This book was a big surprise for me. I enjoyed reading, especially because the writing was easy and well developed  by the author. Since the beginning, the characters managed to captivate me and I loved the way how author show us the world she created, such as the references to fairy tales. However, at some point in the book, the lecture got tiring, but I was curious to know the ending. I think that author wanted to give a short introduction to what she created, so that in the second book everything was developed, which for me was something that bothered. Nevertheless, it’s still a good read. It’s dynamic and very interesting! Really worth reading this book.

What a beautiful, whimsical narrative. I loved all of the fairy tale references and the intrigue behind the lost kingdoms. The blend of urban magic with fantasy really gives this story a kick. Plus, I loved Prince Alexei.

I wanted very badly to love this as The Bone Witch holds a special place in my heart. The magic system and world building felt very confusing and not very strong. I never felt drawn into the story or wanted to root for any of the characters. Then pacing also felt off, at times too fast and at others too slow.  This one just wasn’t for me. I still look forward to read whatever else Rin Chupeco publishes.

This was a middle-of-the-road read for me. While I liked a lot of aspects, there were some things I disliked, and overall, I just didn't feel strongly enough about the book to really warrant adding an in-depth review to the blog.

Title: Wicked as you wish
Author: Rin Chupeco (@rinchupeco)
Rating: 4 stars

Talla has a special power. She is a spell breaker. She has always hated her ability. After she meets Alex the prince of Avalon, her life becomes very interesting. She sets off into a adventure of a lifetime.

I found this book very entertaining. I love the idea of all the fairytales I know about being brought to a modern world. The characters are relatable, and the book have relatable stories. Loss, discrimination, love, friendship, and family found.
I know this is YA but I would totally label it middle grade as well.

I received this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

#netgalley #netgalleyreview #rinchupeco #avalon #wonderland #sherwood #magic #ya #middlegrade #yabutcouldbemiddlegrade #fantasy #queer #lgtbqia #filipino #wickedasyouwish #bookstagram #familyfound #mythology

I love a good YA fantasy and this book looked like it was going to tick all of the boxes. Interesting plot (Check), Collection of Interesting Characters to develop (Check), Different and Varied settings (Check) but the big miss for me was the execution. I kept waiting to be engaged, to make a friend in one of the characters and I just couldn't with this book. I kept picking it up to continue reading and then kept finding other things to do that were slightly more interesting than getting through this book. It was a little bit of a chore to finish.

Wicked as You Wish is a Young Adult Fantasy story focusing on a combination of other literary figures and worlds. From well-known fairytales and legends from the western world, and lesser known tales and folklore from other regions, this blends everything together to form a unique world and experience.


When I picked this up to read, I had very little idea of what it was going to be about. Beginning in the 'Royal States of America' and evolving into the world of Avalon, this book was packed full of references and magic, which I enjoyed, but struggled to understand.
With the sheer number of stories being interwoven, the plot felt crowded and over-worked at times, as my brain tried to understand what was going on. References to places such as Neverland, Tintagel, Wonderland, and various others, flew over my head and I had to completely overlook the references at times just to focus on the plot.

The same thing occurred with the characters. With each character, a new family history was revealed, and keeping track of each took more effort than I was necessarily comfortable with. Alongside the complicated magic system (with artifacts being the main source of each persons 'powers') I found it nearly impossible to find any personality or even purpose in the characters as the plot progressed. This could simply be because they will become more of a focus in the sequel, but after reading this first book, I genuinely couldn't tell you much about any of them as individuals.


Truth be told, although I loved the references, and enjoyed the main concept, this entire book just felt like plot building. I don't feel like much happened, and the world and the characters were kept pretty bland, with minimal exploration into their purpose. Despite the riddles and prophecies, there was very little to each person that really aided the story. The 'king' was grumpy and secluded, the 'right-hand woman' was more concerned with her fathers past, and the young Bandersnatchers just felt like background noise, with the odd humour-fuelled plot, to add that little bit of comedic relief.

How they managed to fill 400 pages with such a basic plot, and minimal character building, I will never know.

Ultimately, I would be happy to read the sequel, simply because I loved the blend of folklore, and hope to see more character development. If things weren't improved upon, I would feel a little let down, but maybe the plot just wasn't for me? I guess we'll see what happens.

