In the last book, Amy had an epic battle with Dorothy and Glinda and managed to escape the Nome King, carrying Nox and her high school friend, Madison, with her. She left Dorothy, Glinda and the Wizard for dead in the ruins of The Emerald City.
The Yellow Brick Road did its level best to rescue the three but only succeeded in dropping them off at the edge of the Deadly Desert, right at the edge of the Kingdom of Ev…where the Nome King now rules. All they can deduce is that the Yellow Brick Road knew they needed to be in Ev. The only problem is that Oz magic doesn't work in Ev…and the Nome King will still want to kill them and take Amy's silver shoes.
In the meantime, Dorothy isn't as dead as our heroes expected. She was rescued by none other than the infamous Nome King himself. Dorothy also discovers that she is powerless in the Kingdom of Ev but is confident that her inherent skills will allow her to get the upper hand. She is a bit surprised that the evil but sometimes sexy Nome King expects her to marry him; whether she desires it or not. But in Dorothy's worldview, everyone is there to serve her; it only requires her to figure out how to handle him.
Amy, Nox and Madison have found a sometime-ally in Ev; in the form of Langwidere, who used to be a member of the Order of the Wicked but now worked as a spy for the Nome King. She is, however, willing to help so long as it doesn't expose her to the Nome King. Dorothy discovered that the Nome King was only planning to marry her so he could steal the magic in her ruby slippers; and she was determined to not only stop that but to also stop (read: kill) Amy.
It isn't easy to end such wickedness and boatloads of deaths and turn the story into a happily-ever-after. Amy didn't belong in Oz anymore but she didn't want Kansas, either. What she truly wanted was something that maybe even the fairy Lurline could not give her.
A really charming story with loads of action and character development. We still don't know exactly what happened in Oz to turn its heroes into such evil creatures. It's possible that whatever it was could also affect Amy, who wasn't native to Oz; which means, of course, that she can't call Oz home. It means she might never see her friends again. And she has to mourn the lost friends all alone. The ending wasn't a great surprise but it was handled quite well. I am well-satisfied with how Paige took care of my beloved Oz. And I have the comfort of knowing there are a number of short stories that I have yet to encounter. ~~ Catherine Book
For more titles by Danielle Paige click here
|