A Mage's Guide to Wicky

R'iyah Family Archives #3

by A.J. Sherwood

Wicky’s never been magically stalked before.

He kinda likes it, to be honest.

For some reason, it’s upsetting everyone else though. Maybe he should figure out who it is?

Ooooo, maybe his fated one is on the other end! In…Thailand?

Tags:
Wicky use your brain challenge: Failed, author has lost discretion in this, Wicky is in Thailand, pray for Thailand, the trio is along for the ride, fated mates, Thai magic, don’t mind the author I’m just over here building a ship, Sun is the younger of the two but he’s also resigned to being the responsible one, chosen family, Mobius talks, in Thai, Wicky feels so betrayed, look this is pure romantic crack, Sun is cute that’s all you need to know

Genres: M M Romance, Paranormal, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Audiobook

113 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 2, 2023

About the author

AJ Sherwood believes in happily ever afters, magic, dragons, good men, and dark chocolate. She often dreams at night of delectable men doing sexy things with each other. In between writing multiple books (often at the same time) she pets her cats, plays with her dogs, and attempts insane things like aerial yoga.

She currently resides in Tennessee with aforementioned cats, dogs, and her editor/best friend/sister/partner in crime.

Reviews

[Abrianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. This reads like a prequel novella to a longer novel and if that's the case I really wish the author combined them as novellas are not her forte. The previous two books in the series have plots outside the romance and this doesn't. There's no substance. Everything happens way too fast and I can believe a lot, but I know the author and her writing—or I did. I know she's great at world building and setting up relationships for success. We get none of that here and for someone who loves Wicky when they were first introduced to him that's really sad.
Hopefully the author goes back to her roots with the next book.

[Kaity · Rating 2 out of 5]

Audio: 4-4.5 stars, the narrators were good (Cooper North and Shawn K Jain)
Book: 1.5-2 stars

The way this was written felt like I was losing brain cells.. I am not sure I can read anymore AJ Sherwood books, all the characters are too juvenile.. and the conversations were…boring and blah. Nothing special.

Almost DNF’ed at 50% aka page like 50 something. And since this book is only 113 pages I pushed through.. and kinda wish I didn’t.

Everything was very rushed and didn’t flow as smooth as you’d think. I’ve read some really good novellas and this wasn’t one of them.

Overall I am done with this series and I think I need a break from AJ Sherwood..

[Janet (iamltr) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook Review

First off, I'm not gonna lie.

I was worried about the audio of this short story. Sun is from Thailand and would naturally have an Asian accent, which come on, we know that when it's been used in the past, it's been kind of bad. There have been times I wished the narrator didn't even attempt it.

But Shawn, who is a new to me narrator, was absolutely amazing. I will automatically listen to them again, so authors take note.

Cooper, who did Wicky, was great when not doing the og throuple voices. I dunno why, but his accent/affectation was off? I dunno, but it was not bad enough to take me out of the story.

I cannot speak much about what actually happens in here, as it's very short, and basically it is Sun and Wicky's meet cute.




_________________



Oh Wicky

Ok listen, I'm on vacation and noticed that this book was on my Kindle at 12:30 am and here it is two hours later and I've finished it. This wasn't my fault, ok?

So this story was about Wicky (duh) and Sun, the one trying to find him. It literally is the step by step story of how these two finally get together.

I can't say much more, or I'll spoil the whole thing.

I loved this one, though Wicky could have been toned down a heck of a lot. He was way too over the top. I'm not from Thailand so I can't say if any of what was said or described was correct, but man, it must be nice to just fly to all these countries with no issues.

I can't wait for the audio for this one.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kinda meh. Felt more like a short novella as a teaser for a 'real' book to come.

[Nanna Mørk-Sander · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt too short for me to truly get into. Insta-love all the way, and it was missing all the usual shenanigans of the series.

[Ronie Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

No, no, no! Say it ain't so! Nor that Wicky found that spark, yhat has been alluding him. I mean getting a vibe this was a trilogy.

If I can wait 10 years for an anime to be released. I can only hope book 4 is released in my lifetime!

[Jen (Fae_Princess_in_Space) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute little novella about how Wicky finds his soulmate Sun, via a soulmate seeking spell! I really liked Wicky and Sun together and although I’d have loved this to have been a more fleshed out novel, it did work well as a novella and I’m excited to see more of Wicky and Sun of future books ever happen!

