Yellow Brick War

I really thought this was gonna be the end. But apparently there's a fourth completely unnecessary book! Not to mention the short stories! But im done. I give up on this series. I'm sick of it's unnecessary twists and turns that only serve to make what could've been a single book or a duology into waaay too many books. Im sick of the slut-shaming and the hopelessness and the way the protagonist is actually insignificant. What do you mean they could've stopped Dorothy all along just by promoting Nox? What was the point of the first two books then?
This one gets slightly higher of a rating only because it was an easier, less annoying read than the second book. But overall, this series had an interesting concept and a horrible execution. I show more will not be reading any other Paige novels in the future. show less

I devoured this in just a few hours (would've been a lot quicker but I MUST attend classes and not SKIP to read wonderful, fantastic, amazing, enchanting, etc. stories!). Dr. Goodman cut me off when I only had four pages left in the novel (priorities, right?). Oh Amy... Amy, Amy Amy. The lengths you'll go to to save Oz and Kansas astounds me. I am in love with Dorothy Must Die series and the fourth book is within my reach. I wish Amy didn't have to go back to high school but alas it was a necessary evil. It was nice to see an awful character not only get what she had coming to her but also a well deserved redemption (I am typically not a fan of redemption arcs especially for bullies). As always, I thought this was amazing. I felt show more sympathy for characters that had been out of the picture for quite awhile and none of it felt forced or rushed (despite Mombi's efforts, forever peeping from the Darklands). I just wish that this was my happily ever after. Hopefully the next book wraps things off because I'm not sure how much more I can take! show less

Please note that I gave this book half a star, but rounded it up to 1 star on Goodreads.

I can say right here plain and simple I am done with this lackluster series. I reviewed books #1 and #2 and I gave them both 3 stars. I thought book #1 showed potential, but book #2 had our main character Amy Gumm just spinning in place and now book #3 includes more of her spinning in place with side helpings of let's be an asshole too.

Please don't read if you haven't read books #1 and #2 in the Dorothy Must Die series since this review will have spoilers from those two books.

At the end of book #2, Amy after getting into a fight with Dorothy is somehow transported back to Kansas, specifically her trailer park home, Dusty Acres. Within seconds of show more arriving in Kansas, Amy, the rest of the Wicked (Gert, Glamora, and Mombi) along with Nox tell Nox that it is time for him to join the newly made up Wicked are trying to deal with Dorothy once and for all, of course she manages to squeak off back to Oz. Amy is left flabbergasted that Nox was invited to make up the fourth missing part of the Wicked which means he can't ever marry or be in love (I rolled my eyes a million times) and now Amy is angry because she feels used and fumes that Nox lied to her.

This whole book is pretty much Amy stomping around acting like a brat towards everyone. I love how she rewrote her whole history back in Oz as saving it (um did you kill Dorothy? Didn't you directly because you listened to Pete cause Polychrome and others to die? Yeah, you did, shut it) and feeling angry that her magic has left her since she is back in Kansas.

I really can't say much about any characters because we only have Amy's POV to guide us. There is not much of the Wicked or Nox in this one so if you were looking for that, I suggest you skip this one. We do get some Nox, but it's just him after a time apologizing to Amy (sigh whatever dude) and him deciding to just go along with her increasingly stupid and let's say it, selfish plans.

We have Amy back in Kansas dealing with the fallout of her being gone. She has a reunion with her mother but is nasty towards her at times because she has decided it's easier this way because eventually she is going to return to live in Oz. Though it's been said repeatedly she can't use magic there because when humans from Kansas do, they tend to go the way of Dorothy (power hungry and ready to kill anyone that crosses them) but she feels more at home there. Or something. I don't really know. Because not for one minute did I ever feel like Amy felt like Oz was home. And Amy flips flops so fast about staying in Oz that the whole first half with her repeating this to herself was just not necessary.

