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Oz ReVamped #1
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters
Shifters, Zombies, and Vampires? Oh my!
My name is Dorothy Gale, and I think I might be dead.
When my dog Toto and I got swept up in a twister, we landed in hell. A very colorful hell. Like a rainbow dripping in blood. Now it looks as though this dreadful underworld plagued with vampires, zombies, and shifters will be the site of my eternal damnation.
They say this terrifying land called Oz isn’t hell or purgatory and escape is possible, but first I must survive the journey down the blood-soaked yellow brick road to the only place in Oz where vampires dare not tread—The City of Emeralds.
With enchanted footwear and the help of my three new friends—a friendly zombie, a massive shifter lion, and a heartless axe murderer of evil night creatures (who also happens to be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen)—Toto and I have a chance to make it to the Vampire Free Zone. When we get there, I must convince the most powerful wizard in this magical land of monsters to send us out of this radiant nightmare and back to the world of the living. They say he’s just as frightening as this monstrous land, that he detests visitors, and even the most horrifying creatures cower in his presence. But I must seek him out. And when I find him, I’ll do whatever it takes to make him send me home.
My name is Dorothy Gale, and I think I might be dead.
When my dog Toto and I got swept up in a twister, we landed in hell. A very colorful hell. Like a rainbow dripping in blood. Now it looks as though this dreadful underworld plagued with vampires, zombies, and shifters will be the site of my eternal damnation.
They say this terrifying land called Oz isn’t hell or purgatory and escape is possible, but first I must survive the journey down the blood-soaked yellow brick road to the only place in Oz where vampires dare not tread—The City of Emeralds.
With enchanted footwear and the help of my three new friends—a friendly zombie, a massive shifter lion, and a heartless axe murderer of evil night creatures (who also happens to be the hottest guy I’ve ever seen)—Toto and I have a chance to make it to the Vampire Free Zone. When we get there, I must convince the most powerful wizard in this magical land of monsters to send us out of this radiant nightmare and back to the world of the living. They say he’s just as frightening as this monstrous land, that he detests visitors, and even the most horrifying creatures cower in his presence. But I must seek him out. And when I find him, I’ll do whatever it takes to make him send me home.
418 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2019
19 people are currently reading
610 people want to read
About the author
Garten Gevedon
2 books45 followersGarten Gevedon lives in New York City with her family. She's a sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, and magical realism author who loves taking fairy tales and turning them inside out. You can visit her online at www.gartengevedon.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 103 reviews
September 29, 2024
Don't judge a book by it's cover.
Because this cover is AMAZING!
The book...not so much.
I expected a high octane version of The Wizard of Oz with epic fight scenes and creative world building.
What I got was a highly repetitive, angst riddle, pity party featuring a girl named Dorothy.
I received my copy for NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours.
Because this cover is AMAZING!
The book...not so much.
I expected a high octane version of The Wizard of Oz with epic fight scenes and creative world building.
What I got was a highly repetitive, angst riddle, pity party featuring a girl named Dorothy.
I received my copy for NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours.
October 24, 2019
This was different but fun to read. Dorothy get taken away by the tornado and Toto is not described as the Toto we know but as a bloodhound.
They land in Hell. Described as a colorful Hell dripped in blood.This alternate world has vampires, zombies and shifters. The City of Emeralds is where she needs to go and follow the blood-soaked yellow brick road. Her footwear are silver boots which went on her feet when the house she was in landed on and killed the wicked vampire of the west. The City of Emeralds is also a vampire free zone.
Dorothy meets up with a friendly zombie, a massive shifter werelion and a heartless ax murderer, who is very hot!! So Dorothy has to find the powerful Oz so he can send her home and help her new friends.
I would have liked to have given this 5 stars because this was so different and I do like retellings of fairytales and other stories. The only problem I had was that Dorothy was 16 and there was instant love and how they can't be apart and there will never be anyone else for her. At 16 that is a little weird. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this take on the Wizard of Oz.
I received this ARC from Xpresso and NetGalley for a review.
They land in Hell. Described as a colorful Hell dripped in blood.This alternate world has vampires, zombies and shifters. The City of Emeralds is where she needs to go and follow the blood-soaked yellow brick road. Her footwear are silver boots which went on her feet when the house she was in landed on and killed the wicked vampire of the west. The City of Emeralds is also a vampire free zone.
Dorothy meets up with a friendly zombie, a massive shifter werelion and a heartless ax murderer, who is very hot!! So Dorothy has to find the powerful Oz so he can send her home and help her new friends.
I would have liked to have given this 5 stars because this was so different and I do like retellings of fairytales and other stories. The only problem I had was that Dorothy was 16 and there was instant love and how they can't be apart and there will never be anyone else for her. At 16 that is a little weird. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed this take on the Wizard of Oz.
I received this ARC from Xpresso and NetGalley for a review.
November 27, 2022
TW//
Oh gosh, where to even began with this review…
I requested Dorothy in the Land of Monsters off of NetGalley ages ago, but I kept putting off reading it because after I requested it, I saw a lot of negative reviews that made me think I wouldn’t like the book. I was correct in thinking that I wouldn’t like this book. I’d even go so far as to say that I despise this book.
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters is a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but in this reimagined Oz, there’s zombies, shifters, vampires, and other dangerous creatures that have made Oz unsafe to live in. Dorothy befriends a zombie, a heartless axeman, and a werelion in her journey to get back to her home in Kansas.
This book caught my eye mainly because it’s a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I grew up loving The Wizard of Oz movie, so I was excited to relive my childhood but with a little bit of a dark twist to the story. However, this book ended up being a massive disappointment that made me question my love for the original story.
The first warning sign that made me realize this book was going to be a disaster was how many times the word “gray” was used in the first chapter. It was used so much that I ended up searching the word on my file of this book and I found that it was used 108 times throughout the entire book. It was a bit excessive and I kept rolling my eyes every time that color was mentioned. We get it - Dorothy’s home in Kansas is gray. There’s no need to shove it down our throat nonstop.
