I am sorry for the inconvenience but I don’t have the time to read this anymore and have lost interest in the concept. I believe that it would benefit your book more if I did not skim your book and write a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience.

The anticipation was palpable as I turned the first page of Wicked As You Wish. After all, who could resist the allure of Peter Pan's Neverland or Alice's Wonderland springing to life off the pages?

Yet, as I delved deeper into the narrative, the promise of enchantment gradually waned. The concept of fictional universes commingling with reality had initially sparked a sense of exhilaration in me. With each page, however, the tale took a downward turn, transitioning from a promising adventure to a tiresome endeavour.

It's not that the writing lacked flair; on the contrary, it was often beautifully crafted. However, the plot felt convoluted and overwhelmed with details, making it challenging to follow. As a fervent fan of complex narratives and political nuances, I found it disheartening when these elements became too compressed and chaotic.

My initial enjoyment and curiosity were slowly replaced with a sense of bewilderment and frustration. I was hopeful that these were mere bumps in the road, but alas, my optimism was misplaced.

The world-building, a critical element in any fantasy narrative, fell short of my expectations. I longed for the whimsy of Wonderland and the thrilling danger of Neverland, as vividly portrayed in their original stories. Every glimpse into these familiar worlds reignited a spark of excitement in me. But, unfortunately, these moments were fleeting, leaving me yearning for more.

The characters, too, lacked depth, missing that spark that makes readers root for them. The originality that shone through at times was overshadowed by their one-dimensional portrayal.

In the end, Wicked As You Wish held the potential to be extraordinary, but it did not quite hit the mark. I was left with a sense of disappointment and frustration, a feeling of what could have been, had the narrative not lost its way..

The first half of this book interested me. I was intrigued to learn about the world and characters. The magic system etc.
But by the halfway mark I started to become bored.
The characters didn't have enough layers or build. Their interactions felt forced at times.
While this book does touch on some important topics it was still missing that something to keep me invested.

I really enjoyed this one! Everything from the characters, the plot and the writing style itself was great.

3.5 stars, really, because I had a lot of fun reading this one! Chupeco has thrown together a hodge podge of mythology and fairy tales and the modern day into one fun tale that reads sort of like Percy Jackson, the TV show Once Upon a Time with a dash of Filipino culture too.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

It is a retelling of fairy tales and that too all of them combined and so many characters. However that in a sense made it not work for me.

An interesting premise with a ragtag gang of characters in world I can’t wait to explore further.

12 years ago, the Kingdom of Avalon was cursed to be overtaken by ice and cut off from the rest of the world. Anyone who escaped is a refugee stuck in a world with little magic, which is how the crown Prince and most of his family’s elite guards wound up in Arizona, in the royal states of America. When Alexei’s birthday comes and the firebird they haven’t seen for generations appears, he and his unusual group of friends and acquaintances found themselves thrown into an adventure they could never have dreamed of.

I adored our main character, Tala, and her magic nullifying gift, especially the fact that she was able to train and control it rather than it being a passive force field. In fact, I loved all of the magic of this world as it was revealed to us - there were so many varieties that I can’t wait to learn more about as the series continues - glyphs, curses, dooms, talents. So much to unpack!

The group of guards and allies Tala and Alexei wind up with were fun and distinctive, each had their own skills, talents, and feel, which I appreciate. The characterisation of Reiley was also interesting and I want to see where it leads! His backstory was heartbreaking, and presented an empathetic reason why he has wound up where he is.

The plot was well paced and interesting, taking us through a world much like ours and then into a more traditional fantasy world, and the ending left me intrigued to find out what will happen next!

Overall, I very much enjoyed Wicked As You Wish and will definitely continue with the series in the future.

How did I miss leaving a review on this book HERE? I absolutely loved it.

Chupeco has woven in a lot of modern-day issues – ICE and borders, prejudice against minorities and LGBTQ, the fight for technology and resources in order to maintain power. She also has a diverse cast of characters that are well developed and interesting. They are fierce, quirky, and strong-willed, and the diversity includes race, sexual orientation,and gender identification.

There are still a few elements in play that I’m confused about at the end – this was a tale with a LOT going on. There is also a lot of magical terms to keep straight (as the book says – there are as many words in Tagalog for “magic” as the Inuit have for “snow”) as there are locations of these nether lands and a lot of side characters.

I think this is a book that you will either love…or not finish, because of the world-building/information dump. (But please don’t let that dissuede you because it is SO clever and creative and just damn good.) Also, it’s a book that you probably shouldn’t read in a day because it’s a lot to process. (ADHD is one of my superpowers, and with it comes hyperfocus, so I tend to tune out everything else when I read.)

