This one was a bit tough to rate. I have read from Rin Chupeco in the past and really enjoyed it. I was so excited to see what she would do with this story but it fell a little short for me. It was an interesting concept trying to incorporate so many different fairytales and mythes into one story but at times it just because confusing. The world building was a bit lacking and thus not completely fleshed out. With that being said, I thought the topics Chupeco tackled were very important and necessary. For now, I’m not sure if I’ll continue on with the series but I’m vaguely interested in seeing where she goes from here

4 STARS


What's your favorite fairy tale? Whatever your answer is, it's probably here.


The beauty of Wicked As You Wish lies in its complexity. Right now, I suspect this will be a point of contention. I've seen a number of ARC reviews already that find the world-building too dizzying, too scattered. And in some ways, it can be a lot to process. Wicked As You Wish is set in an alternate Earth, where magic permeates every day life, the US is the Royal States of America, and kingdoms straight out of fairy tales exist with monumental force. It was a lot to absorb from the outset, especially since these things that strike a reader as so different are presented as normal to the cast. Because they are! That's just the world they live in!

Anyway, Wonderland and Avalon feature heavily, while the Snow Queen lurks in the background, figures like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty fill in the gaps of history, and magic fills all the spaces in between. Not to mention the sheer richness of the world at hand. One part magic, one part real life culture, Rin Chupeco manages to blend the fantastic elements of Wicked As You Wish with Filipino family and folklore, while also nodding to other cultural touchstones through her supporting cast.

If nothing else, Wicked As You Wish is brilliantly alive, and worth the brief moments of comprehension of the unfamiliar. (And though the ARC did not have a glossary, I believe I read something somewhere about the finished copy having one, so fear not, if Tala's family's use of Tagalog is beyond you.)


The cast brings life just as much as the magic and culture woven in.


In the vein of a true legend, we have a large group cast, though the story centers on Tala Warnock. She's supported in her quest to restore her best friend Alex to the Avalonian throne by a group of teens about her age. They're the Order of the Bandersnatch (or Banders) with personal stakes in this fight, and they get along about as well as you'd think a group of teens in high pressure situations would. On one hand, they're in it together, with common goals. On the other hand, personality conflicts abound, because that's just how it is on group quests with teens. 

But really, I had so much fun getting to know the cast. Tala is in over her head but incredibly determined to do the right thing, while Alex is loyal but equally secretive. Add in Zoe, a dedicated perfectionist and sensible leader; Ken, a playful kind of guy with all the right intentions; Loki, a soft-spoken ranger with all kinds of hidden skills; West, the comic relief who exists in a state of total sincerity; Cole, the broody loner who definitely has more going on than he's mentioned; and Nya, a lively late addition to the gang with valuable knowledge and a hell of a lot of courage. Balancing such a large cast does seem to present its difficulties at times, but it overall makes for a fun ride!

Plus, the cast is delightfully diverse. Tala is biracial Filipino and white, Alex is gay, Loki is non-binary, Chinese-Canadian, and adopted by two dads, Ken is Japanese, and Nya is Nigerian (if I'm remembering the scene where we meet her and explore her home correctly; if I'm wrong about this, please do correct me).


"King thou may be, thy divine right to magic is no cause to be as wicked as you wish."


Wicked As You Wish also does a wonderful job interrogating abuses of power and the lengths characters are willing to go to in order to make them right. From the cruel presence of ICE agents and the general bigotry in Invierno, to the consequences of the war between Avalon and Beira (the Snow Queen's kingdom), to the aftermath of a past steeped in wrong choices, Rin Chupeco doesn't shy away from the nitty-gritty of right, wrong, and the responsibility involved in facing all the consequences that come with it. 

In fact, looking back, the character I disliked the most actually fits this so well. Without spoiling too much, I found him to be ungrateful for the support he was receiving. Not only that, but he was painfully secretive despite the sheer amount of trust placed in him. And yet he comes from a position of power. Even on the edges of that power, it's still part of his character, and I suspect the use and misuse of power is going to play a major role in his character arc throughout the series. It's masterful, making a character kind of a jerk, but playing so neatly into a major thematic element.


Really, this book is nothing less than a joyride, magic in a hundred ways.


