The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige
Dorothy Must Die, #2
published on March 31st 2015 by HarperCollins
young adult | retellings | romance
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To make Oz a free land again, Amy Gumm was given a mission: remove the Tin Woodman’s heart, steal the Scarecrow’s brain, take the Lion’s courage, and then Dorothy must die….
But Dorothy still lives. Now the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked has vanished, and mysterious Princess Ozma might be Amy’s only ally. As Amy learns the truth about her mission, she realizes that she’s only just scratched the surface of Oz’s past—and that Kansas, the home she couldn’t wait to leave behind, may also be in danger. In a place where the line between good and evil shifts with just a strong gust of wind, who can Amy trust—and who is really Wicked?
s-
Evil will always catch up with you. That’s why you have to get to it first.
Murder, magic and unicorns… Throw in a sassy female lead and an à la Wonderland version of Oz, and you’ve got The Wicked Will Rise.
Remember when I said I really disliked the humor in Dorothy Must Die? I’m happy to say that this book was a thousand times less annoying. Amy’s feisty attitude in this book was a lot more realistic, and I felt like the things she said were things I could have said myself in certain situations, and you get this fantastic feeling when you see yourself in a character, even just a bit. She made snide comments and snarky remarks all the time–another bad habit I could totally relate to.
It wasn’t just Amy that I found more realistic, but also how most of the characters acted under pressure. You know how insane it is when characters are still able to think straight during life-or-death situations? Yeah, it’s crazy. I appreciated how the characters here acted the way I would’ve in those times: going insane or making stupid choices. It may sound weird to like it when characters make some idiotic decisions, but it’s refreshing to not be baffled by seemingly “perfect” characters. I like them flawed, thanks.
While I approve of how the characters reacted, I didn’t love most of the characters (and their relationships) as in general. A lot of them seemed inconsistent, or hot-and-cold to say the least. Like for example, one minute Nox is being sappy and sweet, and the next minute he’s being a sissy. It’s a bit frustrating.
The romance was really bothersome as well. This book would be a thousand times better and more irritating without it. Honestly, 90% of my eye rolls in this book were because of the romance. It was just completely unnecessary, and there was no chemistry between them at all. Plus, I don’t want to read about Amy constantly pining for Nox and thinking about him even in the most dire situations.
Oh, there’s also a sort-of love triangle but not really… I can’t go into details, but that aspect of the book was really awkward as well.
Once you’ve traveled to the darker side of the rainbow, you’ve reached the end of the line.
But if there’s one reason you have to read this book, definitely do it for the fantastic and whimsical world-building. Paige did a fantastic job re-imagining Oz and giving it such magical twists. And really, I was sold on the mere mention of unicorns (because unicorns are fabulous).
We delved deeper into Oz–both it’s happier and darker parts, so there was a nice balance of settings. I love descriptive imagery, and Paige definitely nailed that. I just want to live in this crazy version of Oz forever. Or I just really want a unicorn.
This book also had a ton of action and death. What I liked about it was that there were a lot of smaller battle scenes scattered out throughout the book, and then there’s a really big one during the climax.
The ending of this book was also spot-on. I have to say that I wasn’t expecting all the twists that came around in the end. It’s going to give you that whoa, why didn’t I think of that? feeling. And then you just keep turning the pages and you suddenly realize that the book’s over.
I would recommend The Wicked Will Rise to anyone looking for a unique take on The Wizard of Oz–a more action-packed and creative version of it, and who wouldn’t mind a few mildly annoying bits.
The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige is available in Fully Booked.
Purchase: Paperback | Hardcover
hardback photos © Aimee (Deadly Darlings)
paperback photos © Faye (The Social Potato)
[drag photos to a new tab for a bigger view]
We’re giving away FOUR paperbacks of The Wicked Will Rise to four lucky Philippine residents! Prizes are courtesy of Fully Booked. Full giveaway terms are in the Rafflecopter. Good luck!
**Quick note: Faye of The Social Potato will be helping me ship the books. There’s an extra entry for following her on Twitter!
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Aimee loves being a little bookworm (okay–she doesn’t like being little). She also loves chocolates and sweets but is freaked out by the thought of possibly getting diabetes.Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram | all of Aimee’s posts →
I didn’t read your review thoroughly because I haven’t read the first book yet. :P I’m a bit skeptical to read it since I’ve been seeing mixed reviews, but the cover looks so pretty, this and the first book, and I was a fan of the Wizard of Oz when I was younger. Maybe I’ll save it for another day. :)
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Don’t worry, it’s mostly spoiler-free. I didn’t enjoy book one too much, but I’m surprised that I enjoyed this. And yes, the covers are so gorgeous. ;)
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Entered! *fingers crossed* I hope that I’d win this one :) Thanks for the chance <3!
