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madamenovelist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, and War
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Wicked As You Wish by Rin Chupeco is book one in the A Hundred Names for Magic series. Another great Rin Chupeco book! This one was very different from the others I've read by them. This one is set in a more familiar world, but combines other fantastical lands and stories into it.
We follow Tala, a spellbreaker (a person who's curse it is to negate magic) living in the desert town of Invierno, AZ, a town that also resists most magic. Because of Tala's family curse, she is an outsider with no friend besides Alex, who trusts her and her family to keep his royal secret. All the stories we know are true in this world: Jack Giantkiller, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and more. All Tala wants is to be able to control her curse and maybe go on a date with a cute boy.
One night, the legendary firebird shows up, reigniting hope that they will be able to restore Avalon, Alex's royal home, but with ICE agents everywhere and Ice Maidens and nightwalkers running after them, nothing is simple. Tala and Alex are joined by a ragtag group of teenage warriors called the Bandersnatchers, in order to help protect Alex and help restore the country of Avalon from it's frozen curse by the Snow Queen. Alex is hiding even more than Tala and the others know.
This was an exciting read that had an interesting magic system that actually involved technology and modernity. The concept of curses and dooms (not always bad) were fascinating. Chupeco also turns all the familiar fairytales on their heads, making princesses like Sleeping Beauty badasses in their own right. We also get to see some badass Filipino octogenarian warriors.
There are themes about immigration policies, political intrigue, the abuses of ICE agents, and the cost of selling one's soul for power and revenge. I love our little found family, and can't wait to see where things go with them in the next books with each of their prophecies/dooms. Nothing is as it seems, and that was most evident with the twist at the very end that I wasn't expecting! Chupeco has done it again!
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Child abuse
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
It ticked a lot of the boxes that should put it in the running for a favourite for me: teen quest with prophecies in a world where magic is real and incorporating a lot of myth and legend from different places, loads of puns, multicultural rep with characters who are an international grab-bag, shape changers, geriatric warriors, magical creatures, an unknown betrayer, a non-binary character, and some LGBT+ rep. The title itself could even be considered a reference to Princess Bride "..as you wish." And yet..
I don't know how much of the cringe I get from this title comes from the performance of the narrator, who seemed to be hired for her talent with Tagalog but who fails MISErably when challenged to pronounce Japanese, Irish or French words, and even some English ones. I don't believe that they camped near a corpse of trees (copse, surely), groused doesn't rhyme with caroused, plover doesn't rhyme with clover, or wizen with horizon. English aside, the narrator sounds like she hasn't heard of the Marquis de Carabas (from the story of Puss in Boots), and I struggled to hear the actual name of the mythical Japanese sword but from guessing it as Ju-uchi ? I managed to websearch 十千夜寒 Juuchi Yosamu (clearly I haven't watched enough Naruto). I just about howled and threw down the book in disgust when she tried to read Oisín as Oy-sin.
I would feel like the work of the author had been heinously wronged by these abuses, but it seems to match with her literary prowess, in that while it is functional and sometimes interesting, it is often not very aesthetically pleasing. I feel like parts of the story are written to make it more accessible, but it just means lots of clumsy tautologies; saying everything twice... (humour intended). Descriptions were full of things like "noisy din", "large titan" or the mindboggling "daybreak broke through the horizon". I TRY to ignore these things and focus on story. I'm owning that part of this is my own snobbish insistence on conventional language.
It's really unfortunate that most YA fantasy authors seem to think that stories become more exciting with magical weapons, mythic monsters, and cinematic fight scenes. Possibly this book would work better as a graphic novel, because blow by blow battles are not really made any more fascinating for me with mythic swords, sticks, extending staff, electric whip or groovy scythe. A protracted fight scene is still... kinda dull. Multiple protracted fight scenes.. even more so.
