ARC Review: Wicked as You Wish by Rin Chupeco #BlogTour #Giveaways

An unforgettable alternative history fairytale series from the author of The Bone Witch trilogy about found family, modern day magic, and finding the place you belong.

Many years ago, the magical Kingdom of Avalon was left desolate and encased in ice when the evil Snow Queen waged war on the powerful country. Its former citizens are now refugees in a world mostly devoid of magic. Which is why the crown prince and his protectors are stuck in…Arizona.

Prince Alexei, the sole survivor of the Avalon royal family, is in hiding in a town so boring, magic doesn’t even work there. Few know his secret identity, but his friend Tala is one of them. Tala doesn’t mind—she has secrets of her own. Namely, that she’s a spell breaker, someone who negates magic.

Then hope for their abandoned homeland reignites when a famous creature of legend, and Avalon’s most powerful weapon, the Firebird, appears for the first time in decades. Alex and Tala unite with a ragtag group of new friends to journey back to Avalon for a showdown that will change the world as they know it.

I love the other works of Rin Chupeco, but this one clearly didn’t make me love it like the other books. I have some issues with it in terms of how dragging the narration is to the point that it never holds my full attention and interest in reading and enjoying the story. Though I admit that I really really want to dive into the story, especially it has a lot of Filipino references in it like the cultures and traditions we have. I love reading those familiar Filipino terms like agimat, puto, bibingka, abanico fans, and many more.

When I started this novel, I’m excited because, yay, another book from Rin Chupeco. I also get amazed whenever she was able to sew some Filipino references in the story together with some magical stuff. But, I don’t know what’s happening in the story because everything is a mess in my head. The plot, the characters, the magic systems, and the world-building looks like entangled with one another that makes me lost in the story. Though it somehow gets better after some chapters.

Overall, I feel overwhelmed in reading this book because of too many characters and other details, even though I love how the author cast diverse characters and use different fairytales, legends, and myths in creating the story. I will still recommend this novel to everyone who likes reading young adult fantasy because you might love this despite my opinion and experience with it.

Disclaimer: I received an advance reading copy via The Fantastic Flying Book Club.

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: March 3, 2020

Series: A Hundred Names for Magic #1

Genre(s): Young Adult, Fantasy

Language: English

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Despite an unsettling resemblance to Japanese revenants, Rin always maintains her sense of hummus. Born and raised in Manila, Philippines, she keeps four pets: a dog, two birds, and a husband. Dances like the neighbors are watching.

She is represented by Rebecca Podos of the Helen Rees Agency. She is also fond of speaking in the third person, and may as well finish this short bio in this manner. While she does not always get to check her Goodreads page, she does answer questions posed to her here as promptly as she is able to.

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Follow the tour HERE!

1^st Prize: Win a signed copy of WICKED AS YOU WISH by Rin Chupeco + 3 character stickers (Alex, Tala, and the firebird) + 2 character cards (Alex and Tala) [INT]

2^nd Prize: Win (1) of (3) character stickers from WICKED AS YOU WISH (Alex, Tala, and the Firebird) + character cards from WICKED AS YOU WISH (Alex and Tala) [INT]

Giveaway duration: February 26, 2020 – March 11, 2020

JOIN HERE