This was a good magical read, I really enjoyed the characters and the hints to many fairytales throughout. I definitely found the second 50% of the book flowed much better once all the other world building had been completed. All in all a good read

A dnf for me. I'm very particular when it comes to fantasy based books and there are plenty that I have been able to finish even if I didn't find it completely compelling. However, this book quickly became boring and I felt disconnected from the characters and plot.

"No," the old woman said, "cease the deception. People who don't look and act like you is what you hate. Every other excuse is only a pretense."


Wicked As You Wish was a delightful book showcasing the necessity of perseverance and overcoming obstacles, in order to try and shape the world for the better (well, depending on who you ask). Rin Chupeco had my love from the first page of The Bone Witch and she has successfully kept it throughout each and every book of hers that I have read, WAYW is no different.

Urban fantasy is something that I typically struggle to connect with, current day technology mixed in with fantastical elements tends to take me away from the escapism elements that I love from fantasy. Luckily in this book, the addition of fairytale references and folklore interspersed within the story keeps my escapism intact and I can generally overlook real-life elements.

Diversity has always been one of Rin's greatest strengths and this is continued with WAYW, there is an enby character who is correctly referenced throughout the entire book which is beautiful, there is a lead gay character with relevant concerns and worries that is handled well, there is so much beautiful filipino representation that even though I wasn't able to fully understand everything, I felt the authenticity and the ease of which it was written.

The current day issues (ICE, detention, asylum, racism, etc) that are written about in this book added an extra level of impact and emotion that I wasn't expecting. Ryker's "in this essay, i will ..." speech was so incredibly powerful and probably one of my favourite parts of the whole book. I had a suspicion about a certain character, of which I am really looking forward to seeing how this is going to turn out and how some characters are going to work through something, or if they are going to work through it at all (sidenote: I hope they will).

The epilogue left me incredibly intrigued and I am really looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire, NetGalley and Rin Chupeco for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's my second book by Rin Chupeco, and the more I read from her, the more I'm impressed. This book was pure magic. Although it takes a few chapters to grasp the world (think Once Upon A Time x 10000), but once I did, there was no going back. It was absolutely fascinating. I loved Tala as a main character, I adored her family, they're so weird and lovely! But I also loved how this book is a love letter to Filipino culture at times. It's simply beautiful and I cannot recommend it enough!

Wicked As You Wish was one of my most anticipated reads of this year and I am so glad that it lived up to every one of my expectation. Wicked as you wish is a stunning, fun and adventurous contemporary fantasy which has an interesting magic system and a sassy and fun found family.

An Intricate World Building inspired by Fairy tales and Modern World
The favourite part of the book, for me, was its beautiful world building. It was vast and intricate and really intriguing. This is a fantasy which is set in the modern world but with changed names of some places like USA is Royal States of America with other countries such as Beira, Avalon and Wonderland while some names stay the name. There is also a lot of inspiration from fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty and the “Ella of the Cinders” and this was all done so well and it was truly magical.

There is also a lot of themes around the immigrant crisis and the horrors of the ICE and all the socio-economic, cultural and political talks are also very well-written. There is a lot of info-dumping in the start of the book but it explains the whole world and the magic system and the ongoing circumstances really well and it is definitely worth pushing through that.

Different and Diverse Characters
There are a lot of characters in this book but you will never get confused with them because they’re all so different and varied. It’s like seeing a movie with a big cast and it is absolutely endearing to read about them.

The two main characters are Tala and Alex and they’re so different from each other but also their friendship was the best thing to read about. Tala is a Maikling and Alex is the Prince of Avalon and their journey is entwined and the story follows that. There is also a big emphasis on family with Tala’s large family with her mom and Irish dad and the Katipuneros, who are Alex’s protectors and the Bandersnatchers, a team of specialised warriors. Rin talks about the importance of the biological family as well as the found family which consisted of Zoe, Cole, Ken, Loki and West.

The five of them were also super fun and their camaraderie and sassy banter was refreshing and genuinely made the scenes funnier. Their magic and power was interesting to read about and their importance to the plot was also well written.

The antagonist was the Snow Queen and although this book does not explore her in a lot of detail, I am so excited to find out more about her backstory. Whatever small part she played in this book was full of intrigue, deceit and betrayal and surprise. Her magic was powerful and unique and this book shows a glimpse into that.

Solid Plot which gets interesting by the chapter
The plot follows Alex who is the prince of Avalon and is living in hiding because Avalon was frozen over by the Snow Queen 12 years back and he is trying to find a way to get back to his country which has become inaccessible after that incident. Tala’s mother is a Makiling and their lineage is cursed with agimat which means she negates spells and cannot wield it like others. Her family is tasked with protecting Alex and on his eighteenth birthday events happen which leads the plot further.