I wonder if I got more or less out of this book by already knowing quite a few of the stories the characters were based on. Kay and Gerda were obviously lifted from the Snow Queen, though in this telling he was also Sir Kay from Arthurian legend. The Locksley and Nottingham family feud was no surprise to those who recognise the names from the Robin Hood stories. I did have a chuckle at the transMOGrification of Cheshire. Melucine was combined into the legend of the Little Mermaid in stories told by the characters. There was a lot of world explanation, history and politics that was spelled out in dialogue between characters. Unfortunately that didn't make it feel much more relevant or less dull. The theory of how the magicks work was, as is common in this type of story, covered in training montages or discussions of magic-school lessons.
Although there was a diverse cast, and some cool Pinoy family parties with loads of food, which made me smile, there were also a lot of low-key problematic things in the story.
Pro: a powerful city in the magic land that is inhabited by beautiful people from Africa
Con: and we think it's really important to focus on how hot these women are, that they win Miss Universe pageants, and we need to try and keep the boys from flirting with them
Pro: a diverse cast of teens from different areas of the world and different strengths and weaknesses
Con: casual meanness / teasing about those people's gifts and weaknesses, such as trying to get a character to "shut up" when he's having a conversation with an animal, or laughing at the guy who doesn't understand idioms, or the guy who is always honest and doesn't understand how it hurts people's feelings.
Pro/con: The use of pro/con lists, and the hassling of the use of pro/con lists.
I was so keen to like this story. I still rate it as better than Shannon Messengers "Keeper of the Lost.." series, but (as so wonderfully addressed) "m'ladies, m'gentlemen, m'NBs"... unfortunately, for me, that's a bounce.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and War
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and War
guessgreenleaf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Confinement, Violence, Blood, and Deportation
fromjuliereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The beginning has a LOT going on. There is a lot of worldbuilding, magic, and tons of characters. It was a bit overwhelming for the start but as I continued, I got really invested in quite a few of the characters! Plus there is a JOURNEY with a rag-tag group that has to work together and I am always all for that 🙌
I think the only things were that because there are so many characters, it's a little hard to keep track at first and some of them are not as well developed. But I'm hoping we get more in book 2!
All of the references to fairytales and how they were spun for this world was AWESOME! I loved the references and characters that were mentioned and how they were brought into the history and the story. It was woven in really well!
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Mention of ICE, threat of deportation, detention centers for childrenalanawithdog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Gore and Violence
allisonwonderlandreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Genocide, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
olivialandryxo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s an urban fantasy set in an alternate version of our world, where America is a monarchy and various storybook worlds like Wonderland and Neverland are actual countries. This world’s history is an amalgamation of different fairytales blended with real world history, with King Arthur as prominent a historical figure as George Washington. Other stories and characters mentioned include Cinderella, Robin Hood, Briar Rose, the Snow Queen, Alice in Wonderland, and more. Loki is a prominent side character. Although it seems like a lot for one book, Chupeco made it all work. In fact, I found the creativity of it all quite fascinating.
I loved the characters. Tala, Alex, Zoe, Ken, West and Loki are all brilliant and complex, with such fun dynamics between them. They’re now one of my favorite found families. I know I say that about nearly every found family I come across, but I can’t help it. It’s one of my favorite tropes, and I really do love this ragtag group of heroes. I think Tala, Loki and Zoe are my favorites of the bunch.
One thing I noticed that I really appreciated was the lack of romance. Aside from a crush Tala has early on that quickly goes south, the only love here is familial and platonic. Zoe’s dating someone but they’re never actually on-page. As much as I was hoping for Tala and Zoe to end up together—despite there being no evidence of attraction on either end—I like that Chupeco chose to put the story’s focus elsewhere.
Although the story was slower at times, I never minded because the characters kept me entertained. I found myself always wanting to get back to the book whenever I had to put it down.
The ending went much smoother than expected, given that there’s a sequel, but I’m not complaining. My heart can only take so many cliffhangers. I will say that I found one thing predictable, saw it coming a mile away, but Tala’s reaction to said thing was interesting. I’m very curious to see if she changes her mind in the sequel.