2.5 stars.

This book was really confusing. There was tons of info-dumping so it was hard for me to keep up with the story.

There was literally so much plot and no character development at all. I liked the way the plot progressed but I need some character development and learning about the character so I can connect to them. 

The way the book ended was okay and but I honestly don’t really care. Overall, this book just disappointed me but I think there’s potential for the next book to be really good.

I felt lost shortly into this book.  I looked at a few reviews and realized I wasn’t alone.  Most of us found the world building quite confusing.  I think it is magical realism and fantasy.  Maybe alternate realities?  I don’t understand how the Kingdom of Avalon connects to Earth.  This story makes me think of a toddler who took a bunch of jigsaw puzzles and dumped them into a pile and now you have to put multiple puzzles together at the same time when you have no idea what piece belongs where.  I loved the Filipino culture and LGBTQ rep.  There is some homophobia but the culprit gets called out on it.  The firebird shows up at the 13% mark so I gave up trying to understand the world and just focused on the characters.  There were times where I understood how the magic worked and times where I just went ‘huh?’
This is my first introduction to this author and I’m a bit nervous.  I have a few of her books on the TBR but I’m worried they will be as convoluted as this one.  
2.5 stars.  I think this would have been better book if it had been cleaned up a bit and the world, magic, and story streamlined.
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was really fun! I enjoyed the strange magical version of our world and kinda wish I could've spent more time reading about the daily life in a world like that. The adventure in Avalon was also really cool though and it felt a bit more similar to what I'm used to reading from Rin which was nice because it was familiar. The huge cast of characters was the only thing I struggled with a little bit because I felt like I didn't really get the chance to properly get to know more than a few of them, and it felt like some of them were there just to give information about the lore of the world. I still enjoyed Wicked As You Wish as a whole though and I look forward to the sequel! The hilarious chapter titles were icing on the cake.

As a Filipino reader who has always been reading fantasy books by white authors, this was definitely a wonderful reading experience. I never thought that it was possible that your culture can be represented in a fantastical setting! Rin Chupeco delivers with this book and I am looking forward on the upcoming release of the sequels!

an interestingly diverse cast and an interesting world and plot.

i liked it.. but.. it just didn't do much for me beyond that. it sort of dragged on a bit? and the payoff wasn't even worth it for me because i was pretty disappointed by the ending.

❝ “What I mean is, you’ve got magic in your blood, love. You can’t take it out of you any more than you can will yourself to stop breathing.“ ❞

I was first introduced to Rin Chupeco’s work when I read The Bone Witch. I really loved this book and was super excited to read more from her, so I jumped on the chance to request Wicked As You Wish. Despite my high expectations, I ultimately felt a bit let down by this book although there were definitely parts I enjoyed. It was because of my mixed feelings that I ended up DNF’ing this book at 38%.

One of the strongest aspects of this book–and what appealed the most to me initially–was the close family relationship. I liked the cultural aspects woven into not only the characters but the overall story. Filipino culture was so integrated into the story that it was practically seamless.

We also saw diversity in the cast of characters as well. One of the main characters, Alex, was gay and there was another character introduced a little later in the series that was non-binary (I think that’s the right term, but correct me if I’m wrong!) and identified as they/them. Between the two LGBTQ characters and the cultural representation, I think this book did a great job of creating a diverse story.

However, the world building and plot of the story felt weak to me and were the reasons I decided not to continue on. Right off the bat I think there was just so much info-dumping about the wars and past rulers. It was a lot to take in, but even then the worst part of it was the magic system. It just felt like the way magic and technology was made to blend didn’t end up working that well together. It was confusing and it felt like so much time was spent on making the magical aspects seem interesting that the focus on the actual plot was dragging behind and suffered.

Overall, I think Wicked As You Wish just wasn’t well put together. It needed more work on the actual part and less detail/complexity in the magic area, but it still had some positive elements in terms of diversity and cultural representation that I think people could enjoy.

This was a typical fantasy novel. I wasn’t overly impressed by it but not disappointed either. As a person who doesn’t read fantasy a majority of the time I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this one. There are others with more intrigue and action.

