3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars.

While I already own a book by Rin Chupeco, this is the first book I’ve read by her and it will honestly not be the last.

This story combines real life with the fairy-tales that we all know and love. This story did take me a little while to get in to and at the beginning the whole magic system really confused me but I’m glad I stuck with the book and kept an open mind. I ended up unable to put the book down once I hit the second half of the book.

I found myself really like the group of characters who embark on this journey, especially Tala who has completely been thrown out of her element but still remains strong. Her whole life has been toppled over and she’s struggling to come to terms with the new information she’s been given but she fights on to protect Alex.

I had my issues with Alex. I understand that he is going through a lot in this book, but I ended up getting incredibly frustrated with him and his attitude towards the group when their main mission is to keep him safe. He’s incredibly reckless and I just wanted to scream at him every time he showed up in a scene.

Overall this was an enjoyable read once I got passed the confusing world building and the magic system. Rin Chupeco has created a captivating, vivid and imaginative world that I cannot wait to delve back into.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I tried very hard to push myself through this book. It had a lot of great concepts and potential, but it ultimately fell flat for me. The characters were really under-developed and the novel drops you in the middle of a setting and continues on like you're supposed to know what's going on. The only thing I enjoyed was the blend of fantasy and magical realism. Try as I might, I was unable to continue the book with my growing disinterest in it.

I loved this book. This book had the right mount of whimsy, fantasy, and reality - all rolled into one. Tala takes the reader on quite the journey to get Alexi back to his kingdom so he can become King and rid his kingdom of the Snow Queen. This book has an underlying theme about doubting yourself and that by doubting yourself you are keeping yourself from accomplishing all that you could and so much more.

This book has great descriptions throughout, reading it really creates a picture in your head of what the scene is like for the characters. I very much appreciated moments where they were describing the dress from the Mother's tribe Mai-i and the tapestry that was hung on the concrete walls. The writing went into great detail to show the reader what the author was wanting them to picture in those moments.

I am really hoping that there is another book coming, because I felt that it was written with an open ending and a potential sequel coming - which I REALLY hope there is.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.**

Rin Chupeco's most recent release, Wicked As You Wish, follows Tala, a member of the cursed Makiling line who can negate the effects of magic. Tala's story takes place in a world where fairy tale places exist in conjunction with actual places, though things have changed due to their inclusion. The United States are now the Royal States, for example. Neverland, Avalon, and Wonderland all come up along the way. Tala and the descendants of the elite guard called Bandersnatches must see their future king home safely. The Snow Queen and her henchfolk try to prevent that and steal the future king's firebird. Does it seem like a lot? It's a lot.

The concept for this book was something I was so very excited about. I love the idea of incorporating fairytale places with the actual world and moving forward from there. I love bloodline associated magic and magical objects. There was POC representation and queer rep and trans rep. All great things. But that was pretty much where my fondness ended was at the concept level.

The first third of the book was a lot of unnatural and inorganic info-dumping in an attempt at world-building. Good info to have about the world for sure. But there were so many topics covered so quickly that it was off-putting. Some things were barely touched on, and might have been more important to know. Other things were heavily discussed and wound up unimportant. I can wade through an info dump with the best of them, but woo buddy were we in deep. I even would have been okay with it had everything been relevant, but not everything was and I honestly still don't know how the magic system completely works. I know there are glyphs and patents and enchanted objects and the law of equivalent exchange. But those things do not, alone, a cohesive magic system make.

I can overlook a lot of errors if I'm invested in characters. Unfortunately, there wasn't a ton of time devoted to character-building early on. Most of the character-building work was happening when other things were going wrong. Which also would have been fine and natural if I had enough information to care about them to begin with, but I didn't.

I honestly would have DNFed this book if it had not been a review copy and had not been from a "big name" author who I had heard a lot of good things about. This may be evidence that Rin Chupeco's writing style just isn't for me, as I have previously read The Bone Witch and found it just okay (which I may have mistakenly blamed on the audiobook at the time).

I recognize this may be just me and the author not meshing, and have bumped up my star rating to reflect the redeeming qualities of the book since other folks may not have the issues I did.

