I really, really wanted to read this one, and love it and give all the good thoughts. But I couldn't get past the first 50 pages. The story didn't grab me and I never felt any connection to the characters. I'm giving this one 2 stars, only because to give it 1 means it utterly offended me. Which it did not; it just isn't the book for me.


2/5 Stars

Having previously read Rin Chupeco’s The Bone Witch - a book whose story grabbed me by the throat and held me captive, whose magic was new, engaging and rich with nuance and clever ideas - I expected to love Wicked As You Wish.

The book offers a vibrant combination of ideas that in principle excite me and make me keen to delve into the world and the story. Our main character is of Filipino and Scottish descent and the former is a culture she is surrounded by with family and friends. The world is urban fantasy with an enthusiastic layer of fairytale and myth, familiar places with an accepted and cemented magical spin.

I started to read, and the more I did, the more my heart sank. I found the world building was confusing and the politics and history presented unclearly. The main character, Tala, felt flat and uninteresting. I persisted. Surely this was going to get better? Going to grab me if I gave it half a chance?

I gave it half a chance, more than once, and I am so disappointed that it did not work out for me. I kept trying and I kept finding my attention lost, my brow furrowed in confusion, my interest in flipping to the next page dwindling.

I want to love this book, but I’m not sure I even like it. I’ve seen responses vastly vary in review and I feel perhaps this title is a little marmite, love it or hate it, your opinion is likely to be a strong one. Sadly I lean towards the latter and I therefore Did Not Finish. Despite this, I look forward to reading other titles of Chupeco’s and I urge you to form your own opinions on this title!

I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.

I don't know if it's just me, but for some reason, I just don't connect with Rin Chupeco's writing. I tried with Never Tilted World, but I found myself more confused than not. I couldn't even get through the entirety of this one. This was a DNF after 20%.

#1 Heavy influenced by fairytale and folklore
Sets in alternate universe where magic exists (and weaponized), Wicked as You Wish is deeply influenced by various fairytales, especially Filipino folklores. Our main character, Tala, is a descendant of infamous Maria Makiling, a protector of Mount Makiling in Filipino folklore. Not only that, other fairytales character like Rapunzel and Robin Hood—to name a few—are mentioned as historical figure rather than characters from a fairytale. Rin Chupeco also adapted the world where these fairytale characters live and made it as new countries, which I think it’s very brilliant!
If you love fairytale inspired book, read Wicked as You Wish!

#2 Urban fantasy that is mixed with social issue
I think it’s important for authors to bring up social issues in their books, so I’m just glad that Rin Chupeco included issues like refugee, family separation and child abuse. Although, I wish Rin Chupeco would focus on these issues more, but I can say that her execution with these issue is good.
If you’re looking for a YA book that tackled those issues, this book is for you!

#3 Rich in Filipino culture
It’s always fun to read other people’s culture, especially culture from other South-east Asian culture. It feels like meeting your cousin and realizing that you two share a lot of similarities other than having the same grandparents. Reading about Filipino culture in Wicked as You Wish warms my heart a lot, and honestly, I feel so giddy reading few Filipino terms in this book.

Read Wicked as You Wish if you’re looking for #ownvoices book written by Chinese-Filipino author!

#4 Detailed world building
It’s not easy to make an alternate universe where the world we live in has magic while adding some details to world’s history without twisting it. I think Rin Chupeco makes a great job with this one. The magic system is so detailed and we were provided with little background story on what happened in between three fairytale-ish countries—and how they impacted to other countries.
Like I mentioned earlier, these fairytale countries are literally fairytale countries where many characters from our childhood live.
I can say that her magic system is different from others in a good way. Often, we get to see blood sacrifice if we want to perform magic, but not in Rin Chupeco’s world. Other originality I found is how Rin Chupeco mix technology and magic together, creating a new magic system called spelltech.
Although, I have to warn you that, the world building and magic system kinda overwhelm me because they entangled with one another and if you don’t read it carefully, it’ll confuse you.

Looking for a detailed world building book? Try Wicked as You Wish!

#5 Perfect for Once Upon a Time fans
Throughout the book, I see a lot of resemble between Once Upon a Time and Wicked as You Wish. There are many similarities between the two, but they’re also different on their own way. Fairytales inspired city/country, fairytales characters come to live, Evil Queen, magicla people—yup, Once Upon a Time fans, I think you’d like this!

Fairytales characters come to live in Wicked as You Wish, find out more about it by reading the book!

I thought Wicked As  You Wish, was unique and imaginative! I loved the world-building! The characters are well written and interesting. I thought the magic of this world was unique and interesting. I loved all the references to fairy tales! I really enjoyed this fantasy and I can't wait to read more!