Speaking of the words used to describe the setting, it was like the author took out a thesoraus and tried to just start replacing every adjective with bigger words to sound more “sophisticated.” This didn’t have the intended effect though as it made some of sections of the book almost unreadable.
I had an issue with Dorothy’s shoes throughout this entire book and I wish the shoes would’ve been done differently. In the movie, they’re ruby red shoes that end up on her feet after she kills the wicked witch of the East. They don’t have many magical abilities to them until the end of the story. This book wasn’t like that at all. The shoes in this retelling felt like they were too overpowered. Dorothy didn’t have to be brave, use her brains, or even do anything that faintly resembles thinking because the shoes did everything for her. All the fighting and her ideas about what to do next were provided by the shoes. It felt like there wasn’t a chance for Dorothy’s character to develop because these shoes turned her into a completely different character. I understand wanting to have a strong, powerful main character, but the shoes turned Dorothy into the equivalent of a God, which I felt was a bit extreme for this story.
Ardie and Werelion, two of Dorothy’s companions, lacked character development, too, but it was because they were shoved in the background and not given enough time to shine. The tin man and the lion are integral parts of the original story, but they weren’t important in this retelling unfortunately. They could’ve been completely left out of the story and the book would’ve been pretty much the same. I think their role in the story was cut down because of the romance that was shoved in the story at every opportunity.
The romance gave me massive ick, meaning that it was so terribly written and borderline wrong that I couldn’t stand reading the romantic scenes. Their first romantic encounter was somewhat wrong, like full on lying and tricking Dorothy to get her to do romantic/sexual things. It was borderline sexual assault/coercion. Then there’s the whole issue of Dorothy being 17 and the love interest being 19, which I won’t get into here because I know some people don’t view that age gap between a minor and an adult to be wrong. The first encounter and age gap aside, their romantic scenes weren’t even entertaining. They were all annoying and there were so many cringeworthy lines in those scenes that made me roll my eyes. There were also some conversations that Dorothy and her lover were forced to have because of the fact that they care about each other, but these conversations were repeated ten times or possibly even more. I ended up losing count. For example, the conversation regarding whether or not Dorothy should fight. This book would’ve been half its length if the unnecessary repetition of conversations was cut down. A conversation really only needs to happen once or twice in a story to get the point across to the readers.
There were tons of passages in this book that were supposed to teach lessons, but they were so forced and unnatural. These passages covered topics like sexism and guns, but these topics weren’t woven into the story in a natural way at all so every time an “educational” topic was brought up, it pulled me out of the story.
My final two critiques aren’t as big of issues, but they still frustrated me.
The first is that this book doesn’t seem to know what age level it wants to be. The writing style was very young adult, but there were some sections of the story with very strong sexual language. It was characters discussing sexual things and not characters actually engaging in sex, but it was bad enough that it made me wonder if this book can even be considered young adult. Speaking of sexual stuff, what the heck was that sex slave stuff that was randomly in there then never discussed later? It was so weird.
My final critique is that there’s some consistency errors, but I hope that the consistency errors were corrected in finished copies. An example of this is after the zombie is first introduced. The zombie hasn’t given his name yet and he’s referred to as the zombie or zombieman. Out of the blue, he’s all of a sudden called Ardie. I thought that was bad enough that Dorothy started to call him by his name before he told her what his name is, but then a few paragraphs later, he introduces himself as Ardie. There were a couple other inconsistencies throughout the book, too. It was things that I thought would’ve been caught before ARCs were sent out to reviewers.
I’m sorry that my review turned into somewhat of a rant, but as you can see, I have a lot of strong feelings about this book. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this book unless you’re trying to read every retelling that exists. It’s better to just watch The Wizard of Oz movie or read the original text.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book.
Oh gosh, where to even began with this review…
I requested Dorothy in the Land of Monsters off of NetGalley ages ago, but I kept putting off reading it because after I requested it, I saw a lot of negative reviews that made me think I wouldn’t like the book. I was correct in thinking that I wouldn’t like this book. I’d even go so far as to say that I despise this book.
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters is a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but in this reimagined Oz, there’s zombies, shifters, vampires, and other dangerous creatures that have made Oz unsafe to live in. Dorothy befriends a zombie, a heartless axeman, and a werelion in her journey to get back to her home in Kansas.
This book caught my eye mainly because it’s a retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I grew up loving The Wizard of Oz movie, so I was excited to relive my childhood but with a little bit of a dark twist to the story. However, this book ended up being a massive disappointment that made me question my love for the original story.
The first warning sign that made me realize this book was going to be a disaster was how many times the word “gray” was used in the first chapter. It was used so much that I ended up searching the word on my file of this book and I found that it was used 108 times throughout the entire book. It was a bit excessive and I kept rolling my eyes every time that color was mentioned. We get it - Dorothy’s home in Kansas is gray. There’s no need to shove it down our throat nonstop.
Speaking of the words used to describe the setting, it was like the author took out a thesoraus and tried to just start replacing every adjective with bigger words to sound more “sophisticated.” This didn’t have the intended effect though as it made some of sections of the book almost unreadable.
I had an issue with Dorothy’s shoes throughout this entire book and I wish the shoes would’ve been done differently. In the movie, they’re ruby red shoes that end up on her feet after she kills the wicked witch of the East. They don’t have many magical abilities to them until the end of the story. This book wasn’t like that at all. The shoes in this retelling felt like they were too overpowered. Dorothy didn’t have to be brave, use her brains, or even do anything that faintly resembles thinking because the shoes did everything for her. All the fighting and her ideas about what to do next were provided by the shoes. It felt like there wasn’t a chance for Dorothy’s character to develop because these shoes turned her into a completely different character. I understand wanting to have a strong, powerful main character, but the shoes turned Dorothy into the equivalent of a God, which I felt was a bit extreme for this story.