I gave it four stars on account of the world-building sort of dunking the unsuspecting reader in headfirst with little warning. It's a bit jarring, and takes some getting used to and back-tracking. But once I got that under my belt, everything else was outstanding. The ominous prophetic elements are so tantalizing, the magic at hand so intriguing and developed. Meanwhile, you've got a cast that comes more and more alive with every turn of the page, and a villain who isn't the blanket evil that we expect in fairy tales. I have extremely high hopes for the rest of the series, and it's such a relief (mostly because I didn't care very much for The Bone Witch, and was nervous to try another of Rin Chupeco's books). Also, the chapter titles were outstanding. When's the last time you read a book with sharp, witty chapter titles?

Hopefully you'll join me in following Tala and Co's quest to set things right in Avalon, starting tomorrow, March 3rd! It's nearly here, so you too can experience the joy of that story-relevant cover and the incredible pages inside!

Also, if you've read it, please talk to me about the firebird. Especially his final scenes. I need to discuss our friend the absolute unit with someone. 😱



CW: loss of a loved one, racism, homophobia, violence, torture, abuse (including child abuse)

[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 10 am EST on 3/2/20.]

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Rin Chupeco’s books. The Girl from the Well never interested me. I hated The Bone Witch the first five times I tried to read it. Then I liked it. I absolutely adored The Heart Forger. I’m scared to read The Shadowglass, because what if it doesn’t live up to my expectations? I really enjoyed The Never Tilting World, and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel. And then there’s this book. This is a hard no from me.

I read three chapters and I couldn’t read any further. I was confused, and annoyed, and disappointed, so I’ll keep this as brief as possible.

Firstly, Wicked as You Wish was way too complicated and lacked coherence. It’s like a giant mash up of a bunch of different fairytales, myths, legends, and literary references from all over the world (Filipino mythology, the Russian firebird, Avalon, The Snow Queen, Wonderland, Oz, Neverland). Sadly, mash ups are apparently not my cup of tea.

There was also a ton of info-dumping, especially in chapter three. The main character (who already knows some of this information) does a web search, and we get to read what she finds in big blocks of italic text! I’ve seen what Chupeco can do, and this was way below the standard I know she’s capable of. It’s like the publishers decided to forego editing, and printed the book as it was a decade ago.

The magic system had potential- it was a synthesis of magic and techonology called Spelltech– but I was unclear how it worked. There were three different levels, and they had something to do with obsidian stones and glyphs, which seemed to be mined or something? Only the lowest level was legal, and that involved weaker artificial glyphs that ran things like mobile phones, and cable tv. But then a few special people had innate magic. And there were nine different types – time, elemental/kinetic, death magic, transfiguration, summoning, healing, divination, conjuration, enchantment, and illusion. It just went on and on. went on and on.

The opening scene involves a gay prince of Avalon (Alexei Tsarevich – *cringe*) kissing a boy and turning him into a frog, and then kissing the main character, Tala, so she can prove she cancels out magic and that she’s immune. It just didn’t really sit right with me, but I can’t put my finger exactly on why.

I also found that the dialogue was clunky and confusing. I didn’t know who was talking when more than two characters were in a scene. I think that it was also meant to be funny, but I was too busy going ‘Huh, who the hell is talking? What on earth is happening?’ to enjoy what was supposed to be witty banter.

I understand that this book was really special to Chupeco. She wrote it and tried to get it published back in 2010. But sometimes, your trunk novel should really stay in that trunk.

I didn’t read enough to truly give an objective review, but I read enough to know that this was not the book for me.

The premise is amazing. The execution is far too info heavy with an abundance of things going on that are incredibly difficult to follow. I felt more lost as I went along, when I should have felt like I was gaining a greater understanding. It seemed as if the author was trying to write every fairytale ever written into one story. It’s way too much.

You know how when you start a new job and they sit you down and force you to watch a cheesy, outdated orientation video that is equal parts corporate propaganda, exposition spouting, and a whole lotta cringe? That's kinda what this whole book felt like.

There is not much I have to say about this. It was a blend of modern times and mythical folklore but it took the worst parts of both. The interpretation of nostalgic stories like Snow White and Robin Hood felt juvenile, overly animated, and ultimately tacky, but the nonstop political and socioeconomic exposition, page upon page upon page of extraneous detail into the history of this made up world just sucked all the life out of the story. It kind of went like this:

"Hey, Tala, can you pass the bread?"

"Sure, Ken, but did you know, that when the Snow Witch froze over the lands in the 1500's, Avalon's bread stock price blah blah blah" for PAGES.