I can honestly say that I have never been over a character so fast in my life. I was sick of reading how Amy justified every little thing she kept doing without thinking of the repercussions of such things. Amy keeps thinking she knew best. So unless Ms. Paige wraps up this series one day showing that Amy was 100 percent wrong (doubtful) I am really tired of reading about how a 16 year old with very limited magical experience should just ignore what everyone else around her has been through, due to plot reasons, i.e. need to continue this series on for whatever reason. Amy's decisions about what to do with Pete and Dorothy I just had no words. Don't read this book if you are expecting any story-lines to be wrapped up.

Besides the former characters we have come to know (who we don't spend much time with) we get some new characters and a re-look at characters we haven't seen since book #1 like Amy's mom and her former enemy Madison.

I really didn't get much of a sense of Amy's mother. We know that she was a alcoholic mess in book #1, we saw that she missed Amy in book #2 and now in book #3 she has turned over a new leaf so she can be a better mother to Amy. I really wish that we had gotten more time with this character, but we just barely scrapped the surface of her.

We also have Amy dealing with her former nemesis Madison who has now become her sort of friend and it really didn't really work for the story. Maybe if Ms. Paige spent more time on the story, I could have believed that Madison and her boyfriend would be so eager to help, but sorry just couldn't get there based on how they treated her in book #1.

I honestly don't know why Ms. Paige threw another villain our way in this book. Sorry, but Dorothy and company was enough. Now we have another enemy to defeat? At this point I think she's going to try to incorporate every character from the L. Frank Baum's books.

The plot in this one was Amy trying to find the first pair of Dorothy's shoes and that gets resolved pretty quickly, the repercussions of that are ignored by Amy again because of plot reasons. Seriously, this whole book nothing really happens. We just get Amy turning into an even more Dark Mary Sue and I was bored.

The writing was tedious and just repetitive after a while. We get it, Amy has lingering issues with her mom. Amy still has feelings for Nox, etc. I really think unless Ms. Paige throws in another POV here, this series is going to get old quick. If she is going to try to re-tell the Oz stories, well have something told from Ozma's point of view or any other character but Amy.

The setting of Kansas and even Oz once again are not brought to life in this series. They really are never the main focus in my humble opinion because they are simply used as set pieces for the awesomeness that is Amy.

The ending made me really ticked. If I had paid money for this book, I would have returned it for a refund. I suggest if you really want to know what happens you borrow this from the library. As far as I am concerned, this was 270 pages of filler. That was all this book was. Heck, book #2 is filler too. There is nothing there that advances the story at all, we don't get any development of characters, and we just keep throwing more obstacles Amy's way so the story never ends. show less

About the same as the second book: a slow start and lots of unnecessary introspection, with the action coming in later. We see everything through the main character's eyes and she is totally a downer. I get that Amy grew up in a tough environment where she could only rely on herself but it's a little sad to see just how much she distrusts certain people when as the reader, I can tell that those people are actually genuine in their care for her.

I like this book a bit better than the disappointing previous volume if only because my expectations were already low to start with, and some minor characters from the first book reappear and were amusing to read about. In particular, Amy's old schoolmates Madison and her now-ex Dustin had some show more great scenes. I actually hope Madison would somehow get involved in the main storyline; she'd make a hilarious and sassy BFF/sidekick to Amy. Lulu the monkey queen also comes back and I'm never not entertained by all her quips.

The romance still bores me but at least the author kept the we-can't-be-together-due-to-some-terribly-manufactured-reason to a minimum. And actually, even though Nox started out this series as the typical brooding jerk, he turned out to be an ok guy in the end, if still completely generic.

The second half of the book is action-packed, focusing on the war in Oz and the battles the main character Amy and her band of witches fight, ending in a cliffhanger with plenty of plot threads still left to explore. Overall, it was a decent listen (I did the audiobook), and I do enjoy the sarcastic humour of Amy's narration. Danielle Paige's reinterpretation of Oz is quirky and interesting, and she continues to expand on her world with each book. At this point, I'm invested enough to read the fourth and final volume that's coming out next year, if only to see how it all ends. show less

I am so disappointed in this book that I’m adjusting my previous favorable recommendations for the first two because I don’t want anyone else to suffer through this ridiculous third book.