Ardie and Werelion, two of Dorothy’s companions, lacked character development, too, but it was because they were shoved in the background and not given enough time to shine. The tin man and the lion are integral parts of the original story, but they weren’t important in this retelling unfortunately. They could’ve been completely left out of the story and the book would’ve been pretty much the same. I think their role in the story was cut down because of the romance that was shoved in the story at every opportunity.
The romance gave me massive ick, meaning that it was so terribly written and borderline wrong that I couldn’t stand reading the romantic scenes. Their first romantic encounter was somewhat wrong, like full on lying and tricking Dorothy to get her to do romantic/sexual things. It was borderline sexual assault/coercion. Then there’s the whole issue of Dorothy being 17 and the love interest being 19, which I won’t get into here because I know some people don’t view that age gap between a minor and an adult to be wrong. The first encounter and age gap aside, their romantic scenes weren’t even entertaining. They were all annoying and there were so many cringeworthy lines in those scenes that made me roll my eyes. There were also some conversations that Dorothy and her lover were forced to have because of the fact that they care about each other, but these conversations were repeated ten times or possibly even more. I ended up losing count. For example, the conversation regarding whether or not Dorothy should fight. This book would’ve been half its length if the unnecessary repetition of conversations was cut down. A conversation really only needs to happen once or twice in a story to get the point across to the readers.
There were tons of passages in this book that were supposed to teach lessons, but they were so forced and unnatural. These passages covered topics like sexism and guns, but these topics weren’t woven into the story in a natural way at all so every time an “educational” topic was brought up, it pulled me out of the story.
My final two critiques aren’t as big of issues, but they still frustrated me.
The first is that this book doesn’t seem to know what age level it wants to be. The writing style was very young adult, but there were some sections of the story with very strong sexual language. It was characters discussing sexual things and not characters actually engaging in sex, but it was bad enough that it made me wonder if this book can even be considered young adult. Speaking of sexual stuff, what the heck was that sex slave stuff that was randomly in there then never discussed later? It was so weird.
My final critique is that there’s some consistency errors, but I hope that the consistency errors were corrected in finished copies. An example of this is after the zombie is first introduced. The zombie hasn’t given his name yet and he’s referred to as the zombie or zombieman. Out of the blue, he’s all of a sudden called Ardie. I thought that was bad enough that Dorothy started to call him by his name before he told her what his name is, but then a few paragraphs later, he introduces himself as Ardie. There were a couple other inconsistencies throughout the book, too. It was things that I thought would’ve been caught before ARCs were sent out to reviewers.
I’m sorry that my review turned into somewhat of a rant, but as you can see, I have a lot of strong feelings about this book. I honestly wouldn’t recommend this book unless you’re trying to read every retelling that exists. It’s better to just watch The Wizard of Oz movie or read the original text.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book.
Did not finish
October 11, 2019
This one sounded SO cool in theory, but the execution just wasn't there. Oh well, can't love them all, right? 
October 21, 2020
DNF
This is a fairytale retelling of Wizard of Oz which is the main reason I wanted to read this.
Sorry to say this for me was a DNF.
I read up till Dorothy meeting the zombie scarecrow and it just wasn't getting any better for me so I decided to throw in the towel at that point.
I also didn't like how this closely followed the original story with only a few key points changed.
For example, the house landing on the vampire witch, the Ruby slippers were bloody knife boots the good witch was a slayer and so on.
I prefer retellings that are more loosely linked than this one and this started to feel rather tedious.
which is not a great sign especially as this is quite a long book.
This looked and sounded so good and I was looking forward to it but in actuality, this was a really bad fit for me.
This isn't a reflection on the quality of the actual writing itself this just wasn't my bag at all.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Dorothy in the Land of Monsters (Oz ReVamped, #1).
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
This is a fairytale retelling of Wizard of Oz which is the main reason I wanted to read this.
Sorry to say this for me was a DNF.
I read up till Dorothy meeting the zombie scarecrow and it just wasn't getting any better for me so I decided to throw in the towel at that point.
I also didn't like how this closely followed the original story with only a few key points changed.
For example, the house landing on the vampire witch, the Ruby slippers were bloody knife boots the good witch was a slayer and so on.
I prefer retellings that are more loosely linked than this one and this started to feel rather tedious.
which is not a great sign especially as this is quite a long book.
This looked and sounded so good and I was looking forward to it but in actuality, this was a really bad fit for me.
This isn't a reflection on the quality of the actual writing itself this just wasn't my bag at all.
I voluntary reviewed a copy of Dorothy in the Land of Monsters (Oz ReVamped, #1).
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
www.beckiebookworm.com
October 15, 2019
Actually, I was not gonna request any review copies from Netgalley until I had finished them all. And then I saw this book. And all of a sudden I had read the summary and then by total accident I clicked request. And not even a few hours later I already got the message that I got the e-ARC!
The Wizard of Oz and I always have had a complicated relationship. I really loved the world and the main characters and yet the story never connected with me like for example Alice in Wonderland does. But, this book was totally everything I had hoped it would be and didn't disappoint at all. It was a really amusing and entertaining read and I read it in two sittings, despite the amount of pages.
The world Gevedon created is amazing. In a way it's the familiar Oz we all know from our childhoods or from the adaptations we've seen or read. The people are familiar. The area's are familiar and the witches ruling are familiar. What Gevedon added is a lovely layer of mythology, complicating the politics and magic system even further. Not only does it enrich the original story, it's also serving as a wonderful foundation for the sequel that I'm dying (pun intended) to read.
And the same can be said about the characters. In a way they are the characters we all love so much. The Lion without courage, the Zombie who craves a brain, the slayer who lacks a heart and Dorothy, who mostly wants to go home. But all of them have gotten more depth and more layers. They got touching background stories, more complicated personalities and fitting fights and encounters to help them grow as persons.
The plot follows, mostly, the original tale of the story, but it are all the added parts that steal the show. Sometimes it feels that things are repeated a little too often, mostly inner monologues and discussions about staying or leaving and loving or not loving, but that's a very minor detail that didn't lessen my joy while reading this book and falling in love with these characters.