As I mentioned, the plot thickens as the story moves forward and so does the suspense and intrigue surrounding it. The story blends the characters and their journeys mixed with the storylines of ICE and magic and this all turns out be on hell of an adventure.

Intriguing Magic System
The magic system is inspired from the Full Alchemist as mentioned by Rin. This system works in the way that every person has their own magic power and to get that power they have to sacrifice something in return. This means that every person in this world who has magic has to give up something in return. I found this really intriguing and it always kept you wondering about the story.

The plot also depended on prophecies a lot. A lot of the actions were based on prophecies and there were seers too. The prophecies were very weirdly worded when you first read them but then they start making sense as the story progresses and it totally blows your minds. It makes me smile just thinking about how well prophecies were handled.

Well-written Dialogues, Chapter Titles and Prophecies
This whole book is filled with sassy dialogues with lots of funny instances. The one really unique and creative part of the book is its Chapter Titles. One of my favourites being: In Which Government Agents are Assholes, but What Else Is New. All the chapter titles are this fun and honestly it was fun to read the title and then read about how the chapter captures this title.

The prophecies as I said are also so well-written and I was completely in love with the whole concept of the fairy tales and prophecy tropes used in this book.

A Sassy Bird- The Firebird
There’s a firebird which is an important part of the Avalon history and plays a crucial role in the story and the plot. The scenes with Firebird are fun and the firebird itself is a very unique and fun part of the story. This is a special mention because I loved the way the firebird’s story was depicted and I am so excited to read more about it.

Diverse and Adventurous
The story is very heavily inspired by Filipino culture. There are a diverse characters and a strong storyline about the immigrants and ICE. Alex is gay and one of the characters is also non-binary with the pronouns they/them. The story is adventurous and will definitely give you the movie feel to it.

Overall, Wicked As You Wish is a super fun, adventurous, diverse and intriguing book with a solid plot and stunning world building. I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend it to all. Rin Chupeco is one of my favourite authors and their The Bone Witch trilogy and The Never Tilting World are awesome books. I can never recommend these books enough.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, (first of all: THANK YOU! I appreciate you!) you know that I’ve met Rin Chupeco during her book signing event in Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street late last year. And it was in this moment that the author talked about her upcoming books, which included Wicked As You Wish. When she talked about how this was soaking in Philippine culture and mythology, it was automatically added to my TBR in my head. So, it is my absolutely pleasure, and many many thanks to Sourcebooks Fire & Rin Chupeco, that I was given an advance copy of this book because DIYOS KO, I was dying to get my hands on it!

We meet Tala Warnock, a not so ordinary girl, in the small town of Invierno, Arizona. Tala is a Makiling, one of the infamous Filipino bloodlines also known as Spellbreakers. Magic doesn’t work on the Makilings for a sacrifice that their ancestor, Maria Makiling, did to give them their agimat, a charm that negates magic around them. She is keeping the company of Alexei Tsarevich, the last remaining prince of Avalon, whose life is in danger and is in hiding. Alex is the last royal in the line of rulers of Avalon. Forced to retreat and hide due to the Ice Queen’s agenda, Alex is living a “normal” life, living with the Makilings as his protection.

In this urban fantasy, we are in an alternate universe wherein fairytale lands are real, Wonderland, Neverland, and even Avalon, along with the territories that we know. The US is known as the Royal States of America, the Philippines is also very prominent, and so on. In this alternate reality, the fairytales that we grew up with are very real, complete with their history, notably Alice in Wonderland, Red Riding Hood, Snow White, Peter Pan, and more. Magic is real and lives through technology with controlled rules and regulations in this world.

Alex is waiting for the firebird to manifest on his 18th birthday, giving him the birthright and signal to rule Avalon, and save it from imminent doom brought by the Ice Queen that froze the kingdom. On the other hand, Tala is honing her skill of deflecting magic, with the help of her family who were once warriors of Avalon. One thing led to another, and Alex and Tala find themselves in the company of the Bandersnatch, a group of teenagers that were selected by the Cheshire, to help Alex win back his kingdom.

One thing I enjoy is great world building, and once again Rin Chupeco did not skimp out. If you’re a reader who finds world building tedious, then you might have a trying time, but I must ask you to read Wicked As You Wish on your own leisure, because the world building is such a good base for how you will depict this world. Second, throw away every logic and fact you know, this might sound as an urban fantasy because it is set in the modern time, but it weaves so much of alternate fairytale endings that if you force your beliefs, it will confuse you. Piece together the world building as you might do in a purely fantasy novel. Rin Chupeco ties in the fairytale worlds in the real world that sometimes, it feels believable. Who know, Avalon, Neverland, or Wonderland is in an island somewhere, right?