It kind of felt like this was a mandatory read for schoolchildren of Avalon's social studies 101 class. Like all of the characters were in on it and were subtly trying to get us to learn things without us realizing. Like they were all trying to show off how much they knew about history to the reader. Like a cast full of Hermione Grangers trying to force a whole political narrative down our throats in 400 pages.

Well, it still didn't help. I don't feel like I understood any of it. Up until like the 60% mark, I barely understood where the characters were and what the objective was. Because the dialogue was just so bulky and laden with superfluous exposition there was barely room for characterization or scenery setup. It made it all super sluggish.

Overall, not a satisfying read.

Thank you to netgalley for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Since finishing this book, I have had a hard time wrapping my head around my thoughts and feelings about it. On the one hand, it was a pretty good adventure quest story, with a diverse set of characters some of which I came to like and care about. On the other hand the world and its magical system were just so damn confusing that it really hindered my overall enjoyment of the story.

Let’s start with the positives:
There was an amazing number of diverse characters, someone for everyone to relate to. They were diverse in their ethnicities, gender and sexual orientations.
Tala, the mostly main character, was an interesting one. I liked her magical talent, or rather her talent to negate magic. She was pretty brave, but I never quite got why she spent all this time training as a warrior, yet alway held back when there was a fight.
Alex was also a great character that I mostly liked. He occasionally treated everyone like crap and kept going off recklessly on his own, but it could sort of be brushed off as moodiness and anxiety about what was going on. I did like his friendship with Tala though.
The group of teens who are sent to protect Alex were a fun bunch too. I especially liked West, such a sweet goof, who is a shape shifter unlike anything else I’ve encountered.
I loved the Phoenix, he was such a character and had quite the personality which he related with looks, sounds and wing gestures. He was awesome.
The bad guys may not be so bad? I ended up kind of liking Ryker in the end, and I think he feels that he is in the right, and maybe he is. The Snow Queen seems to have another agenda than what we have been lead to believe as well.
The overall plot, though a bit slow in places, was well done and exciting. There was also an emphasis on family, redemption and forgiveness, loyalty which are always nice to see in a story.
Here are the negatives.
The world building is probably the biggest. I spent most of the book just feeling utterly lost and confused about this world. It is a mash up of the real world and fairy tales and legends. World mythologies were also also included especially when it came to the characters. The history of this world mirrored our own, just with all of these fictional characters and places woven throughout. Statements were thrown about these characters and their historical significance like we should know the stories, but often I didn’t and just felt confused and wondering why this was important. There were times when I thought I was getting a handle on it and then it would just slip away again.
The magical system was also very problematic and not well explained, or maybe just I missed something somewhere. It is a combination of tech and magic called spelltech. So for example, cell phones use magic to work. So yeah. Plus there were these rocks with glyphs that were also spells? And of course magic came with a price, usually something physical.
Too many prophecies, like everyone had one, and some came true through out the story but not others. There were so many I couldn’t keep track of which ones were which and who they belonged too. If this had been a physical copy of the book I would have been highlighting and going back in the text to look at all of them constantly.
Overall I think I can say that I liked the book, but I had many issues with it. This is a review based on an ARC so it is possible that some changes have been made before printing, I can certainly hope so. Will I pick up the next one? Probably, but I don’t think I will be holding my breath or rushing out for it as soon as it hits stores.

Wicked As You Wish is an incredible relevant and self aware book. It wasn't necessarily the best fit for me as the description and actual book didn't seem to mesh in my head in terms of what I expected and what it ended up being. I still firmly believe it has quite broad appeal and is a wonderful way to pass the time.

The chapter headers are brilliant and never fail to make me laugh and it's refreshing to have that little snapshot to continue the story but also help you focus.

I loved the many references to fairy tales and fantasy stories that were spread out through the book and the magical realism vibes was different to my usual reads but well done.

I was a bit let down with the character building and felt disconnected with some characters and I think the fact my favorite character was a fire bird (which BTW OMG I'm in love) says a lot about the human characters.

I did love the Filipinx references and Tagalog throughout the book though and I felt it added an extra sense of realism and heart to the story. I have a couple of Filipina friends and colleagues previously and rarely see them represented in literature and the fire and passion of their families was beautifully represented in this book.

Overall this was a neutral read for me. It was a fun read to destress and pass the time.