I can't wait to return to this world!
The Wizard of Oz and I always have had a complicated relationship. I really loved the world and the main characters and yet the story never connected with me like for example Alice in Wonderland does. But, this book was totally everything I had hoped it would be and didn't disappoint at all. It was a really amusing and entertaining read and I read it in two sittings, despite the amount of pages.
The world Gevedon created is amazing. In a way it's the familiar Oz we all know from our childhoods or from the adaptations we've seen or read. The people are familiar. The area's are familiar and the witches ruling are familiar. What Gevedon added is a lovely layer of mythology, complicating the politics and magic system even further. Not only does it enrich the original story, it's also serving as a wonderful foundation for the sequel that I'm dying (pun intended) to read.
And the same can be said about the characters. In a way they are the characters we all love so much. The Lion without courage, the Zombie who craves a brain, the slayer who lacks a heart and Dorothy, who mostly wants to go home. But all of them have gotten more depth and more layers. They got touching background stories, more complicated personalities and fitting fights and encounters to help them grow as persons.
The plot follows, mostly, the original tale of the story, but it are all the added parts that steal the show. Sometimes it feels that things are repeated a little too often, mostly inner monologues and discussions about staying or leaving and loving or not loving, but that's a very minor detail that didn't lessen my joy while reading this book and falling in love with these characters.
I can't wait to return to this world!
Want to read
October 4, 2019eARC received! I’m a sucker for Oz. *fingers crossed* this is better than Dorothy Must Die which was a bit of a flop for me (concept was great; execution fell flat). Pretty excited for this one!
November 3, 2019
*thank you to Netgalley, Garten Gevedon and Xpresso Book Tours for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
1 star.
Ohh boy oh boy. I finally made it! This was one challenging read due to the size of this book and the uninterest I felt. It was actually a forced read. I wanted to DNF SO many times but I pushed myself just incase things turned around and it was actually a good read. Unfortunately that never happened. The beginning was probably the best part but the amount of times the word 'Grey' had been used was way over the top thatbitngot rather annoying.
I LOVE Wizard of Oz retellings and vampires, zombies (when I'm in the mood) and the like, so this should have been a great mash up. But this was such a let down. I wasn't gripped by it. I wasn't excited to read it. I just wasn't interested. Based on the sypnosis had so much potential. I hope there are people who enjoy this and I know authors put a lot of work into their books but this was a miss from me.
1 star.
Ohh boy oh boy. I finally made it! This was one challenging read due to the size of this book and the uninterest I felt. It was actually a forced read. I wanted to DNF SO many times but I pushed myself just incase things turned around and it was actually a good read. Unfortunately that never happened. The beginning was probably the best part but the amount of times the word 'Grey' had been used was way over the top thatbitngot rather annoying.
I LOVE Wizard of Oz retellings and vampires, zombies (when I'm in the mood) and the like, so this should have been a great mash up. But this was such a let down. I wasn't gripped by it. I wasn't excited to read it. I just wasn't interested. Based on the sypnosis had so much potential. I hope there are people who enjoy this and I know authors put a lot of work into their books but this was a miss from me.
November 3, 2019
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
UGH, I really wanted to like this. Heck the title and cover alone made it seem like it was going to be a bad ass version of Dorothy.. and yet, I was bored out of my mind!!! I don't think I've ever despised a retelling of the Wizard of Oz.. or any retelling in general. YET, it happened and I'm still in shock about it.
In this book, you will meet Dorothy. Nothing really special about her but her super powers seems to be annoying people to death. Mostly because I was annoyed from the second we met her. With her constant whining, I was just hoping that a zombie, vampire, or a werebeast would just kill her. It might've brought me joy because then the book would've ended. Yet, I got nothing.
Overall, I am definitely disappointed in this book. I thought we were going to have a great adventure/relationship but I got the opposite. Ugh.
UGH, I really wanted to like this. Heck the title and cover alone made it seem like it was going to be a bad ass version of Dorothy.. and yet, I was bored out of my mind!!! I don't think I've ever despised a retelling of the Wizard of Oz.. or any retelling in general. YET, it happened and I'm still in shock about it.
In this book, you will meet Dorothy. Nothing really special about her but her super powers seems to be annoying people to death. Mostly because I was annoyed from the second we met her. With her constant whining, I was just hoping that a zombie, vampire, or a werebeast would just kill her. It might've brought me joy because then the book would've ended. Yet, I got nothing.
Overall, I am definitely disappointed in this book. I thought we were going to have a great adventure/relationship but I got the opposite. Ugh.
December 13, 2019
This is a bloody retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and if you love retellings full of monsters and danger at every corner, you’ll want to step into this Oz ReVamped tale! Super enjoyed the world-building and revisiting The Land of Oz with all the creepy twists, but it still managed to keep the wondrous charm of the original tale.
Also gonna take a second to tell you how much I loved, loved, LOVED Ardie! He is a Zombie Scarecrow and the softest companion ever! He was a top favorite since he was always looking out for Dorothy, particularly when it came to her romantic involvement with Nick, the heartless Axe Murderer. He was always there to step in or make sure Dorothy knew about Nick's intentions and that was simply amazing.
Not much of a fan of Nick when it came to him and Dorothy, but he was an interesting companion! (He is the Tin Man version of this world!).
I did love Toto & Werelion a lot. And at the end of the day, it was a blast to travel the blood-soaked yellow brick road with this cast and I cannot wait to see where this magically dangerous series takes us next.
Side note: Based on the romance and content, this is definitely Upper YA/NA!
Also gonna take a second to tell you how much I loved, loved, LOVED Ardie! He is a Zombie Scarecrow and the softest companion ever! He was a top favorite since he was always looking out for Dorothy, particularly when it came to her romantic involvement with Nick, the heartless Axe Murderer. He was always there to step in or make sure Dorothy knew about Nick's intentions and that was simply amazing.
