ARC Review--East of Envy by Nikki St. Crowe

 

Booktok sensation and USA Today bestselling author Nikki St. Crowe continues the dark and spicy reimagining of the Oz saga!

Betrayed by the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy Gale is now forced to team up with the heartless mercenary, the Tin Woodman. Tin has a grudge of his own against the Wizard – not only is he the man who stole Tin’s heart, but now he’s taken Tin’s little brother, Gabriel, for his own ends.

But defeating the Wizard won’t be easy – he has all of Oz under his spell and more power than anyone. Or does he?

Because Dorothy is more than she seems, and Tin can't help but be drawn to her. And the longer Dorothy’s in Oz, the more she uncovers about her murky past, and her own potential magic.

And when all is said and done, Dorothy might have to reckon with an earth-shattering maybe Kansas isn’t home after all.

I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

I was ecstatic to receive an ARC of Nikki St. Crowe's East of Envy almost immediately after I finished reading West of Wicked! This book picks up right where we left off in the chaos of the first book and it was smooth transition to get back into the thick of things.

Dorothy's world has been upended, again. The man she thought she was falling hard for, turned out to be nothing but a liar and a deceiver and he just stabbed her, leaving her for dead. But Dorothy is resilient despite everything that she has been through. She just discovered that her birth mother was the West Witch and she has some sort of water magic that she used to kill her mother by accident...or so she thinks. Dorothy teams up with the Tinman in order to take down Rook for everything that he has done and caused and hopefully, she will learn about her magic along the way.

Rook, as he has decided to keep going by this name, is in a bid for power. Much like the other retellings of Oz, the Wizard is not a kind dude. He's out for power and to do that, he plans to find the gods who previously left Oz and kill them. But Dorothy is a problem he did not expect and he can't decide if he wants to kill her or...you know! Lol.

There are a lot of power play dynamics going on in Oz. This is not Baum's Oz or even Maguire's, that's for sure. This is a new land and the rules we all grew up on are no longer of consequence. It seems like everyone is fighting each other to climb to the top. Glinda, Rook, Tinman, and Gabriel's mother, is a force to be reckoned with. While she was mostly in and out throughout this book, I see her playing a larger role likely in the next book (pending that this is a trilogy, I haven't confirmed this anywhere yet).

There is a greater sense of danger in this one I feel like, Rook basically has everyone out to get Dorothy and the Tinman and kill them as they are a "threat to Oz." So the running for their lives is very real! And then the greatest bafflement of all in this one is Toto! Toto is definitely not your ordinary pooch in this one and while nothing has been confirmed, I feel like we're building into something about this little dog!

There was of course still some steamy romance going on in this one. True, while things were hot heavy with Dorothy and Rook, that love affair pretty much fizzled out when he stabbed her, so now things are heating up with the Tinman! I'm still not really attuned to Dorothy's romances so far. I guess I am missing any emotional attachment going on as it feels just physical, but then it feels like feelings are happening when they aren't fornicating. Guess we'll just have to wait and see where things go with that front. 

The story ends with things in dire straits. A lot has happened, a lot is going to happen still and this definitely gives off trilogy vibes, but based on the titles so far, I wouldn't rule out a quartet just yet either! Lol. Whether that remains to be seen as of now, there's still plenty more things to come of this series and I am aching to find out, but it will likely have to wait until next year since I just binged these two books long before they release officially into the world!

If you're looking for that steamy and edgy retelling of a childhood classic, then be sure to check out The Great and Terrible Land series, starting with West of Wicked! This is one Oz retelling you will not see coming and it is unbelievable!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

East of Envy releases November 3, 2026