic. All this served to do was explain how Jellia became a spy in the Emerald Palace.
The Wizard Returns: of the three, this was the most fun. Again, the wizard was a very minor character in the series, so he didn’t serve as much of an insight. It was interesting the switch from first to third person when he becomes hex.
kassy25's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked Danielle Paige's writing style, I can't point out what it was about her writing but it was very... Addicting and it made me want to keep reading. I enjoyed the first two stories the most and I was very intrigue with Dorothy and Jellia. The most interesting thing about these stories is you can't really trust any of the characters but it's interesting to see things unfold. But I didn't care for the wizards story aat all and foun him boring. I can not wait to read Dorothy must die and I also can't wait for the next bind up of the next three novellas.
tattooed_bookworm's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - the witch must burn was my favourite of the three stories
an_aryonnet's review against another edition
3.0
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
Cursing is heavy in this review.
This was the best of the bind ups for this series. But there were still major problems.
No Place Like Oz:
I think this story drags on. I think it would have been better if there was less to it. Although, it wasn't that bad. It was okay. Dorothy shows her bitchiness. I do hate it in books where the character is clueless, but the reader knows what's happening. It's really frustrating. The character embarrasses themselves in one way or another. Once she go to the palace, she was a brat. Ozma wouldn't teach her magic, so Dorothy threw a fit. It was just plain rude and annoying as hell. The battle between her and Ozma was like the best part of the story.
The Witch Must Burn:
This story was the best of the three. We get to see Jellia, who was a character we couldn't see much of because she died so early on. Jellia had a mysterious past. She was a part of the Order, but the reader didn't know how she got in it or her role in the Order. This story explains EVERYTHING. Basically, Jellia is invited to work with Glinda in her summer home. There, she meets Nox. They start to talk and he basically invites her to work with the Order. It was well written. It didn't drag on. It kept your interested. It's only flaw was that I think it was a LITTLE too short. It could have done for, like, 20 more pages.
The Wizard Returns:
I was impartial to this story. I think that it gave more of a mystery to the Wizard that wasn't there before. We knew he had a hand in everything, but we didn't know that the Nome King had an eye on him from the cane he carried around. That was a big change in his role. Another thing that was interesting was that Pete helped the Wizard remember who he was.
Cursing is heavy in this review.
This was the best of the bind ups for this series. But there were still major problems.
No Place Like Oz:
I think this story drags on. I think it would have been better if there was less to it. Although, it wasn't that bad. It was okay. Dorothy shows her bitchiness. I do hate it in books where the character is clueless, but the reader knows what's happening. It's really frustrating. The character embarrasses themselves in one way or another. Once she go to the palace, she was a brat. Ozma wouldn't teach her magic, so Dorothy threw a fit. It was just plain rude and annoying as hell. The battle between her and Ozma was like the best part of the story.
The Witch Must Burn:
This story was the best of the three. We get to see Jellia, who was a character we couldn't see much of because she died so early on. Jellia had a mysterious past. She was a part of the Order, but the reader didn't know how she got in it or her role in the Order. This story explains EVERYTHING. Basically, Jellia is invited to work with Glinda in her summer home. There, she meets Nox. They start to talk and he basically invites her to work with the Order. It was well written. It didn't drag on. It kept your interested. It's only flaw was that I think it was a LITTLE too short. It could have done for, like, 20 more pages.
The Wizard Returns:
I was impartial to this story. I think that it gave more of a mystery to the Wizard that wasn't there before. We knew he had a hand in everything, but we didn't know that the Nome King had an eye on him from the cane he carried around. That was a big change in his role. Another thing that was interesting was that Pete helped the Wizard remember who he was.
bibliocat4's review against another edition
4.0
These were great! Lots of good information to fill in from the first book and get me all ready to read book #2.
krystala's review against another edition
4.0
Some people don't read the books in between the main novels, I being one of them, but I decided to read this 3 set that was set before Dorothy Must Die. I'm so glad I did. It really should either be the series' first book, or a part of the regular series, because it explains soooo much. The first part tells us how Dorothy got back to Oz. She was fine, normal, sweet. But she was wearing the ruby slippers and they were corrupting her. Glenda was corrupting her. We learn all this and we learn why Dorothy turns the way she does. The second part is told by the maid turned rebel. I was practically screaming, You die, you die!!! the entire time, knowing she does in Dorothy Must Die, and how. The last part is told by the wizard and we learn how he becomes a part of the rebellion as well, but he's also in it for himself. Overall, this was a great way to start the series and if you don't read this, you miss out on a lot.
natalie001's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
couchnest's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this book with three short stories in it. Now I am all ready to read Dorothy Must Die.