by Betsy Schow
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: June 2nd 2015
Fairy Tale Survival Rule #32: If you find yourself at the mercy of a wicked witch, sing a romantic ballad and wait for your Prince Charming to save the day.
Yeah, no thanks. Dorthea is completely princed out. Sure being the crown princess of Emerald has its perks—like Glenda Original ball gowns and Hans Christian Louboutin heels. But a forced marriage to the brooding prince Kato is so not what Dorthea had in mind for her enchanted future.
Talk about unhappily ever after.
Trying to fix her prince problem by wishing on a (cursed) star royally backfires, leaving the kingdom in chaos and her parents stuck in some place called "Kansas." Now it's up to Dorthea and her pixed off prince to find the mysterious Wizard of Oz and undo the curse...before it releases the wickedest witch of all and spells The End for the world of Story.
I’m not a huge Wizard of Oz fan but Spelled kept catching my interest. Maybe it was the sparkly shoes on the cover, I don’t know but I’m glad it did. This was a cute and funny read that kept me hooked.
It’s no secret I love a good adventure story. One that takes our characters across all kinds of lands and all bunch of crazy places. That’s exactly what Spelled does and even though it’s a retelling of Oz, there are plenty of other fairy tales mixed in as well. The world building had to be fast because the characters are always moving, giving the reader samplings of each area. I loved the way there was a mix of modern real world and fairytale land too. An ebook is an Enchanted Reader or Dorthea’s Designer Gilda dresses. The subtle and comical references to Oz make the story enchanting.
Dorthea is a spoiled brat and even though she accidently screws up the land of story and has to try to save it. She still is a spoiled brat. I liked that she didn’t just magically become good off the bat. We see her change as she spends the book running for her life and figuring out how to fix the mistake she made. Which includes finally admitting she is the one who made the mistake. There is definitely character growth with her.
The character growth with Rexi and Kato wasn’t as strong but honestly as annoying as Rexi was at times. I didn’t really want her to change. I did want to smack her upside the head every once in a while.
I have to say that Hydra turned out to be one of my favorite characters. I hope to see more of her as well and her always changing shops.
The ending wraps up this part of the tale but still leaves more to be done. I will be curious to see how things go in the next book. I’m looking forward to reading it.
I loved these survival tips at the beginning of the chapters
DORTHEA
Maia Mitchell
REXI
Alexz Johnson
KATO
Colton Haynes
Her debut novel, Spelled, comes out June 2015 from Sourcebooks. She is represented by Michelle Witte, Mansion Street Literary Agency.