And then there’s the epilogue….. excuse me, what? Like I said, not a cliffhanger, but also not something I ever, ever expected.
Looking very forward to book two!!! Stop sleeping on Rin Chupeco’s books, y’all!!!
Representation
- Filipino protagonist and side characters
- gay side character
- East Asian side character
- Chinese nonbinary side character that uses they/them pronouns
- side characters of color
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse and Genocide
A prominent side character’s parents died prior to the story and that’s referenced a few times. Same with the genocide and the child abuse, though the latter is regarding a minor side character.readutation's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Now, I know everyone is entitled to their opinion, and people who thought this book was bad are valid. But I admit, those negative reviews have affected me so much that when I picked this book up, I was so wary of it. I was prepared to dislike it too, thinking that the highest I could ever give it is a 3-star rating.
But IT'S NOT A 3-STAR RATING!!! THIS BOOK WAS SO MUCH FUN THAT I JUST HAVE TO GIVE IT FOUR STARS.
I think where this book truly shone is the plot itself. The plot was very engaging, and I love seeing them travel and fight and use magic — the witty banter in between helped a great deal too. In particular, I enjoy getting to the "prophecy" scenes because I do love to try cracking riddles in fantasy books. I'm not particularly great at deciphering riddles, but it's fun trying to do so all the same.
Now, of course, this novel isn't perfect by any means. It does have some weak spots, which is kind of understandable since this book tried to take on so many things, some aspects are bound to fall flat. Two of the aspects this book didn't do much of a good job on are the characters and worldbuilding.
Let's start with the worldbuilding. Wicked As You Wish may be a contemporary fantasy — specifically, alternate history fantasy — but it reads like a full-fledged high fantasy simply because there are so many new elements in this alternate world. As a result, it's kind of a headache-inducing read during the first few chapters because you're trying to get a grasp on the world and struggling to do that successfully. That's why I COULD understand people who rate this book low because of the worldbuilding — it can get confusing the first time around. However, things get a lot more bearable the more you read on, so the worldbuilding issue stopped being bothersome for me later on.
As for the characters, I think they suffered a bit in terms of fleshing out because the narrative favored the plot over them. It also doesn't help that this features an ensemble cast of characters, so there are a lot of them to follow, and sometimes you lose track of who's who. Now, this is not to say that I wish there were fewer characters or that the characters are not interesting — because they are. The Bandersnatch characters are so fun to follow (Ken is probably my fave; he is just so talkative and carefree), and of course, the Katipuneros are amazing.
However, a lot of the characters are left to mystery. I guess this sets up for the next books, but I would've loved more insight from them than what I got from the story. We rarely get any insight into their motivations and secrets, and this flaw affects Tala and Alex most of all, which is a problem since they're supposed to be the main protagonists. For the most part of the story, Tala and Alex felt like they're being pushed to the sidelines because they don't know much about what's happening and they're only following Zoe and the others who know more. As a result, they're kind of passive characters until the last act pushed them to make active decisions. I feel like the characterization issue is something that the author can definitely improve in future books, and I'm looking forward to that.
Another problem I had — though it stopped being a problem later on — is the pacing. Since this book tried to do so much — build a new history, infuse some strong political themes, etc. — the pacing suffered a bit, especially in the first act. There was a lot to set up, so it was kind of jarring when there's a literal time jump between the first two chapters, trying to establish Tala's life in Invierno. The pacing fixed itself when the second act began, so this issue didn't really bother me that much.
Long story short, this was definitely a fun read, and I enjoyed every second. I liked the Tala twist, that epilogue twist, and SOME possible ships (Ken and Nya are a thing, right? I'm iffy about Tala and Ryker, but there's potential there. And, of course, COLE AND ZOE!!! COLE LIKES HER, RIGHT??? PLEASE SAY YES). I'm eager to pick up the next book and see where the story will go.
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Minor: Genocide, Racism, and War
angelicathebookworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Grief