An unexpected inheritance A storybook world at war A reluctant heroine with big shoes to fill After inheriting her Grandma Dot’s house, Ellana Rose comes across the collection of books written by her Great Grandma Dot. Her reminiscing over childhood stories about the fantastical world of Oz is interrupted by a stranger knocking on the door looking for her long-deceased Great Grandma Dorothy. … her long-deceased Great Grandma Dorothy.
Ellana has no patience for the man she assumes is a debt-collector from the funeral home and sends him on his way.
After another long, tiring shift at work dancing – okay, pole dancing, but who’s judging? – Ellana returns to find the persistent suit back, and this time, he’s there for her. She finds herself involuntarily transported to the world of Oz.
Only this is no happy fairytale realm, and Dorothy was not just some crazy storyteller, but a powerful witch-killer.
Now, the two remaining Witches of Oz are at war, and thanks to her family legacy, Ellana is caught in the middle.
With a world at stake and too many secrets to sort through, Ellana will need all her wits, a pair of magical shoes, and two alluring allies to survive the journey to come.
Dive into the story of Oz as you’ve never read it before!
Contains strong language and adult scenes.
In this series:
The Ruby Fortress
The Quartz Tower
The Prism City
more
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
I love me some Wizard of Oz so when I saw this one was a remake I knew I was going to have to read it. I was not disappointed!! Whitethorne takes us on a fascinating adventure with Ellana who finds out she is a descendant of the original Dorothy when she is pretty much kidnapped and taken to Oz. Once she arrives no one really wants to tell her what is going on but she is not going to let that stop her. Full of intriguing characters with lots of surprises to really keep you on your toes even if you think you do know the story. I was hooked from the very first sentence and now I really need book two!! Total must read for Oz fans!! I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
Ellana Rose thought she was starting to settle in ok to her new life after Grandma Dot left her her house then a stranger turns up not one but twice and then all of a sudden those stories Grandma Dot read and made a book about are a lot more real. Seeing a though the original Dorothy is no loner around its up to Ella to sort out the mess that is currently Oz, you will wonder who to trust including the hawt guys who are meant to help her, who will you meet next and did her Grandma have something to do with why things are like they are now?
My Take:
We all know the story of the “Wizard of Oz” by Frank L. Baum as told in movie format starring the incomparable Judy Garland. Young girl in the middle of nowhere Kansas is swept up in a tornado, dropped in Oz where her house kills a witch, she gains some ruby slippers, meets a guy with no brain, one with no heart and one who is chicken. The take off to Emerald city to see a guy (who winds up being a fake anyway) to get said brain, heart, courage and a way home. They tangle with another witch, melt her, bringing her broom back to the Emerald City, Fake guy takes off in balloon, she taps her heels together 3 times makes a statement, poof, she’s back home.
There have been many retellings of this story, it’s a classic. I’ve seen in cartoon format, in horror format, in romance, etc. Even in an RH format. So when I ARC’d this book for Carrie, I expected that it would be a cliche’d version. Let’s face it, if you up Dorothy’s age a little, the main characters kinda make it perfect for RH, right?
Welp, I am happy to say, I was wrong. Totally wrong. Carrie twisted this whole story on it’s ear and I’m totally hooked and ready for book 2!
Our Characters (so far):
Ellana Rose aka Ella- great granddaughter of the original Dorothy Gale. She grew up hearing the original tale that we are all familiar with, but believed it to be a fairy tale. Ella has inherited her grandma Dot’s (Original Dorothy ’s daughter) house and is in the process of cleaning it out while working as an exotic dancer to pay the bills. Discovered that because she is a descendant of the original Dorothy who killed the Witches of the East and West, she now has their powers, as provided through some kick @$$ shoes (ruby red slippers) that morph to whatever footwear Ella requests and allows her to conjure up everything from clothes to kitchen appliances and walls. In book 1, she travels with Sayer to claim the Ruby Fortress, the West Castle, and all the lands and people/beings of the west.
Sayer- Steward to Glinda The Good (he’s not a fan, btw). Was left with almost no family when Emerald City was destroyed during the war between witches, made vows to Glinda and as such can’t reveal much, even though he really wants to. Will support Ella as best he can while she does what needs doing to end the war of the witches.
Fallon- Overwatcher of the Ruby Fortress. He is not a steward as he refuses to be used as a pawn between the Witches of the North and South in the battle for Oz. He appears to be mute, but I think that’s a voluntary thing, but why I’m not 100% on so I don’t want to speculate too much and confuse you in case I’m wrong. He has a history with Tatiana, but we aren’t told much about that in this book. So he’s the strong silent time who ensured that the West Kingdom didn’t become complete anarchy.
Glinda “the Good”- Witch of the South. When Dorothy left she and her sister divided the east and west kingdoms between them to rule. Glinda got the West, her sister the East. Glinda is Saccharine sweet but that hides her true demeanor. She’s the one who sent Sayer to call Ella to Oz to help defeat her sister in the battle for Oz. Again, she isn’t as she appears and you can tell right off that this witch is gonna be problems. Also appears to have a thing for Sayer and/or Fallon.
Tatiana- Witch of the North. Not much is known about Tatiana at this time as she was briefly introduced in Book 1. She could be bad, she could be good. Only time will tell.
Of course you have your flying Monkeys (who become loyal to Ella), there are the Pumpkin Heads and what story about Oz wouldn’t be complete without a mention and travel along the Yellow Brick Road?
Based on the old fairy tale, The Wizard Of Oz, comes The Ruby Fortress (TRF) with a big twist. As the FMC Ellana (or as I nicknamed her El) would say “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
The story & characters are likeable & flows nicely. There’s this nice little, steamy scene(s) in there that was wow. Since TRF is just the 1st book in this series, it does leave on a cliffy, so I expect to read book 2 very soon.
Ok, first, my bona fides: I am a lifelong lover of the classic Oz tales, have the full 15 book set of them in hard cover at home, including a 1913 edition of Baum’s Little Wizard Stories of Oz. They’re among the books in our “never to be donated to the library” collection. So I’m no dilettante. Having said that, while I realize that there are those in the Oz loving community who can’t stand the thought of new non-Baum Oz books, I’m not one of them. I love anything set in Oz so long as it is well done. To me it’s a great homage to the original series. Carrie Whitethorne’s new Kingdoms Of Oz series falls into that category. It’s first book, The Ruby Fortress, is a total blast. This is not, however, even remotely, the classic Oz books. Don’t let your kids near this: it’s a sexy and exciting book (yes, there are indeed “adult scenes” here) with a pole-dancer lead, Ellana, who finds out her great-grandma Dot (you can call her Dorothy) was, wait for it, a powerful witch-killer. Ellana is now sucked into an Oz the two remaining witches are at war. Trust me, exciting times ensue. Trust me too that it’s great fun thanks to being superbly written, with a great plot and great cast of characters. Well worth the ride for those who love Oz and those who know nothing about it other than the movie. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.