Wicked As You Wish is the second book I read from Rin Chupeco. I absolutely adored The Never Tilting World so I was thrilled to read this modern fairy tale when offered the opportunity.

This book is no doubt very unique as this blends fantasy and contemporary. There is a lot to take in at first, and while I believe this is a fantastic twist to the genre, I do have mixed feelings about it.

Let me explain: I very much enjoyed the story itself, but I struggled a little bit with how the fantasy world was mixed with the modern world. Frankly, that might be what threw me off a bit because it does get confusing. I definitely needed to push through at first to get into the story. There is a lot of information to take in in the first pages, which also forced me to slow down so that you could truly embrace the journey.

Do I regret doing so? Not at all. As I said, this is a great story. Tala is a fantastic character and there is a lot going on in this book that will keep you on your toes. I’ll say that some characters I enjoyed reading more than others, but overall the characters and plot worked well for me. The magical system was interesting and the book does touch on important topics such as politics, immigration, and abuse. I appreciate what the author tries to convey.

Rin Chupeco has a writing style that I thoroughly enjoyed and I will certainly read book 2. Overall, this is a great story worth reading, but I would advise taking your time if you want to truly enjoy this book.

My initial thoughts when starting the book were that I came into the middle of an existing story line. It was like Alice in Wonderland and other tales crashed into the world as we know it. We are in the modern era but with a twist on the countries and of course the presence of magic.

I did feel the author had some pretty strong political views that were pushed in the story and it was a bit off putting for me. They also tried to include diversity in the book to the point that there were so many characters you had little information about other than what made them "different" and I felt it was counterproductive. I am all for diversity in a story, but actually make a character not just check a box. 

While I was not a fan off all the missing information it did make the story fly right along in the beginning. As the book progressed I found it harder to stay interested and would set the book down for days at a time.
The story started off seemingly normal and then dove into a mish mash of action scenes and new characters and events that were not ever clearly explained. I felt like I was reading through someone’s dream where the landscape and characters were shifting without any defining laws.

While the story did end in a cliffhanger I am not in any hurry to find out what happens next and most likely will not pick up the next book. The author has an incredibly interesting world going. I think if the focus were narrowed to the key characters and storylines in future books it could be a good series. 

Thank you to NetGalley and SourceBooks Fire for the opportunity to read Wicked As You Wish in exchange for my honest opinion.

While browsing for a novel to suit the SwordsNStars challenge, the publicity tagline for Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco caught my attention.

“An unforgettable alternate history fairy-tale series about found family, modern-day magic, and finding the place you belong.”

The story begins in The Royal States of America, where Prince Alexei of Avalon is in hiding from The Snow Queen, waiting until he is found by the Firebird, so that he at last will have the power to renter his lands and claim his throne. When the Firebird finally appears, Alex, along with his best friend Tala - who has a rare ability to repel and negate magic - and a group of other young magic wielders, set out on a dangerous journey to Avalon to reclaim it from the Snow Queen’s deadly magic.

There’s a lot to like in Wicked As You Wish. It offers plenty of fast paced action, a diverse cast of characters, humour, intrigue, and a unique mix of political and cultural elements taken from both the modern world and the world of fairytales and legends.

But the world Chupeco has created is very ambitious and to be honest I struggled to make complete sense of it. Eventually I just had to sort of overlook the finer details and simply go along for the ride.

If you are willing to do the same, I expect you’ll enjoy Wicked As You Wish, as I did, but I think it’s fair to say it won’t be for everyone.

A tale about magic, Avalon and the Snow Queen? Sign me up! This was such a promising book with an intriguing plot-line and I liked the first few chapters a lot.

This story was filled with colorful characters who cracked me up. The thing is, I loved the side-characters but didn't like the main character much. The side-characters had so many facets to them whereas the main characters, say Tala and Alex, just felt flat to me. Alex did not impress me with his jerk routine. It just made me dislike him.

I loved the Lola and Titos and Tala's parents. And you couldn't help but love Loki, Ken, Zoe and West. I had a soft spot for Cole and I wanted to know more about him. The prophecies were kind of annoying but the plot twists were really good and I enjoyed all the fairy tale references.

➝ Sum it up in points!