I received an electronic copy of this book from NetGalley and mostly enjoyed it. It was about a young royal who emerged from protective custody in order to venture forth with his magical “knights” to battle his family’s archnemesis, save his kingdom, and thwart global corruption. A consequence of incorporating so many intense goals into a magically realistic setting, however, was that I felt the recounting to be forced, fuzzy, and politicized.

A sense of coercion first struck me upon meeting the characters. They were wonderfully colorful and diverse, but then some were jammed into various, ill-fitting personae such as a Nottingham, Locksley, Loki, and Romanov. Likewise, a similar sense befell me upon reaching the end of the tale and finding a major, undetailed revelation shoved into an epilogue instead of occurring in the climax or resolution or even the next book. This latter action left me terribly disappointed.

Then there were the fuzzy aspects of the story. An overabundance of prophesies that conveniently did not always come true appeared left and right muddling the tale, while the progress of the group’s mission was also, at times, murky. One minute, Zoe and Cole were at the edge of the swamp. In the next minute, they were pilfering food from a kitchen. I also found the alluring title to be yet another vagary. It drew me in with the promise of resembling one type of tale only to bear no likeness to it or possess any relevance that I could discern.

A point that was stated quite clearly, however, was that ICE agents were worse than monsters. They were a group that takes “what should be reasonable laws and twists them beyond cruelty.” Is a YA adventure really the appropriate forum?

Regardless, it was an imaginative quest that will double my reason to smile whenever I hear Carly Rae Jepsen.

I felt as though there was simply too much going on for most of the book. The world is intricate and magical and it was interesting, but it was also difficult to understand. It would have been nice to get a bit more background on what was going on with everything before dropping into the middle of it all. The characters were great and I liked the relationships between them. But once again, I just couldn't entirely connect with them. It was an overall interesting idea for a story, but I think this one just wasn't for me.

I was lucky enough to be invited to join The Order of The Bandersnatch Street Team to promote this fantastic book and if you are on the fence about pre-ordering, get off, go and do it now!

This is a world where all our fairytales are real, where magic is normal (though governed) and where things aren't ever quite what you expect.

Tala Warnock and the Avalonian crown prince in hiding, Alex, become friends in a magic negating town in the Royal States of America. After the Snow Queen devastated his country, leaving it under a layer of ice, the only hope to return it to a liveable land, is for the famed firebird (so far, so cute, and so sassy!) to turn up on Alex's 18th birthday.

So, full disclosure, the first 15/20% of this book I enjoyed, but I struggled with, just a little.
There seemed to be a lot, but also not a lot happening (you gotta lay the groundwork, I get that), and at times - with extended family and neighbours, trying to fully figure out the alternate world, it's history and its magic system - I felt a little lost. I am really hoping that the final version has a map. It needs a map, and maybe a glossary of the spelltech, that would be awesome :)

*Side note - Also, if I could get recipes for all the food I would be very grateful because it sounds amazing and I need to make it all, even peanut butter burgers!*

But, and it's an important but, despite feeling a little lost, I was enjoying it. A lot!

Tala and Alex were regular kids, magic, curses, and royal blood aside, and it was a refreshing change. They were going to school, blushing when their crush asked them out, and bargaining with parents so they could attend the party of the year.

But then the shit hit the fan, and this awesome story went from 0 to 60 in a single bound.

The firebird (one sassy, sassy, firebird!) turns up, we make new friends at school, and after an unexpected betrayal, an exposed secret, a battle with ogres and a daring escape, our Banders find themselves in the last place they expected, the frozen land of Avalon.

Now here, they are put to the test, Alex becomes a massive jerk (and there is still something I don't fully trust about him)Tala, still reeling from discovering the truth about *bleep*, realises that she should have asked more questions about her own history and our new friends, Zoe, Ken, West, Loki, and Cole, are going to have their work cut out getting Alex to Maidenkeep to break the Snow Queens curse.

I loved the natural development of the friendships once they got there and had to rely on each other, and the introduction of more chatacters to love was seemless. I really like that certain people have a lot more to them than it initially appears, and I am actually really excited for the continuing story with Tala and *bleep bleep* and the *bleep bleep* and the *bleep bleep* throwing a huge twist in right at the end.

