➝ Sum it up in points!

✔ Filipina, Chinese, Japanese, Latino characters (racial diversity)
✔ modern-day fantasy setting
✔ gay main character along with queer side characters (sexual diversity)
✔ fantastical creatures and warrior traditions
✔ squad comes together in this folklore-inspired retelling

Wicked As You Wish is wickedly determined to make the readers fall in love with every character on the right side with the determination, magical talents, or humour they bring to the table. A Filipina warrior family must protect the prince who has been assumed long dead by the racist authoritarian government to restore the frozen kingdom which is a source of magic-powering glyphs. From the fantastical beings like a phoenix or an ice-woman to the group of formidable teenagers who are perfectly capable of saving the day, the idea of a modern setting on magical grounds work greatly to create an urban fantasy. A racially and sexually diverse cast is commendable: the main protagonist is a half-Filipina and belong to a warrior Filipina family, the prince is a gay, the squad has a Chinese non-binary character, a Jewish girl, and all the members of this squad are destined to serve a purpose in the series, according to interesting myths-inspired prophecies. Several important themes like racist immigration policies, ill-treatment towards refugees, and the Western avarice that deteriorates a culture, are wonderfully explored. Overall, a definitive recommendation for those who wish to see more diversity on the line that connects the real world to a fantasy one.

One word : Wicked
And frogs too of course.
Couldn't put it down once I started reading it. The newly imagined world of modern magic is very refreshing. Beware of frogs!!!

I actually knew very little about this book going in. In fact, this was my first book by Rin Chupeco and I was not disappointed! Wicked AS You Wish the first book in a YA fantasy duology set in an alternate America where magic not only exists but is also weaponized.

The book gave me series Once Upon A Time vibes (think first season with its clever juxtaposition of fairytales and the real world). Tala is our magic negating protagonist who calls Invierno (one of the few magical-less regions of the US) home. Descended from an Irish father and a Flilipina mother she is surrounded by her mother’s family whose magical abilities run the spectrum.

Aside from magic, life is relatively boring, that is until Alex- the former prince of Avalon who witnessed the brutal murder of his parents when he was just five years old. Now a sarcastic teenager, Alex has come to Invieron seeking asylum and with his eighteenth birthday imminent- along with the rumored return of Avalon’s greatest weapon: the fabled firebird- Tala’s family takes Alex in.

When the fire bird does in fact return to Avalon suddenly life gets interesting and a little complicated. Tala, Alex, and cast of witty and magical characters must get Alex back to Avalon to take his rightful place on the throne before the Evil Queen gets to Alex first and finishes what she started all those years ago.

There were so many things about this book that I loved. The allusions to so many childhood fairytales and fables was so fun and clever. I was sincere in my comparison of Once Upon A Time but on a larger scale. Fairytale worlds make up different regions of the world and you elements of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White (to name a few).

On a more serious note, Chupeco dives into questions of identity not only in terms of her mixed-race heritage but also where she fits in the magical world considering her unique ability to negate magic and spelltech (basically technology infused with magic). Tala frequently struggles to feel like she belongs. She also comes to learn that her family history is a lot messier than she originally thought.

With all that said I gave this one 4.5/5 stars. It was almost perfect and I think if I had been able to dedicate more energy to longer reading sessions I would have enjoyed it more than I already did.

Overall, I would recommend this beauty to anyone who loved The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert and Spellhacker by M.K. England

Wicked As You Wish grabbed me right from the beginning with Tala’s voice. Kids have such distinct voices that getting this correct is often the key to enjoyment for middle grade kids. And they will let you know if it comes off false!

My 7th grade daughter doesn’t like reading anymore because it’s boring. There’s such a dearth of books for those that are beyond kiddie fairy/baby animal books but not wanting to read about partying and hooking up. This is perfect for 7th and 8th graders (and up of course) like my daughter and her friends, where they sing from Frozen 2 and Hamilton.

THE RUNDOWN:
» Yesssss

» Such a huge fan of Rin, had to jump on it.

» Fast paced with plenty of action

» Decent sized cast of characters that banter so no one gets forgotten and they’ve got their own mysteries to unravel

» Like this world! Universe where fairy tales are real & there’s a clear effort to include most peoples. Modern & retelling. Honestly can say nothing like it.

» Clear voice & humor.

» Good mix of seeing it coming and being surprised

» Queerrrrrrrr

» Enby Loki!

» FUCK I.C.E,

» SAVE THE KIDS

»Filipino culture & pinoy foods that will make your mouth water

» I needs the dragons to come back

» The friendships! The romance drama! The passionate fighting opposites that belong together.