Not much of a fan of Nick when it came to him and Dorothy, but he was an interesting companion! (He is the Tin Man version of this world!).
I did love Toto & Werelion a lot. And at the end of the day, it was a blast to travel the blood-soaked yellow brick road with this cast and I cannot wait to see where this magically dangerous series takes us next.
Side note: Based on the romance and content, this is definitely Upper YA/NA!
October 12, 2019
Phew! I just took a 500-page walk down the yellow brick road, but this time it was bloody and filled with zombies, vampires and were-beasts. And let's not forget the bad ass Dorothy Gale and her Bloodhound Toto.
What an entertaining adventure to see Dorothy slay monsters with Ardie the zombie scarecrow, Nick Chopper (aka Tinman), the heartless player, and the cowardly Were-lion on their way to the Vampire Free Zone (aka The City of Emeralds).
The characters are colorful and well-developed and the story moves along well. The criticism I have is that the book could be so much shorter if some of the dialogue by Dorothy were not so redundant and unnecessary. For example, her explanations to Nick time and time again about how there is no way he could like her because she isn't pretty enough.
Though I have never been a big fan of all the adding zombies to literature theme like Pride and Prejudice on Zombies and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, Dorothy In the Land of Monsters works for me. I guess because the story is a fantasy to begin with which is more suited to zombies, vampires, etc. Overall, this is a unique and fascinating take on Dorothy in the Land of Oz. The author gave the story a lot of thought and imagination to come up with a book that true paranormal fans would enjoy!
Thank you to Ms. Gevedon for giving me the opportunity to review this book with no expectation of a positive review.
What an entertaining adventure to see Dorothy slay monsters with Ardie the zombie scarecrow, Nick Chopper (aka Tinman), the heartless player, and the cowardly Were-lion on their way to the Vampire Free Zone (aka The City of Emeralds).
The characters are colorful and well-developed and the story moves along well. The criticism I have is that the book could be so much shorter if some of the dialogue by Dorothy were not so redundant and unnecessary. For example, her explanations to Nick time and time again about how there is no way he could like her because she isn't pretty enough.
Though I have never been a big fan of all the adding zombies to literature theme like Pride and Prejudice on Zombies and Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, Dorothy In the Land of Monsters works for me. I guess because the story is a fantasy to begin with which is more suited to zombies, vampires, etc. Overall, this is a unique and fascinating take on Dorothy in the Land of Oz. The author gave the story a lot of thought and imagination to come up with a book that true paranormal fans would enjoy!
Thank you to Ms. Gevedon for giving me the opportunity to review this book with no expectation of a positive review.
March 30, 2021
Hi there!
Garten Gevedon here. I just wanted to thank all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers in advance. It means so much to me that you’ve read my book, or plan to read my book, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
xoxo
Garten
Garten Gevedon here. I just wanted to thank all the readers, bloggers, and reviewers in advance. It means so much to me that you’ve read my book, or plan to read my book, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
xoxo
Garten
November 29, 2019
Dorothy in the land of monsters was gifted to me in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I signed up for this review as soon as I seen that it was available and I was so excited! But I was so scared because I hadn’t received my pdf file until a week ago and I read it so quick!
Vampires, werewolves and zombies in the wizarding world of oz? Yes please! Going into this book I knew the main premise, a young girl gets whisked away in a cyclone with her dog to a magical colourful world. BUT of course there are many twists and turns within this book that I simply adored.
This story was so clever and came together amazingly I did not want to put it down and I simply cannot wait for the sequel to come around! *hint hint Garten*
The land of Oz was just the way we saw it in the movies and the history and background that gets shown to us has been researched and planned out thoroughly with no flaws.
We meet many characters within this story and I loved each and every one of them.
- a zombie looking for a cure so he doesn’t crave brains
- A axeman with full metal armor looking for a heart
- And a werelion looking for courage.
Remind you of anyone? I think it does! Dorothy and her travel companions grow such an amazing friendship that is one worthy of jealousy. I know I’m jealous! Ardie the zombie becomes a big brother to Dorothy, the axeman well I’ll let you see how their relationship forms and a werelion who will do almost anything to protect Dorothy and loves her unconditionally.
This was an outstanding novel that I enjoyed every single second reading this long, exciting and amazing book that you need to read!
http://www.foreverthewanderer.ie/doro...
I signed up for this review as soon as I seen that it was available and I was so excited! But I was so scared because I hadn’t received my pdf file until a week ago and I read it so quick!
Vampires, werewolves and zombies in the wizarding world of oz? Yes please! Going into this book I knew the main premise, a young girl gets whisked away in a cyclone with her dog to a magical colourful world. BUT of course there are many twists and turns within this book that I simply adored.
This story was so clever and came together amazingly I did not want to put it down and I simply cannot wait for the sequel to come around! *hint hint Garten*
The land of Oz was just the way we saw it in the movies and the history and background that gets shown to us has been researched and planned out thoroughly with no flaws.
We meet many characters within this story and I loved each and every one of them.
- a zombie looking for a cure so he doesn’t crave brains
- A axeman with full metal armor looking for a heart
- And a werelion looking for courage.
Remind you of anyone? I think it does! Dorothy and her travel companions grow such an amazing friendship that is one worthy of jealousy. I know I’m jealous! Ardie the zombie becomes a big brother to Dorothy, the axeman well I’ll let you see how their relationship forms and a werelion who will do almost anything to protect Dorothy and loves her unconditionally.
This was an outstanding novel that I enjoyed every single second reading this long, exciting and amazing book that you need to read!
http://www.foreverthewanderer.ie/doro...
October 16, 2019
A Wizard of Oz re-telling? I knew I had to read this book and hoped that it would be something I loved. Dorothy in the Land of Monsters was really great and I’m glad I took the chance. It’s the story of Dorothy, who winds up lost in a strange land which she determines is hell. Her story is full of twists and turns that kept me hooked to the plot.
