11 exciting new SFF releases that will blow you away in March
By Lacy Baugher
Wicked As You Wish – Rin Chupeco
The author of the The Bone Witch trilogy returns with the first installment in a new series that combines folklore, fairytales, myths and classic children’s stories into something entirely new. Wicked As You Wish follows the story of Prince Alexei of Avalon, who has been living in hiding along with the bulk of his people ever since the Snow Queen encased his kingdom in ice.
But in the Royal States of America, magic is illegal and ICE agents hunt refugees from other magical lands. So Prince Alexei and his best friend Tala must keep their abilities a secret. (Tala, for her part, is a spell-breaker, gifted with the ability to neutralize magic.) But when a magical firebird appears when Alexei turns eighteen, he, Tala and a group sent by the mysterious leader Cheshire return to Avalon in an attempt to defeat the Snow Queen once and for all.
The official synopsis describes the story as follows.
"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."
Wicked As You Wish is available on March 3.