I absolutely love the dark atmosphere Kerri Maniscalco creates in all of her books. This book was addicting and captivated me from the beginning. I really liked Emilia’s character and how she set out to seek revenge for her sister Vittoria’s murder. Wrath was one of my favourite characters in the book and I found myself really enjoying the different princes of Hell and their domains. The twists and turns in this one kept me guessing until the end and I look forward to the next book in the series.

A fast paced opener to a must read trilogy. The characters are fierce. The plot is captivating. The amount of spice with unmet fantasies is just right. I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. I had to immediately start it.

Amazing and so fun and I loved every minute! Wrath is so fun to read and I loved getting to watch him and Emilia interact

I love supernatural books, so this one was right up my alley. Emilia and ger twin sister Vittoria are witches, taught by their Nonna from a very young. When Vittoria dies under very suspicious circumstances, Emilia decides to do whatever it takes to find out what happened, even if it means summoning one of their mortal enemies for help. The story that follows is a good one, and I was sucked in by the setting, the supporting characters, and the story. The main problem I had was with the main character. She just made a lot of stupid choices and it took her forever to come to the conclusion of who the bad guy was, even though I figured it out very early in the book. I just think her character could have been fleshed out more and made better choices.

Amazing, refreshing with a dash of nail-biting
This book was amazing and kept me on my toes throughout.
The plot of this book was action-packed with a perfect amount of steam.
I can't wait to see where this story goes, but I know it'll be a ride.

DNF - did not finish. Not my cup of tea unfortunately. I know a lot of people are fans but I had a hard time getting into it. May try again in the future.

When Emilia's twin sister is killed, Emilia vows to find her killer and exact revenge. . . even if she has to make a deal with the devil to see it done.

This book is usually shelved in Young Adult, but it really walks a very fine line. The subsequent books in this series are definitely adult books, and the author has stressed this.

I would recommend this title to readers who like gothic stories with morally gray villain/heroes and some spice. Keep in mind that the other two books are quite spicy. Also keep in mind that all three books tell a complete story, so the ending of this one one may not be satisfying to readers who like to have each book stand alone.

Eine spannende Geschichte, aber leider nicht ganz mein Fall. Ich bin mit der Hauptprotagonistin leider nicht wirklich warm geworden und auch die Handlung an sich wirkte auf mich nicht immer schlüssig. Ich mochte das Setting und die Idee sehr gerne, aber irgendwie konnte mich die Geschichte nicht ganz so fesseln wie erhofft.

I was so excited for this. After finally starting it, I just couldn't click with the characters at all. The wicked was described perfectly but the characters telling the story of the legend I just couldn't get on with.

This was a mixed bag for me. I really enjoyed the setting and thought that Kerri Maniscalco did a really good job evoking the sights, smells and tastes of Sicily. I thought that the premise was interesting and the various kingdoms and princes of Hell are definitely something I would like to find out more about. I didn't love the characters and felt that there wasn't any chemistry between Emilia and Wrath. I also thought that the writing itself was a bit repetitive and simplistic - lots of sentences beginning with 'I' which got a bit annoying for me. Overall, this was an enjoyable enough read and I am interested enough in the world to pick up the sequel, but it's not a new favourite for me.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It took me way too long to finally get to this, but I must say it was well worth the hype.

I've been a fan of Maniscalco since her Stalking Jack the Ripper series, so it's nice to see her branch out so well in a new series. I feel her writing and style has changed quite a bit since those earlier books; this book veered a bit into more adult (or at least a more mature YA) than previously, which definitely suited the overall darker tone and content. I think Emilia needed more depth and nuance as a main character, but I'm hoping to see a clear character arc for her throughout the rest of the series, especially with her huge decision at the end of the book. Otherwise, a solid first entry for this series and I'm so looking forward to reading more from Maniscalco!

an interesting story, with a great setting, the chemistry between the characters is fluid and is not lost, magic and demons without a great strong point, each chapter makes you want to read more and in the end you finish the book with more desire to read about the history.

I have not read Jack the Ripper series or any other book by Kerri Maniscalco before and this book is my first. I had high expectations for this book since it is so hyped. Though I enjoyed the next book in the series (Kingdom of the Cursed), I was not a fan of Kingdom of the Wicked.

Emilia and Vittoria are twin sisters but they are as different as twins can be. Vittoria is bold, outgoing and likes to experiment whereas Emilia is the innocent, prudent girl who loves cooking. They are secretly witches but they live as ordinary people, running a well-known sicilian restaurant. Everything goes on as usual, until one day, Emilia finds Vittoria murdered, her body mangled beyond recognition. Wrecked with grief and anger, she sets out to find Vittoria's murderer. Even if it means using dark magic or teaming up with one of the most dangerous princes of Hell. As she uncovers secrets of her sister and grandmother, she begins to doubt if her sister's murder is indeed what it seems to be or if it's just a play in a greater scheme.