I enjoyed reading several aspects of this book! The pacing was wonderful, characters were well drawn, and the reading experience on the whole was delightful.

I had a difficult time wrapping my head around the world-building and it took me out of the story. I was interested in the magic system, but the first few chapters just felt like a huge info dump.

There was a lot I loved about this book. Mainly, how the various mythologies were interwoven into the story and especially the highlighting of non-Euro centric cultures.  The characters are fun and have clever interactions with each other.  It did feel like a lot was happening and a lot was being glossed over, but many things are answered by the end, leaving enough of an opening for the next book.

Ugh. Guys. You know me. You know I really don’t like writing negative reviews. But that’s kind of the deal of being a book blogger, right? We’re in for the good, for the bad and for the ugly. This … is ugly. Especially coming from a writer whose other book I rated with 5 stars. What happened, you ask? Well, I have a theory, hear me out.

Rin Chupeco said that Wicked As You Wish was the first book she ever completed, BUT it’s also the seventh book she published. Meaning, this manuscript has sat probably unchanged for years, while Chupeco progressed as a writer. Then after all this time she came back to it, and I am guessing – she didn’t want to harm her baby project? It somehow stayed at the creative/writing level she was at at the time? I don’t know, but the difference between it and her more recent work is deafening.

I barely finished it. For me, it sucked. First of all, it’s YA, and not just any kind, but the cliched one. We have our usual love problems, teen tantrums, and also (W H Y) Carly Rae Jepsen??? I think the second chapter is named after her, and that’s when this novel lost me. I endured eternal agony to finish it, only because it was an ARC, but hell if I’m going to do that again.

You can read what’s it about above, I cannot repeat that, instead I’ll expand on it. This book is a meaningless info dump. Every possible fairy tale, Disney cartoon, legendary character, you name it – it’s a central character in this novel. The Firebird, Wonderland, The Snow Queen, Neverland, Jabberwocky, Avalon, Robin Hood, Baba Yaga, shall I continue? No need, you name it – it’s in the book. I LOVE retellings, and I love subtle nods to all these fairy tales and legends we love, but this? Too much, woman, know when to stop.

What else is too much, you ask? Representation. Chupeco tried to represent every possible minority, sexual orientation and my grandma’s pickle salad. The main character, Tala, is half Filipino half Scottish, but they’re (Her family) all apparently Latinx and speak Spanish because they live in Arizona?! I struggled hard to understand what they were talking about until I just couldn’t. Oh yeah, and then the gay Russian tsarevitch comes to live with them, and he turns boys into frogs when he kisses them. And the villain is Frozen’s Elsa with her ICE agents (GETIT).

There is a magical system, which is based on technology, and very weird to understand. Tala is a descendant of yet another faction – makilings – they can cancel out any magic and spells, but then Tala actually can do magic??? She and the prince Alexei are too hollow for two main characters, but then they get backup in the form of Bandersnatches (some annoying kids) who are even more one dimensional, so much that they are basically paper cut-outs?!

And what’s the plot, you ask? I don’t know! The Snow Queen is evil, and she wants to destroy the world I guess? And some lousy kids are the world’s best chance? FFS. For the last couple of chapters I was seriously debating in favor of DNFing this but alas I persevered. Even though the writing is so horrible I wanted to poke out my eyes with toothpicks.

I will still read Chupeco’s other books, because I did like The Girl from the Well, and I heard The Bone Witch trilogy is really good, but with this series I am DONE.

I really enjoyed this book! I read it while I was on vacation and finished it in one day!  The story starts with a girl named Tala who’s a magic user, something you really shouldn’t be flaunting around. Her best friend, Alexei, is the heir to the Kingdom of Avalon, which was frozen in ice by the Snow Queen, sealing off much of the world’s magic along with it. When the firebird, a creature that hasn’t been seen in decades reappears, Tala and Alexei (along with a few other friends) have to travel back to Avalon and save the world. I really enjoyed the banter and action scenes, as well as the magic system and characters! It was a fun experience and would recommend!

boring and predictable
dnf because i don't wanna get into a reading slump
will try some of rin chupeco's other stuff but I have no intention of finishing this