Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) by Rin Chupeco
- Overall: **
- Romance: *
- Reading Rate: ***
- Pages: 432
- Release Date: March 3, 2020
- Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
- Recommend if you liked: Reverie
- Purchase on Amazon HERE
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. There are several countries and magics listed and different type of people that can use them, and different groups that tolerate and don’t tolerate.
What I liked:
- I think the author had a great concept for the world it just was not fully executed in this first book.
What I struggled with
- 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.
- This is the first novel I have read from Rin so perhaps this is just her writing style and I was not aware.
- I also felt the author had some pretty strong political views that were coming off loud and clear in the story and it was a bit off putting for me.
- They also tried to include a large amount of diversity into the book, but to the point that in an attempt to be inclusive there were so many characters you had little information about them other than what made them “different” and I personally felt it was counterproductive. I am all for diversity in a story but actually make a character not just try to 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.
While the story did end in a cliffhanger with little wrapped up, 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.
After reading the book ( I always try to go into my ARCs a little blind so no bias) I learned that this was the authors first book she wrote and was extremely passionate about so makes more sense why it is so rough around the edges.
Synopsis:
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 spellbreaker, 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.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for a copy of Wicked As You Wish in exchange for my honest opinion.
Overall: ***
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