» Ends with SUCH a surprise that I have to know what happens next right right right now.



five-stars

Very unique and compelling with a totally different vibe from her previous works that I appreciate and leave me awestruck. If you didn’t like Chupeco’s other books, you should give this one a shot anyways, it’s like THAT.

I couldn't get into this book. It is so confusing and lacks explanation. I try to never leave a book I start unread, but this one, I couldn't keep reading. Hopefully, revisiting it in the future will make me see and experience it differently.

Tala Warnock's world wasn't crafted from simplicity—magic is weaved into every thread of her life, except for the town she lives in, devoid of magic and everything uneventful, and Tala herself, the living, breathing oxymoron as a magic wielder—except, she wields the power to negate magic. She's anything but ordinary, even in the face of firebirds, ogres, and Baba Yaga. To tack on even more un-ordinary-ness, Tala's best friend Alex is the king of Avalon, a kingdom lost to the frost and terror of the evil Snow Queen.

Within the madness of it all, between attacks from ice wolves and even ICE agents, Tala's story shares a lot more than a magic-filled journey. Themes such as immigration, homosexuality, and genocide weave their way into her story, alongside found family and coming of age. Like most teens, Tala and her friends think they're invincible, but they learn otherwise—they learn teamwork and humility and how to lean on each other. Growth is a lesson to be learned by them, just as it is the adults. So Tala's magical world might be complicated, and perhaps confusing with its almost backwards seeming logic, but everything melds together, just as Tala melds into the readers' hearts.

I should have loved this.

A world that combines every single fairytale into one. A large cast of characters. Political intrigue. Filipino culture.

so why oh why did this disappoint?

the summary
In a world much like our own, but with a fantastical twist- the Royal States of America are joined by Wonderland, Neverland and Avalon. Their histories are intertwined with our own, creating an interesting political landscape and blend of cultures. Tala is a young girl with a curse of repelling and negating magic. Her family is charged with concealing Prince Alexei of Avalon until he can reclaim his rightful throne. When the Firebird comes to them- Tala, Alex and a host of Bandersnatches set off on a quest to fight the Snow Queen and her evil ICE Agents.

"cease the deception. People who don't look and act like you is what you hate. Every other excuse is only a pretence."

the writing
One of my favourite parts of this book, the writing was well done. I marked a few quotes that particularly resonated with me, mostly about filipino culture, political statements and morality.

"Wanna be known far and wide as a great warrior? Slay a dragon! Wanna impress the princess two kingdoms down from yours? Slay a dragon! Wanna impress the two kingdoms down from yours? Slay a dragon! Wanna show you've got better claims to the crown than the despot in power? Slay a flipping dragon! Genocide, all packaged up as feats of bravery."

Additionally, I loved the chapter headers that foreshadowed what would happen in the chapter, but in a non-sensical way that would usually only click once you got to the event. for example
Chapter One: In which a kiss does the exact opposite.


the plot
For the first few chapters, I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters, the world and just gently being eased into the story. But as soon as the plot started and our characters left for their quest I found myself loosing interest. My eyes began to glaze and skip down the page of their own accord- waiting for the end of the chapter so I could go do something else. I began to get confused about the intricacies of the world and politics (despite the numerous info dumps) By the end, I didn't know what was going on, and couldn't bring myself to care about who even one. It didn't evoke any emotion in me, which really is my best indicator about whether I am invested or not. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter.

the world building
Alternatively, I could have put this section under the header 'the info dumps' because that seemed to be all the world building was made up of. (okay, maybe that's a little harsh- but I'm bitter)
It could have been so good! I loved the little references and cameos of fairytale figures, worlds and how they interacted with one another. For example, 'The Burn' was a huge fight between Peter Pan and Hook in the twelfth century that caused a magical explosion leaving a desert that separated various parts of the kingdom, eventually leading the the destruction of Neverland.

the characters
aka the main disappointment of the book. I could have gotten past the info dumps. I could have gotten past not completely understanding. I could have gotten past the pacing.
If I liked the characters.
When the characters are developed and interesting, it is easier for me to connect with the story. Unfortunately, the majority of them fell flat and were quite one-dimensional. The diversity was amazing! There were people of different genders, sexualities, races- but that felt like their defining characteristic. I found myself getting confused between some of them, which led to me not really caring about what happened.

