This is a very ambitious book. An ambitious book that I really wanted to love cause I love fairy tales and magic and a story are merged with our world.

But it was incredibly heavy with information, a lot of which seemed to take away from the main plot of the narrative. To the point where I put it down before finishing because I felt as though the lore of the novel became more relevant than a tangible plot.

I salute the author for attempting it, but the editing needed to be a bit more forceful and structured.

I received a copy through Net Galley for review.

3.5 stars.

So there was a lot going on in this book. It's a cool mash up of different fairytales, specifically - Alice in wonderland (which is a separate former country in this which was destroyed), King Arthur and The Snow Queen. Plus cultural Filipino references.

So mixing all that in it took me a bit to gather what exactly was going on. I feel somewhat like this book should have had a better prologue to really describe what had happened and the various players before dumping you right into something that had happened previously. The premise was big. Almost too big.

But once you get past it, the meat is there. It just took a lot of sifting though info.
Everyone is living in exile. Avalon where most characters are from is under ice. The living king is in hiding. The Snow Queen is the reason. Avalon took in refugees over the years from various wars, so it's a melting pot of different cultures.

Its a shame there wasn't a preface to this to ease you in, and dump you right in the middle of it. That's my biggest complaint. Because thus far the magic and characters were really cool and I like the mix of fairytales.

I DNF'ed Wicked as You Wish at 33%, and I tried really hard. I read the first 3 chapters, and then I got the audio book. I was so confused by the third chapter that when I got the audio book I started the book over. Having the audio book helped a little, but not enough to make me want to keep reading it. There are too many characters with too many back stories, and it was really hard to keep up. What finally made me quit was the introduction of a new character. This book feels like a collage of a bunch of fairy tales, and it was too hard to get through.

I was excited to read this book as my first NetGalley selection, and it didn’t disappoint!
The world-building is well-executed, as is the character development. The narrative pace is snappy and keeps one engaged. In fact, I found that I couldn’t put it down! The crisp dialogue between characters brings them to life off the page and had me laughing out loud at times. I enjoyed the connections Chupeco made between fairytales of different cultural traditions and the respectful inclusion of characters of different backgrounds (i.e., gender identity, sexuality, nationality, etc.). Chupeco also didn’t shy away from engaging smartly with some of today’s most pressing social issues: poverty, immigration, corporate greed, racism, etc.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to book 2 of the series.

This is a difficult one to review. On one hand I liked it. It's a fast paced teen fantasy with an (actually) tolerable romance, diverse group of characters (including a non-binary one!), and a rich world to build the story around. Yet, on the other hand, the use of existing stories, characters and worlds was really disappointing. I might read the second book in this series, maybe, if I find myself caught up in the hype or am intrigued by its blurb; but honestly I could easily see skipping over it entirely.

Use of Existing Characters and Settings
The first thing that absolutely shocked me was that this is a fantasy world that is not 100% unique. Nowhere on the blurb or in the promotions for this book do I recall ever reading that it has Camelot, Wonderland, Neverland, Russian history, mythology and so many more known worlds, stories and characters mashed together onto Earth. This really threw me off when I started reading and I cannot figure out why it wasn't marketed as what it is. I was disappointed by this realization as the one element of Rin Chupeco's The Bone Witch I really enjoyed was her unique world building. And while this world is still odd and different; it's not quite the same as starting from scratch.
For example; I immediately do not trust Loki, Cheshire Cat, and others because of how untrustworthy they are in their original stories. And I wanted to meet Rasputin sooo bad; but now suspect that the Russian history piece used isn't going to result in a bad guy like I had hoped. Additionally I am, personally, over Camelot and Arthur stories. Have been for years. I read far too many as a teen in the 1990's and they just keep multiplying. Every second teen fantasy book I pick-up seemingly has a Camelot connection. I don't care to invest anymore time in Arthur's immoral world. On the other hand I'm usually read for Alice stories and Loki is a beloved super villain (hero?) of mine. So it's really down to personal preference. Either way I think the marketing is misleading on this series and should reflect that it is not an all new fantasy world.