WICKED AS YOU WISH was a magical mix of fantasy, fairy tales, magic, and adventure that I simply couldn’t put it down

Rin Chupeco's books have become automatic must-reads for me.

Well I loved that everything we hear of when children is real here. A powerful female lead and gorgeous descriptions. I love the quest to reignite the homeland.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for sending me a copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

First of all, I loved how much representation is in this book and the way that it is done! It simply exists, and the characters are all celebrated for everything that makes them different, even despite the world around them feeling differently about it. I loved that they want to create a better world and still fought for that even when fighting the magical villains.

My biggest issue with the book was the worldbuilding. It felt like there was just too much going on. It made for a very confusing book and made it hard to understand the world. It seems like every fairytale is real in this world, which is a lot to try to actually build a world from, but then it's half our own world, half made up as well. Even when I finished the book, I still felt like I didn't have a great grasp on the worldbuilding.

I did love the characters, but there were so many of them that at times it was hard to keep them straight. But I loved how funny they all are together and how they become one awesome family. Tala is a really relatable main character, and I loved watching her grow and be faced with some pretty great plot twists. I can't wait to see where her story takes her!

I just realized I forgot to leave a review for this book! As some others have said, I did take a while to get into this one but that's more a reflection on me than on the book, and I ended up really loving it.

Just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t connect with the characters or the storyline. I found it too boring and it was somewhat of a drag to read. I can see how it might appeal to others though.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

I loved The Bone Witch trilogy by Rin so I was very excited to get my hands on this story that is the first book in a new fantasy trilogy. I was thrilled that it was a fantasy with fairytales woven in and I think that part was really cool and I did enjoy how those were taken and put into this world. The overall story reminded me a bit of the storytelling of Percy Jackson in a way. However, it was really difficult for me to keep the characters straight and I felt like that made me lose the plot along the way. So I don't feel like I grasped the plot or the characters and I wish I did. I wanted to love this whole new world and characters much like I did the Bone Witch trilogy, but sadly, this one isn't for me.

I really enjoyed this and am really looking forward to the sequel. I liked all the characters and seeing their interaction was really fun. Love West, he's great. The Prince was the hardest to love but its also understandable why he was acting that way. I love how diverse the cast of character are.
I think it took a minute to get used to the world and to get into the story but once the main cast was together I was very into it. I am really interested in the world and how it works. I would have loved a map to understand where Avalon and Wonderland are. The mix of magic and modern technology was done really well and was interesting.

I was disappointed with this book. I really thought that I was going to enjoy a new YA fantasy book. But it was too boring for me. I had to keep pausing on and returning back because I found myself bored with it. It's not bad; it's just too much information to read through. I need more action than world-building.

This book was a nice surprise! I loved the mythology and fairytale aspect of the book, the way they were twisted to fit the author´s vision was truly fascinating. The Filipino rep was also something that I enjoyed a lot as i´m not familiarized with it. The world-building is good, the plot is fun, stressful and everything in between and it ends with a bang. Truly recommend this book to everyone. I thank the Author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Tala Warnock is eager to leave her small town in Arizona, and use her ability to negate magic on more than her father's training exercises. She didn't expect the wider world and powerful magic to show up on her doorstep when Alex, a prince in hiding, moves in down the street. No one is supposed to know who he is, but the appearance of the legendary Firebird tells everyone just where they can find the heir to the throne of Avalon. Tala and Alex must team up a group of talented magic-users known as the Order of the Bandersnatch to claim his throne and restore magic to the world.

Books are often about family dynamics or about a hero or heroine assembling a group of friends to fight alongside. Wicked As You Wish does both, with teens who can transform into animals or wield a magic whip and a family of magic-wielding martial artists. And that's not the only balance Chupeco strikes--she writes about experiences with immigration and genocide while naming her chapters things like In Which Carly Rae Jepsen Songs Make Excellent Training Tools and In Which Someone Gets Slapped Because of Dante's Divine Comedy.

Rin Chupeco might be one of the most audacious fantasy writers working today. If you have a favorite fairy tale or myth, it probably appears between the covers of this book. There are aspects of Alice in Wonderland, King Arthur, Russian folklore, and Filipino mythology, to name just a few. There is a lot going on here, and readers may just have to hold on and enjoy the ride. It's a lot of fun (and a lot to keep track of), but I hope later books will develop some of the characters further and give us some more insight into the different kinds of magic.


Wicked As You Wish
(A Hundred Names for Magic #1)
By Rin Chupeco
Sourcebooks October 2021
432 pages
Read via Netgalley

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. There’s so much happening that you really need to just read it.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the eGalley. All opinions are my own.