Wicked As You Wish, by Rin Chupeco, is an incredibly difficult book to review. I think this book has a little bit of an identity crisis, which makes it hard to really fall for it until you are past the halfway point. That being said, I am extremely excited to see what happens in the books to come and can’t wait to see how Chupeco continues to subvert the stories we grew up on.

This book is CHOCK FULL OF EASTER EGGS. There are references to practically every fantasy story and fairy tale I’ve ever heard of – at first, it almost gave me whiplash. But once I got used to the concept of a melting pot fantasy world, I found myself almost obsessively trying to highlight and tab all the most creative references. I appreciated how Chupeco took the fantasy tropes and heroes we all know and gave them a diverse and feminist spin. Our “classic princesses” are returned to their cultural roots and reimagined as warriors with agency. It’s delightful to learn more about the book’s mythology as the story progresses. The Cheshire Cat, also known as the Duke of Wonderland, is a particular favorite.

Chupeco also does an incredible job with her use of prophesy. Seers and priestesses are, while not common, well-known to the characters of the book. Most characters have their own “Doom” or individual prophecy, for their future. The author seems to follow the Game of Thrones model of “the harder you try to avoid your prophesized future, the quicker you will spur it into action,” which makes it exciting for a reader to keep an eye our for further action.

I both loved the magic system but think its wide range handicaps the book a little. Personally, I really enjoyed how magic was treated almost more like tech, and could be channeled through powerful objects – some of which have a sentience of its own. Our protagonist, Tala, has one of the most interesting gifts (or a curse, as it’s referred to in the book): the ability to negate magic. It’s a really unique way magic and puts Tala in such an interesting predicament – she is simultaneously the most powerful and the most vulnerable person in the room at any given time. It makes her extremely compelling. However, with so many different types of magic and so much history in the world created, the beginning felt a little heavy on the info dumping as I was forced to play catch-up. It keeps you from immediately bonding with the characters.

It is unsurprising, given Chupeco’s heritage, that Wicked As You Wish has absolutely AMAZING Filipino representation. Lola Urduja and the Katipuneros are basically the octogenarian Filipino hit squad war heroes, they fight with traditional abaniko fans, they cook better than you or I ever will, and basically I just want be them when I grow up. I enjoyed the culture and spirit that infused every interaction Tala had with her family. And while I’m talking about representation, Chupeco does a great job representing multiple nationalities and genders, including one of my favorite characters, who is an enby with a mysterious origin.

Finally, I need to say that while it took a while to adapt to the sensory and nostalgia overload that hit me when I first started reading Wicked As You Wish, the action and reveals of the final fourth of the book are astounding. The epilogue has a shocking twist that really got me in the gut. I had a complex relationship with the beginning of the book, but the end left me gasping and eager for more.


Pairs well with: chicken adobo, peanut butter burgers, steak tartare cooked over an open campfire, mochi, very stinky cheese, and the friends you met along the way who become closer than family.

**I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I had really high hopes for this one. The description sounded great and I previously read and really enjoyed The Girl From the Well books by Chupeco. I wish I could say I enjoyed Wicked As You Wish but it just never really grabbed me and if I'm being completely honest it ended up feeling like a chore to finish it. This is one of those times that I wish I was more of the DNF camp because it would have saved me weeks of dragging my heels through this book.

I'm trying to think of way to adequately describe what this story felt like, and the best I can come up with is it reminded me of leftover surprise. You know that ramshackle meal you throw together when you really need to go shopping or you're feeling kinda lazy and you just grab a bunch of random ingredients that are still good and you have on hand and throw them in a pot with broth or a casserole and call it dinner. This book was like that to me. Insert a handful of fairytale characters, a dash of legends and mythology, a pinch of hot topic social issues, a sprinkle of different cultures, and a side of LGBTQ. Voila, dinner is served! All of these on their own are wonderful ingredients, brought together they can make one incredibly tasty dish, but in this case it just didn't work for me as a cohesive recipe. Nothing quite married or really brought it all together.

It ended up feeling like instead of bringing these elements together in a new exciting way pieces of them were just mashed together but never quite fit as a whole. Getting thrown into the fantasy world blind at the beginning was jarring, which could have been ok for me if I understood it more as we went on, but honestly even after the end I'm still confused by it.