"If I were a monster, I would have let you drown back in the swamps"
"And that's the difference between us. You think one act of kindness, even self-serving, is enough to not make you one."

the verdict
overall, this has the potential to be someone's favourite book ever- or their least favourite. I have seen some quite polarising reviews even before this book's release, but if it interests you I would still recommend you give it a go. it is definitely one that will appeal to a specific group of people, with its quirky world and filipino elements. If you end up picking it up, I hope you love it! Unfortunately however, it wasn't quite for me.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC

Release Date: 3 March 2020

This book was so fun to read! I was a bit confused at the beginning because there was a lot to take in, but once the story got going I was able to follow along better. Honestly, that's probably the biggest reason I didn't give this book 5 stars. There were times where I was confused as to who was speaking, and who they were talking about or who they were talking to. 

I think this book also suffered a bit from trying to combining too many different fairy tales into one story - it's like a giant mixing pot of every fairy tale, myth, and legend from all different cultures thrown together with a dash of the real world thrown in. I love the concept, but I think maybe it would've made it easier if the different tales were slowly woven into the story rather than all at once.

That said, I did enjoy the combining of fairy tales with the modern world and having all these famous characters as real people. I also loved how Rin combined that with real world issues like immigration and refugee policies, which in light of today's issues was especially hard to read, but definitely something that people need to talk about. As someone who doesn't have to deal with discrimination, it was hard even for me to read without getting angry knowing that these are things that are actually happening. Rin has also pointed out in a twitter thread that these problems are not ones that affect the US only, immigration issues also affect the Philippines. (I recommend checking out thattwitter thread for more information and background to some of the characters, because it really helped me with understanding some of the characters more).

On that same note, there was a TON of representation in this book. Not only are a lot of the characters Filipino, but there is also LGBT+ rep, a japanese-british character, and a character that uses they/them pronouns, among many other things. Also, the parents in this book are actually around for their kids instead of absent like in a lot of YA novels, which was really nice to see.

I wish that the side characters were a little bit more fleshed out - I felt like Ken and West were so similar in how they were written that it was sometimes hard to keep straight who was who, and Cole I forgot about half the time because I didn't really see the point in his character and why he was with the group. I also didn't really like Alex all that much, especially as the book went on because he was acting pretty ungrateful for the help and support that he received, and it was pretty clear that he was keeping a lot of things secret from the ones who were sworn to protect him. It will be interesting to see where his character goes in the next book, because I think something big is going to go down. Oh, and that ENDING - I did not see that coming and I have no idea how it will affect the rest of the story and these characters! 

There was also a lot of humor in this book, which helped to make some of the heavier topics a little easier to swallow. (I mean, the chapter titles are amazing! One of my favorite chapter titles is for chapter 5: In which the firebird is an absolute unit.)

Overall, I found this book to be a lot of fun and it will be interesting seeing where the next book goes because I feel like the stakes are going to be a lot higher. I do recommend this book, but just be aware that you may be a bit confused at the start. Once they reached Avalon it started moving along a lot more smoothly!

Review will be posted on www.meltingpages.wordpress.com on March 3rd.

DNF @ 30%

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this through NetGalley.

I really really tried to carry on with this book but it just was not good. There is absolutely no sense of world building in this book. There is a big info-dump but it’s just like the author expects you to know everything about this world without actually telling you anything? It seems to be a normal world but there’s magic and weird creatures and firebirds and three levels of spells and a frozen world and I just couldn’t keep up?

There were also so many characters! I had absolutely no idea who was who and couldn’t keep track at all. There was no development of any character and they just seem to be very one note. I had nothing to hold onto to grip me into the story and so just had to say to myself enough was enough.

This was such an intriguing and funny fantasy novel that sets up the world incredibly well and includes a diverse cast of characters that I loved. It tells the story of Tala, a young woman living in the magic-free town of Invierno in Arizona and her best friend, Alex, the refugee prince from Avalon. When the mythical firebird comes to Alex on his 18th birthday, it is time for him to reclaim his throne...with some mishaps along the way and while trying to avoid the minions of the Snow Queen.

The Positives: The world here is so immersive and detailed. Featuring aspects from all different mythologies, legends and fairy tales, we have characters from Arthurian legend, Wonderland and Neverland, to name but a few and these are woven seamlessly into the narrative, which also includes a great big helping of Filipino lore too. I loved Tala as a protagonist. She is feisty and brave, vulnerable and unsure of herself and just feels very authentic. Alex is a more troublesome character, and there were times when his behaviour was downright annoying, but again, he is authentic and believable. I love the other characters making up our band and the banter between them was really fun. I think the plot is basic, but it works well, given that there is an awful lot of other stuff going on in the world and also given that we have to try and come to grips with all of the different magic systems on show. I loved the chapter titles and the general tongue-in-cheek vibe to the narrative. It is wry and witty throughout, which I really appreciated.