Aside from that, the cultures, mythology, and history is complete and well thought out. Chupeco gives you a clear picture of what happened, and how we got to where we are now which leads the reader to less confusion as the story progresses. The magic system is well structured and is explained throughout the plot. And as fairytales have been woven into the modern day, the same is done to magic. There are levels to the system and how they can be used, harmful, or denied.

Wicked As You Wish also tackles politics, privilege, racism that people of color face daily, and consequences of our action. But Chupeco doesn’t make these topics too heavy with her whimsical and humorous writing. She often describes these offhandedly, talking about new laws that will take advantage of Avalonian magic while their kingdom was frozen, laws that will allow corporations to use magic without any real damage to their companies, how Asians are still being dubbed as mail-order brides, racism remarks because of our skin colors, and so on. These things are still happening real life and Chupeco gives such a good spotlight on these issues that we are facing.

The characters were also fabulous and had layers to them. Tala is a teenager who wants to live a normal life, but also wants to hone her powers and learn from her parents. She stepped up whenever she needed to, despite the fear and uncertainty of her situation. Alex is headstrong, he doesn’t hesitate to make tough choices, he is temperamental, but also understanding and caring. We also see representation across genders with Alex and the bandersnatch. The biggest theme to these characters is how they fit so well with each other, and the found family they have become with their journey.

Wicked As You Wish is filling in big shoes as a first novel to a series. It is magical, witty, thrilling, and adventurous. It gives awareness to hard topics in a more approachable manner, asks questions of power, and authority, found families and belonging. It is a roller coaster ride of an adventure that you will find yourself down that rabbit hole, never wanting to go home.

DNF @ 15%

Rin Chupeco came so highly recommended that I couldn't wait to pick this up. This book sounded so perfect on paper. It checked all the boxes, right down to a firebird. I'm so disappointed to say that this book just wasn't for me.

I loved that the heroine is Filipina. The author does such a beautiful job bringing the culture to life. I don't know much about the culture, but it was nice seeing the few things I do recognize, and it was great to learn about new things. I always love seeing new voices and perspectives, especially in young adult, and I thought this was great.

There were some really important themes in here, like racism and xenophobia and classism. It's obvious that the author is trying to do some big things with this narrative, and I didn't get far enough to see how this plays out, unfortunately. The part I read, it seemed like they were handled well, and these are important topics to tackle.

Ultimately, where I really struggled with this book was the world-building. It was just all over the place, and I was so confused and couldn't get into it. The story is set in an alternate contemporary real world, where magic exists and spelltech, but also YouTube and modern inventions such as that. There's the countries we already know, like the Philippines and America, but also Neverland, Wonderland, and Beira. The idea is unique and interesting, but it didn't quite mesh in my mind, and I couldn't piece together this world. To add to that, the beginning was mostly exposition. It didn't try to show us this world, but tell us about it. Including several pages of Wikipedia articles of exposition and some podcast transcriptions. It's just not an effective way for me to learn about a world. It bored me to death.

Wishing for a well told YA fantasy book? Pick this up and prepare to be dazzled. It's so vivid you will think you're part of the group. Don't pass up this gem of a book. Not to be missed. Happy reading!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This did not affect my rating.

*2/5*

Man oh man oh man. This book’s synopsis was so intriguing that I jumped at the change to get the arc. An evil Snow Queen, a magic-less Arizona, spell-breakers, a firebird?!?How does this not sound epic and amazing?

The plot was convoluted and messy. And for a book that had such a cool plot, it was just confusing. The characters were one dimensional, and world-building was confusing. I was hoping that the more I read, the more I would understand but it never happened.

Wicked As You Wish is urban fantasy, fabulism, fables, and fairy-tales all mixed together. Will it work for some people? You bet! And I hope this book finds those readers because it had such potential for me.

I really, really wanted to read this one, and love it and give all the good thoughts. But I couldn't get past the first 50 pages. The story didn't grab me and I never felt any connection to the characters. I'm giving this one 2 stars, only because to give it 1 means it utterly offended me. Which it did not; it just isn't the book for me.


2/5 Stars

Having previously read Rin Chupeco’s The Bone Witch - a book whose story grabbed me by the throat and held me captive, whose magic was new, engaging and rich with nuance and clever ideas - I expected to love Wicked As You Wish.

