Prophecies, complicated relationships, and a kingdom to save. The crew is all back again and this time they’ll be facing their potential dooms, an Ice Queen with crafty motives, love interests with secrets, and oh, the possibility their entire kingdom could go up in ice. The second book in the A Hundred Names for Magic Trilogy picks up where the first one finished, with Alex newly coordinated as King, with Tala giving up the all powerful Nameless sword and discovering her father’s secret past, and Ryker dealing with the conflicted feelings of who he will have to side with, his mother who has committed crimes but has loved him or the girl he has fallen in love with who keeps saving him despite the things he’s done. Alex must deal with not only the difficulties of ruling but finding a way to protect his kingdom, his friends, and the complicated relationship with his ex. Tala is struggling to accept her father’s past, with the other side of her family she didn’t know about, and the fact that the boy she fell for, who had betrayed her, is back and she has no idea what his motives are except that he is constantly telling her that no matter what happens he’ll always protect her. The crew are all dealing with their own separate curses, drama, and family issues: Zoe and Cole discover how intertwined their dooms are and how despite both fighting their feelings for each other... they just might be more in love than either cares to admit, Nya and Ken also must deal with their dooms and how Nya’s secret might break their budding feelings, Loki must face a decision and uncover what matters to them. All in all this was a wonderful continuation of the first book, I had fun reading about the growing relationship between the characters and OH MY LOVES RYKER AND TALA, I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH AND THAT ENDING?!?! I’M ALREADY BEGGING FOR THE LAST BOOK RIN CHUPECO!!

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

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the novel. I am rating this book with my own opinion and have not received anything in return. Great book! Very diverse characters!

amazing sequal , thank you so much netgalley for the arc, the characters and world picked up from where it ended pretty quickly giving an amazing reading experience

Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
3.8
This was such a fantastic read, loved being with these characters in this world again, loved the shenanigans that went down in this book! Can't wait for book 3!

I love every seconds of this book!
Took my chance of jumping straight into this 2nd book (own the 1st one will read it very soon!) and oh boy I love it so muchhh. Fast paced, action packed, and lovable characters! The Wonderland setting is impeccable! I love Tala, Loki, Alex, Nya, Ken, Zoe, Gray... actually I love everyone. Have so many fav scenes but I adore Loki and baby Jabberwocky (I want a wockling too!), Zoe and Gray! Also rooting for Tala and Ryker but... that epilogue...
I need book 3 ASAP! Love this one so much!!

Thank you to Sourcebooks, Ms. Chupeco and Netgalley for the ARC copy.

I had to read the first one so I can fully appreciate the sequel. With "Wicked As You Wish," I gave it 3 stars. I felt that it needed more especially in building up the characters and the plot. It has thr possibilities and potential but it felt sort of flat. Book 2, "An Unreliable Magic," was a
lot better. We know more about the characters. I love the side stories of the other Banders, it gave you an idea of who they are and not just part of the story background. Although, I feel Tala and Alex are a bit too good to be true though.

Okay, I see what the author's tried to do, but it just didn't reach the heights I thought it was going to. After having read the first book, I expected some imrpovement over certain matters in the second, but the worldbuilding here still feels a bit messy. Tales and folklore and myths smushed together, like in an all-you-can-eat ice cream parlor where the flavors are all side-by-side, but by the end of the day so many people had dug in and splattered chocolate to vanilla and strawberry on mint that it just ends up looking like a revolting multicolored glob.

But everything else about the book was fine. Didn't connect much to the characters still, but I was curious enough by the last book to see where their journey would lead. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be reading the third book in the installment.

I love Rin Chupeco’s writing and this second instalment of her newest ya did not disappoint. It had some great twists and was action packed and I adored the main characters plus the snow queen!

Okay, so I love Rin. The Bone Witch trilogy and The Never Tilting World are some of my favorite reads from the past 2-3 years. I read Wicked As You Wish last year, and it wasn't my favorite. It feels really immature compared to the Bone Witch and Never Tilting World and it just seemed to have gotten worse with Unreliable Magic. I had to DNF this at 10% because the dialogue was so cringy I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I knew I was probably not going to love this going into it, but it just feels so... 80's cartoon dialogue.