✔ Filipina, Chinese, Japanese, Latino characters (racial diversity)
✔ modern-day fantasy setting
✔ gay main character along with queer side characters (sexual diversity)
✔ fantastical creatures and warrior traditions
✔ squad comes together in this folklore-inspired retelling

Wicked As You Wish is wickedly determined to make the readers fall in love with every character on the right side with the determination, magical talents, or humour they bring to the table. A Filipina warrior family must protect the prince who has been assumed long dead by the racist authoritarian government to restore the frozen kingdom which is a source of magic-powering glyphs. From the fantastical beings like a phoenix or an ice-woman to the group of formidable teenagers who are perfectly capable of saving the day, the idea of a modern setting on magical grounds work greatly to create an urban fantasy. A racially and sexually diverse cast is commendable: the main protagonist is a half-Filipina and belong to a warrior Filipina family, the prince is a gay, the squad has a Chinese non-binary character, a Jewish girl, and all the members of this squad are destined to serve a purpose in the series, according to interesting myths-inspired prophecies. Several important themes like racist immigration policies, ill-treatment towards refugees, and the Western avarice that deteriorates a culture, are wonderfully explored. Overall, a definitive recommendation for those who wish to see more diversity on the line that connects the real world to a fantasy one.

One word : Wicked
And frogs too of course.
Couldn't put it down once I started reading it. The newly imagined world of modern magic is very refreshing. Beware of frogs!!!

I actually knew very little about this book going in. In fact, this was my first book by Rin Chupeco and I was not disappointed! Wicked AS You Wish the first book in a YA fantasy duology set in an alternate America where magic not only exists but is also weaponized.

The book gave me series Once Upon A Time vibes (think first season with its clever juxtaposition of fairytales and the real world). Tala is our magic negating protagonist who calls Invierno (one of the few magical-less regions of the US) home. Descended from an Irish father and a Flilipina mother she is surrounded by her mother’s family whose magical abilities run the spectrum.

Aside from magic, life is relatively boring, that is until Alex- the former prince of Avalon who witnessed the brutal murder of his parents when he was just five years old. Now a sarcastic teenager, Alex has come to Invieron seeking asylum and with his eighteenth birthday imminent- along with the rumored return of Avalon’s greatest weapon: the fabled firebird- Tala’s family takes Alex in.

When the fire bird does in fact return to Avalon suddenly life gets interesting and a little complicated. Tala, Alex, and cast of witty and magical characters must get Alex back to Avalon to take his rightful place on the throne before the Evil Queen gets to Alex first and finishes what she started all those years ago.

There were so many things about this book that I loved. The allusions to so many childhood fairytales and fables was so fun and clever. I was sincere in my comparison of Once Upon A Time but on a larger scale. Fairytale worlds make up different regions of the world and you elements of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, Alice in Wonderland, and Snow White (to name a few).

On a more serious note, Chupeco dives into questions of identity not only in terms of her mixed-race heritage but also where she fits in the magical world considering her unique ability to negate magic and spelltech (basically technology infused with magic). Tala frequently struggles to feel like she belongs. She also comes to learn that her family history is a lot messier than she originally thought.

With all that said I gave this one 4.5/5 stars. It was almost perfect and I think if I had been able to dedicate more energy to longer reading sessions I would have enjoyed it more than I already did.

Overall, I would recommend this beauty to anyone who loved The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert and Spellhacker by M.K. England

Wicked As You Wish grabbed me right from the beginning with Tala’s voice. Kids have such distinct voices that getting this correct is often the key to enjoyment for middle grade kids. And they will let you know if it comes off false!

My 7th grade daughter doesn’t like reading anymore because it’s boring. There’s such a dearth of books for those that are beyond kiddie fairy/baby animal books but not wanting to read about partying and hooking up. This is perfect for 7th and 8th graders (and up of course) like my daughter and her friends, where they sing from Frozen 2 and Hamilton.

THE RUNDOWN:
» Yesssss

» Such a huge fan of Rin, had to jump on it.

» Fast paced with plenty of action

» Decent sized cast of characters that banter so no one gets forgotten and they’ve got their own mysteries to unravel

» Like this world! Universe where fairy tales are real & there’s a clear effort to include most peoples. Modern & retelling. Honestly can say nothing like it.

» Clear voice & humor.

» Good mix of seeing it coming and being surprised

» Queerrrrrrrr

» Enby Loki!

» FUCK I.C.E,

» SAVE THE KIDS

»Filipino culture & pinoy foods that will make your mouth water

» I needs the dragons to come back

» The friendships! The romance drama! The passionate fighting opposites that belong together.

» Ends with SUCH a surprise that I have to know what happens next right right right now.



five-stars

Very unique and compelling with a totally different vibe from her previous works that I appreciate and leave me awestruck. If you didn’t like Chupeco’s other books, you should give this one a shot anyways, it’s like THAT.

I couldn't get into this book. It is so confusing and lacks explanation. I try to never leave a book I start unread, but this one, I couldn't keep reading. Hopefully, revisiting it in the future will make me see and experience it differently.

