REVIEW: The Wicked Will Rise

The Wicked Will Rise
Author: Danielle Paige

Emerald City is burning. The Order of the Wicked has disappeared. And Dorothy isn't dead.

Amy Gumm's journey to return Oz to its former glory continues in The Wicked Will Rise, the second book in the Dorothy Must Die series. Accompanied by the magically confused Ozma, Amy continues her quest, while fighting to control the magic growing within her. The lines between Good and Wicked are blurred, leaving Amy unsure who to trust. But she knows she must gather the tin man's heart, the Lion's Courage, and the Scarecrow's brains.....and then kill Dorothy.

There was less action in this book than the first one. But, there was a lot of character development and some cool revelations about what is actually going on. Interesting......but I do have to admit being a bit disappointed that nothing was really resolved in this book. Nice plot development.....but not a lot of progress towards the ultimate goal.  I think perhaps this is a case where the plot was stretched because the series had to continue for more than just 1 or 2 books. So book two is like an extended travelling montage.....we're off to kill Dorothy, but we need a book or two of development before we can actually do that. Not that I mind development, interesting side quests and the addition of quirky, cool new characters....but in the end, very little really happened.

All in all, I like this series so far and I'm going to continue reading. It seems in each book Dorothy gets one more piece she needs to defeat Dorothy. So book 3 must be the quest for scarecrow's brain....then book 4.....bye bye Dorothy? I'm a sucker for anything Oz.....so I'm happy to continue reading. The books are entertaining, quick reads...so there's no harm in things being stretched out a bit. I'm glad I waited to read this series until most of the books were already released. If I had read this book as a new release, the slow pace and months of waiting for a new book would have been annoying. I am not a patient person. :)

On to book 3 - Yellow Brick War! And book 4, The End of Oz, is set to release in mid-March! I think I started reading this series at just the right time! :)