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Good luck! :D
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OMG YES THANKS FOR THIS AWESOME GIVEAWAY!
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Good luck! :)
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Those copies together all look so pretty! :D And I was able to see it in person as well. Glad to see you enjoyed it, although I didn’t really want to get Dorothy Must Die. Something about it being Full Fathom Five?
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They do! :) Oh, yeah. Honestly I’d prefer to separate author drama from the actual book.
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Based on the premise, I thought I was going to love this utterly and the worldbuilding DOES sound fantastic! But I’m sort of fixated over characters and it’s so easy to get me turned off on romances, so … maybe I’ll get through the TBR books I’m dying to read first? Thanks for the review :)
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Romances are typically what makes me give a lot of books one star, but it was bearable in this since the pining was only there during some of the middle parts. Definitely start with your immediate TBR though. :)
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I have Dorothy Must Die and I really want to read it! I’ve always loved twisted fairytale retellings and this one sounds great!
And those photos look good! I really love the bookporn idea:)
Brilliant review Aimee!
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Twisted fairytales are my sort of thing too. :) Thanks, Mishma!
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My problem with Dorothy Must Die was that there’s no chemistry between the two main characters. The romance was meh. But I agree, the world-building is awesome so I’m still pretty excited about this book!
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It was the same with me! But I’m trying to let romances slide a bit more. I’m hard to please when it comes to that aspect, haha. :)
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I really liked Dorothy Must Die, so I’m glad to hear that the sequel is just as good Aimee! :D And I agree about the romance – that’s what kept me from rating it higher than I did. It just felt so unnecessary and I feel the book would have been a bit stronger without it. Thanks for sharing and for the lovely giveaway! <33
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The romance was just… ugh. I’d be A-okay with the love interest dying, heh. ;)
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Well… I won a signed hardcover of Dorothy Must Die last year and Danielle was on tour, so it was taking forever to get mailed. I stumbled across the prequel eNovella, No Place Like Oz, on special, so I bought it to tide me over and, ugh, I hated the writing style, so I DNFed it. I haven’t wanted to read DMD, since. I do want The Wicked Must Rise in HC to go with my HC DMD, though, because *sighs* the covers!
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Last year? And it hasn’t gotten to you yet? Things like that take at most three months for me. The writing style isn’t too much of my thing, but once I got past that, I let myself enjoy the world-building. Yes! I have them both in HC and they are so gorgeous together!
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OH! I never realized that Dorothy Must Die was about THAT Dorothy. For some reason I thought it was some kind of horror novel set in an asylum or something.
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Haha, it was! :) LOL, I do like horror novels set in asylums though…
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Hi! I saw this book/series (Dorothy Must Die) in bookstores and instagram but haven’t the chance to buy and read it. Now that you’re having a giveaway, I read the synopsis of the books in goodreads and knew that it was a retelling of Wizards of Oz. Hope to read this book! :)
P.S I love your blog! Keep it up! :)
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I hope you end up enjoying these books, Francis! Thanks. :)
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Oh Aimee, thank you!
I’m planning a YA binge read, I’m lining up my list and I have the first book of this series. It just might make the list! :D
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Woohoo! Good luck, Braine. :)
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I’ve heard A LOT of different things on both this book, and the first one. But quite a few people seem to be more keen on the sequel. Which is good – it means the author is growing as a writer, and I always love to see that :D
Unnecessary romance though? BLEGH. I hate it when romance feels awkward and forced, and if there’s eye-rolling that’s not a good sign. PLUS a love triangle? *endless screaming*
I am keen for the world building, though. Especially if there are UNICORNS. If they’re evil, though, I will be disappointed >.>
Great review, dear! <3
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That’s definitely awesome, Chaira! Hopefully book three will be even better. ^_^
Same here! Those usually make me want to rip the book to shreds–luckily this book had some amazing world-building.
They are totally not evil. ;)
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A lot of people didn’t like Dorothy Must Die… but I really want to read this, ergo, I gotta suck it up and read the first book, lol. Unicorns? Ever heard of Pegacorns? Pegasus + Unicorn? Winged and horned horseys are better, lol. And thanks for the giveaway opportunity! *fingers crossed*
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I actually didn’t like Dorothy Must Die myself, but I ended up enjoying this one a lot more. :) Nope–omg, I want one! XD Good luck, Blessie!