The Negatives: I felt like Rin Chupeco does throw you in with both feet into the narrative, which meant that the first 50-75 pages left me feeling a little bit lost and consequently, it took me a little bit of time to get into it.

Overall, this was a really fun and incredibly well written book that left a lot of plot threads deliciously hanging, which means I will definitely be anxiously awaiting the sequel.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a beautiful and fresh fantasy this book was! I loved the diverse cast, the interesting concept. There was a few rough edges but overall amazing.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Fantastic Flying Book Club, Netgalley, and Source for this free copy. All quotes in this review are taken from the Advanced Reader Copy and may change in final publication.

Ugh OMG RIN CHUPECO can LITERALLY WRITE ANYTHING AND I WOULD LOVE IT.

That’s it, that’s the whole review. Nothing more to say.

But no, really. Rin Chupeco is one of my all time freaking favorite authors and I’m so freaking lucky to be able to read her novels, okay? From my first introduction to her with The Bone Witch to now, I just have not found a novel from her that I didn’t absolutely love. This is no exception, because Tala and Prince Alexei and this entire freaking world was so amazing. Do you know how freaking awesome it would be to meet Tala and Alexei and Tala’s family in real freaking life? Especially since they are freaking in Arizona right now?! Like… let me just drive all the way down there and just freaking help them tear some stuff up!

Ugh wow I’m just so excited to see what else is coming out of this world, and what Tala and Alexei are going to get up to in the next novel. I still can’t believe that Chupeco somehow wrote this novel, and The Never-Tilting World almost back to back somehow? They didn’t come out that far apart and they are both part of a series. Different series! Like, she’s giving me life right now.

This book is such an interesting concept: a world just like ours, except magic is as commonplace as cellphones and laptops. This book integrated so many fairy tale settings: Avalon, Wonderland, Neverland, etc., as well as fairy tale characters, like the Snow Queen, Peter Pan, and more.
However, I regrettably did not enjoy this book very much. This author's books are always hit-or-miss with me: I love some of them, while others I haven't even been able to finish. But, I still appreciate a lot of things about Wicked As You Wish, most notably the LGBTQ+ representation. The prince of Avalon/the main character's best friend, Alex, is gay, and another important character uses they/them pronouns. I really liked how these aspects of the characters were casually integrated into the story, I think that the YA community needs more books like this.
So, while I didn't enjoy the plot very much, I really liked the diversity among the large cast of characters.

In a strange world, with a hard-to-follow mythological/political/historical/economical settings, evolved different and very enjoyable characters. I really appreciate the diversity and the personalities of the characters and it kept me from losing interest of the plot even if it was very unclear to me. I also adored the influence of the Filipino culture and the originality of the magical elements.

The writing of Rin Chupeco is really strong, fluid, and captivating. There are a lot of things going on but her words were always well-placed and relevant.

I’m having a terrible time to adapt myself in the urban-fantasy kind of books and this lost me several times. It reminded me my reading of Infinity Son by Adam Silvera where the world building was a bit chaotic and it was impossible for me to set up my mind on where and when we are. Alt universe ? Alt earth ? XXI century ? Magic VS Science ? Cellphone ? Shows and movies references ? Kingdom or democracy ? Nah it’s getting to big for me.

It’s a bit frustrating to like the characters and the writing style but being constantly lost in the way by a bad portraying of the world the book is evolving. It was not really for me I guess.

meltotheany recommend rin chupico and she did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed this book., I will read more from her in the future.

Wicked as you Wish is the story of Tala, a teenage girl of Filipino descent, who has lived in the Royal States of America for 12 years. When she was only 6 years old, she and her family had to flee the Kingdom of Avalon to come and settle here. The arrival of Alex in her family, the King of Avalon, will turn her life upside down. The young king wants to save his kingdom, frozen in the ice for twelve years and inaccessible since, and defeat the Snow Queen, the person who threw the curse on Avalon.

My summary may not be the most precise I could give you, but this book is quite complex, and I will need more than 20 lines to summarize the general context. On the other hand, I can tell you one thing, which I think will give you a general idea of ​​it: this book contains all the tales and legends that you have once read, seen or listened to, and make them the history of this world, which resembles our own, without being entirely so. If you know the Once Upon a Time series, this book uses the same principle. For example, we will mainly follow seven characters, including the grandson of the Sheriff of Nottingham, well known for being Robin Locksley's enemy, Robin Hood. The majority of the other main characters are the Bandersnatchs, sent by Cheshire (Alice in Wonderland) to protect Alex. Each character in this book has a story, each weapon is a well-known weapon, and I'm sure like me, you're going to have fun trying to guess who's who before the story tells you.