My only irk with the book is that it took me a bit to get into it. Once I was into it though, I had a lot of fun reading it. Garten Gevedon took the orignal story of Oz, kept many important similarities and still gave me enough unique content to allow this novel to shine. I love the additional characters and subplots. This was very well written and aside from starting slow, really kept me hooked toward the end.
I love the characters the most. It was really fun to see the reminiscent character traits from the original story blending with the ReVamped world of Oz! I think this was really well done, and I applaud Garten Gevedon’s ability to keep important original content and her creativity to add in additional info!
I think if you’re a fan of The Wizard of Oz, this is a really neat re-telling. I had a lot of fun reading Dorothy in the Land of Monsters. I think fans of YA fantasy and paranormal will really enjoy. I definitely recommend it!
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own. *
Find this review and more on my blog: https://www.jessicabelmont.wordpress.com
My only irk with the book is that it took me a bit to get into it. Once I was into it though, I had a lot of fun reading it. Garten Gevedon took the orignal story of Oz, kept many important similarities and still gave me enough unique content to allow this novel to shine. I love the additional characters and subplots. This was very well written and aside from starting slow, really kept me hooked toward the end.
I love the characters the most. It was really fun to see the reminiscent character traits from the original story blending with the ReVamped world of Oz! I think this was really well done, and I applaud Garten Gevedon’s ability to keep important original content and her creativity to add in additional info!
I think if you’re a fan of The Wizard of Oz, this is a really neat re-telling. I had a lot of fun reading Dorothy in the Land of Monsters. I think fans of YA fantasy and paranormal will really enjoy. I definitely recommend it!
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own. *
Find this review and more on my blog: https://www.jessicabelmont.wordpress.com
October 9, 2019
Definitely a new twist to a fairy tale in the modern era. Gevedon brings us a continuing story by creating a new kind of thrilling adventure for Dorothy and her dog, Toto. We thank her for making this children's story come alive again as it is one of the best children's adventure book I have read after a long time.
Gevedon's description of the characters and the different setting in the story were very detailed making them very real. It allows readers to visualize the characters and events in the story as if they are part of the adventure themselves.
The different adventures are very exciting which makes this book a page turner. I found myself turning one page after the other wanting to know what happens next. Dorothy in the Land of Monsters truly has a very good story line and I would recommend it to young readers who love thrillers and adventures and who are fans of Dorothy.
I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!
Go ahead, get yourself a copy. A must read book!!!
October 13, 2019
Man, I'm striking out with these NetGalley books...
DNF at like 2% because shut the heck up and get on with it. The first like 15 pages are the main character whining about her gray world and blah blah blah. And the cyclone picked up her house and she whines about that. Nothing about her sounded interesting or unique and I couldn't care less if she had died in the the house.
I did stick around until she landed in Oz and when she actually opened her mouth and spoke, it was worse. She didn't sound like any teenage girl I've ever met. My biggest pet peeve is when authors don't use contractions when characters talk. 99% of the time, when you're speaking, you use contractions unconsciously.
This was not the book for me. I didn't care for the poor set up that took way too long nor the main character who simply whined the whole time.
DNF at like 2% because shut the heck up and get on with it. The first like 15 pages are the main character whining about her gray world and blah blah blah. And the cyclone picked up her house and she whines about that. Nothing about her sounded interesting or unique and I couldn't care less if she had died in the the house.
I did stick around until she landed in Oz and when she actually opened her mouth and spoke, it was worse. She didn't sound like any teenage girl I've ever met. My biggest pet peeve is when authors don't use contractions when characters talk. 99% of the time, when you're speaking, you use contractions unconsciously.
This was not the book for me. I didn't care for the poor set up that took way too long nor the main character who simply whined the whole time.
October 17, 2019
This book was received as an ARC from Garten Gevedon in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.
I am a lover of the Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, and Wicked and all of its adaptations but I have read nothing of this nature and I must say I am a fan. I could not put this book down with a new modern gothic take on a classic tale and family favorite. I know a lot of people will be interested in this book and there will be a line out the door in checking out this book. I am a huge fan of classic tales and all of its adaptations and I know this one will be a keeper for our collection for sure.
We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
I am a lover of the Wizard of Oz, The Wiz, and Wicked and all of its adaptations but I have read nothing of this nature and I must say I am a fan. I could not put this book down with a new modern gothic take on a classic tale and family favorite. I know a lot of people will be interested in this book and there will be a line out the door in checking out this book. I am a huge fan of classic tales and all of its adaptations and I know this one will be a keeper for our collection for sure.
We will consider adding this title to our YFiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.
October 7, 2019
This seemed like an adventure I needed to take when I was first invited to review. Oz and paranormal creatures? Sounds like my kind of read!
This re-imagining of Dorothy and Oz stands on its own while giving plenty of nostalgic feels for the original story. This is a new adventure through Oz, with Dorothy trying to get back home while encountering all kinds of creatures (vampires and shifters and zombies, oh my!) on her way. Fun, just the right splash of violence and even some steamy feelings for the wrong kind of guy.
Recommend!
This re-imagining of Dorothy and Oz stands on its own while giving plenty of nostalgic feels for the original story. This is a new adventure through Oz, with Dorothy trying to get back home while encountering all kinds of creatures (vampires and shifters and zombies, oh my!) on her way. Fun, just the right splash of violence and even some steamy feelings for the wrong kind of guy.
Recommend!
October 8, 2019
Imagine taking a classic well-beloved story, that everyone knows and loves, keeping its core, but making it better - that's Dorothy In the Land of Monsters.
I liked all the paranormal elements (always my favorite thing :)) and how the story was made a bit scarier, the land is plagued by vampires and the only city save from them is Emerald city. However, on the way there, there are many dangers.
I was instantly mesmerized by the story, it's a page-turner for sure. :)
received from Xpresso Book Tours
I liked all the paranormal elements (always my favorite thing :)) and how the story was made a bit scarier, the land is plagued by vampires and the only city save from them is Emerald city. However, on the way there, there are many dangers.