The book offers a vibrant combination of ideas that in principle excite me and make me keen to delve into the world and the story. Our main character is of Filipino and Scottish descent and the former is a culture she is surrounded by with family and friends. The world is urban fantasy with an enthusiastic layer of fairytale and myth, familiar places with an accepted and cemented magical spin.

I started to read, and the more I did, the more my heart sank. I found the world building was confusing and the politics and history presented unclearly. The main character, Tala, felt flat and uninteresting. I persisted. Surely this was going to get better? Going to grab me if I gave it half a chance?

I gave it half a chance, more than once, and I am so disappointed that it did not work out for me. I kept trying and I kept finding my attention lost, my brow furrowed in confusion, my interest in flipping to the next page dwindling.

I want to love this book, but I’m not sure I even like it. I’ve seen responses vastly vary in review and I feel perhaps this title is a little marmite, love it or hate it, your opinion is likely to be a strong one. Sadly I lean towards the latter and I therefore Did Not Finish. Despite this, I look forward to reading other titles of Chupeco’s and I urge you to form your own opinions on this title!

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

I don't know if it's just me, but for some reason, I just don't connect with Rin Chupeco's writing. I tried with Never Tilted World, but I found myself more confused than not. I couldn't even get through the entirety of this one. This was a DNF after 20%.

#1 Heavy influenced by fairytale and folklore
Sets in alternate universe where magic exists (and weaponized), Wicked as You Wish is deeply influenced by various fairytales, especially Filipino folklores. Our main character, Tala, is a descendant of infamous Maria Makiling, a protector of Mount Makiling in Filipino folklore. Not only that, other fairytales character like Rapunzel and Robin Hood—to name a few—are mentioned as historical figure rather than characters from a fairytale. Rin Chupeco also adapted the world where these fairytale characters live and made it as new countries, which I think it’s very brilliant!
If you love fairytale inspired book, read Wicked as You Wish!

#2 Urban fantasy that is mixed with social issue
I think it’s important for authors to bring up social issues in their books, so I’m just glad that Rin Chupeco included issues like refugee, family separation and child abuse. Although, I wish Rin Chupeco would focus on these issues more, but I can say that her execution with these issue is good.
If you’re looking for a YA book that tackled those issues, this book is for you!

#3 Rich in Filipino culture
It’s always fun to read other people’s culture, especially culture from other South-east Asian culture. It feels like meeting your cousin and realizing that you two share a lot of similarities other than having the same grandparents. Reading about Filipino culture in Wicked as You Wish warms my heart a lot, and honestly, I feel so giddy reading few Filipino terms in this book.

Read Wicked as You Wish if you’re looking for #ownvoices book written by Chinese-Filipino author!

#4 Detailed world building
It’s not easy to make an alternate universe where the world we live in has magic while adding some details to world’s history without twisting it. I think Rin Chupeco makes a great job with this one. The magic system is so detailed and we were provided with little background story on what happened in between three fairytale-ish countries—and how they impacted to other countries.
Like I mentioned earlier, these fairytale countries are literally fairytale countries where many characters from our childhood live.
I can say that her magic system is different from others in a good way. Often, we get to see blood sacrifice if we want to perform magic, but not in Rin Chupeco’s world. Other originality I found is how Rin Chupeco mix technology and magic together, creating a new magic system called spelltech.
Although, I have to warn you that, the world building and magic system kinda overwhelm me because they entangled with one another and if you don’t read it carefully, it’ll confuse you.

Looking for a detailed world building book? Try Wicked as You Wish!

#5 Perfect for Once Upon a Time fans
Throughout the book, I see a lot of resemble between Once Upon a Time and Wicked as You Wish. There are many similarities between the two, but they’re also different on their own way. Fairytales inspired city/country, fairytales characters come to live, Evil Queen, magicla people—yup, Once Upon a Time fans, I think you’d like this!

Fairytales characters come to live in Wicked as You Wish, find out more about it by reading the book!

I thought Wicked As  You Wish, was unique and imaginative! I loved the world-building! The characters are well written and interesting. I thought the magic of this world was unique and interesting. I loved all the references to fairy tales! I really enjoyed this fantasy and I can't wait to read more!

Wicked As You Wish is the second book I read from Rin Chupeco. I absolutely adored The Never Tilting World so I was thrilled to read this modern fairy tale when offered the opportunity.

This book is no doubt very unique as this blends fantasy and contemporary. There is a lot to take in at first, and while I believe this is a fantastic twist to the genre, I do have mixed feelings about it.

