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Wicked Origins

(Wicked Origins #1)

Paula Black (Goodreads Author)

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 46 ratings · 25 reviews

I have no idea what’s happening to me.
When a tornado dropped my car in a land of short, wild people, I was shocked. With no way to get home, no idea where I was and no clue how to communicate with the muchkins, I was completely out of luck. Then I found out that my car had landed on someone and killed them. Supposedly she was the Wicked Witch of the East.
If that wasn’t b ...more

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Kindle Edition, 169 pages

Published December 10th 2018

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Lists with This Book

Allison's Adventures in Underland by C.M. Stunich

Reverse Harem - Retellings (Books, Tales & Legends)

78 books — 11 voters

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· 46 ratings · 25 reviews

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Apr 05, 2019 Nicole rated it liked it

Unfortunately, this novel was a bit of a struggle for me. The idea is wonderful, and this was definitely my first Wizard of Oz re-telling that sounded like it could be amazing.

However, I felt Dorothy as a character...was too emotional? I know that sounds super strange because she is taken to a place so unfamiliar and in rendition begins to turn green. However, she's crying all the time and it was really hard to focus on what was going on around her. This story also focuses a lot on her childhood ...more

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Mar 02, 2019 Linda Romer rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, reviews

I loved Wicked Origins. A reverse harem retelling of The Wizard of Oz. So far I'm loving the story, they way it's written and the great characters. This updated modern version of Dorothy is different and I find her appealing and I also feel a little bit sorry for her. I even find myself rooting for her throughout the story. The brothers are fun, dangerous, and endearing. And who doesn't love Toto? There's more to come and I'm looking forward to the next book Wicked Gambit.

I give Wicked Origins 5 ...more

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Dec 05, 2018 Lisa Koetsch rated it really liked it

ARC received. I love the original Wizard of Oz, so I was excited to read this version. The storyline is similar but enough changes to keep you guessing about the characters and their motivations. Plus the story is a bit darker, but not as gruesome as “Dorothy Must Die” I enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

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Dec 15, 2018 Gabriella rated it liked it

As a big fan of the Wizard of Oz as well as the story of Wicked, this sounded like an interesting read after seeing the description. The idea of changing the original story to fit a more modern audience is really great, especially whilst keeping some of the main traits of the original present within it.

The story as a whole was interesting and I feel that the later books will be really good at expanding on what has been set up here and move the story along nicely. Considering there are several qu As a big fan of the Wizard of Oz as well as the story of Wicked, this sounded like an interesting read after seeing the description. The idea of changing the original story to fit a more modern audience is really great, especially whilst keeping some of the main traits of the original present within it.

The story as a whole was interesting and I feel that the later books will be really good at expanding on what has been set up here and move the story along nicely. Considering there are several questions that have been left open at the end of this book, it’s created a good base for the next book to move on from and build off of to make this a really interesting and good story.

However, this had to be a 3 star read for me for a few reasons. One is that I really struggled to connect with the characters. This is probably a more personal thing but I found it hard to connect with any of the 4 main characters. The 3 brothers all felt very similar to me and I don’t feel like I know them much better by the end of this book than I did when they were all first introduced. And I just felt that Dorothy was quite bland and uninteresting to read from the perspective of, as other than jumping from having no emotions to supposedly an overwhelming amount of them (though without her saying that constantly I’d struggle to see it for the most part), I feel that she really doesn’t change that much throughout this story or develop in an incredibly meaningful way. Again this is completely my opinion on the characters and how I read them, other people may love them or feel that the developed really well, this is just how I felt whilst reading.

In addition to this, there were many sentences that were not intelligible due to words being missing, being written in the wrong order spelt incorrectly. Though this is something that can happen to the best of authors, to have this many mistakes in consistently throughout the story really took me out of the world of Oz as I had to stop and fix the sentence in my head each time so I understood what was happening. Normally I can forgive this but the fact that there were so many (even misspelling the place/people of “Quadline” as “Quadlin”) really affected how much I enjoyed reading it unfortunately. As stated above, again, this is merely my opinion and how I feel when reading.