What I liked most about this story, apart from the fairy tale aspect, was the universe. I really like books that take over our world, by modifying certain elements, like here. Avalon is a country, magic is an essential component of this world, allowing a certain technology similar to ours, and wars are not the fact of religions but of power, in order to appropriate ever more glyphs, sources of magic.

I must warn you however, this reading is very dense. This is a first volume, and so if you like fantasy you know that a first volume is always very dense, in order to be able to pose the universe, the context, in addition to the characters and the story. So you really have to take your time with the first part (30%) of this book, so as not to be lost. However, once this step passed, for me it was only happiness.

I loved the little passages on the Filipino’s traditions. This is a country I loved to visit, and any mention of this country in a book always puts me in a good mood, and makes me appreciate it even more. The author being Filipino (and still living there), I plan to read her other books very, very soon. I really liked her style, and I think The Bone Witch could be a very good saga.

The only “negative” point that I could give to this novel would be the density of the first part. If you are not in a good period, if you have little time to read each time, or if you want to read a book that devours itself in a few hours, this is not for you. You should be aware that it will take you time to read it, otherwise, given the amount of information given, the urge to abandon it could be strong.

For those asking, I'm happy to tell you that in this book, in addition to the Filipino representation, some major characters are LGBT+ characters (gay MC and non-binary MC) !

A huge thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance !

In conclusion: I found this book to be a very good introduction, with very interesting writing and I must admit that I really want to read more!

I love the other works of Rin Chupeco, but this one clearly didn't make me love it like the other books. I have some issues with it in terms of how dragging the narration is to the point that it never holds my full attention and interest in reading and enjoying the story. Though I admit that I really really want to dive into the story, especially it has a lot of Filipino references in it like the cultures and traditions we have. I love reading those familiar Filipino terms like agimat, puto, bibingka, abanico fans, and many more.

When I started this novel, I'm excited because, yay, another book from Rin Chupeco. I also get amazed whenever she was able to sew some Filipino references in the story together with some magical stuff. But, I don't know what's happening in the story because everything is a mess in my head. The plot, the characters, the magic systems, and the world-building looks like entangled with one another that makes me lost in the story. Though it somehow gets better after some chapters.

Overall, I feel overwhelmed in reading this book because of too many characters and other details, even though I love how the author cast diverse characters and use different fairytales, legends, and myths in creating the story. I will still recommend this novel to everyone who likes reading young adult fantasy because you might love this despite my opinion and experience with it.

1.5 stars rounded to 2

I dnf'ed it 39% of the way.

I'm not exactly sure why as the beginning did pull me in and I liked the characters. The writing was well-done and the plot idea is super interesting. I love the diversity of the characters as well. The chapter titles were also great! I love it when books have cleverly named titles such as Rick Riordan's books which does seem to be a rarity these days. The cover is also really cool.

However, I just could not get into the book, I felt like I was forcing myself to keep reading. There was a lot of info dump such as character names when she was introducing her family which was super confusing as I couldn't keep track of who was who. Aside from characters, I just had no idea what was going on the entire time. Formatting was also weird but that's probably just because it was an e-arc. I will be trying to read it again when it comes out but as a physical copy so the formatting isn't an issue because I really love the idea.

So at the beginning of the story it gave me Carry on vibes by Rainbow Rowell. I just finished both books and i am here for more magic stories. It also gives me Reverie vibes, and I was thinking Harry Potter but not as much.

We have our two main characters, Alex and Tala are just trying to live life, go to school and not get caught. When a teacher of theirs comes out with a viral video about magic, everything becomes haywire. People are looking for Alex, Tala and her family are trying to protect him and Tala learns more about her life than she thought. Trying to juggle this, her love interest, and just life I was really intrigued on how she would pull through.

It took me a little bit to get used to some of the way the characters talk. After reading Outlander I am a little used to people talking differently, but it takes me a few chapters to really understand what they are saying. My favorite character has to be Talas father, he’s funny, and just care so much about his family. Even though Tala couldn’t see it at first she knows he is only doing what’s best for her.

Overall, this was such an amazing book and I can’t wait to recommend this to everyone.

On no, this was a DNF from me. I really wanted to like this one but I just couldn't.

Rin Chupeco takes us into the world of magic and the famous Avalon. The main character, Tala Warnock is the descendant of Maria Makiling, the legendary Filipina heroine. The Makiling family is famous for negating magic spells, meaning spells do not work on her, nor do the work if Tala does not want them to.

Unfortunately I did not finish this book. I really loved the world the author created but it was just too much. I tried to keep reading but I felt the way the world was explained was too complicated. I did love the diversity of the characters. There were different ethnicity and varying sexual preferences of the characters.