[OneDayI'll · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very short novella. While I'm glad Wicky got a story...ish, I'm so sad that it's so short. And that he stifled himself so much for Sun's family. It felt almost dishonest and deceptive. Wicky is bluntly honest. That's his charm. Aside from his uninhibited and childlike nature anyway. I'd have been happy to wait for a longer book honestly. We barely meet Sun and the novella ends. And right when he sees the scene from his vision, too. Why was it so impactful? We don't see Zia meeting Sun, either, and she's Wicky's partner. We don't get Mobeus explaining why he's suddenly verbal after being Wicky's familiar for 9yrs of communication via jingles and ringtones. Everything was wait wait wait, oh they met, let's speedrush this thing and bam...done. I know the series focus is Bel, hence the series being called R'iyah Family Archives. But I felt that if this is was all we were going to get it could have just been told from Bel's, Nico's and Garen's POV with them instigating, offering advice, and nudging them along with the story told in the background. And some of the Wicky inner monologues were a little Asian fetishy...which was uncomfortable to read.

[Ditte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 2.75

I really liked Wicky in the previous two books but for some reason I found this one boring. I guess he just works better for me as a side character than he does a protagonist.

[Danis ❤️ MM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only "meh" for me this time around. I expect more from this author. Spoiler alert. I wrap up the entire plot in a few sentences below.

This is Wicky's story. Someone's using a tracking spell to find him and he wants to know who. Sun, a Thai elemental mage, had a vision of his soul mate and has been using a tracking spell to locate Wicky.

And that's it. The entire story is Wicky (and friends) locating Sun (without alot of difficulty). Convincing Sun's overprotective family to allow him to traipse off to America with a complete stranger (that took about 10 minutes of convo) and puff, Sun is in America living with Wicky.

It's a fluffy story sure. But there is absolutely nothing memorable about it unlike the first two books.

[Felicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just sweet

I have been looking forward to a book featuring Wicky, the goofy, dangerous, lovable mage. Unfortunately this feels incomplete compared to the previous two titles.

Most notably missing is any true sense of conflict or action. There is very little meat to this story.

I appreciate that this is meant to be a way to give Wicky his HEA, and I do love Sun. I just wish the author had given the characters a bigger problem to solve than a protective family. I want adventure, or drama, or danger, and none of that is here.

It is sweet. Just sweet.

[Molly Otto · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes!

Sorry, Garen and Nico, Mobius is the superior familiar! The best sass out there to balance ish Wicky.
This adventure we head to Thailand to meet the mage seeking out Wicky, to see if this is for the betterment on the team or just another hitch along the way. Sun is a gun sweet character that i look forward to seeing aling these adventures. He and Mobius are gonna keep Wicky on his toes, that's for sure, and I can't wait to see it!
Shorter than would have hoped for but, as usual, great fun and cannot wait to see what's next in this wild world.

[Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun edition to this series. I continue to love Sherwood's ability to tell stories filled with humor and fun.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

A Mage’s Guide to Wicky is the third book, and A.J. Sherwood’s R’iyah Family Archives series. The first two books focus on the trio of Bel, Nico, and Garen, and Wicky has been a prominent side character. This story takes a bit of a detour in that it focuses on Wicky finding love with Sun, so there are new MCs here and their romance stands alone. However, the main trio do play a big role here as side characters, and a basic understanding of the main storyline and world building is assumed, so I think series readers will get the most out of this one. Unlike the first two books that include a second plot focused on magical mayhem that the team has to fight, this story is almost exclusively focused on the relationship between Wicky and Sun. As a result, it reads more like an interlude to the main story and is shorter than the other books.

I like the way that Sherwood explored a different side of magic in this story and there’s some nice world building.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So...... I was weary starting this book as the first book in this series was not as good as I hoped, but as it got better with the second book, I decided to read this one as well ... and I adored Wicky here.
I loved the more intense parts of his character and his intelligent, agent part we see here . I hope we get to see more of that in the next book

Sun is a great addition to the team, and I am looking forward to see more of him.

As I didn't really look at the page count, I was a bit surprised that it ended rather quickly .... but it was a great introduction

I loved this book And I am really looking forward to read the next book

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it. I wish it was longer and more developed, and that is the main reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5. It could have done with more development, or even shenanigans. I hope Wicky and Sun get more books and/or time to shine

Edit, reread as audiobook. Still hoping for another Wicky and Sun story

[William Kibler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wicky Finally Gets His.

Cute story of Wicky finding his HEA. This 3-book series was fun to read but I often felt like the author was writing to a YA audience. The storytelling was straightforward and uncomplicated with frequent use of youthful colloquialisms and slang words. However, the sex scenes were definitely NOT appropriate for a younger readership! IDK, I guess the author geared this series to a mature audience with immature intellectual propensities. Hmm. That sounds about right!

[Nevergreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good but be warned, this is very much a romance with a plot that is very much interal, aka what people would call lacking or non-existent. I'm generally fine with that and knew this small book wasn't going to give much plot going in. The characters were excellent as always, but I still want more Garen and Zia. In a perfect world this book would have had more plot and been longer too as it stopped just at it was getting interesting. The one sex scene in this was typical Sherwood short, but it was better than most as I actually believed kt took longer than 2 minutes from start to finish.

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too short! But at least there's a promise of another case at the end of this, so I'll be content for now. Seriously, Wicky and Sun together are nothing less than #swoony and #commitmentgoals and #visionsftw! I can't wait to see what she comes up with next for them all...

[Lenka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finally got to properly read this and I really enjoyed it, even though it is quite different from the previous ones. It is quite short for one, and has considerably less action than what you might expect, but I guess it's coming with the next story and I'm really looking foward to that!

[Ryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun read.

This book ranks right up there with the other series that AJ Sherwood has written. Can’t wait to see what else we will learn of and from this cast.

[Kylara Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Super cute

Too short

Almost too convenient if you know what I mean. But cozy in a way too

[Suzanne Bourgeois]

yay wicky gets a book!! but where is the rest of it? there was no bonking. except for the demo for Sun and his family. and what did Zia think of Sun? Ms Sherwood, my only critique is the book is way too short. I really need to know know how Sun fits in with the Bonk Brothers and their exasperated team.

[ReadKnitHoard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining, funny, short.

[Angelena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never done crack, but A.J. Sherwoods books are what I imagine it would be like. It's a crazy ride that's over too soon and leaves me intensely craving more. Wicky was a joy in the previous two books, so seeing this new addition centered on him was quite fun, and I really love the dynamic between him and Sun. The humor was, of course, top notch and the pacing was good overall. Compared to the previous two books, the amount of magical action/fighting taking place was extremely low, with most of the book being focused on tracking Wickys magical stalker. With this, I was rather surprised when I hit the epilogue 'cause while I was thoroughly entertained the whole book, I'm unsure if there was really anything unexpected or a part that felt very climatic. I've read approximately 42 out of 51 of Sherwoods books, so I'm pretty sure it's safe to say I'm a huge fan. It's the perfect reset when you've read something too dark/heavy or when you simply need an escape from life. I will say the book felt too short, I was shook when I saw that I was already halfway through, and I feel like the plot could have been expanded a bit more, especially if we got to see them together in America a bit more outside of the epilogue. It was hinted that the next book will also feature them, but seeing as I can't find any release dates for new works, I'm just left wanting more.

My only other complaint is that I think a lot of the Thai was incorrect, I don't speak Thai but I hate feeling like I'm missing things so I would try to look up any Thai phrases used. I quickly gave up on the Kindle translate as, for some reason, Thai wasn't an option. So, I would copy and paste it directly to Google translate, which 99% or the time didn’t work so I'd then just straight plugging it into the internet but a lot of the times I would have to click a different suggested spelling to get the translation or worse nothing would come up at all even when tacking on "english translation" or "Thai meaning". I would only get suggestions for certain words in the phrase, not the full phrase itself, and I was left trying to puzzle things out. So, I wish she had included a glossary at the end to tell us the intended meaning of any Thai language used in the book.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wild ride

A bit more of a novella side story, this was still a sweet and fun adventure very in keeping with this series!

Wicky finds himself the target of an unusual seeking spell and goes to Bel for help finding the source. Soon Wicky, Bel, Nico and Garen find themselves trekking across the country and even across continents to find the source. The other end of the spell is even more of a surprise.

Wicky is a fun and impulsive guy, so seeing his thought process and actions through his own eyes was a very fun read. While he is impulsive he isn't stupid and his actions do show that. Working with Bel is fun to him with the danger, but at the same time he is protective and would never actually desire harm to any of those he loves; that is why he loves his job, it protects others while letting him use his full skills. Finding a team that was accepting of that was hard enough, finding a romantic partner of that just seems crazy, but Wicky is always open to crazy.

Sun wants adventure and the chance to use his powers to help others. In his culture leaving your family, especially to the extent of another continent, is certainly not the norm. Sun finds his own family wanting to block the idea of him leaving and so throws himself into finding his future. When his future starts to call back to him Sun has hope for a change.

This was a shorter story, mostly about finding these two and bringing them together with some help from friends. It was fun and low on angst, even as the two men each did some searching of their feelings and hopes for the future. The purpose was to bring them together and it promises for more Ri'yah stories with these two right alongside the rest of the team. Can't wait!