Despite these issues, I did enjoy reading this and will certainly consider reading the upcoming sequels too as I am very interested to see where this goes and what happens to Dorothy and the brothers. It will also be interesting to see if the author keep strictly to the original story or decides to change it. Therefore, though there are some issues, I would still recommend this if you are a fan of the Oz and are after a way to return back to that world again.

This review was written based entirely on my honest and true opinions and feelings about it. ...more

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Dec 29, 2018 Laetitia rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, fantasy-paranormal, romance, arc, reviewed

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so thorn when I tried to rate this book.
Although this is a retelling of a classic, I thought that it was quite original in changing Dorothy's companions to shifters. The story moved quite quickly and kept me very entertained. I definitely want to know where this is going. For that, it should get a high score.

However, I found the writing to be clumsy and the book was poorly edited. Even the book blurb is different that what a ...more

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Feb 16, 2019 Sue Brooks rated it it was amazing

I don't know how I have not read anything of Paula Black's in the past - but I can guarantee that I will be reading more in the future!!! Being a big fan of the Wizard of OZ and the play Wicked -- I was thrilled when I was asked to read Wicked Gambit. After starting the book, I just felt like I was missing something -- with that said -- PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read this series in order!!!

Dorothy is a teenage girl from Kansas (just like in the WIzard of OZ) - but in this series she has been abused ...more

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Oct 02, 2019 Jessica Belmont rated it really liked it

The Wizard of Oz is my favorite. I collect everything I can find in relation to it, so when I saw these books, I jumped at the chance to read them. Origins is a wild re-telling that sticks to a similar storyline but many things are different. Including the reverse-harem romance aspect, which admittedly, I haven’t read much of.

Paula Black’s world building is fantastic. It’s familiar to a Wizard of Oz fan, but vastly different! Dorothy and Toto are definitely not in Kansas any more with cannibal m ...more

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Dec 16, 2018 Erin Gossman rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 18, 2018 Gina's Library rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018

We've all heard of the Oz Tales and the Wizard of Oz. They are both a timeless classic. I couldn't get enough of this book and can't wait for the next installment. Wicked Origins is a modern retelling of the Oz Tales.

For one thing, Dorothy arrives in Oz via her car, not her house. The munchkins talk in a strange language that she can't understand. They are also not the cute adorable munchkins we come to think of when we think of Munchkin Land.

There is so much I could say about this book, but it ...more

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Dec 30, 2018 Fleur rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018

I just loved how this took the bones of the original Oz and gave them a great new and updated twist! Dorothy isn't a cute teenage girl, but a girl who is defensive and doesn't let people in due to her abusive past, her partners Chimmy, Gin and Joon in her adventure are a fantastic spin of the cowardly lion, the tin man and Scarecrow which I absolutely loved. Be ready for shifters, cannibalistic Munch'kans , scary shadows, poppies to die for and of course a yellow brick road that may or may not g ...more

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Jan 14, 2019 Donna rated it it was amazing

Wicked Origins is a reverse harem story that takes the bones of the Wizard Of Oz and turns it all around making it a more awesome story. In this version Dorothy is in her car with Toto when a tornado lifts her up and drops her in Oz. We have her landing on the witch in the town of cannibal munchins. Here she meets her three shifter companions and inherits the ruby slippers. It is from here they start there adventure on the yellow brick road. This is truly a unique retelling that I found captivat ...more

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Jun 08, 2020 Katie rated it really liked it

A retelling of The Wizard of Oz, Paula Black takes elements of the original story and adds them into her own tale. Black’s Dorothy is a hardened character, a child in care who doesn’t trust easy, and lives with Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, and sister. During a tornado her car is taken and lands in the place called Oz, along with her dog Toto. Instead of the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion her companions are three shape shifter brothers. The Ruby slippers that Dorothy puts on her feet to save herself fro ...more