Tala Warnock's world wasn't crafted from simplicity—magic is weaved into every thread of her life, except for the town she lives in, devoid of magic and everything uneventful, and Tala herself, the living, breathing oxymoron as a magic wielder—except, she wields the power to negate magic. She's anything but ordinary, even in the face of firebirds, ogres, and Baba Yaga. To tack on even more un-ordinary-ness, Tala's best friend Alex is the king of Avalon, a kingdom lost to the frost and terror of the evil Snow Queen.

Within the madness of it all, between attacks from ice wolves and even ICE agents, Tala's story shares a lot more than a magic-filled journey. Themes such as immigration, homosexuality, and genocide weave their way into her story, alongside found family and coming of age. Like most teens, Tala and her friends think they're invincible, but they learn otherwise—they learn teamwork and humility and how to lean on each other. Growth is a lesson to be learned by them, just as it is the adults. So Tala's magical world might be complicated, and perhaps confusing with its almost backwards seeming logic, but everything melds together, just as Tala melds into the readers' hearts.

I should have loved this.

A world that combines every single fairytale into one. A large cast of characters. Political intrigue. Filipino culture.

so why oh why did this disappoint?

the summary
In a world much like our own, but with a fantastical twist- the Royal States of America are joined by Wonderland, Neverland and Avalon. Their histories are intertwined with our own, creating an interesting political landscape and blend of cultures. Tala is a young girl with a curse of repelling and negating magic. Her family is charged with concealing Prince Alexei of Avalon until he can reclaim his rightful throne. When the Firebird comes to them- Tala, Alex and a host of Bandersnatches set off on a quest to fight the Snow Queen and her evil ICE Agents.

"cease the deception. People who don't look and act like you is what you hate. Every other excuse is only a pretence."

the writing
One of my favourite parts of this book, the writing was well done. I marked a few quotes that particularly resonated with me, mostly about filipino culture, political statements and morality.

"Wanna be known far and wide as a great warrior? Slay a dragon! Wanna impress the princess two kingdoms down from yours? Slay a dragon! Wanna impress the two kingdoms down from yours? Slay a dragon! Wanna show you've got better claims to the crown than the despot in power? Slay a flipping dragon! Genocide, all packaged up as feats of bravery."

Additionally, I loved the chapter headers that foreshadowed what would happen in the chapter, but in a non-sensical way that would usually only click once you got to the event. for example
Chapter One: In which a kiss does the exact opposite.


the plot
For the first few chapters, I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters, the world and just gently being eased into the story. But as soon as the plot started and our characters left for their quest I found myself loosing interest. My eyes began to glaze and skip down the page of their own accord- waiting for the end of the chapter so I could go do something else. I began to get confused about the intricacies of the world and politics (despite the numerous info dumps) By the end, I didn't know what was going on, and couldn't bring myself to care about who even one. It didn't evoke any emotion in me, which really is my best indicator about whether I am invested or not. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the latter.

the world building
Alternatively, I could have put this section under the header 'the info dumps' because that seemed to be all the world building was made up of. (okay, maybe that's a little harsh- but I'm bitter)
It could have been so good! I loved the little references and cameos of fairytale figures, worlds and how they interacted with one another. For example, 'The Burn' was a huge fight between Peter Pan and Hook in the twelfth century that caused a magical explosion leaving a desert that separated various parts of the kingdom, eventually leading the the destruction of Neverland.

the characters
aka the main disappointment of the book. I could have gotten past the info dumps. I could have gotten past not completely understanding. I could have gotten past the pacing.
If I liked the characters.
When the characters are developed and interesting, it is easier for me to connect with the story. Unfortunately, the majority of them fell flat and were quite one-dimensional. The diversity was amazing! There were people of different genders, sexualities, races- but that felt like their defining characteristic. I found myself getting confused between some of them, which led to me not really caring about what happened.

"If I were a monster, I would have let you drown back in the swamps"
"And that's the difference between us. You think one act of kindness, even self-serving, is enough to not make you one."

the verdict
overall, this has the potential to be someone's favourite book ever- or their least favourite. I have seen some quite polarising reviews even before this book's release, but if it interests you I would still recommend you give it a go. it is definitely one that will appeal to a specific group of people, with its quirky world and filipino elements. If you end up picking it up, I hope you love it! Unfortunately however, it wasn't quite for me.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC

Release Date: 3 March 2020

This book was so fun to read! I was a bit confused at the beginning because there was a lot to take in, but once the story got going I was able to follow along better. Honestly, that's probably the biggest reason I didn't give this book 5 stars. There were times where I was confused as to who was speaking, and who they were talking about or who they were talking to. 