I was instantly mesmerized by the story, it's a page-turner for sure. :)
received from Xpresso Book Tours
October 13, 2019
I love a retelling of a good story when vampire, shifters, and zombies are added. It always gives a different take on a classic. It's been so long since I've read or seen the movie, but I recalled the movie alot when the author described the differences between the landscapes of Kansas and Oz.
Overall. I enjoyed this take on Dorothy's journey.
Overall. I enjoyed this take on Dorothy's journey.
Read
October 28, 2019The description of this book is definitely what drew me in. It starts out a little slow and dragging but once you get into the story you find that while it does stick to the lines of the original they give it it's own pizzazz to make it it's own.
From zombies, shifters and good looking murders. We follow Dorothy on her bloody quest to get home with a little romance in there .
From zombies, shifters and good looking murders. We follow Dorothy on her bloody quest to get home with a little romance in there .
October 5, 2019
Received an eArc from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This is a wild and wacky retalling of the Oz stories involving vampires, werewolves, and zombies.
The humor is spot on and it's just gory enough!
This is a wild and wacky retalling of the Oz stories involving vampires, werewolves, and zombies.
The humor is spot on and it's just gory enough!
October 18, 2019
So glad I am stepping back into fantasy reads. This was a wonderful way to get back into it, thanks to Lit Buzz and Garten Gevedon.
Check out my full review at The Lit Buzz Website
Check out my full review at The Lit Buzz Website
January 10, 2020
I absolutely loved this book! Take a well known and loved fairy tale and give it a hard twist. What comes out is a wildly entertaining story that you can almost recognize. A great book for any age or genre loving reader.
October 20, 2019
Uhhh, I LOVED this book. So freaking fun. Amazing retelling. The author's imagination is nothing I've ever taken a deep dive into before.
October 31, 2019
If you liked Pride and Prejudice and zombies you will like this. I was presently surprised that it was based off the book and not the movie.
November 10, 2019
What's with the "thesaurus words" comments? I knew education was in the shitter, but yeesh!
October 12, 2019
Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto along with their house are swept up in a tornado and whisked away to another world/realm to the Land of Monsters. The first thing Dorothy recognizes in the Land of Monsters is that it is way more colorful than her home which is grey but it is her home and she wants to return but she has no idea how to do that.
Until someone informs her that she will have to go to the Emerald City that is a vampire safe zone free of vampires. There she will meet the great wizard of Oz and he will help her to return home.
Dorothy will have to travel on the yellow brick road to reach this magical city. Along the way Dorothy meets some new friends a zombie, a shifter lion and a heartless axe murder. The zombie wants to tag along with Dorothy to Emerald City so the wizard can cure him from the zombie virus. The lion shifter has no courage and wants to go to ask the wizard to make him courageous so he can be the great king he is destined to be. The heartless axe murder wants to ask the wizard for a heart.
On their journey our little trio has a lot of trials to endure and lot of monsters to kill. The action and the twists just keep on coming never a dull moment in the Land of Monsters. Dorothy in the Land of Monsters will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat from one end of Oz to the other rooting for our friends, Ardie a friendly zombie, Nick a heartless axe murder, Werelion a shifter lion hoping they all make it to the Emerald City to have all their wishes come true.
I loved this new twist on the Land of Oz it was brilliant with all the monsters like vampires, witches, wizards, zombies with a new twist plus other creatures. Once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it down but life gets in the way some times and so does sleep. I loved all the fighting and Dorothy’s new shoes they were magical.
I have never enjoyed the Land of Oz so much in my life. If the movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had been this good then I would have liked it just as much as others. I remember when we were young my little brother would watch The Wizard of Oz every year but I never saw it until I was an adult years later and I have only seen it once. But I mostly think that is because I understand it more now than then. I understand more about the parts with the brain, the heart and courage and more about what they were really asking for.
I can’t wait to read more about Dorothy, Nick, Ardie, Werelion and Toto in the Land of Monsters. I love the world of Oz ReVamped and am anxiously awaiting the next installment to this wonderful world.
And with saying that I definitely recommend Dorothy in the Land of Monsters to all zombies, vampires, witches, shifters and the Wizard of Oz fans.
Until someone informs her that she will have to go to the Emerald City that is a vampire safe zone free of vampires. There she will meet the great wizard of Oz and he will help her to return home.
Dorothy will have to travel on the yellow brick road to reach this magical city. Along the way Dorothy meets some new friends a zombie, a shifter lion and a heartless axe murder. The zombie wants to tag along with Dorothy to Emerald City so the wizard can cure him from the zombie virus. The lion shifter has no courage and wants to go to ask the wizard to make him courageous so he can be the great king he is destined to be. The heartless axe murder wants to ask the wizard for a heart.
On their journey our little trio has a lot of trials to endure and lot of monsters to kill. The action and the twists just keep on coming never a dull moment in the Land of Monsters. Dorothy in the Land of Monsters will keep you entertained and on the edge of your seat from one end of Oz to the other rooting for our friends, Ardie a friendly zombie, Nick a heartless axe murder, Werelion a shifter lion hoping they all make it to the Emerald City to have all their wishes come true.
I loved this new twist on the Land of Oz it was brilliant with all the monsters like vampires, witches, wizards, zombies with a new twist plus other creatures. Once I picked it up I didn’t want to put it down but life gets in the way some times and so does sleep. I loved all the fighting and Dorothy’s new shoes they were magical.
I have never enjoyed the Land of Oz so much in my life. If the movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz had been this good then I would have liked it just as much as others. I remember when we were young my little brother would watch The Wizard of Oz every year but I never saw it until I was an adult years later and I have only seen it once. But I mostly think that is because I understand it more now than then. I understand more about the parts with the brain, the heart and courage and more about what they were really asking for.
