Monday, November 17, 2014

The Witch Must Burn by Danielle Paige Review

Hey readers and Happy Monday! I know, that is the most depressing saying of the week, but someone has to say it. Okay. TODAY I am so excited to bring you the review to the novella I waited nearly seven months for... drumroll please! ....... The Witch Must Burn by Danielle Paige! The second prequel novella in her Dorothy Must Die series. Before we get to my thoughts, here's a bit about the book and about our author, the incredible Danielle Paige!



There’s a new Wicked Witch in Oz—and her name is Dorothy. This digital original novella is the second installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and exciting New York Times bestseller Dorothy Must Die.
Dorothy Gale is back . . . and she’s not the sweet little heroine of Oz anymore. She’s power-hungry and vicious, and she leaves a trail of destruction beneath her spike-heeled, magical shoes. But behind the scenes, there’s someone else pulling the strings. Someone who doesn’t want fame or glory—just control.
Glinda of the North brought Dorothy back to Oz for a reason. And in The Witch Must Burn, a young maid is about to discover that a witch who says she’s Good might be the most dangerous kind of Wicked. 



https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20827345-the-witch-must-burn

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IHZS4DU/ref=cm_sw_su_dp?tag=epicreads-20http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-witch-must-burn-danielle-paige/1120356996?cm_mmc=affiliates-_-linkshare-_-mdxm68jzjz8-_-10%3a1&ean=9780062280770&isbn=9780062280770&r=1

Danielle Paige 



Danielle lives in NY. Before turning to YA, she worked in television & was nominated for several Daytime Emmy's. Dorothy Must Die is her first novel. 

Find Danielle Paige 








Best part about this novella? It's only $2.99! Yeah! That's a steal! Before we get to my thoughts, you guys should be made aware that this is the second prequel novella to a series. It's predecessor and 'sequel' have already been released in the form of There's No Place Like Oz and Dorothy Must Die! If you guys don't know much about those two reads, check out my reviews and more by clicking on the covers below!

http://oneguysguidetogoodreads.blogspot.com/2014/04/theres-no-place-like-oz-prequel-novella.html
 
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My Thoughts:

Seven months ago I found out that a debut author was getting ready to release her retelling of Oz. I will openly admit that I groaned when I heard this. It was not until after I read the synopsis that I thought, "hmm... this has potential". So, I jumped right now with the first novella and quickly decided that Danielle Paige was the next Queen of Oz. It only took me 75 pages to realize that this was the real deal. Oz had sat on the backburner for far too long. I was beginning to think I was the only person keeping up with Oz these days, then DP hit the stage and suddenly Oz was in the spotlight, AGAIN! 

I have not had much luck with females in Oz. I don't know what it is, but for some reason the female writers just haven't captured L. Frank Baum's image of Oz the way I would have liked. Then I met Danielle Paige. Finally, someone who could not only update Oz, but reintroduce it to an entirely new generation of readers. Thank Lurline!  So you guys have probably seen or heard of my thoughts on Danielle's other two OZ novels, so let's get down to TWMB!

This was an extremely short novella (only about 70 pages on my Nook), but it was a fairly complete story. Unlike our other novella that was about Dorothy and her return to Oz, this novel follows a summer in the life of Jellia Jamb, Head Maid of the Emerald Palace. Well... she was just a head maid. Now I'm not exactly sure WHAT she is! (Keep reading the series to learn more about Jellia's role in the story)

Basically we get a short story about what happens to Jellia after she is whisked out of the Emerald Palace and sent to work as the "Good Witch of the South", Glinda's, Head Maid for the summer. It was just as sickening as you can imagine. So much pink. *shudders*

Glinda, Dorothy, and the Scarecrow have teamed up the begin the horrible process of mining the magic from Oz. Using methods ranging from Munchkin labor, Magic, and the Scarecrow's new drill, Oz is being sucked dry and the terrible trip needs Jellia's help to continue down this retched path. Will Jellia help them in fear or resist in order to do her part to restore Oz to its' former glory? With Ozma still nowhere near "normal", Oz is under Dorothy's thumb unless Jellia can do something about it. Sounds like Oz needs a savior. *cough* Amy Gumm *cough*

Jellia proved to be an awesome character in this novel. It was so great to actually learn the backstory of a character who has been around for 114 years! Yes, you read that right, Jellia was actually mentioned, unnamed, in the original The Wonderful Wizard of Oz story! Crazy right? What a long time to go without a proper time in the spotlight! Kudos to DP for giving these lesser known characters their time to shine!

As anyone who has read my previous reviews knows, I am not a fan of Dorothy. Never have been. I WAS a fan of Glinda until  Dorothy Must Die came along and now I am team Glamora all the way! Oh, and I know what you are thinking, "what about the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked?". And that's a great question, I'm glad you asked. They actually play a rather large role in the storyline. Turns out they have been recruiting for quite some time!

Fans of Nox. Gert, Mombi (ahh Mombi!), and Glamora can read easy knowing they will see their favorite characters! It may be brief and leave you with more questions than it answered, but The Witch Must Burn is definitely a must read for fans of this series!

I do have to say that I am really interested to see how the events of this story will play out int he rest of the series, because I really don't see where it fits in with DMD. I know Danielle will have a plan, as she has not steered me wrong yet! This definitely will tide me over until The Wicked Will Rise releases on March 31, 2015!

All-in-all I am granting this awesome little novella a 4.5-star rating from me! Full of more Oz nods and lore than I can mention and it DEFINITELY left me itching for me. I cannot wait to see what comes next from DP!
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Okay guys, I don't have to rave all night long for all my readers to know how much I love all things Oz. I've said it before, and I'll say it once again, Oz is MY THING! I have read so much Oz that I sometimes forget where Oz ends and my realm begins. I am seriously obsessed. After a stream of authors who really couldn't capture L. Frank Baum's image, the Oz community was blessed to have been granted Danielle Paige. She is the Ozian savior in every sense. Oz has fallen out of the limelight and thanks to her, an entire new generation of readers are discovering the land I fell in love with many, many years ago! I highly encourage any reader, Oz fan or not to check out this series, I promise you will NOT be disappointed! Until next time, Happy Reading and Ozspeed!

-Ethan

1 comment:

  1. I really hate buying novellas but you have me tempted! I am super curious about this and I really want next March to come soon!

    ReplyDelete