I'm not sure if she wrote this series before she sold her other books and it was just on her computer, but it's nothing like her regular dark stuff. I don't like the world-building, I don't like the characters, and it's not even like it's CW writing... it's worse, it's like *freeform* channel writing. Yes, that bad.

So I'm sorry, Rin, I'll be picking up any other series from you, as long as it's dark and moody and not... whatever this is. If you love magical realism, diverse characters, and fairy tales, this series will be way up your alley. Unfortunately for me, it just felt more juvenile than what I've come to expect from her.

The world of Wicked As You Wish/An Unreliable Magic is like the Mad Hatter’s teaparty of fairytale/myth/legend absolutely madcap mashups that you never knew you needed but can’t help but fall in love with…I love having so many, many different characters/stories all being woven together into one world, which is also so similar and yet different from the actual real world. A lot of the characters are descendants of famous fairytale characters instead of everyone just straight up being those characters - which keeps it familiar but also new and interesting at the same time.

There is SO much happening in this world and so many characters, story lines, character arcs…it is a lot to keep track of and does sometimes jump all over the place, but it’s also a lot of fun and wildly entertaining.

Such a wonderfully inclusive group of characters, and very clear nods to the current real world political climate and current events that feels relatable and cathartic to read. I’m super invested in all of the main characters at this point and love the growth for all of them in this latest book…and can’t wait for the next installation to see what happens next!

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with this eARC!

A great follow-up! The world building is just as rich as book 1, our characters are growing up and facing their issues and deepening their relationships with each other along the way, and while I normally don’t enjoy stories that swap out POVs, especially so often, Rin Chupeco always does these switches so well. Also, those chapter titles!

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire, for the chance to read and review this book in exchange of an honest review.

Tala, Alex and their friends are safe for now, but nothing is simple in their lives. The Snow Queen is still out there, threatening Avalon and them all, portals are opening in Avalon without control, Ryker is intervening and saving refugees children kept captive, Tala's relationship with her father is strained since the revelation about his past, the Nameless Sword turns up with Tala's name on it...Tala's life is getting more and more messier, but she's not the only one with struggles. Alex is facing politics and new responsibilities, while trying to undo the curse on him, Zoe is struggling with her feelings, Cole and what she lost using the spellstone, Loki is facing pressure and their will and desire to discover what is happening in Avalon and with the Ozcorp technology, Ken and Nya are trying to understand what their dooms mean for each other, West finds himself a star in his canine form and this book is a true rollercoaster.

I absolutely loved reading Wicked as you wish and its sequel is amazing!
As the first one, the chapter titles are hilarious, like "In which everyone is talking about the Fight Club" and I love these characters and how the author is able to intertwine POVs, their struggles, feelings and problems with the complex and intriguing plot. I love the Bandersnatchers and the relationships they have and I loved how they were developed and deepened in this second book. Alex and Tala, Zoe and Cole, Ken and Nya, I really enjoyed reading their personal struggles and problems and how seamlessly they are intertwined with politics, exciting getaways, mysteries and battles. As for the first one I loved how the magic and technology are mixed, and how characters from myths and books are real and important in their reality, like the Cheshire cat or the Jolly Rogers, Hook and Peter Pan.
Each character is wonderfully characterized and I was so happy to learn more about them all. The plot is captivating and I enjoyed how everything was pieced together in the end, alliances, relationships and revelations.
I also loved how the author addresses refugees' problems and injustice, abuse and loss in these books, with sentitivity and care.
I can't wait to read the next book.

Much like the first in this series, I dove in head first and devoured the sequel as well. I loved being back with the characters again and following along with them on all their shenanigans. I’ve always loved that this cast of characters all come from so many different backgrounds and I think it just adds to everything in this book as well as the first book. It’s a perfect blend of Fantasy, Strong Women, Multi-Culture Characters, Pop Culture and Adventure.