I am very much looking forward to seeing the finished version of this, and to the next part, which honestly, cannot come fast enough.

The final thing I would like to say about this book is that it covers some really, very relevant, issues, and I, for one, am glad they've been said.
Things that should be as simple as they are depicted, like accepting a persons preference in pronouns and it not being an issue.
The way that history if often taught in such a one sided manner, so as to favour the victors, and that you can't always believe what you are told simply because it's seeminly come from a position of power.
It was actually really good to see the Armenian Genocide referred to as such, even if it was as part of an 'alternate history ' especially as my Great-Grandfather survived (and eventually thrived) by settling in Iran.
And I think the most telling thing, is the fact that despite the Ice Wolves, Shades, Ogres, Ice Maidens, Deathless, and even the Snow Queen herself, the most feared 'enemy' are ICE.

This book has a dedication of sorts at the front.
"Felipe Gómez Alonzo,
Jakelin Caal,
Claudia Patricia Gómez González.
Remember their names."
And if you don't already know who they are, go and google them.

Alexei is hiding in a town where magic does work. Why is he hiding? Because he is the last person in the Avalon royal bloodline, and the mean witch has frozen his land. Tala doesn't care her best friend has secrets she has some too. But when on Alex's birthday the firebird appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with some others and go to get Alex's kingdom back.

I don't even know where to start, this book is so cool, it mashes up so many different stories that can keep you reading this book just to see what comes next. But don't forget the main story line because that will have you reading pass your bedtime. The story is wonderful and the characters work so well together, and it is a book that will even hold a reluctant readers interest. I really hope there is a sequel.

This will appear on my blog March 3rd.

Dnf at 20%. Unfortunately I’m not as interested in this as I thought I was and the world was a bit hard to wrap my head around.

I just finished Wicked As You Wish and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it. It was fairy tale mixed with current social issues. The United States was now the Royal State of America and California wasn't a part of it. The early part of the book took place there. ICE agents were always looking for people there illegally. Magic was banned in the Royal States of America. If anyone was caught using it, they could be imprisoned or deported. Tala had been living with her parents in a small town in Arizona. Magic barely worked there. The last prince of Avalon, thought dead, showed up in Arizona to be hidden. His home was frozen by the Snow Queen. Twelve years earlier, there was a Wonderland War. Magic and curses had an exchange to use them. You have to give something up, a sacrifice. For Tala and her mom, magic doesn't work on them. They can stop a spell from working. They're Makilings and that is their power.

The firebird was to arrive on Alex's eighteenth birthday and he was to take back Avalon. A group of protectors showed up to help Alex escape. Zoe, Ken, Loki, and West were sent by the Cheshire. Another boy, Cole, showed up saying he was sent there for the same reason. They need to escape through a mirror/magic portal, but there are things getting in their way. Ogres and shades mostly. There are ice maidens that work for the Snow Queen as well as ice wolves. The ice maidens are immortal. Another creature is a deathless, basically a zombie. The group of kids come across multiple women who could see the future. Their prophecies didn't make a lot of sense, but each kid was given theirs. Later on, they have another girl added to their group. Her name is Naya and she's escaping so she's not forced to marry.

Not only do these kids risk their lives encountering challenges along the way, but they also find out secrets about themselves and others along the way. They were told that there was a traitor among them, but no one is sure who it is. Some friendships were formed and others were partially changed.

The concept of this book was really cool. I loved the magic and the world. But I was really confused in the beginning. I think there was an information overload for me at times. I would confuse family members and places. I wish that would have been built a bit slower. It took me until 50-60% to really get invested in the story.

I gave this book 3 stars. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for my earc.

"Chapter 14: in which objects in mirrors are closer than they appear."