When the fantasy end falls short a reader can sometimes turn to the characters to carry them through, some cool peeps to get behind, or someone to root for. When I inevitably turned there I also felt like something was lacking. None of these characters were stand out for me. Maybe the most interesting to me was 'the Scourge of Buyan' which seemed unfortunately used more to try and make Tala somewhat interesting rather than an intriguing character on its own. Ryker maybe being a younger version of that could have been something but we really didn't see much of him, especially not much beyond the surface level of his high school crushiness that dominated the beginning.

All in all this was just not for me, as much as I wish that wasn't the case. Definitely not something I'd be interested in continuing as a series.

3 for neutral, this book is not for me. If at later date I enjoy, which I don’t think this one it will happen with as I was completely confused and frustrated on what I did read, I will update my review.

I am officially dnf-ing this after struggling with it the past week. I feel really bad about doing so, considering its an arc but I cannot ignore the fact that I don't think this book will get more than a 2 star from me. Usually I try to push through because maybe there will be something for me, but this story just is not it. After 200 pages, I still did not understand the world, the characters, their motivations - it felt really messy and all over the place. I really tried to ignore these things and focus on the plot of the story, as it does follow colonialism/racism/immigration in the States but I cannot deny that Cupeco felt like a debut author in this book (I saw on Twitter that this was one of the first books Chupeco wrote before being published). There was just too much in this story that everything felt really, really confusing. I hope this book finds its audience and they enjoy reading it far more than me.

I received an eARC copy from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

DNF'd @ 15%

I loved the description of this novel, but the execution of it was just not for me. Too many things within that span got me out of the story - it probably started with Carly Rae Jepsen.

I adored The Bone Witch and was so excited for Rin’s next few books. Unfortunately, much like The Never Tilting World, this book wasn’t for me. But really, that’s a personal preference! There were aspects that I liked. Wicked As You Wish transports you to an alternate universe, one that has magic yet feels so viscerally real.

Immigration is definitely at the forefront of this book, which the author has been very open about. In this book, we have ICE agents being used as agents of evil, a parallel to the world we are living in today. Wicked As You Wish depicts their cruelty so succinctly but so effectively.

I really liked the characters; the cast of teenagers was so great. We have Tala, Alex, Zoe, Cole, Ken, Loki, and later, Nya. They all added a lot of liveliness to the story. There’s also a lot of casual diversity: Loki is ownvoices nonbinary, uses they/them pronouns, and is Chinese; Alex is gay; Tala is ownvoices Filipina; Ken is Japanese; and so much more.

The worldbuilding was interesting, to say the least. This book combines all of the myths and fairy tales and stories you’ve ever heard into magical kingdoms, such as Avalon and Beira. It was fascinating to see Rin pull in Alice in Wonderland, Koschei the Deathless, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and more stories from other cultures around the world into reality.

Unfortunately, the worldbuilding is so dense that it’s hard to follow at first. That was my real issue with the book; I grew used to it halfway through, but I was so bored during the first half that it was hard to focus in the second. Also, I feel like once we got to know the rest of the characters other than Alex and Tala, we sacrificed knowing Alex and Tala. That was a little strange, following them for at least a third of the book and then suddenly being shunted to the side, Alex especially.

In the end, Wicked As You Wish was just not for me personally, but I do think many people will enjoy this. Give it a chance if you’re at all interested by the summary!

