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"The Wicked Will Rise" - Danielle Paige
Before I start this review, I think it's really really important that there be some backstory on Full Fathom Five, and why I find it really hard to support them in good conscience. Exploiting people is never acceptable. Please read this, because context, my friends, is everything.
I would like to say that I am a HUGE fan of the OZ universe, so huge in fact that one time when we drove through Kansas I insisted that we stop at Dorothy's House (which apparently has its own website??) and buy shirts and go on tours. So, I started Dorothy Must Die and was a little cautious. OZ can be really over done, and it usually follows movie canon. These books were different and followed book canon which I was ecstatic about. The first was written so uniquely, and not structured like a typical trilogy. Most trilogies have a pretty short set up, it's established that they need to do four things or three or however many and each book is dedicated to finding one of those things before ending in a big crash bang broohaha. This series wasn't structured like that at all, which was offsetting at first, but I actually really like that it broke from the norm.
This book though was such a disappointment. First of all it's significantly shorter than the first, which is okay if it was packed with action and story which...it wasn't. Part of me yearned for the way the prequels were written with backstory and world building. This was just...bland. The revelation that Pete was gay was not exciting or shocking and I didn't have any sort of reaction to it, the way that I have in the past with other characters. This book was just completely underwhelming if that was a word. While the first book took a bit to get into, it was fire. This one...not so much.
I wonder if this lost it's luster because of the pressure put on Full Fathom Five authors and the little compensation that they receive. I loved the idea of this series but I'm pretty sure I won't pick up the next one. Maybe this is a sign that people shouldn't overextend their authors, especially if it's a book they love.