I think this book also suffered a bit from trying to combining too many different fairy tales into one story - it's like a giant mixing pot of every fairy tale, myth, and legend from all different cultures thrown together with a dash of the real world thrown in. I love the concept, but I think maybe it would've made it easier if the different tales were slowly woven into the story rather than all at once.

That said, I did enjoy the combining of fairy tales with the modern world and having all these famous characters as real people. I also loved how Rin combined that with real world issues like immigration and refugee policies, which in light of today's issues was especially hard to read, but definitely something that people need to talk about. As someone who doesn't have to deal with discrimination, it was hard even for me to read without getting angry knowing that these are things that are actually happening. Rin has also pointed out in a twitter thread that these problems are not ones that affect the US only, immigration issues also affect the Philippines. (I recommend checking out thattwitter thread for more information and background to some of the characters, because it really helped me with understanding some of the characters more).

On that same note, there was a TON of representation in this book. Not only are a lot of the characters Filipino, but there is also LGBT+ rep, a japanese-british character, and a character that uses they/them pronouns, among many other things. Also, the parents in this book are actually around for their kids instead of absent like in a lot of YA novels, which was really nice to see.

I wish that the side characters were a little bit more fleshed out - I felt like Ken and West were so similar in how they were written that it was sometimes hard to keep straight who was who, and Cole I forgot about half the time because I didn't really see the point in his character and why he was with the group. I also didn't really like Alex all that much, especially as the book went on because he was acting pretty ungrateful for the help and support that he received, and it was pretty clear that he was keeping a lot of things secret from the ones who were sworn to protect him. It will be interesting to see where his character goes in the next book, because I think something big is going to go down. Oh, and that ENDING - I did not see that coming and I have no idea how it will affect the rest of the story and these characters! 

There was also a lot of humor in this book, which helped to make some of the heavier topics a little easier to swallow. (I mean, the chapter titles are amazing! One of my favorite chapter titles is for chapter 5: In which the firebird is an absolute unit.)

Overall, I found this book to be a lot of fun and it will be interesting seeing where the next book goes because I feel like the stakes are going to be a lot higher. I do recommend this book, but just be aware that you may be a bit confused at the start. Once they reached Avalon it started moving along a lot more smoothly!

Review will be posted on www.meltingpages.wordpress.com on March 3rd.

DNF @ 30%

I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this through NetGalley.

I really really tried to carry on with this book but it just was not good. There is absolutely no sense of world building in this book. There is a big info-dump but it’s just like the author expects you to know everything about this world without actually telling you anything? It seems to be a normal world but there’s magic and weird creatures and firebirds and three levels of spells and a frozen world and I just couldn’t keep up?

There were also so many characters! I had absolutely no idea who was who and couldn’t keep track at all. There was no development of any character and they just seem to be very one note. I had nothing to hold onto to grip me into the story and so just had to say to myself enough was enough.

This was such an intriguing and funny fantasy novel that sets up the world incredibly well and includes a diverse cast of characters that I loved. It tells the story of Tala, a young woman living in the magic-free town of Invierno in Arizona and her best friend, Alex, the refugee prince from Avalon. When the mythical firebird comes to Alex on his 18th birthday, it is time for him to reclaim his throne...with some mishaps along the way and while trying to avoid the minions of the Snow Queen.

The Positives: The world here is so immersive and detailed. Featuring aspects from all different mythologies, legends and fairy tales, we have characters from Arthurian legend, Wonderland and Neverland, to name but a few and these are woven seamlessly into the narrative, which also includes a great big helping of Filipino lore too. I loved Tala as a protagonist. She is feisty and brave, vulnerable and unsure of herself and just feels very authentic. Alex is a more troublesome character, and there were times when his behaviour was downright annoying, but again, he is authentic and believable. I love the other characters making up our band and the banter between them was really fun. I think the plot is basic, but it works well, given that there is an awful lot of other stuff going on in the world and also given that we have to try and come to grips with all of the different magic systems on show. I loved the chapter titles and the general tongue-in-cheek vibe to the narrative. It is wry and witty throughout, which I really appreciated.

The Negatives: I felt like Rin Chupeco does throw you in with both feet into the narrative, which meant that the first 50-75 pages left me feeling a little bit lost and consequently, it took me a little bit of time to get into it.

Overall, this was a really fun and incredibly well written book that left a lot of plot threads deliciously hanging, which means I will definitely be anxiously awaiting the sequel.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

What a beautiful and fresh fantasy this book was! I loved the diverse cast, the interesting concept. There was a few rough edges but overall amazing.