Rating: DNF @ Page 28

This will be a rant-y, possibly spoiler-y review, but I only got to page 28, so…

I wanted to like this book.
Prior to receiving it in the December FairyLoot Box, this book wasn’t on my radar as something I wanted to read. I figured that having received an ARC, I should at least attempt to read it. Based on the synopsis, it sounded like something I could possibly and would probably enjoy.
So, I went into the book with an open mind and by page 5 I was confused. Honestly, that’s not a good sign. I took a breath and tried to focus, but that proved a bit hard the further I got into the story…which albeit, wasn’t very far.
The world is chaos and without a map (is there even going to be one in the finished copy?) I couldn’t make heads or tails of how it was laid out. I’m a pretty visual person, and I always love a map when it comes to fantasy worlds.
But it was more than just being unable to picture the world, but take every fantasy story, every mythology, lore, and history fact you know, and throw them all in a book and you’d have this. Then add a whole heaping of modern-day world problems and concerns and politics.
It was just kind of a mess, and I felt so loss amongst everything going on in the beginning of this book.
Now, maybe I’m in the minority here, but I absolutely hate it, and it’s almost always an automatic turn off, when a book includes thinly veiled, media hyped political rants that do nothing but bash the US. I read fantasy books to escape.
I’m in NO WAY saying that fantasy books shouldn’t include real world elements, whether it be political, social issues, etc. They should, because it rounds them out and makes them better. But if you’re just going to rant for rant’s sake because you’re pissed at some media hyped and exploited, parroted political rant, I’m almost never going to finish your book.
Usually, when books do this, or any variation, I can just roll my eyes and continue reading. I can usually just ignore whatever part and enjoy the book. That is always my goal when I go into ‘new to me’ reads. Maybe there is a purpose to the rant, and I just didn’t get to it. If that’s the case, it’s a shame that I have no desire to find out what happens next. I like escapism when it comes to fantasy, and that rant just hit a bit hard and a bit real, and I decided I couldn’t continue. I’m sure we all have one or two things that we adamantly don’t like when it comes to reading.
I know I won’t be picking up this book again and I’m not going to recommend it. I can’t.
I also can’t recommend it, because I haven’t finished it and now, I’m not going to. I wanted to like this book, because it really does sound like something I could get behind and love. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t for me. If you read this, I hope you really enjoy it.
On top of all that crap, and I only got 28 pages into this book, I didn’t care for the characters, they felt very one dimensional and flat and I could not get behind the writing style.
I know there’s always going to be the argument of when it’s appropriate to show versus tell, and the opposite, but if you’re going to spend time telling me everything, you’d better make sure I understand what’s going on.
And guess what?
28 pages, and I still didn’t understand the world, the connections, the politics, any of it really. And yes, that could be because I didn’t read far enough into the book, that’s fair, but now we’ll never know. I kind of feel bad for maybe not giving this book the time it needs to capture my interest, but honestly, my interest is gone. There was a lot of info dumping, which didn’t help my confusion and didn’t clarify anything. I also want to state that I was already struggling to stay interested in this book, due to my lack of connection with the characters and issues with the writing style, but I was forcing myself to continue to read it, to give it a chance. I don’t like DNFing books, because I want to like every book I pick up. I want it to be my new favorite thing that I can yell about and convince everyone to read. This, unfortunately, just wasn’t the book for me, and that’s okay.
I don’t really know what else to say…I only read 28 pages of this book before I stopped. I can’t speak for whatever happens in the rest of this book I’m not going to recommend this book, because I don’t feel like I can, but I do urge you to form your own opinions. If you have any interest in this title at all, check it out! Read it! Potentially fall in love with it! This book wasn’t for me, but maybe it’s for you. I’m definitely going to be giving this author’s other works a go, and I’ve just been urged to read The Bone Witch, so that’s been moved up my TBR. Hopefully I haven’t put you off this book, and I hope you enjoy it if you do/have read it!

So I had mixed feelings about this book. Wicked As You Wish has A LOT of things going on with it. It's both a blessing and a curse. It follows Tala, a girl who has the ability to break spells in an alternative magic-filled version of our world. As she tries to hone her abilities, she finds herself on a quest to restore Prince Alexei to the throne of the frozen world of Avalon, who just so happens to be her best friend. Wicked As You Wish is a magical and whimsical journey across worlds not very far off from our own, an amaglam of all of your favorite fairytales, legends and myths that will leave you enchanted. I really enjoyed the family atomosphere of this book. The people in Tala's life, her friends and her family, were all so wonderfully supportive of each other, which is refreshing to see because not a lot of YA books feature that. I also was fascinated by lore and the way fairytales intersect with real-world elements. The world Chupeco has created is wonderfully vibrant and colorful, as are many of the characters.
I had a couple of issues with this book that made it more of a 3.5 instead of 4 rating. As I said, there is a lot going on in this book. The world and magic system had a lot of detail to them, too much at times. So much so I felt really lost in some places. I also didn't care for the character of Alex at all. He's the king, great, but he treats people who care about him like crap and while Tala calls him out for it, it isn't something that is made right by the end of the book.
So I did like Wicked As You Wish, but honestly, the world's complexity just overwhelmed me at times since there is a lot going on with it. At the same time, Wicked As You Wish is a vibrant story about family, friendship, and fulfilling one's destiny. It is worth the read to avid fans of fairytales and is a solid YA fantasy.

