The End of Oz (Dorothy Must Die, 4)

The End of Oz is the epic series finale of Danielle Paige’s Dorothy Must Die series and it was quitter literally one of the most shocking series finales I’ve ever read! Things ended in a totally surprising ways and not just on the normal front! I can’t remember which edition I bought, but it’s the one that has a bonus epilogue that made it all the more worthwhile, of course, I am left reeling with all that’s been said and done!Just when Amy and Nox think things might finally be going their way, they are proven dead wrong. Firstly, Glinda may not be as defeated as they thought, Dorothy might just in fact be alive, the Nome King is now public enemy number 1! Though Dorothy is still pretty high on that list too, maybe 1.5, just don’t tell her that! Lol. There’s lots to do and very little time to do it all. Factor in that Madison, Amy’s long time bully now turned ally is also stuck in Oz and wants nothing more than to go home and see her child again. Things are pretty crazy n this one, but it was nothing short of epic and amazing.What surprised me right off the bat was that Dorothy actually get point of view time in quite a few chapters! It was amazing to finally be inside her head for a change! I mean, we’ve seen her be a bit whackadoodle this entire series and now to finally be in her head, you’d think she’d be nothing but crazy talk, and while there is some of that, you also notice a bit of sanity and loneliness. She’s not the villain we all knew back from book one.Dorothy actually gets “rescued” by the Nome King who wants to make her his queen, yet Dorothy knows she can’t trust this old goat, for he is rather older than her, and she bows to no one. She’s wise to what his real plans are and naturally, starts making plans of her own. Ones that will have to include Amy Gumm.This book was pretty exciting! For a while I almost wondered if Amy and her friends would be joining with Dorothy, however temporary, in order to defeat the Nome King. But that’s not how things go at all. Amy and Nox still have plans to kill her and free Oz. Madison tagging along was quite the trip though! She wasn’t magically inclined and seeing her truly be a friend to Amy was kind of mind-blowing!I was also surprised to see other new characters make an appearance that were from Oz lore, that I was aware of this time! Lol. And that would be Langwidere. While her name didn’t really ring any bells, it was really learning that she was the character who constantly changed her head whenever she felt like it! I remember being terrified of this when I saw the movie Return to Oz. Though I liked the spin that Danielle took with this particular character.Things were pretty intense with this one but one thing I really enjoyed was watching Amy and Nox grow closer together. While I can’t remember much about the first half of the series, I just remember being swept away with their budding romance. As things progress, you start to wonder what their fate will be as Amy is starting to decide where she feels the most home at.The ending is one I will likely never get over! And I can’t figure out how I mean that! Lol. I was reading the special edition version that included a bonus epilogue and I am now wondering if that was a good idea or a bad one because whoa! Where the ordinary ending leaves off leaves things nice and open-ended in a happy way, the epilogue gives you things to think about and ponder and wonder and oh wait! There’s not another book to see answers with! This is the aggravating part, and yet, in some ways, it was kind of exciting and almost happy-like. I can’t describe how I feel about it being so open-ended and at the height of a new adventure ready and waiting, but it feels right to see these characters live on…I just wish I could get a sneak peek at it! Lol.One thing that bothered me, outside the ending which was really just a mix of emotions, was the thing with Glinda and Glamora. As things ended kind of off with Yellow Brick War I sort of expected there to be something more to them in this one, but there really wasn’t. And that leaves me baffled and wondering what the what?! You know? Oh well, just something that I wanted to mention as I felt like it needed addressing in the book to help make things feel more complete.All in all, The End of Oz was exactly what I was hoping for in a series finale. There’s conclusion, resolution, and the hope for more adventures…even if we can live them out with the characters. I always like knowing that their stories won’t be over, even if they are in the written format. That’s just the weird part of being an avid reader I guess! Lol. The Dorothy Must Die series was a unique and engaging series that kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way and I am sad to see that it’s over, but the adventure is one I will not forget!Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

The End of Oz. The end of one of my favorite series of all time. I am very torn as I write this review. I didn't want the series to end. Although I felt very satisfied once all the dust settled, I am still torn. On the good side - love the development of the relationship of Amy and Nox. This is the most well done writing I've ever read when it comes to how awkward young love really is. And - *spoiler alert* - had Amy and Nox not ended well, I would have been seriously angry. I still have a hard time accepting Madison as anything other than the evil beast who ruined Amy's 9th birthday (that really struck a chord with me - there's just no coming back from that). Nonetheless, I can see where she was going with the redemption of Madison, especially considering how everything plays out in the end. Many characters (but not all, of course), are redeemed, and that is an important part of where the story goes.Here's the negative part, though: I did not want to hear anything from Dorothy's perspective. Adding chapters written completely from the perspective of the book's most despicable villain really bothered me. And I won't lie - I actually didn't read those chapters. I skimmed them a little - just to get the main idea - but I didn't read them. And even now that I've read the Amy's chapters at least twice (some of them more) I still can't get myself to read Dorothy's.Had the book not ended so well, I might have knocked off a star. However, despite the waste of space with Dorothy's perspective, I can actually say this is my favorite book of the series (maybe because Nox and Amy finally admit their feelings).I was so sad to see this series end. I would love to read any further adventures about Amy and Nox and this recreated Oz. I was so hungry for more that I actually purchased the B & N edition that included an epilogue. Yes - I paid for a hard cover edition of a book that I already owned, including shipping, and you know what? I don't regret it.

I'm halfway through and I don't know if I can bring myself to finish this one. The series started out great but its been stretched out 2 books too long already. The main character does little aside from pine over her boyfriend for pages at a time. Characters mention plot points then act completely surprised when the exact same point is brought up 5 pages later. *SPOILER ALERT* Throw in that half the characters killed off in previous installments are miraculously still alive, and I'm about done with this series.

Regardless of everything that has come before, this made the series end well. I was very skeptical after the last book because this new threat seemed unnecessary. However, I ended up enjoying this last book very much. It was a quick, fun read that kept the pace and added even more vivid interest to the Land of Oz and beyond. There was romance, action, growth, and closure. The characters are not my all time favorites, but they didn't annoy me either or do anything that made me want to roll my eyes. The ending is a very interesting twist; however, it is also the only solution that really puts everything back together considering all of the darkness that had been in Oz for so many years. Seeing things from both Amy and Dorothy's perspective was a great way to add interest. The last few pages were a bit of a cliffhanger, but not in a bad way. It was more of a we solved one problem and everything is settled with that, but a magical world is a lively place and our work will never be done but we wouldn't have it any other way. So while not my favorite ending because it seems rather abrupt, the rest of the story was intriguing, and I enjoyed my final trip back to this Oz.