West of Wicked

By Nikki St. Crowe

Book Overview

No one is safe on the Yellow Brick Road.

Dorothy Gale doesn't know where she came from. At the age of five, she was dropped on Em and Henry's doorstep while a terrible storm rolled across the Kansas prairie. Now as an adult, Dorothy has made the most of her life on the farm. But when a cyclone tears through the night, ripping her, her dog, and the farmhouse away, Dorothy wakes to find herself far from home in the strange, cursed land of Oz.

Desperate to find her way back, Dorothy takes the advice of the Witch of the North and sets off on the yellow brick road to find a wizard...with a warning to avoid forest monsters, heartless mercenaries, and wicked witches. It isn't long before Dorothy encounters the dark side of Oz, stumbling on a man beaten and bloody, tied to a pole in a cornfield. Not unlike the scarecrows on the Kansas farm.

With no memories, the mysterious stranger joins Dorothy. Rook is ridiculously handsome, endlessly charming, and somehow understands Dorothy in a way no one ever has. But when they cross paths with the infamous Tinman and his axe, Rook proves he may be hiding his own secrets.

Nothing and no one is what they seem in the cursed land of Oz...maybe even Dorothy herself.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250382211
• ISBN13: 9781250382214
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Bramble
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A new kind of Oz

As the first book in a new Oz series, this did a great job in capturing my attention and getting me hooked in discovering this more mature and adult Dorothy (which is a nice change from the innocent young girl), able to take care of herself, especially with how this Oz is much darker, literally since a spell was cast on the sky to always be cloudy. You get nice twists too, like the tin woodsman being a villain working for the wicked witch of the west and a scarecrow who may be more than he lets on. I also liked the addition of cardinal witches two wicked and two supposedly good, gods that have vanished, taking most of the magic with them, and a secret connection of Dorothy to it all and how she will be the one to change the world. There is a little bit of spice, but it added to the aspect of an older Dorothy which I liked. She is easy to root for, able to do what needs to be done. Plus I love Toto who also is a bit different. This book was a good introduction to a very exciting series and I know I am eager to see what happens next with Dorothy and the woodsman and what plan was set in motion by those final actions at the climax. This was an absolutely awesome audiobook with a full cast so each character can shine in their part of the story. The narrators, Amy Hall, Connor Crais, Ellie Gossage, Samantha Brentmoor, Sean Masters, Shane East, Stella Hunter brought this new Oz to life and those that dwell there. I am so glad I got the chance to listen to this book! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me have an advance copy of this audiobook!