Spelled (Storymakers, #1)

by Betsy Schow

Somewhere over the rainbow, all spell is about to break loose in the first installment of this clever and hilarious YA fairy tale retelling trilogy, perfect for fans of Dorothy Must Die and Jen Calonita's Fairy Tale Reform School series
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. Dorothea 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 not-so-charming 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.
Fast-paced and delightfully unique, Spelled is perfect for readers looking for:
a new twist on the Wizard of Oz fairy tale retellings and mashupswhimsical fantasy for tweens and teensdynamic and relatable heroines with snarkThe Storymakers Series:
Spelled (Book 1)
Wanted (Book 2)
Banished (Book 3)

• ISBN10: 1492608718
• ISBN13: 9781492608714
• Publish Date: 2 June 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Fire
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 352
• Language: English

Reviews

[bookishzelda]

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.

[tweetybugshouse]

I ended up giving this one 3 stars mostly case it started off really entertaining but then i kind of lost it toward the end it just did not hold my interest anymore and really started skimming just to see how things all ended. Then since their no indication of this will be a series or a stand alone it ends very open ended. I love the cover on this book but it was just a so so read for me.

[limabean74]

I was taken in by the cover and just loved the synopsis, I thought how awesome a retelling of Oz but with a few twists. You do get the Oz twists and you do get a retelling however I think it’s more of a fairytale retelling in general, like all the fairytales wrapped into one. The fairytale land they lived in was like a twist on the fairytale forest but you do get a different Oz type story.

I really enjoyed reading this, Dorthea is a very cute and likable character but she has her flaws, one is she is trapped in the castle because of a curse. She is being forced to marry an arrogant prince and she just wants to get out and see the world. When a wish takes everything she knows and loves away and creates chaos Dot needs to try and fix things before it’s two late but on her journey she much defeat the now back wicked witch. Putting aside what you know about all the fairytales and reading this as a fresh new look, it’s a very fun read. I do look forward to the next one in the series and I loved the world build and it has a few very funny parts.

[Angie]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

Spelled sounded like it was going to be a really fun twist on The Wizard of Oz. In some ways it was, but for the most part the humor wasn't my thing which made it hard for me to enjoy it. Princess Dorthea just wants out of her castle prison. Because of a curse placed on her family, none of the women have been allowed into the outside world. According to the terms of the curse, a princess of Emerald will burn everything down. But no one knows which princess it's going to be, so every heiress is kept locked away and no flames allowed in the palace! At least until Dorthea's wish to escape goes awry.

The description of Spelled is a bit misleading. Dorthea is not searching for the Wizard of the Oz, and I'm pretty sure it was never mentioned where her parents were sent when her wish backfired. We just know they're somewhere. And Dorthea was told to find some magical spring at the end of a rainbow, not a wizard. Not that it really matters, since she does have to find something in order to undo what she accidentally did, and it's not going to be easy. Magic has gone completely chaotic, so Dorthea, Kato, and Rexi can't rely on it to help them, since they never know if it'll work or do the exact opposite of what they want. I did enjoy that part a lot, but it did lead to some repetitive jokes.

The humor of Spelled is what really kept me at a distance from the story. It's completely overrun with fairy tales puns. They were cute the first time, but after about thirty, I was waiting for something else. Some of the jokes also felt very juvenile and obvious, which is not my taste at all. I'm sure it'll work for a lot of readers, but I'm not one of them. It was all a bit slapstick for me, which had me more annoyed than amused.

I'm assuming Spelled is the first in a series, although it's not listed that way at the time I read it. Dorthea defeats one wicked witch, but magic still isn't working correctly by the end, she has no idea where her parents are, and there's still two baddies on the loose. I doubt I care enough to find out what happens next.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.