Yellow Brick War (Dorothy Must Die #3) by Danielle Paige

Page Count: 270

Published on: March 15, 2016

Published by: Harper Teen
Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Adventure, Fairy Tale Retelling, 
Source: Print: Hardback: Library

Age Rating: PG-15

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @daniellempaige

My Rating: 4 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Once upon a time, there was a girl from Kansas named Dorothy.

You might know her as the Girl Who Rode the Cyclone. She ended up in Oz, where she became friends with the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion. But the temptation of magic was too much for her. She let it change her. Her friends became twisted versions of their former selves.

The magical land of Oz is now a dark and menacing place.

My name is Amy Gumm. Tornadoes must have a thing about girls from Kansas, because I got swept away on one too. I also landed in Oz, where Good is Wicked, Wicked is Good, and the Wicked Witches clued me in to my true calling:

Assassin.

The only way to stop Dorothy from destroying Oz—and Kansas—is to kill her. And I’m the only one who can do it.

But I failed. Others died for my mistakes. Because of me, the portal between the worlds has been opened and Kansas and Oz are both in danger. And if I don’t find a way to close it?

Dorothy will make sure I never get to go home again. 

~~~

Hey, guys!

      I'm coming back at you with another fairy-tale retelling review. If you've been following me this year, you might have read my review for Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige. I absolutely fell in love with Paige's writing and I've been anticipating Yellow Brick War for months now. I went to the library and managed to check out YBW (even though I had plenty to read at home) and I don't regret it one bit. I mean why would I?

      Yellow Brick War is the third book in the Dorothy Must Die series and continues from where TWWR left off. The world of Oz is in chaos. Amy Gumm's life has changed completely and she has become an assassin in order to kill the evil and power-hungry Dorothy Gale. Killing Dorothy is the only way to save Oz and Kansas. 

      I really loved this addition to the series, but I really felt like TWWR and YBW could have been one book! The series is already being pushed out into a fourth book, and I honestly think it doesn't need it. The first book was absolutely fantastic and the book was alright, but the third book felt a bit drawn out. Don't get me wrong, I loved it, but it could have been a much shorter series. The ending was kind of underwhelming, but the cliffhanger left me wanting much more.

      I really loved the characters in this series...they didn't disappoint. I can't wait to read the finale of the series. I can't wait to see how much more Amy Gumm develops. The cliffhanger literally killed me. Amy is such a spunky and badass character and it's amazing to see such an independent and real character in YA literature. I'm excited to see where Danielle Paige takes the plot of this novel. She's added new elements to it that I didn't see coming. I loved that Paige included details from the original books rather than just the bare bones that are commonly known from the movies. The original story is so wonderful, and everyone should read Baum's books.

My Reviews:

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum {click here}

Dorothy Must Die {click here)

The Wicked Will Rise {click here}

Other Retellings That You Would Love:

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer {5 stars}
• East by Edith Pattou {5 stars}
• The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor {4 stars}
• A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston {4.75 stars}
• A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas {3 stars}
• The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh {5 stars}
• Entwined by Heather Dixon {5 stars}

I hope you all enjoyed this review!

Happy reading!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin

The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

Page Count: 293

Published on: March 31, 2015

Published by: HarperCollins

Genre(s): YA, Fantasy, Retellings, Paranormal, Adventure, Romance
Source: Print: Paperback

Age Rating: PG-13

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon  

Twitter: @daniellempaige

My Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

In this New York Times bestselling sequel to Dorothy Must Die, who is good—and who is actually Wicked? The Wicked Will Rise is perfect for fans of richly reimagined fairy tales and classic tales like Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles and Gregory Maguire’sWicked.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I’m the other girl from Kansas. After a tornado swept through my trailer park, I ended up in Oz. But it wasn’t like the Oz I knew from books and movies. Dorothy had returned, but she was now a ruthless dictator. Glinda could no longer be called the Good Witch. And the Wicked Witches who were left? They’d joined forces as the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, and they wanted to recruit me.

My mission? Kill Dorothy. Except my job as assassin didn’t work out as planned. Dorothy is still alive. The Order has vanished. And the home I couldn’t wait to leave behind might be in danger.

Somehow, across a twisted and divided land, I have to find the Order, protect the true ruler of Oz, take Dorothy and her henchmen down—and try to figure out what I’m really doing here.

~~~

Hey guys!

