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ohtoasty's review against another edition
I found myself struggling to really get into this book. I found it difficult to understand the world, even with the references to Alice in Wonderland. I liked the idea of special powers each individual had but found the distinctions difficult to read between.
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
As soon as I saw this ARC in the Fairyloot and read the blurb on the back, I knew this was gonna be my next read. It seemed to have and be everything I could wish for in a book and I was really curious how Chupeco would make all the different elements work together. And even though as a non-English native it wasn't always the easiest book to read, I ended up enjoying it immensely.
What made this book so incredibly interesting and brilliant is the mix of this being a high fantasy (with fantasy worlds where magic exists), a portal fantasy (and extra love for the traveling by rabbit hole and magic mirror) and an urban fantasy. Chupeco took a lot of well known worlds (ours, Neverland, Wonderland, Avalon) and blended them all into one big giant world WITH all the political complications coming with it.
To explain everything, and I don't even doubt we barely scratched the surface of it, there were a lot of info-dumps in this book, but they felt actually quite natural and were well hidden in casual conversations. It helps that our main character Tala knows nothing either, which means that there is a reason for all the other characters to tell her things, explain her things and share their stories and the stories of all the wars and conflicts.
But, what I admire most in this book is Chupeco's talent to really make all those characters different, to give them their own voice and personality and to make it so easy for me to tell them apart and to remember who they are. There are quite a lot of characters we meet along the way, and some we get to know better than others, but they are all unique and even I could remember who was who, which means a lot.
And on top of this, even though it's the first book in a series and clearly mostly building the world, it never gets boring. There's a lot of action, we get to see a lot of different parts of the world, meet people who've been involved in the stories we hear about and the book even builds to a conclusion. I'm really curious to see where this series will go, because like I said, I think we saw only a little of everything Chupeco has to tell us.
What made this book so incredibly interesting and brilliant is the mix of this being a high fantasy (with fantasy worlds where magic exists), a portal fantasy (and extra love for the traveling by rabbit hole and magic mirror) and an urban fantasy. Chupeco took a lot of well known worlds (ours, Neverland, Wonderland, Avalon) and blended them all into one big giant world WITH all the political complications coming with it.
To explain everything, and I don't even doubt we barely scratched the surface of it, there were a lot of info-dumps in this book, but they felt actually quite natural and were well hidden in casual conversations. It helps that our main character Tala knows nothing either, which means that there is a reason for all the other characters to tell her things, explain her things and share their stories and the stories of all the wars and conflicts.
But, what I admire most in this book is Chupeco's talent to really make all those characters different, to give them their own voice and personality and to make it so easy for me to tell them apart and to remember who they are. There are quite a lot of characters we meet along the way, and some we get to know better than others, but they are all unique and even I could remember who was who, which means a lot.
And on top of this, even though it's the first book in a series and clearly mostly building the world, it never gets boring. There's a lot of action, we get to see a lot of different parts of the world, meet people who've been involved in the stories we hear about and the book even builds to a conclusion. I'm really curious to see where this series will go, because like I said, I think we saw only a little of everything Chupeco has to tell us.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
5.0
I got this book from barnes and noble practically drooling over the beautiful cover. After reading the brief summary of the book i was hooked. It was an amazing story with classic fairytales twisted to fit the real world. It was breathtaking and very inspiring. The characters were so diverse and amazing. Their backgrounds shaped who they were and they were faced with challenges they had to face, accept, and overcome. The ending left me begging to read the next book. I am very pleased to have this book on my shelf alongside Cinder, Percy Jackson, and The Selection series. Speaking of, i am on my way to reading the Hero of Olympus, Allegiant, and the rest of the Selection Series with a few stand alones along the way. With the new year coming close at hand I can definitely say i will be cutting it close to my 75 book goal but I hope I will get close if i do not reach the goal.
pinkknight's review against another edition
The writing style just wasn't for me. It threw too much information at me too soon and I got overwhelmed.
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
This book isn't for everyone. Many of the elements crafted in this book went over my head. And that's because Rin clearly designed something that they related to most of all. I keep wavering between a 3 and a 4 because of well plotting, but ultimately this boils down to that I liked the characters and Rin's writing style more.
I received an ARC at Bookcon; however, all opinions are my own.
I received an ARC at Bookcon; however, all opinions are my own.
brianne_k's review against another edition
2.0
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. This did not affect my rating.
*2/5*
Man oh man oh man. This book’s synopsis was so intriguing that I jumped at the change to get the arc. An evil Snow Queen, a magicless Arizona, spell-breakers, a firebird?!?How does this not sound epic and amazing?
The plot was convoluted and messy. And for a book that had such a cool plot, it was just confusing. The characters were one dimensional, and world-building was a little confusing. I was hoping that the more I read, the more I would understand but it never happened.
Wicked As You Wish is urban fantasy, fabulism, fables, and fairy-tales all mixed together. Will it work for some people? You bet! And I hope this book finds those readers because it had such potential for me.
*2/5*
Man oh man oh man. This book’s synopsis was so intriguing that I jumped at the change to get the arc. An evil Snow Queen, a magicless Arizona, spell-breakers, a firebird?!?How does this not sound epic and amazing?
The plot was convoluted and messy. And for a book that had such a cool plot, it was just confusing. The characters were one dimensional, and world-building was a little confusing. I was hoping that the more I read, the more I would understand but it never happened.
Wicked As You Wish is urban fantasy, fabulism, fables, and fairy-tales all mixed together. Will it work for some people? You bet! And I hope this book finds those readers because it had such potential for me.
ohclaire's review against another edition
3.0
This book catapulted me back to middle school with representation and the fairytale/myth-fiction blend that I would have loved then. And while I did enjoy some of it, I feel like it dragged a bit for my tastes. Seriously tho this would have been my favorite book five years ago.
dahliaist's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.0
myriadreads's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 up to 4. I loved the diverse cast, and the many references to myth and legend from around the world.
sp1derpr1ncess's review against another edition
2.0
really interesting premise. but I had to DNF it. the worldbuilding was so confusing I couldn’t follow in the slightest