Let me explain: I very much enjoyed the story itself, but I struggled a little bit with how the fantasy world was mixed with the modern world. Frankly, that might be what threw me off a bit because it does get confusing. I definitely needed to push through at first to get into the story. There is a lot of information to take in in the first pages, which also forced me to slow down so that you could truly embrace the journey.

Do I regret doing so? Not at all. As I said, this is a great story. Tala is a fantastic character and there is a lot going on in this book that will keep you on your toes. I’ll say that some characters I enjoyed reading more than others, but overall the characters and plot worked well for me. The magical system was interesting and the book does touch on important topics such as politics, immigration, and abuse. I appreciate what the author tries to convey.

Rin Chupeco has a writing style that I thoroughly enjoyed and I will certainly read book 2. Overall, this is a great story worth reading, but I would advise taking your time if you want to truly enjoy this book.

My initial thoughts when starting the book were that I came into the middle of an existing story line. It was like Alice in Wonderland and other tales crashed into the world as we know it. We are in the modern era but with a twist on the countries and of course the presence of magic.

I did feel the author had some pretty strong political views that were pushed in the story and it was a bit off putting for me. They also tried to include diversity in the book to the point that there were so many characters you had little information about other than what made them "different" and I felt it was counterproductive. I am all for diversity in a story, but actually make a character not just check a box. 

While I was not a fan off all the missing information it did make the story fly right along in the beginning. As the book progressed I found it harder to stay interested and would set the book down for days at a time.
The story started off seemingly normal and then dove into a mish mash of action scenes and new characters and events that were not ever clearly explained. I felt like I was reading through someone’s dream where the landscape and characters were shifting without any defining laws.

While the story did end in a cliffhanger I am not in any hurry to find out what happens next and most likely will not pick up the next book. The author has an incredibly interesting world going. I think if the focus were narrowed to the key characters and storylines in future books it could be a good series. 

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Fire for the opportunity to read Wicked As You Wish in exchange for my honest opinion.

While browsing for a novel to suit the SwordsNStars challenge, the publicity tagline for Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco caught my attention.

“An unforgettable alternate history fairy-tale series about found family, modern-day magic, and finding the place you belong.”

The story begins in The Royal States of America, where Prince Alexei of Avalon is in hiding from The Snow Queen, waiting until he is found by the Firebird, so that he at last will have the power to renter his lands and claim his throne. When the Firebird finally appears, Alex, along with his best friend Tala - who has a rare ability to repel and negate magic - and a group of other young magic wielders, set out on a dangerous journey to Avalon to reclaim it from the Snow Queen’s deadly magic.

There’s a lot to like in Wicked As You Wish. It offers plenty of fast paced action, a diverse cast of characters, humour, intrigue, and a unique mix of political and cultural elements taken from both the modern world and the world of fairytales and legends.

But the world Chupeco has created is very ambitious and to be honest I struggled to make complete sense of it. Eventually I just had to sort of overlook the finer details and simply go along for the ride.

If you are willing to do the same, I expect you’ll enjoy Wicked As You Wish, as I did, but I think it’s fair to say it won’t be for everyone.

Less is more.

I loved, loved, loved this author's The Bone Witch trilogy, so I was really happy and grateful to receive an ARC of this book.

It took me a while to finish it because it was too much. The author put a lot of things into this book; all kinds of fairy tales and folklore and traditions, from all over. It was confusing, but rather than reread the parts explaining the entire magic system - which sounded a bit sci-fi to me, because magic and technology is actually one (if I understood it correctly, please don't quote me on it) - more than twice, I just decided to power through. I guess the main character, Tala is okay, but I found I liked the others more. Except His Highness, Alex, who seriously needed an a$$-kicking for about 95% of this book, coming off as a whiny, spoiled brat.

Anywho, the epilogue was good and I'm thinking of reading book two, to see how things went.

As I said, I volunteered to read an ARC, my rating is 3 stars.

A tale about magic, Avalon and the Snow Queen? Sign me up! This was such a promising book with an intriguing plot-line and I liked the first few chapters a lot.

This story was filled with colorful characters who cracked me up. The thing is, I loved the side-characters but didn't like the main character much. The side-characters had so many facets to them whereas the main characters, say Tala and Alex, just felt flat to me. Alex did not impress me with his jerk routine. It just made me dislike him.

I loved the Lola and Titos and Tala's parents. And you couldn't help but love Loki, Ken, Zoe and West. I had a soft spot for Cole and I wanted to know more about him. The prophecies were kind of annoying but the plot twists were really good and I enjoyed all the fairy tale references.

➝ 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.