Tin is the most famous fae in Oz for all the wrong reasons. Cursed with a stone heart, he is the perfect assassin: ruthless, efficient, and merciless with thousands of kills to his name. When his old friend, Lion, offers him a small fortune to deliver Dorothy to the South for his lover to wear the girl’s head as her own, Tin doesn’t hesitate to accept the unsavory deal.
Dorothy Gale lost everything—her family to illness, her dog to age, and now her farm to foreclosure. The entire town thought she was crazy for believing in a faerie world called Oz, but even after ten years have passed, she can’t help knowing she was right. So when an emerald green portal opens in her wheat field, she jumps at the opportunity to return to the only place she ever felt like she belonged.
Tin wasn’t expecting a grown woman to step through the portal, just as Dorothy wasn’t expecting Tin to have his stone heart back, but Oz holds more unexpected things than either could have imagined. Magic has hidden dangerous lies behind glamour, trapped innocents in curses, and left the land of Oz in turmoil—none more so than the South. As Tin and Dorothy travel together for the second time in a decade, their lives begin to make sense again. Soon, they must decide who to give their loyalties to before Lion takes Dorothy’s head and Tin’s cursed heart is forever doomed.
I must admit, I kinda never liked the Wizard of Oz when I was a child. And I can’t say I like it more as an adult… but this twisted version though… not bad at all 🙂 I would give it a 3.5*
It had been a long looooong time since I read anything even remotely “Oz” so it was nice that the authors took the time to jog my memory by having the characters think back when Dorothy first travelled through Oz. The scenes and environments were well detailed and we got a good grasp of what was going on. Though I feel it missed a little depth here and there and some parts could have been fleshed out a bit more, I actually didn’t really miss it while reading. It was only when I started writing this review that I thought of these little things.
The main characters Dorothy and Tin were well written, they felt believable and there was enough backstory to let them feel real.
For me, it just missed a little “oompf” or “zing” or whatever you wanna call it.
Crow was an interesting character and I look forward to getting to know him more in the next instalment.
I read the book in one go, and it kept me entertained and engaged throughout. Good balance between action and all the conversations going on.
The book itself was well written with no (noticeable) errors. There is sex described (if that is important to you).
The book was 216 pages long, spread over 26 chapters and told mostly from Dorothy’s point of view.
While not the best book I’ve read recently, it was still a very enjoyable and quick read 🙂 I have book 2 with Crow in my TBR list though who knows when I’ll get to that one (I should really stop buying books… said no one ever).
© Victoria Gryson 2024