Rating: 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed Wicked as you Wish and its diverse group of adventuring youngsters! I had no idea what to expect of this book; I certainly wasn't expecting all the humour in both the chapter headings (see above) and the banter - I laughed out loud quite a few times. 😂
To be fair, I had some trouble with the world building. It is quite extensive, with nudges to all sorts of stories and fairytales - even now I'm still not sure whether I understood it all. Especially considering the group of characters was pretty big, it took me most of the book to figure out who was who. 😂 Still, loved the diversity and the adventure! Really anxious to see where this is going in the next book because... that ending? 😯

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to finish this title. I made it approximately 30% of the way through before counting this one as a DNF. While I applaud how ambitious the scope of this novel appeared to be, there was a jumble of fairy tale references, named characters, and plot elements tossed at the reader with no rhyme or reason. In trying to do everything, nothing stuck for me, so while other people may love it, this one wasn't for me.

There are a hundred names for magic in the Tagalog language but no matter what you call it, Makilings can negate it. This long line of Filipina warriors can render spells and modern spelltech useless. At least, that's the idea. Tala Warnock is still getting the hang of it.

Even as a novice, Tala's unique ability will come in handy when her best friend Alex has to  journey to Avalon--one of the Royal States of America's neighboring kingdoms--to reclaim his throne. The only problem? For the past twelve years Avalon has been encased in ice and largely impenetrable with its residents trapped in an enchanted slumber.

Guided by the firebird--a creature thought to have shifted from reality to myth--Tala and a ragtag group of misfits from the Order of the Bandersnatch will have to work together to get Alex safely into Avalon and back on his throne in Wicked As You Wish (2020) by Rin Chupeco.

Wicked As You Wish is the start of Chupeco's A Hundred Names For Magic duology. Close third person narration keeps the focus primarily on Tala. The breakneck pacing of the opening chapters does not let up as Tala is thrown headfirst into her world's political conflicts and her own parents' murky roles in the recent war.

Chupeco's world building draws on varied fairy tales and myths (both western and non-western) to create a dynamic alternate reality filled with magic and mayhem along with a somewhat on-the-nose nod to the current USA president in the form of King Muddles. A large ensemble cast, snappy dialog, and the general madcap pacing keep the story moving while also keeping Tala in the dark about a lot of the larger plots at play.

Wicked As You Wish is a frenetic, zany series starter with an inclusive and distinct cast of characters. Recommended for readers who like their fantasies fast, funny, and full of adventure.

Possible Pairings: The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde, A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer, Enchanted by Alethea Kontis, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige, The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp, A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration*

Look, I am going to be completely honest with you here.

There is so much going on and it is hard to keep track of all the different characters and storyline.

I understand authors are under immense pressure to be inclusive but sometimes less is more. You don't have to represent everything for the sake of it if it takes away from your story.

I'm half way through at the moment. It is a bit of a struggle to get through each chapter but I'm sure my rating won't change but I'll update this review if it does

Plot: 4 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Writing Style: 3 stars
Cover: 3 stars
Representation: 5 stars
Humor: 5 stars
Enjoyment: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars

This is such an interesting premise! Rin Chupeco merges history and fairy tales to create a very unique world where our MCs are opposed by both the Snow Queen and ICE (yes, *that* ICE) because they're hiding in Arizona but from the Phillipines and/or magical kingdoms and therefore illegal immigrants, brown, or both. Also the chapter titles are hilarious.

There were some issues with the writing style for me: mostly that it was a lot of telling, that it took a really long time to become invested with the characters, and that there was some present/past confusion.

I really *really* liked the Fillipino representation (food, language, culture, names, family, etc) which is something I've not really come across in a book before.

I also LOVED the humor. The chapter titles were wonderfully funny and the writing often had a sly wittiness that I enjoyed.

The plot was super twisty -- especially near the end! I don't even know who to trust anymore! -- but it was also a little hard to decipher what was going on at times. There was also so much action right from the start that it became somewhat boring, and the attachment to the characters suffered - so much so that near the middle I almost put it down and gave up. Luckily, I was drawn back into it once they were in Avalon and found my interest hooked.

Overall I really enjoyed it, though I think it could have used a bit less action at the beginning and a bit more focus on developing the emotional attachment to the characters. I will definitely be planning to pick up the sequel when it comes out because of those last few chapters and their twists.