    If you have read my review for Dorothy Must Die, then you will know that I am absolutely obsessed with this series! The first book totally blew me away, and Danielle Paige's writing style is fantastic and I can't wait to finish the series. I read The Wicked Will Rise within a week of reading Dorothy Must Die, and I absolutely adored it. After reading it, I got a huge book hangover and I'm still desperately waiting to get my hands on the third book, The Yellow Brick War...Someday soon...

      TWWR was just as great as DMD, if not better. The character development and the plot development throughout the book was fantastic compared to DMD. Though TWWR is considerably smaller than DMD, it was still full of information and awesome plot twists. It was so fast paced and very well done. There was so much going on, and Amy's character grew soo much....Some would argue that she developed negatively, but I really liked what Danielle Paige did with her character. She's so interesting and complex...I can't wait to see what happens in TYBW. She's so wicked, yet good...passive, yet aggressive. She has no idea what she's doing, and she doesn't know who to trust...Neither do I! I love going along on this journey! I have no idea how Danielle Paige is going to conclude this series...it's so mysterious and I JUST NEED THE NEXT BOOK AAAAAAAH!!!!

      The one thing that didn't really grind my gears was Nox...I have a hard time sympathizing with him or even trusting him...I just don't really like him yet...I mean I liked him in DMD, but he seemed unlike himself in TWWR...I didn't like it..

My Review of Dorothy Must Die:{click here}

My Review of The Wizard of Oz: {click here}

My Favorite Character: Amy

My Least Favorite Character: Nox (for now)

Other Retellings That You Would Love:

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer {5 stars}
• East by Edith Pattou {5 stars}
• The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor {4 stars}
• A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston {4.75 stars}
• A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas {3 stars}
• The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh {5 stars}
• Entwined by Heather Dixon {5 stars}

I hope you all enjoyed this review!

Happy reading!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~

Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Page Count: 452

Published on: April 1, 2014

Published by: Harper Teen
Genre(s): Fantasy, YA, Adventure, Fairy Tale Retelling, 
Source: Print: Paperback

Age Rating: PG-15

Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @daniellempaige

My Rating: 5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero.

But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado - taking you with it - you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little bluebirds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a yellow brick road - but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy.

They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

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.

~~~

Hey guys!

      I had been meaning to read Dorothy Must Die for quite a while, and after I put up a poll on the BooksAmino app to ask my followers what I should read read next, they chose Dorothy Must Die! I'm so glad that I read this book, it was so addicting and the characters and plot were fantastic. It was so original, and fantastical. This series definitely going to be one of my new favorites. Within a week of reading Dorothy Must Die, I picked up The Wicked Will Rise. Words cannot describe how much I love this book.

      Oz has changed. “Oz has changed,” ...“The trees don’t talk. The Pond of Truth tells lies, the Wandering Water stays put. The Land of Naught is on fire. People are starting to get old. People are forgetting how it used to be.” Oz has become a ramshackle place full of darkness and corruption. Dorothy has destroyed the Ozians and has corrupted the world. It is up to Amy to fix the damage that Dorothy has caused. It is up to Amy...Dorothy must die.

      I just adored this book. The characters had such original back stories and their personalities were so fun and it was amazing to learn more and more about the characters that I grew up with, and the characters that Paige added to the story. The whole story had the elements of the original tale, but Danielle Paige added her new characters and mixed it apocalyptic world. It was fantastical and magical and wonderfully done. I had always wondered what would happen if Dorothy went back to Oz, and even though this world is much darker than what I had imagined before, I still fell in love with this new version of Oz. Dorothy's attitude and new power hungry ways were such a surprise. The bits of the book that centered around magic and how it affects the people from the other world (our world). 

      I desperately want this book to become a movie. I feel like this could be the next big book to movie franchise..I would definitely watch the movies. I'm not sure if the rights have been bought, but I definitely think that these books deserve to be movies. 

My Review of The Wizard of Oz: {click here}

Other Retellings That You Will Enjoy:

• Cinder by Marissa Meyer {5 stars}
• East by Edith Pattou {5 stars}
• The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor {4 stars}
• A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston {4.75 stars}
• A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J. Maas {3 stars}
• The Wrath & the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh {5 stars}
• Entwined by Heather Dixon {5 stars}

Happy Reading everyone! I hope you enjoyed this review!

Olivia

~LivTheBookNerd~
Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Goodreads // YouTube // Bloglovin