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I actually enjoyed the romance in book one, although it doesn’t seem like it was as present as in this sequel. I’ve yet to read book two, also, but I surely will. I’m glad to see that you’re also one of those readers who didn’t decide to skip this series because of things related to the publication house and stuff :P Although I’m not judging! It’s everyone’s right to read whatever they like and want. It’s just nice, because I quite like this world the author exploited. Great review, Aimee!
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I didn’t enjoy the romance even from the first, so even if it wasn’t too prominent in this one, it may have hit a nerve. And I try to stay away from the author drama as much as I can, haha. :)
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That’s the one thing I didn’t like about the series so far either, the romance. The love interest is totally wooden and they really are like chalk and cheese. But the world building! I actually didn’t like this one as much as the first in the series, it felt more like Wonderland and less like Oz and tried too hard to be zany and seemed to even borrow inspiration from the Splintered series too. Wonderful review Aimz, and what an amazing giveaway! <3
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I agree. Nox has no personality, and together they just make me want to scream. D: It did feel a lot like Wonderland, but I didn’t get any Splintered vibes from it myself. Thanks, lovely!
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I loved both of these SO SO MUCH. xD It was just refreshing to have all the craziness and endless imagination and omg SO MUCH CREEPINESS. Although I agree that there’s zero need for that romance. I couldn’t care less if Amy gets together with What’s-His-Face (see? I can’t even remember his name). I love Ozma/Pete soooo much though. OMG. I want a book about them, I do.
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Yes! I am ALL for creepy and weird. :) What’s-His-Face would be better off in another series, thank you very much. I like Ozma, but not so much Pete. o_O
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Love the book porn segment Aimee! Man, I absolutely LOVED the first book, so I can’t wait to read this one. Definitely the quirky and dark world building is something to look forward to, although I’m not keen on that stereotypical romance. Lovely review hun!
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Thanks, Jeann! :) Hopefully you’ll end up enjoying this as much as you did the first! <3
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HAH! I remember you telling me you were wary of this one because you didn’t like the first book that much, so color my happy and surprised that the second book was more enjoyable and that you ended up liking it! At least the heroine kind of wised up in the second book, eh? Although the unnecessary romance makes me a bit hesitant… I’m actually thinking of getting the first book while I still have these lovely copies on my table :P (Don’t tell the winners that I may or may not have cracked one open ;D)
Faye at The Social Potato
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Wised up… not so much. Toned-down her annoying-ness? Yes. ;) If you focus heavily on romance, definitely stay away. Even the romance in book one was so cringe-worthy. D: Haha, Faye! Give this a shot. Khanh loved the first book, I think. ;)
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*sigh* I had such high hopes for this series Aimee! The romance definitely does sound frustrating, hot and cold characters never work out well for me unfortunately. I’ve lost all my patience for them. *hangs head* The cover artwork is stunning though, and I can’t help but want this one on my shelf!
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I have both books in HC and they are GORGEOUS. <3 If you're not a fan of hot and cold characters and romances, you probably won't like this as a whole. :(
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I enjoyed both books, but I definitely agree that some aspects were just a little off. I did enjoy the second book more because I feel like we got a lot more world-building and we got to know the characters a lot more.
The romance is..bleh. I feel like it could have so much more potential, but it just falls flat for me.
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It’s the same with me! I enjoyed book two a lot more as well, because of the reasons you mentioned.
Indeed. I wish it weren’t there at all. D:
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OOoh nice review! So can’t wait to read this one! I can’t remember all of DMD so hoping that I get a bit of a recap beforehand! I remember enjoying it though! Glad to hear you enjoyed this one more than DMD despite not fully enjoying that one! Great review!
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There are a few recaps in the beginning–also, you can check out The Recaptains. They have a DMD recap. :) Thanks, Jessica!
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I have not started this series and I hope to like it too, must find a copy of the first book to see for myself the world-building the author created in this book and if it lives up to what I expected. Thank you for the awesome giveaway. There is nothing more exciting to start a new series and discover new books.
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That is so true, Christine! :) Good luck–I hope you end up loving this series. :)
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I haven’t read the first book yet but I’m looking forward for the second book of this series
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Haha, that’s awesome, Camille! :)
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I still need to get into this series. Tbh, I’m not sure how I’d do with the romantic aspects, but I’m willing to give it a go just for the unique take on the Wizard of Oz! The cover for this one is sweet but I like it with the jacket taken off even more ♥ Lovely review Aimee and best of luck to everyone entering the giveaway!! :) xx
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The first book is also fantastic without the jacket! ;D Thanks, Micheline! <3
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I still haven’t read the first book, and I am just not sure if I should! I mean, I HAVE read a lot of reviews like yours that say this book is better, which is promising, but I feel like I don’t want to bother with the hassle to get to this one? BUt it’s so pretty. I like the colors. And that isn’t a reason to read two books but… it almost is ;)
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The first book was completely meh for me. :( It’s one of those love or hate type of books. If you get into the writing immediately, then you’ll love it. :) Maybe check out the first chapter when you see the book? ;) And yes, the colors are fantastic!