I enjoyed this book. The characters were well thought out and the plot moved at a great pace. I would enjoy reading more from this author in the future.

Yeah, I loved reading this book! Loved being in this world again, with these characters, and it was so great to see what changes have happened since the events of the first book, because it is for the better, but it does bring about a new set of challenges!

I do wish that I'd reread the first book, though. It's been so long since I read the first book, between the cover redesign and that I got an ARC of the first book, that it's been just weeks short of being 2 years since I read the first book. So there were a lot of names and histories to remember, but I did get into the swing of things pretty quickly!

There's a lot of characters to keep track of. There's of course Tala and we got to explore her magic a bit more in this book. Alex was a part of the story, but he's kinda busy given that's he's running a kingdom. Loki is struggling between helping the banders and becoming a member of Fifth Honor, but meets an adversary in Vivien. Nya and Ken are dealing with their prophecies that seem to match up to one another. Zoe and Nottingham may be dealing with the same, as well. West ends up pretty famous, which was pretty hilarious. Yeah, there was a lot going on in this book!

I loved all the developments in these characters stories, they all have some pretty wicked prophecies hanging over them. And I loved the main plot of this book, of OzCorp and the weird things they were building. I loved what it added to the world, and I can't wait to see where things go from there!

This was such a fantastic read, and I can't wait for the 3rd and final book!

This was a strong sequel! I am always impressed with Chupeco and I was not disappointed this time around. The story telling was rich and vibrant.

Another fast paced rump through a world of multicultural magic with a colorful range of characters full to the brim of banter. This is the second volume in the series and it's keeping all it's promises. There is no time to sit down with this series and I feel like the action is always sprinting full tilt and sets the expectation high on readers with incredibly creative and jam packed ideas. This is not a book that focuses on settings and such, here you will run past many many things, there was probably enough to make a few books, I mean the cast is also huge and they all have so different stories and backgrounds and make references to things. In this case I think it works, it's the style of the author, and it connects to my ADHD brain like a charm. If you like playful characters, plot twists, adventure fantasy, strong women, unlikely Hodge podge mixes of culture, fantastical, pop culture and fairy tales, you will be swimming in happiness.

I was so excited to get this book! I am a huge fan of Rin Chupeco! When I got approved for this I started right away! I was ready to revisit these characters!! I loved this book and I love all the different fairytale references in it! Definitely will be recommending this!!!

The first book in this series was a big hit with my students so I can't wait to share this wonderful sequel with them. Personally, I'm not sure if this needed to be as long as it was - but it was enjoyable nevertheless.

Rating 3.5/5
This book needs to downsize - a lot.
I really wanted to give this book a better review because it touches on so many important topics like ICE concentration camps, immigration, etc. But there is so much info dumping that it takes away from the story. Each chapter felt like they introduced an important piece to the plot, but some interruption always happens mid-conversation and when we return to the "conversation" we get a rushed closure of the topic that doesn't feel right.

Banter. That's about 40-50% of the book. There so much banter sometimes that it takes away from the plot.
Plot. There's so many. I started a notepad listing events that happened but it got out of control. There's TOO much plot that it doesn't give each story justice. I wish the author picked 2-3 storylines to follow to dive in deeper, because they felt too surface level.
Characters. There were so many that my eyes started glazing over each name. They each have their own lore which I was interested in but again, each character's story was so rushed that we don't get to fully appreciate their character and they turned out one dimensional.
Fairy Tales is interwoven into technology, but there again is so much that it can be overwhelming.

Overall, the story was interesting but could be split up into 2-3 books to add more depth. If you are interested in politics you would be able to understand the depth of the book more but if you aren't the info dumping tries to get you caught up but falls short sometimes. I believe this author has so much potential with this series. Again it just needs to downsize a lot to flow better but I'm happy such important topics are getting talked about.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to enjoy this ARC!

Warm regards,
Diana Banana