I am… very confused. I love Rin Chupeco’s writing so much, as well as the ways she shifts her fantasy writing away from the typical Western approaches. However, this book just didn’t hook me, and I’m not totally sure why. I think my main source of confusion is the world building, which is central to the story but somehow never fully fleshed out. There’s Alice in Wonderland inspiration, “spelltech” (what?), as well as the Slavic Firebird myth and an Ice Queen. What do these stories have in common? How are they somehow combined and real?

The best part of the book is clearly the characters. Tala is cool—she’s a bit of a chosen one, but there’s a reasonable explanation so I don’t have a problem with this. She’s Filipina, living in the US (where there’s a royal family, but many aspects of our IRL government are still in place), and has a tight-knit family around her neighborhood, who are all affiliated with Avalon.

Alex, the Prince of Avalon, is kind and dorky and I just! want! him! to be! SAFE! I love him so much, if anything happened to him I would reach inside of this book and resuscitate him myself. Well… that’s an exaggeration. However, he and Tala are the best characters in this novel, so my love is justified. Two things about Alex that I like: first, he’s gay (queer rep, yay! see my list of 2020’s hottest LGBTQ+ YA here!) and he’s not given a tragic story because of that. Yes to having queer characters in fantasy novels! No to the bury-your-gays trope! Second, he’s got an angsty backstory and new curse to live with, (a la Rhen from A Curse so Dark and Lonely), a trope I love.

A hallmark of Chupeco’s books is the diverse cast, which includes characters of many ethnicities, gender identities, and sexualities. So many people will be able to find themselves in this novel, and I can definitely get on board with that.

I appreciate how much attention Chupeco gives to the plot, so each character has clear goals and motives. Even the side characters had purpose, which helped me remember them. Two of my favorites are Lola Urduja and Tala’s mom, who are both fierce warriors. They had some truly awesome fight scenes in the book. Even through my confusion, I didn’t want to put the book down, just so I could find out what happens to Tala, Alex, and Avalon. In the beginning, I worried that I wouldn’t feel connected to Tala’s quest because I couldn’t understand the world, but that fear faded as I kept reading. I wouldn’t say that everything makes sense at the end, but I am surprised by some of the different plot points and excited for their potential in future books.

As always, the writing is perfect. I’m a big fan of Chupeco’s prose; I find it deft and adaptable, which serves all of her novels well. I will be anticipating the second book in the series, in the hopes that it fleshes out more of the world building and characters. 3/5 stars. I am still confused about the ways fairytales and the real world intersect here, but the pace picks up in the second half of the book, so I didn’t want to stop reading. Perhaps other readers will be able to unlock the secrets of this book’s magic, but until the sequel comes out, I will say it’s just not for me.

I'm really torn about this book because on the one hand it's got a fast-paced plot, plenty of action, twists, and a lot of fun banter between a large yet manageable cast of characters. Also, big props to the diversity in this book!

On the other hand, the world is so confusing. I actually had to check to make sure I wasn't accidentally reading a series out of order because it felt like we were supposed to understand this strange blend of modern world meets fairytale and magic. I didn't start to get it until the end, and even now I'm not completely sure what's going on. The premise of this world is definitely interesting, I just wish it had been better explained or just less confusing to begin with.

I'll still be keeping my eye out for the second book, I just can't say I loved this book.

*Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wicked As You Wish was a breathtaking and unique alternate history fantasy. I loved the diverse and distinct ensemble cast with their quirks and camaraderie. Tala was a badass and likable heroine who showed incredible bravery and resilience, despite her flaws. I think the way magic was constructed was interesting and creative and liked that it spanned across cultures. There was plenty of action and adventure to keep me entertained as well as thoughtful political intrigue and commentary on real-world issues of immigration and refugee crises. The themes of family, loyalty, forgiveness, and redemption were both heartwarming and heartwrenching, explored in depth after the revelation of the secrets about Tala's father and his past. The ending was quite a shocking twist and left me desperate to read the sequel.

I spent the whole book confused and disconnected from all of the characters. It felt like I was dropped into the middle of the story with very little explanation. There was very little world-building and the magic system did not make sense to me whatsoever. One thing I did appreciate about this book was its diverse cast of characters.

I had seen lots about this one and thought it sounded right up my street. While I liked the premise, I just found it really hard to feel engaged with the story. I think this was more a case of me being the issue, not the book. That being said, I would happily read more from this author.