Compared to the first book, which I simply adored, this one felt slightly anticlimactic. I loved that it focused on different characters that we met in the first book, and it got me excited for the upcoming POVs we will be focusing on in the third book. The plot of the book simply felt a bit slow, a bit of a bridge between book 1 and 3.

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.

Amazing. The story is next level . I greatly enjoyed it . The author definitely did a great book . I loved the book . It was unpredictable.
Recommended to everyone

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced copy of this book to read.

I was not aware that this was the second book in a series. I struggled understanding events that must have occurred in book 1, and did not finish. What I did read, however, was very engaging and entertained by. I need to read the first book so I can come back to this one!

An Unreliable Magic, Book 2 in the A Hundred Names for Magic series, is a thrilling and immersive fantasy novel that will leave you wanting more. Rin Chupeco's masterful writing creates a world full of wonder, magic, and intrigue that will keep you guessing until the very end. The complex characters, intricate plot, and beautiful prose make this book an absolute joy to read. Whether you're a fan of fantasy or not, An Unreliable Magic is a must-read for anyone who loves a good story. Highly recommended!

First I absolutely adore this cover! It's amazing and powerful!
The story within the pages was also very capturing!

An alternate world where fairytales and stories are real; a diverse cast with multiple perspectives; a cohesive plot of interconnected schemes; a sequel that stands tall next to the first book.

Do not get me wrong I thought this was good, but I definitely preferred the first. I think that this book was filled with important themes and action so for that reason it was a plus, but I also do think that this book could have trimmed down a little and it would not have affected the story. Overall I though this was middle of the road, but I am hoping the third picks it back up again.

So I requested this book because I somewhat enjoyed the first book. However it's been years since I read it and couldn't tell you anything that happened in it.

I don't really have the time to re-read the first one so have decided to shelve this one. It may be a series I try again in the future.

So sorry!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a pretty fun read for the most part. The start of this book felt a bit weak or directionless and only settled into a firmer plot further in, but once it got there it was good.

My main issue with this book was the portrayal of Ken and Nya's relationship. Ken comes across as very condescending towards Nya a lot of the time. Yes, he does punch someone in the face for making remarks about her being "from the plantations", but then promptly goes back to invalidating her experience, knowledge, and skills. All of this really made it feel like Nya is just settling for Ken which is pretty disappointing to see in a book published in 2022. I didn't see any evidence for why Nya would like Ken at all, he's so rude to her a lot of the time. This also meant that when the mermaid stuff comes out, it didn't feel like Ken had any standing or reason at all to feel upset with Nya for not telling him.

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

Once again, I'm not really sure how to feel about this series. It felt like things were just happening to the characters over and over and there was no overarching plot. It was hard for me to figure out what was happening, why things were happening, and what the whole "point" was. There was a lot of social justice actions, and I loved watching the characters each figure out where they fit into that and what they were passionate about.

It didn't feel like there was a lot of growth for the characters despite the things that did happen, and I feel like that might have been because it was just a series of things occurring. The whole issue for me I think stems from the confusion of the worldbuilding in the first book, and I never really got a good foundation in what was happening and who was who.

My favorite thing about the book was the various romance plotlines, which ended up all being super cute in their own ways, but I'm not sure if they are enough for me to finish the series.

What do is say! Rin’s writing is always amazing for me to experience! I love the way her writing pulls me in. This sequel really game me Once Upon A Time the tv show vibes and some of the things mentions brought me back to the Kingdom Hearts games I would play on repeat!

Tala being one of the main characters, I wanted more of her and seeing how things were left I’m hoping we see more of her!

One thing was that all these amazing kids just hated the hand they got dealt. And I felt that if they begin to embrace it and take power of it things might not be as bad! Can’t wait for the next book!

I really wanted to love this book because I've enjoyed things Rin Chupeco has written in the past and I think they are a great author, but this book just didn't do it for me. I was interested in the concept where pretty much EVERY fairy tale or well known folk lore story was real but I didn't like the way it was executed. Otherwise, I enjoyed the bickering between the main character and the love interest. I also enjoyed how diverse this book is! There's many characters that fall on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum and there's also a lot of racial diversity. Still interested in whatever Rin writes, but I think I'll stay away from this series if they write more in it.

Well, here we go. We’re writing a review months after I have originally read this. Let’s see what I remember. An Unreliable Magic is the second book in the A Hundred Names for Magic series written by Rin Chupeco. The story takes place in an alternate world where the fairytales and stories we all have learned growing up happen to be real. Tala and the group are safe for now, but are waiting for whatever happens next with the Snow Queen. There’s also a powerful sword in the middle of all this. Did I do a good job remembering all this, without spoilers at least? I hope so. Anyways, moving on!

I really wish I could give a more thorough review, but I will have to keep this short. I enjoyed learning more about the stories and history behind Avalon and how it all come together into the land’s formation. The character themselves even add more to the story and land itself. The characters still have important roles to play and are still extremely vital to the story. Chupeco manages to keep all the characters involved rather than shuffling them in and out of the story.

In short, I know that I really enjoyed this next installment of the series and am sure that when I pick up the next and final book of the series, I will be remembering a lot more than I am right now. Hopefully then, I’ll leave a greater, more in depth review of that book, and the series itself afterwards then. Until then, give the series a try perhaps. I think you’ll enjoy it. (FYI, my review for the first book is much better. If you want more information, I would suggest give look over that review as well).

This was an interesting follow up to book 2. My favorite parts involved the discussion of complex familial relationships. I look forward to the finale!

I attempted to read this book physically and could not get into it, so I waited for the audiobook to come out with my library and listened to it instead. There is nothing wrong with this story and I think it will have a great arc once it is completed but I think that there was too much time between when I read and review the first book and this one, I just didn't remember a single thing from the first book and was lost and confused for most of this book. I will say that it has great queer representation and I really appreciate what the author is doing by making this cast of characters so diverse. I will potentially reread this whole series in preparation for the last book and perhaps my rating will improve upon reread.

This was so fun to read - despite the multiple character storylines, this felt a lot more grounded than the first book and I wasn't left reeling from the amount of information we got. The plotlines made more sense and while there might be different ones occurring at the same time there was a common thread. This actually makes me excited to read the final book of the trilogy!

Even better than the first book!! Chupeco has successfully taken her character to the next level and I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!!

One of my anticipated reads for 2022 is An Unreliable Magic by Rin Chupeco, sequel to Wicked As You Wish, which is a book I loved last year. Imagine how happy I was when I got approved for an e-arc through Netgalley.

An Unreliable Magic picks up the story after the events of Wicked. I must say, it started really slow for me. I mean, the first book definitely did the same, but I was more interested then. For the sequel, I was expecting to get passed that, but instead the book just focused a lot on the (many) different characters in the book, their lives (and romantic relationships).

I just wished these developments were woven more into the plot, but I guess Chupeco tried a different kind of storytelling here, where the main plot isn't actually linear, and that we get glimpses to the daily lives of the characters outside the big plot.

It was hard to get used to the prose, because my head still craved for action. Also, it felt like the info-dumping with the lore in this book was excessive, and though I appreciated it, it also slowed my pace a lot.

Finally, my thoughts on the plot development. Snails, turtles, National ID distribution in the Philippines.

I feel like the last bit of the book, where action finally happened, wasn't enough to meet my expectations from this sequel. Yes, there were details that interconnected from the info-dumping in the first half, but it wasn't satisfying for me. Also, the book cover is misleading (but explanation would be spoilery).

Final rating: 3 stars. I would still much like to review a third book (I can't rember if this was supposed to br a trilogy skxbsj), and I hope it gets better next time.