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Dec 10, 2018 Patti rated it it was amazing

Overall rating: 4.7

I love a good tale retold with an authors creative twist! There is just enough suggestive content in this book to make a young heart thump wildly. The suggestive RH seems to stretch that YA rating but I really dont know what the border is. In any case, for me , this retell of the wizard of oz is just captivating! The buildup moves at the perfect pace to keep the action going and with a flip of the page, a reader can expect a neon sign to flash in your minds eye reading “ stay ...more

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Jan 02, 2019 Vicki-Jayne Els rated it really liked it

I wasnt sure about the whole story at first, I oftwn find it a "cop out" to re write a popular story however, when i was reading this, I honestly and truly enjoyed it. I didnt give it a 5 star rating because I felt as though there is something missing but it wasnt quite sure what.

I was thrown off a bit by the brothers all being different however, I loved the humour involved and the connection between Dorothy and the brothers.

I will be reading the rest of this series and hopefully be able to give ...more

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Dec 11, 2018 Donna rated it really liked it

Shelves: dec2018-tbr, 2018challenge

I really enjoyed this re-imagined Wizard of Oz story. I loved that while keeping true to the magic of the original, the author was able to make changes and make the story her own. I was immediately drawn into the story and I couldn't put the book down. I was absolutely enthralled by it. I wanted to give it a 5 star but there are grammar errors sprinkled throughout. When you use words that sound the same but have different meanings, it really throws off the reader. Other than that, I absolutely l ...more

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Jul 18, 2019 Sabrina rated it really liked it

I hate cliffhangers

But I love wizard of oz stories!
A different take on the trip to oz - shifters!?!
Not my prefer genre, but I'll try it.
I like Dorothy and her pals, they all have personality and I am excited to see what happens in this land of oz.
The writing is good, the story familiar, editing its not problematic.
I am currently using KU so I will happily finish this series. ...more

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Feb 12, 2019 Natalie panda eyes rated it liked it

Shelves: rh-challenge-2019

Okie dokie, so first Wizard of Oz RH I've read. Slight trigger warning as the MC is an abuse victim from a handsy foster father, so no intimacy in this one just yet. I liked the three brothers, two out of the three make sense with the original. I liked the slow changing process from human to witch. Not too sure on Dorothy, she's a complicated mess and it makes the story a bit like a pendulum. Will probably read the next one. ...more

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Aug 07, 2019 Brittany Goodman rated it it was amazing

Interesting start to the story

I really like these characters. I am glad to see that Dorothy's past isn't forgotten but she is able to start putting it aside. I love that we are learning more about the brothers and I am wondering how things will turn out. So far both language and sexual content are clean. While it has mention of past trauma and manly bits there isn't anything inappropriate either ...more

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Jan 03, 2019 Melissa rated it liked it

I received this book free to read and review.
I love retellings but this one took a lot more for me to get in to it. To me this is an extreme retelling that just didn’t come together very well. Don’t get me wrong, the storyline is there and when it does come together it is really good. This storytelling was just not my cup of tea.

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Dec 20, 2018 Holly Stover rated it it was amazing

This is an awesome twist on the original Wizard of Oz that I wasn't expecting! This is the first retelling of a classic that I've read and I wasn't disappointed. I started reading and finished in one sitting and love that the story will continue. Highly recommend! ...more

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Dec 23, 2018 Shannon rated it really liked it

Great retelling of the Wizard of Oz that puts a different, more modern, spin on it as well as adding some romance.

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May 11, 2019 Chantale Canadian Book Addict rated it really liked it

Review to come soon

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Jan 07, 2019 Whisper rated it really liked it

There were some things I liked and some things that I didn’t like about this book. Overall a very good book and a refreshing twist on a classic though and I am looking forward to the next book.

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