West of Wicked
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.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
- Pages
- 310
- First published
- April 14, 2026
- Language
- English
- Edition
- Ebook
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Shelved by 9 Litcadians
Reviews
Finished August 2, 2026
West of Wicked puts a darker, more adult spin on the familiar world of Oz. Dorothy finds herself in a dangerous and twisted version of the story we know, surrounded by characters who are far more morally gray than their original counterparts. With secrets, magic, romance, and plenty of darker elements, this was a fun retelling that put its own spin on a classic. I really enjoyed the darker take on the characters, especially seeing them reimagined in a way that felt very different from the original story. Dorothy and Rook’s relationship was also one of my favorite parts. Their attraction was evident throughout the book, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop. The pacing was mostly good, although there were a few points where the story felt a little slow and lost some of my attention. The romance and spice were also a little underwhelming for me. The romance doesn’t really progress until around the 75% mark, and considering this is Nikki St. Crowe, I expected the spice to be a bit more intense. That said, the ending completely pulled me back in. The final reveals and cliffhanger left me with so many questions, and I’m definitely interested in seeing where the story goes from here. Without giving anything away, that ending alone has me wanting to pick up the next book. Overall, this was an enjoyable, darker take on Oz with characters I loved seeing reimagined. It had a few slower moments, but the ending definitely left me excited to continue the series. [Find my reviews on Bookstagram🫶🏻](https://www.instagram.com/literarily_laurynn?igsh=aTh6eTZ6dGwxMXpy&utm_source=qr)