I DNF'ed this book, it was quite a hard read and I simply could not get into it. I really wanted to like this, as a re-telling of the Wizard of Oz, which holds a special place in my heart. I didn't particularly like the protagonist Dorothy, and the writing style was a bit hard for me to follow. Unfortunately not my cup of tea!

This was a super interesting read. I definitely will never look at the wizard of oz the same way. It brings together that time period and a classic film.

This was such a fun read! Such a unique twist on Dorothy and Wizard of Oz. Highly recommend this book!

The Wizard of Oz was one of my favorite books when I was a child. I was ecstatic to find a retelling and to revisit Oz. However, Dorothy was an unlikable character, and the setting was nowhere near like the original Oz. This was not a good retelling of the classic.

Thank you to Blame Helena Books and Media for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

As someone whose all-time favorite thing in the world is The Wizard of Oz, I knew I had to read this book! And it didn't disappoint! I absolutely loved the way that this book took the story and turned it into something full of history and culture. The way that Dorothy is so entrenched in the 20s glamor and speakeasy secrets was really fun. I loved seeing how those aspects affected such a timeless character and gave her a whole new side.

The one thing was that I wished there had been more worldbuilding with respect to the Empress and that sort of thing. Which can be hard when the movie also simply throws Dorothy into Oz. But I loved the way that Dorothy was such a strong woman and the way her life and experiences were so different from the original Dorothy. Everything about Dorothy Jones sparkled like the Emerald City, and I loved learning about her and seeing her journey through Oz.

If you're a Wizard of Oz fan, you won't want to miss out on this book!

sadly i didnt get a chance to read this book as I was working double shifts as an RN and unfortuantly didnt have any spare time

Thank you Netgalley for providing me this ARC.
When I was a kid, I loved with all my heart "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" It was one of my favorite books and I still carry it in my heart.
So you can imagine how I felt when I saw this retelling on the site.
So my expectations were at a high level.
Did I like it? I don't know. The idea was nice, but I didn't understand some choices of the protagonist and also the author.
Surely the idea was great but some things were trivial or incomprehensible.
So in conclusion I rate this book 2.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.
This one just was not for me. It was all over the place. Dorothy was not very likeable.
The whole thing rushed through the basic premise of the original Wizard of Oz storyline with none of the original's charm. Towards the end she becomes "Empress" of Oz. But she doesn't want to... but she does....but she doesn't.... all in one page.... And there is not real reason (or character growth) given for any of this flip flopping. By that time I was sort of through with Dorothy anyway.
Cute idea, but just not executed. properly.

Firstly, thank you Netgalley and Publishers for providing with this free arc.

Sorry this didn't work for me. I picked it up because I like Oz's story and this sounded interesting but fell flat for me. The writing,plot nothing worked.

My thanks to Blame Helena Books and Media for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Dorothy Jones: A Jazz Age Trip Through Oz’ by Claudia Helena Ross in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Wizard of Oz’ holds a special place in my heart as it clearly does for Claudia Helena Ross. She has expressed her love via this retelling opening in Jazz Age Harlem. Its lead is Dorothy Jones, the operator of an upscale dress shop by day and an exclusive speakeasy by night run out of her Sugar Hill brownstone. The speakeasy caters to a number of colourful yet dangerous characters. Dorothy’s bodyguard, Danny, is always by her side.

During an event held by her friend, mob boss Johnny, her bartender Charlie serves Dorothy a martini made from Johnny’s bootleg gin. It appears to have hallucinogenic properties as Dorothy blacks out and crash lands in Oz, crushes the Wicked Witch of the East, inherits her ruby stilettos, attracts the attention of both the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch Glinda, complete with pink travel bubble, and begins her journey along the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City in order to seek out the Wizard in hope that he can help her return home.

Along the way she meets the familiar characters of Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and Lion. The Wizard, a talking horse, flying monkeys and others all make appearances.

This was a strange one. It seemed childish in places but then has very adult humour and language. Dorothy totes a Colt-45 and a hidden razor for self-protection, wears a fox fur stole and an elegant silky gown with plunging neckline and back. As a result her ‘assets’ are frequently ogled. At other times Dorothy acts like a young girl. There’s also some odd religious aspects in the second half that made me slightly uncomfortable.

Ultimately, I was left with a sense of confusion about the novel. It started to feel more like Oz fanfic, which made me sad as I had rather was hoping for more about Jazz Age Harlem and/or something edgier in Oz.

So, while I felt that that the premise had promise and wanted it to work, rather than over the rainbow I found it all over the place.

Though I was expecting the trip through Oz to begin earlier in the book, I appreciated the setup about Dorothy's life. However once the Oz part started, I was disappointed because I wanted to hear more about what was going on with her speakeasy. The Oz part was imaginative and I liked how she wove in the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Lion and other characters. It just seems that Dorothy's original story and her Oz story could've been two separate books.

"Dreams are reality, without dreams, reality cannot exist."

The new and short version of Dorothy Jones and retelling of her adventure was a good idea that I couldn't follow perfectly as I wished.
Dorothy in the Land of Oz met Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion. They assisted her and their adventure began, to find common sense, heart, courage. Like the original book with more events on-road and in my point of view, this is not a story for the young reader. Dorothy likes to drink, go to the casino, and hang around with the gun. She became empress and rule with authority and a little odd belief, but as I said, it’s a retelling with fun imagination, you may enjoy it more than me.

Thanks to Blame Helena Books and Media and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read Dorothy Jones: A Jazz Age Trip Through Oz by Claudia Helena Ross in exchange for an honest review.

Sitting down to start Dorothy Jones: A Jazz Age Trip Through Oz I was really excited for another retelling, as it's one of my favorite genres. Unfortunately this one was a miss for me, personally. There were a few things I liked about it, mainly the changes the author made to the original story of The Wizard of Oz - they were all really interesting and changed the story in a really fascinating way. However it was really slow moving and I found it hard, personally, to get through. There are some glowing reviews out there, so just because it didn't work for me, doesn't mean it won't work for you.

I found this book to be very poorly written and impossible to follow with terrible characters. I do not recommend it.

Actual Rating 3.5

This is certainly an original and quirky take on the timeless classic The Wizard Of Oz..

This book is great for young readers and those who are seeking a modern retelling with diversity and a feeling of inclusiveness. It will entertain the adolescent audience.
Thank you to #netgalley and #blamehelenabooksandmedia for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an interesting look at the classic story of Dorothy's adventures. I loved having Dorothy grown up and such a total badass woman. Especially since she was basically a crime lord. Def going to have buy a copy for my Oz retelling shelves!

I wanted to like this book, I really did but it just wouldn't let me. The plot was intriguing, especially the Oz element, but the story just bounced all over the place and didn't really settle into a path I could follow. There were parts that flowed very nicely, but the rest was just a weird fever dream. I would not recommend.

Sometime - things are best left as they are. This is one of those cases.

I understand the need to want to change a classic and liven it up but this was riddled with typos and really unnecessary vulgarity.

Not recommended for anything. Publishing, reading, life.

It’s brave to do an adaptation of such a well-loved story like The Wizard of Oz, and I thought this was an interesting premise, making it slightly different from the other adaptations.

Like most of the other reviewers, I did spot a large number of typos. I understand this is an uncorrected proof, but it does interfere with the reading of it, but hopefully this will be re-edited before final publication. There’s also an odd thing going on with the way it’s written - I don’t know if it’s the change in tense or view point, but it didn’t flow well for me. I also found there to be too many plot points that didn’t add to the main story.

A good premise, and a brave ideal, but sadly it didn’t manage to reach the heights it was aiming for, for me.