I absolutely adore the 19th century Sicilian Palermo setting. The writing style was easy to understand. The description of food is just mouthwatering. I loved the concept of Hell; its gates and princes of Hell being named after the seven deadly sins. The banter between Emilia and Wrath was hilarious. Wrath is the most well-mannered, gentleman-ish morally grey character I have ever read. The fact that Wrath, being a prince of hell- loves Cannoli, is cute as hell too.

The biggest reason I gave this book 3 stars is because I was not able to get involved with the plot. It was like, I was aware of reading, instead of feeling like watching the events unfold (I don't know if I am making sense now). Anyway, that made it harder to remember the course of the story. Everything beyond the basic information about hell and its princes felt like information dump and I was truly not able to remember them. By the time I finished the book, I had to skim through it all over again, because the ending just didn't make any sense. The pace was a bit inconsistent too. The ending was predictable, but it also promises a good storyline in the next book.

Overall, I feel that Kingdom of the Wicked is a good one-time read. Moreover, now that I have read the next book in the series, this series is totally worth it!

Kerri Maniscalco is one of my favorite authors. I loved this book from page 1. I loved Emilia's character. She was a naïve young witch seeking revenge for the murder of her twin when she accidentally summons a Demon Prince. I loved the dynamic between Wrath and Emilia. This story moved very quickly and was full of action and ended on such a cliff-hanger. I am all in for this series!

I can't lie, after seeing a good bit of people I follow on the internet give this book 3 stars or less I was kind of nervous to pick it up. Especially trying to crawl out of a deep slump. But actually, I'm glad I gave it a chance thanks to a new bookclub I joined.

Honestly, I had a great time. It was fun, the story was entertaining and interesting in my opinion. The pacing was pretty slow, I will say that. Not in a way that I found boring, there was something happening most of the time just the progression of the mystery was very slow moving so at times I felt like very little progress had actually been made even as I got closer to the end of the book.

I personally wasn't a fan of the amount of times I had to read through food ingredients and recipes. I also question why Emilia made some of the decisions that she did. She wasn't the smartest character but I didn't necessarily dislike her. There were times I really enjoyed her character and other times...she left me very confused. I did like the demon princes we got to meet. I think the concept behind them is very interesting, I like how they aren't all awful and bad, they actually do have some good qualities to them. Similarly, I did like how the magic system worked. THIS is magic done correctly. Give and take. Using magic comes at a cost, they aren't just unlimited and all powerful.

Maybe this worked out better for me because I expected to dislike it so I wasn't disappointed. I had a good time and it actually has made me move passed my slump enough for me to WANT to pick up the book and read. I'll be starting the second one soon I think!

Very well written and able to create the setting visuals masterly for the YA audience. This series is perfect for any young reader and even adults who continue to live the genre. I will recommend this to students and patrons at my library who are in need of a genuine gothic tale.

was really excited to read this as it has had a lot of hype and sounded like my kind of book.

The book was a quick read, the language easy with a quickish pace. The characters were likeable, or dislikeable when they needed to be and I do think the author was successful with the whole bad boy appeal of Wrath. The protagonist is annoying at times and does seem to walk straight into trouble most of the time, but I have to remember this is YA. (This is definitely a book which falls firmly into the YA genre)
The world building is ok, there's a surprising amount of detail when cooking but then less about the community which is a little strange. I can imagine the world in which it's set, as it doesn't different too far from a kind of olden days Italy type time.

There were the odd inconsistencies which were annoying, such as the time flow and the fact that her grandma gets hurt and she just wonders off for what seems like days but is only one, and no one seems to worry at all where she is. Given there is a murderer on the lose and her sister was killed, I found this a bit far fetched, ( yes I know there is a demon and a giant snake).
Overall a good read. Simple and good if you don't question thi gs or ask too many questions.

I really struggled with this book. I liked it, but there were some inconsistencies with the story that maybe will flesh out in the future books. I love witch books and books set in beautiful places like Italy, and my favorite trope is a enemies-to-lovers style novels. Getting a little of Emilia and Vittoria backstory was a nice start, but also sad. I found the world building lacking, but I am sucker for strong world building. I enjoyed the banter between Emilia and Wrath and I am very much looking forward to reading more in this series.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy.

This was enjoyable, just lacking in depth. I enjoyed the overall storyline, but wanted more nuance from the MC. And more time with Wrath. 😜

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.