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I super want to read this book! And who doesn’t like fairytale retells? There is not a person alive that has not reacted with dread when one of their family members, usually a bit older and a bit drunker, says something like, “Did I ever tell you about the time I…” It is the inevitable prologue to the story you’ve heard over and over and over again, told with the same intonation and yielding the same punch line. Fairytales are our cultural equivalent of such never-ending stories. They are tales that keep coming up generation after generation on a sort of endless loop. Props to DANIELLE PAIGE! Hoping to win a copy of this book :)
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Yes! I’m a huge fan of fairytale retellings as well. Even original fairytales, actually. Maybe it’s just that I really love whimsical stories. :) Good luck, Marie!
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I love fairy tale retellings and this series has been on my radar for months! Thank you for hosting such a delicious Giveaway! :)
Claudia @ My Soul Called Life
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Fairytale retellings are the best! Good luck! :)
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Oooh! I love retellings (especially since it’s WIZARD OF OZ!) ! Haven’t read Dorothy Must Die yet, though. Soon, maybe :)
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Hopefully you’ll like it then, Ailla!
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I’m still on the fence on whether to start this series or not. I’m glad that the characters and humor were better. I know what you mean about character mistakes. There’s a difference between messing up and not being perfect and a too stupid to live hero.
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“There’s a difference between messing up and not being perfect and a too stupid to live hero.” <– Exactly!
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Thank you for the chance!! Hoping to read and win haha <3
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Good luck! :D
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So I just finished reading 3 books that out from the Lunar Chronicles. It’s my first fairytail retelling book and I absolutely love it. I’ve heard lots of great things connected to this series. I would love to start the series and see what happens to Dorothy here!
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The Lunar Chronicles books are absolutely amazing, and I’m so glad you loved them! :) I hope you enjoy this series as well. :)
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YES!!!! I REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE TO READ WICKED WILL RISE ALREADY!!! I SUPER LOVE DOROTHY MUST DIE AND HOW IT RUINED MY CHILDHOOD. I WAS LEFT HANGING. HUHU THAT’S WHY I WANT TO READ WICKED WILL RISE ASAP AND THIS IS MY CHANCE TO GET ONE. SO PLEASE.
THANK YOU FOR THIS GIVEAWAY!
☺
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Aww I’m so glad you loved Dorothy Must Die! :) Good luck, Joanna!
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My friend said that the first book was quite average too. I haven’t read it yet but I’m planning to read it soon! If I win this one I’ll probably give the book to her, seems like the sequel is better! :)
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Aw, that’s so awesome. Gifting books is the best. Good luck! :)
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Omg thank you, thank you for this giveaway! To be honest, I’m so broke this past few weeks because of school, and I just finished reading Dorothy Must Die. I really do love it, maybe because I’m a huge of The Wizard of Oz, and I like how Danielle Paige change my thoughts about the original characters. It’s not first time joining giveaways, though I am so unfortunate winning them haha but hopefully, I could win this one! *prays*
Thank you for this again! :)
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You’re welcome, Karen! :) I’ve been buying books less lately too, haha. So glad you loved Dorothy Must Die! <3 I'm unlucky when it comes to giveaways too! Good luck! <3
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I hope this is better than the previous one. I agree with you
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(Cont) I disliked the humor in the first book.
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Oh yes. The humor was a bit tacky. It was less annoying in this one though!
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It was better, at least for me. =)
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Entered! Hope I win this time. Thanks for the chance! :)
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Good luck! :D
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I am glad this sequel was a whole lot better than the first one, especially if you didn’t like the humor then. It does sound like it isn’t a perfect novel – it still has its shortcomings, but it seems like a decently enjoyable book. :)
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It was definitely more decent than the first. :)
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I haven’t read the first book but I’ll add it to my to be read list. The plot sounds interesting though I am not so into this kind of genre. Thanks for this anyway! :)
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Sorry to hear that–personally I’m a huge fan of retellings. :)
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I am in love with fairytale retellings and this series has been on my TBR list for quite some time. Hope I could win! :)
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Woot! Good luck. :)
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I bought the first book as a bday gift for my lil bro. Can’t wait to read it and looking forward to the second one as well! I love re-tellings especially TWISTS! i hope i win :<
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Aw that’s so awesome. =) Good luck!
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