I don’t want to give anything away in case someone does want to read this book so I will go over all the issues I had with this book without giving anything way.
It’s clear that this series wasn’t intended to be this many books. Each successive books has a thinner plot and because of this nothing really happens in the book. In addition, each book has been shorter than the previous one and now there is going to be a fourth.
Speaking of four books, many of the issues I has with this book are directly linked to this fourth book. Originally, this show more was supposed to be a trilogy and so the introduction of a new villain didn’t make sense at the time. The ending was a mess too and left me questioning if there would be a fourth. And while it makes sense now and is more forgivable I still believe that this series did not need to be this many books.
Finally, this book has the big battle between Dorothy and Amy and it is completely underwhelming. The Dorothy storyline comes to an abrupt end and Amy had nothing to do with it. I waited three books for this. The majority, if not all, of the storyline was Amy training and becoming better at using magic and killing Dorothy’s followers in order to weaken her. None of that mattered. The outcome would have been the same with or without Amy.
Of course there are other issues like Amy being completely unlikable and a boring romance angle but in a book filled with so much “wrongness” it doesn’t even matter.

I would not recommend this book. show less

Full Review on my blog!
Ahhhh! I absolutely love this series! This series has gradually gotten better with each book, and I love how much every character has developed thus far. I’m really enjoying Danielle Paige’s style of writing and the overall premise and mythology of her take on OZ is soooo enthralling.

Yellow Brick War was fast paced and full of action! So much happens in this book and there are so many problems they have to face and a ton of new twists! There are some interesting changes and while I enjoyed the addition of the “new” characters.

Amy is back and she’s still one hell of a kick ass heroine. The character development of Amy has been is such an entertaining ride. She is sassy, smart, and strong. I love that she show more doesn’t take crap from anyone and that she can totally defend herself. I really felt like I knew her a lot better after reading this one. Of course, Amy has her flaws and questionable moments, but they only make her more realistic.

In this book, Amy finds herself back in Kansas with the witches. She has to return to high school to find Dorothy’s original Silver Shoes in hopes they’ll be able to take them back to Oz. A lot has happened in Kansas, while we were in Oz and we learn more about what’s going on with Amy’s poor mother, as well as, how things are going with Amy’s former enemy Madison. (Amy and Madison become friends! :O ) Amy and Madison actually work together to solve the mystery of Dorothy in Kansas , while Nox remains out of sight. We don’t get to see too much of Nox, but the romance between Nox and Amy has developed.

BUTTT, damnnnn, Danielle Paige really did an amazing job with the newly found friendship between Amy and Madison is so amazing; it was such a natural progression of the story. Both the characters showed such maturity in putting their past behind them. I also found the changes in Amy’s mother to be impressive.

I’m excited to read the fourth book, I actually have it beside me, and I’m starting it tonight!

All three of the books I have read so far have been amazing reads and I can’t recommend them enough.

Check out my reviews of the rest of this series!
Dorothy Must Die
The Wicked Will Rise
Yellow Brick War
The End of Oz
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3 books and 7 novellas into this series, and I've got to say that I don't know if I care enough about Amy (the protagonist) to give a rip when the 4th (last?) book hits shelves later this year. The prequel novellas were fun, as well as the first book, [b:Dorothy Must Die|18053060|Dorothy Must Die (Dorothy Must Die, #1)|Danielle Paige|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1381437107s/18053060.jpg|25337746], but this just wasn't something that I couldn't wait to finish.

I'm of the view that the actual protagonist of the series is not Amy, but the realm of Oz - so spending half the book in Kansas was a drag that made me realize just how little I care about Amy and what happens to her.