A dozen years before...The Wonderland Wars between the kingdom of Avalon and Beira's ruler the Snow Queen ends with Avalon becomes inaccessible and incased in ice, the Snow Queen is missing, and Wonderland is wiped off the map. Alexi Tsarevich, the sole survivor of the Avalon's royal family is placed in hiding until he can come of age, fulfil the prophecy, and reclaim his kingdom.
Present day Invierno, AZ...In a town where magic doesn't work, Tala Makiling Warnock lives with her family and other magical citizens seek refuge. Tala has the ability to negate magic and disrupt spells, a dangerous ability to possess. When Alex is brought to Invierno for safe-keeping, he and Tala become friends. The arrival of the prophesized firebird puts Tala and Alex in the hands of an unlikely cast of bodyguards in order to safeguard his return Avalon.

Wicked As You Wish, a new YA fantasy series by Rin Chupeco, was one of my most anticipated reads for 2020. With firebirds, magic, prophesies, good vs evil battles what's not to love. Although the series has a lot of potential, some elements of this first novel left me feeling a bit disappointed. The world building is a mishmash of elements and characters from several fairytales and folklore legends which are combined with a rather complex magical system...hence the hundred names for magic. Although this has been done before, here it just felt a bit disconnected and left me feeling overwhelmed and confused at points. I have no love for Alex's character and Tala felt a bit underwhelming as well. What I did enjoy about this book was the diverse cast of fantastic characters who possess some unique and interesting abilities and weapons. The plot does improve and it had some really good elements as the story continued. The firebird is not what you expect and is quite the character. I also enjoyed how the chapter titles where prophetic of the misadventures ahead. What I hope to see as the story continues is some growth in Tala's character in which she becomes more compelling and her renowned abilities become more powerful and prevalent. Overall this book was enjoyable but I hope to see more as the series continues.

Rin Chupeco takes names, places, and concepts from fairytales and legends all over the world, throws them at the wall, and while a few of them *do* stick, the result is a jumbled, nigh incoherent mess. There are too many ingredients in this book - and, while individually, they're good components, it just... does not work. At all. You can't use every food in the kitchen to make a cake and expect that it will come out tasting delicious.

Someone out there will read this and rejoice to have a Filipina heroine leading the charge, and for that alone, I'll be happy to have it on my store's shelf. But this book is not great. Rin Chupeco is much better than this.

I really, really wish I could give this book five stars but honestly the first half was a MESS. I didn't know what I was reading, the plot and the characters and the world building just seemed to be all over the place. This book definitely had a very weak beginning, I think the only thing that kept me reading to start with was the quirky chapter titles!
I felt as though I needed to start taking notes when new characters were introduced as I couldn't keep up with the barrage of names and titles, not only of the people but also the names of their weapons and their families. I definitely felt lost throughout majority of the first half.
Thankfully, the second half of the book was better. Once a small group split off and became the main focus of the narrative it was much easier to keep track of who they all were and what was going on. The world building was still quite weak, the book seems to be mostly dialogue.
I'm definitely considering purchasing a final copy of this in order to continue with the rest of the series, it took a lot longer than needed to understand this new world created by the author but I am fascinated by it. I would recommend or dissuade anyone from reading this book, I would suggest reading a few reviews and deciding if it's worth it from there unfortunately.

I really enjoyed all the different fairytale characters that made an appearance or were mentioned throughout the book. I felt the book started out very strongly but didn’t necessarily continue as strongly. I’m really curious about more of the prince’s backstory and have a few hunches about how the characters lives tie together. I do love the series title and am curious what will happen in future books.

The premise of this book sounds exciting, but the execution is lacking. I honestly couldn’t get into this book and ended up DNFing it because I just found it so difficult. The beginning of the book is an absolute info dump and it doesn’t let up. I usually love books that start with a bang, but this one started with more of a simmer and stayed that way for 100 pages while continually introducing more characters and information.
I like the idea of this story; the fact that the main character is a POC and the other is LGBTQ. I like that this seems the be a story weaving fairytales together and changing them up, but it felt like I was dumped in the middle of a story and needing to play catch up while also learning all the new stuff. It was just too much for me and made it impossible for me to develop any kind of connection with the characters.