Review: The Wicked Will Rise by Danielle Paige

18602341The Wicked Will Rise (Dorothy Must Die, #2) by Danielle Paige
Published: March 31st 2015 by HarperCollins
Pages: 293

In this dark, high-octane sequel to the New York Times bestselling Dorothy Must Die, Amy Gumm must do everything in her power to kill Dorothy and free Oz.

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?
“She had been both good and wicked and everything in between. She had been both at once, too, until it was hard for her to even tell the difference anymore.”
Because of my wonderful experience with Dorothy Must Die, the first book of the series, I couldn't resist picking up the sequel. The things the author might have done, and whether that makes her a bad person, doesn't influence the fact if I like the content of a book. Unfortunately, that specific content turned out to be quite the disappointment.

The amount of darkness and gore in this book is nothing compared to its predecessor, but it was still there. Especially in Amy's character development, if you ask me. To my surprise, the sweet girl from Kansas showed a certain darkness I wasn't aware of before. It took her to extreme lengths and serious consequences, which was very interesting for me witness. After everything she's been through, it feels believable, like something everyone could do if they were in her shoes. In the end, there was a similarity between her and Dorothy, and I honestly can't wait to see where that will take her in the next book.

A three-star book usually counts several issues I had while reading. One of them was the cast of characters I had to deal with. The plot already created a very different story, but also the characters felt not like themselves. Ozma and other side characters I didn't really feel for were more on the front line while others I absolutely loved, were put in the background. I only started caring about Amy and Nox, which made me fear my life for a possible love triangle. I'm therefore extremely happy with how it turned out to be nothing like that. Throughout the book, I still rooted for the Amy x Nox ship I was already on board with since Dorothy Must Die. The lovely chemistry between the two remained, along with realistic conversations that made me laugh every now and then.

I've come to the conclusion that the Dorothy Must Die trilogy shouldn't have been a trilogy but a duology, for one very simple reason: The Wicked Will Rise is nothing but an unnecessary book to fill up some space between the epic beginning and an awesome conclusion. It did start out amazingly and brought along that same atmosphere I was familiar with from the first book. Afterwards the action and the adventure were still there, but the plot started to drag along immensely and headed in no specific direction. All the characters really did, was travelling to places without any real development in the story. The more I continued reading, the more this felt like a real case of Second Book Syndrome. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, it is the issue when you absolutely adored the first book, and then the second book doesn't manage to live up to your high expectations. I was often left wondering what was actually still to come, so colour me surprised when I got the end. After a disappointing climax, I honestly didn't expect anything to happen next, despite the amount of pages I had left. No matted how odd the ending actually was, I still have my hopes for the conclusion to make up for it, and it better will.

The Wicked Will Rise may have been a disappointment, but if it did one thing, it was ending on a very interesting note. There is still a lot to be done, and Amy's story is not finished yet. All I can hope for, is a conclusion that will leave me satisfied after all.


Aurélie Cremers is an eighteen-year-old living in Belgium. As an active member on Goodreads, Edelweiss and Amazon, she's always spreading her reviews to express her opinion and influences her followers to read the books she fairly enjoyed. When she's not writing, you can find her at her local bookstore or in a classroom. With her blog, "Exploring Pages", Aurélie hopes to gain a larger public in the near future and to continue that what she'll always love doing: writing.

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