I can’t wait to read more about Dorothy, Nick, Ardie, Werelion and Toto in the Land of Monsters. I love the world of Oz ReVamped and am anxiously awaiting the next installment to this wonderful world.
And with saying that I definitely recommend Dorothy in the Land of Monsters to all zombies, vampires, witches, shifters and the Wizard of Oz fans.
October 29, 2019
Wizard of Oz retelling? Yes please!
Imagine if Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland married Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, but invited Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld character to the party…. I know right?! How does one get invited to such a shindig?
I will spare you explaining the plot of The Wizard of Oz, I mean we all know what happens in the end. If you have never heard Judy Garland singing, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, then my friend, we have some pop culture catching up to do.
This book very much follows through with the original plot of The Wizard of Oz. Starting with the Tornado, landing on the witch, inheriting her shoes, but this Dorothy will end up being your very personable and relatable heroine. She will soon realize she is not in Kansas anymore and there are horrible monsters ruling and running amok in the Land of Oz. She has to quickly adapt and cope with this sudden change. As well as making some spooky friends along the way.
The way Gevedon re-wrote the Scarecrow needing a brain, the Tin Man needing a heart, and the Lion needing courage was such a fantastical and fun twist. I admired them throughout the story. They had really funny moments which helped them all grow closer as the story developed. I had many many moments where I literally laughed out loud at their banter. Their togetherness was well done but I could have used more dialogue between them. Even with that being said, the author did well to always keep the group close together during the challenges on the way to Oz.
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters by Garten Gevedon is a cool, macabre, dark, and kick-ass take on your typical Oz story. If you are into that sort of adventurous (can get a little violent) kind of stories I highly recommend it. But lest we forget those that like a little romance sprinkled on top, it’s there for you too. I too sometimes crave a little attraction here and a little longing there. In which I don’t want to spoil it for you, but alas, you get a “lil something something” for that story requirement.
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters is a debut novel for Garten Gevedon.
I found her plot overall enticing and creative. I will be ready for book two when it does make its appearance.
3.5
Imagine if Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland married Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, but invited Kate Beckinsale’s Underworld character to the party…. I know right?! How does one get invited to such a shindig?
I will spare you explaining the plot of The Wizard of Oz, I mean we all know what happens in the end. If you have never heard Judy Garland singing, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, then my friend, we have some pop culture catching up to do.
This book very much follows through with the original plot of The Wizard of Oz. Starting with the Tornado, landing on the witch, inheriting her shoes, but this Dorothy will end up being your very personable and relatable heroine. She will soon realize she is not in Kansas anymore and there are horrible monsters ruling and running amok in the Land of Oz. She has to quickly adapt and cope with this sudden change. As well as making some spooky friends along the way.
The way Gevedon re-wrote the Scarecrow needing a brain, the Tin Man needing a heart, and the Lion needing courage was such a fantastical and fun twist. I admired them throughout the story. They had really funny moments which helped them all grow closer as the story developed. I had many many moments where I literally laughed out loud at their banter. Their togetherness was well done but I could have used more dialogue between them. Even with that being said, the author did well to always keep the group close together during the challenges on the way to Oz.
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters by Garten Gevedon is a cool, macabre, dark, and kick-ass take on your typical Oz story. If you are into that sort of adventurous (can get a little violent) kind of stories I highly recommend it. But lest we forget those that like a little romance sprinkled on top, it’s there for you too. I too sometimes crave a little attraction here and a little longing there. In which I don’t want to spoil it for you, but alas, you get a “lil something something” for that story requirement.
Dorothy in the Land of Monsters is a debut novel for Garten Gevedon.
I found her plot overall enticing and creative. I will be ready for book two when it does make its appearance.
3.5
October 7, 2019
When I received an ARC of this book from the publishers I was incredibly thrilled. It sounded like the kind of book that I would love and I anticipated that it would be a 4 or 5 star read. just from the synopsis. I'm a lover of horror and especially zombies so a book with a synopsis that starts with 'Shifters, Zombies and Vampires? Oh my! got me all excited. In fact, I was so excited to read it that I put all other books on hold whilst I got stuck in to this one. BIG mistake! This book slowly and painfully killed me off!
Many times I almost gave up on the book but decided to keep going in the hope that it would get better. It DIDN'T!
In attempting to describe Dorothy's world as grey, dull and boring the author actually succeeds in making the story grey, dull and boring. I'm not sure if the book was purposely written in an old English style like classics are written or not but it just didn't work. I spotted several errors that I assume were typos but may have been the author using the wrong word, and there were also numerous oddly worded phrases. The book reads as if a non native English speaker has written it, in that stilted and formal way someone like that would write / speak.
I found it very difficult to get to know the characters as none of their personalities and ages came through due to the formal language used. I assume Dorothy is a young teenager as she mentions attending school yet she speaks like an adult.
I would have thought that this book would be aimed at a YA audience but unfortunately I just don't think that they would be able to connect with the book.
Overall I couldn't find any flaws with the plot. The premise sounded amazing. It was just incredibly poorly executed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Garten Gevedon for the ARC of this book for an honest review.
Many times I almost gave up on the book but decided to keep going in the hope that it would get better. It DIDN'T!
In attempting to describe Dorothy's world as grey, dull and boring the author actually succeeds in making the story grey, dull and boring. I'm not sure if the book was purposely written in an old English style like classics are written or not but it just didn't work. I spotted several errors that I assume were typos but may have been the author using the wrong word, and there were also numerous oddly worded phrases. The book reads as if a non native English speaker has written it, in that stilted and formal way someone like that would write / speak.
I found it very difficult to get to know the characters as none of their personalities and ages came through due to the formal language used. I assume Dorothy is a young teenager as she mentions attending school yet she speaks like an adult.
I would have thought that this book would be aimed at a YA audience but unfortunately I just don't think that they would be able to connect with the book.
Overall I couldn't find any flaws with the plot. The premise sounded amazing. It was just incredibly poorly executed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Garten Gevedon for the ARC of this book for an honest review.
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