[J.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

As much as I love the main trio that has been the focus of the first two books in this series, Wicky is such an enjoyable secondary character that I’m not surprised he’s gotten his own book. I worried a bit that his personality would be too manic to sustain from his perspective for too long, but Sherwood nicely balances his external intensity with a slightly more subtly direct internal narrative. The mystery itself centers nicely on Wicky while still allowing for relevant participation from Bel and his familiars, and I enjoyed the buildup toward a new character and new type of magic.

The full story is very much an extended meet-cute between Sun’s mission in life and how it leads directly to Wicky. Sherwood deftly avoids bland insta-love by instead allowing the characters to focus on the potential of their connection and using that to draw themselves closer more quickly than they might have otherwise.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure how well this book works as a stand-alone introduction to this world. We don’t get very much information on Wicky’s style of magic, and only a bit more on Sun’s elemental focus in how they contrast. I also felt like a lot more conflict was set up regarding Sun’s family that never quite materialized, giving this shorter novel no real external conflict or relationship dark moment.

I still enjoy this world, and reading this installment actually made me want to go back and re-read the first books in the series. I look forward to seeing how Sun meshes with this lovely found-family team of magic users for whatever comes next.

Disclaimer: I received a digital review copy of this novel from the author.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

whimsical, magical, and wildly entertaining

Rating: 4.75🌈

Scattered, wacky, Wicky, adorable perfection!

What happens when a magical seeking spell won’t leave Wicky alone? Well, as much as his curiosity is killing him, Wicky knows this time , he needs to call in his team and found family to find answers.

With Bel, Nico, and Garan involved, Wicky’s team are going to find out who is magically stalking their wonderful, flighty friend. And the reason why.

This is such a fabulous story. It flies by on wings of combined cultural magic and values, soars with the joy of discovery, of finding one’s true purpose and path, with characters infused with humor, intelligence, love, and sheer outrageousness.

Sun , Wicky’s soulmate, is amazing, and I look forward to seeing how a wind elemental will fit into the team. Plus the journey into parts of Thailand, along with the food made my mouth water.

Each aspect of the story contained some great elements that made you want to linger a bit longer. And still hurry forward towards the next stop . Incredible.

You giggle, you smack your head, laugh, and keep on appreciating the world that Sherwood has created that has such fantastic characters within it.

My only quibble? I wanted more.

Who wouldn’t?

And now Mobius decides to speak?

Pls we need more. More adventures of the team as they adjust to the new status quo.

I’m highly excited for that story to arrive. And recommend this until it does!


R’iyah Family Archives:
- [x] A Mage's Guide to Human Familiars #1
- [x] A Mage's Guide to Aussie Terrors #2
- [x] A Mage's Guide to Wicky #3

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the trio from the first two books, but Wicky has been such a great side character, I wasn't surprised at all when I discovered he'd get his own story. Wicky is such a ball of chaos, I was prepared for just about anything when I started this. I did not expect his story to be as sweet as it is.

Wicky being magically stalked is just about right for him, I think. Wicky doesn't do anything by half, so why should finding his soulmate and other half be anything different. Sun is such a sweet person, single minded in his determination to follow through on the vision that was revealed to him, and I get that. I get his determination to leave his overpowering family - although they love him - and strike out on his own and find his path in life. That it leads to Wicky is more of a surprise to Wicky than anyone else 😂

I honestly expected a little more shenanigans, because this is Wicky and Nico is also involved but that's relatively toned down in favour of the sweet story between Wicky and Sun. I really enjoyed this entry in the series, and can't wait for the next case.

I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wickys Wacky Wayward Ways

I’ve been anticipating this book since Wicky was first introduced. What a rich and vibrant world AJ has created, with their own unique interests sprinkled within (as someone who’s stepmother is Asian, I really enjoyed the different magics described in these stories and this one in particular).

A quick read - I was surprised to reach the end I wanted more! - but definitely did not take away from the body of the story being told. I loved the ending - as someone who experiences world tilting deja vu OFTEN these little experiences and moments were kind of validating in a weird but fun way!

The characters were well written, the dialogue snappy and full of banter which is just what I expect from an AJ Sherwood novel. I do wish we’d gotten more of an in-depth explanation of the fam situation with Sunee, but also being a little familiar with some of the cultural nuances, it did make sense to not actually go into too much detail.

A delight from start to finish, AJ always delivers the most enjoyable, fun filled, ADHD and pop culture/tumblr-esque sprinkled lovely stories and I recommend them to EVERYONE.