Too Much Prophecy
Has no one learned that too much prophecy is bad? Between LOTR, Sword of Truth, Wheel of Time, and dozens upon dozens of books published this century it should be well known that having too much prophecy is a poor narrative choice. It confuses readers, makes the story seem predestined (which of course it is but why would you want to ruin that ride for the reader), and rarely makes the author look smart by twisting the words around. We all know prophecy is never what it seems to be so don't pretend it might be. This is a used up tactic in my mind. If you are going to use prophecy then have one prophecy for the whole world or future. Definitely don't have a prophecy for each individual character in your core party. Not only can I not keep track of it all but why does every character need a prophecy or is even worthy of one?
Yes there are lots of Seers in this story world and perhaps Chupeco wants to show that she has an end in sight (a big complaint of fantasy fans, including myself, are the never-ending series) but a prophecy per character is just too much.

Overall
While it's clear that Rin Chupeco has learned a lot about writing since her Bone Witch trilogy; I do think she still has a ways to go before being able to contend with Brigid Kemmerer, Sara J. Mass, and others in this genre. In a very diluted fantasy teen genre it's important to stand-out. Unfortunately re-tellings are so over done now and Chupeco would be much better served to start a new series that is wholly unique.
Irregardless of my personal thoughts, I think this is a decent enough start to a series that if you are intrigued at all then pick it up. A good library choice so you can see if you like it enough to really purchase it. I'm sure there will be people that will adore this take on melding fantasy worlds together into our own. The politics, characters, setting, narrative, story, etc. are all good enough that I wouldn't judge anyone for loving this. For me it was just alright; a 3.5 star read that I rounded up to 4 as I did enjoy reading almost every time I picked the book up.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

Thank you Netgalley and SourceBooks for allowing me to read this book and in exchange for a honest review!

WICKED AS YOU WISH first came out, a a year or two ago, in hardback but this is for the release of the paperback in October of 2021.

The premise and summary of the book sounded so cool and such fun and gave me Lunar Chronicles mixed with Cursebreakers series and Once Upon a Time (TV show) vibes. I was super excited to read this book but my high expectations may have been too high...

I have tried out Rin's other trilogy THE BONE WITCH and didn't like the writing style and felt underwhelmed and decided to DNF that first book. Sadly it's the same case with WICKED AS YOU WISH.

I had to DNF this book after a couple of chapters. I seriously gave it a shot but like with her other trilogy, I had to just stop.

1 star.

Disclaimer: Although I received this book in exchange for my honest review…all the thoughts and feelings are my own!!!!!

This was so bad I had to make myself continue reading it, although everything in me was screaming to put it down and DNF the damn thing.

The worldbuilding was overwhelming…it was so hard to get into it and I couldn’t care less for the characters because, I just couldn’t connect with them..:(

I can’t recommend this book to anyone, because it’s almost put me into a reading slump…

Thank you so much NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review!

A combination of all the fairytales into one, add in political intrigue, and a large cast of characters?? AMAZING. An interesting twist on fairytales, set in a world in which all our favorite fairytale lands are combined into one and the histories of them are all mashed up. Filled to the brim with so much interesting fairytale politics as well as blends of cultures. The story focuses on Tala, a girl with a curse of repelling and voiding magic. Her family is given the duty of concealing Prince Alexei of Avalon (that’s right in this world The Royal States of America are joined by Wonderland, Neverland AND Avalon!!) until he is ready to reclaim the throne. Tala is joined by a group of new friends to fight the Snow Queen herself! This is the first book in a series and I can’t wait to see where the story goes in the next book. I enjoyed getting to read about Filipino culture and how the chapter headers foreshadows what happens in each chapter.


*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was such an interesting spin on the trope of fairy tales, happy ever after, and what comes next. Chupeco has created such interesting and diverse dialogue on lore, mythology, and the tales we tell one another. What happens when the story is over? What happens when the hero saves the day? And who is there in the fallout?

Read and find out.