Ugh, why did this book have to end the way it did? I need more of this story ASAP! Witches, Princes of Hell, death, a hint of romance, manipulation and deceit all in one book! I really enjoy the ride that Kerri Maniscalco takes the reader on and I can't wait for more! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Kingdom of the Wicked is amazing. Absolutely stunning. I could gush forever about what I loved, but I think a short list of why Kingdom of the Wicked is going to be an epic series is best for keeping me focused.

1. The world building is great. It may have been a bit ambiguous as to exactly what time period this would be set in, but you got the impression that it was "the old world." I loved this dark Sicily as a setting.

2. The characters are also wonderful. Our MC is strong, heroic, quick thinking and witty, but she's also a bit reckless and short sighted. (Or is she??) Even with the elements of magic and supernatural on every page, she's relatable and believable. Her desire to find her sister's killer and unravel the mystery was easily felt by the reader. Then we have the princes. Boy oh boy. Wrath was delightful. Seriously. He was the perfect combination of cold fury, sarcasm, and something else. I cannot wait to unravel more of that mystery. The other princes we meet were interesting as well, even if they did not get a lot of page time. I also look forward to seeing how they develop more as the series continues.

3. Kerri Maniscalco is a great story teller. Her descriptions were so vivid that you found yourself sucked into the cobblestone streets or exploring damp monestaries right along with the characters. The book's pacing was also consistent and it helped develop a page turner. I won't say there were many surprises along the way, however. In fact, the major "surprises" were pretty easy to figure out early on but that didn't make the journey to the end any less enjoyable.

I cannot wait to continue this series.

I was intrigued. It was good. I need more.

I’m not sure what I expected, since I read this before I read her SJTR series. While it was quite enjoyable, and 4 star worthy, it felt lacking in something. I think I went in expecting romance, and there really wasn’t any. Not that I base all my books on that, but even in YA I expect a little more than what we got in this one.

I will definitely be reading the next book and I look forward to my reread of this one. Now that I know Kerri’s writing style, I’m willing to bet I’ll like this more the second time around.

And that ending‽‽ Dude. That’s all I’m saying about it.

I'm still holding out hope for more kissing in the next book.

This book was so good! I can't wait for the second. I loved Emilia, she was such a good character and I really want to know more about Wrath. The plot definitely got me invested and I liked the concept of the seven deadly sins as deamon. As someone who has read Stalking Jake the Ripper (Kerri Maniscalco's other serie), I enjoyed this book more.

emilia & her twin sister vittoria are from a family of witches. after discovering vittoria's dead body, emilia turns to dark magic to try to solve the murder.

witchcraft and demon princes chef's kiss! i liked the romance a lot more than i thought i would lol i got way invested. & the pacing was really good, i loved the quick chapters & there weren't any parts that felt dragged out or boring. i didn't expect the book to have that much of a cliffhanger at the end though so rip but overall this was really fun & i'm excited for the sequel

*thank you to netgalley & the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

Italian witchcraft, princes of Hell, ancient prophecies and curses, and an unlikely partnership brought about by some accidental magic. Kerri Maniscalco lends her talents to a delectable new series.

Emilia is from a long line of Sicilian streghe (witches) who hide their powers from the world. One night, her twin sister, Vittoria, goes missing and Emilia stumbles across her mutilated body. Devastated, Emilia turns to dark magic to track her sister's killer. Summoning Wrath, one of the seven Princes of Hell, she binds his will to hers, only the spell doesn't go quite as planned. It turns out that Emilia's quest for vengeance may tempt her down a darker path than she ever imagined.

I love Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper series so I knew that this new one would be good too, but I'm doubly loving the fact that it features streghe. Most folks may know tales of Italian witches such as Strega Nona from the children's books. I also grew up with La Befana, the Italian Christmas Witch, but other than that I don't know that streghe are well known. I'm delighted to see them get their own story.

I love Kerri Maniscalco's writing and I was highly anticipating this book and I was not let down. This was a brilliant read, I loved Emilia her character development was very strong and I enjoyed the setting too, it felt quite unique and while it wasn't heavy on world building it gave me enough to get a pretty good idea of the world it was set in.

I cannot believe the ending though! I need book 2 right now!

A solid 4.5 stars

I loved the atmosphere that Kerri set for this book. I also really enjoyed the weaving of her family history into it. Kerri has a knack for writing strong female characters and she didn't disappoint with Emilia. Like everyone I fell in love with Wrath. I look forward to seeing what's next for him and Emilia. One of my favorite characters was Nonna, she just added that little bit. The history she injected into the story was also a highlight.

When one twin dies, what lengths will the other go to find out who killed her, even if it means risking her own? I liked how this included the fantasy aspect into the storyline. Witches, magic, Wicked princes named after the 7 deadly sins. Great start to a new series (loved the Jack the Ripper series).

Huge thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc in exchange for an honest review.

"One didn't steal from the devil and go unpunished."

Kerri Maniscalco does an absolutely amazing job of setting the story. She describes the food in such exquisite detail that I’ll be craving authentic Italian food for weeks. She also describes the buildings, cobblestone streets, vendors, and scents in a way that makes you feel as if you were there with the characters. But it never feels like the story is bogged down with information, if anything her writing left me craving more. Which might be this author’s specialty because I was left wanting more a l o t. I wanted more information, I wanted more interactions between Wrath and Emilia, and I wanted to meet more of these capricious demons. More.

“One day you’ll call me Death. For now, Wrath will do.”

When Emilia and Wrath meet it’s a clash of wills. I loved the banter (aka murderous dialogue) between them. I have a feeling Wrath is softer than he portrays but we’ll have to wait and see what happens in book two, which can’t come soon enough.

“Enjoying what you see, witch?”
“Only if I had a death wish.”
“Do you?”
“Not even a little bit.”

I highly recommend this book if your looking for a ya enemies to not lovers (yet? Maybe? Who knows?) type of book. It’s a quick but captivating read.

ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I have no words, just... wow.

When I first heard about Kingdom of the Wicked I never imagined it would be about the Princes of Hell or the seven deadly sins. I never even knew that I needed that sort of book in my life until it came in the form of a brand new Kerri Maniscalco duology. Honestly, this book came at the most perfect time in my life with my binge-reading of lots of fantasy and mythology. In the midst of all that I have recently read, this book did not disappoint me at all.

Kingdom of the Wicked follows Emilia, a coveted witch who one day discovers her sister's mutilated corpse. Vowing to discover her sister's murderer no matter the cost or dark magic used, Emilia goes on a quest to uncover Vittoria's final moments and the grim secrets she has been hiding from her. Along the way, she meets Wrath, a Wicked and one of the seven princes of Hell who claims to be on her side. As they uncover more about Vittoria, the more Emilia realises that nothing is as it seems.

I really think a lot of fantasy fans will enjoy this book. I think readers who in particular read Maniscalco's debut series, Stalking Jack the Ripper would enjoy this one. I find that with her books, she tends to focus on subjects that always bring about a sense of intrigue, it's kind of her superpower. This book from start to finish was a goodie with a strong plot and equally strong characters and romance.

Although tipping on the stereotypical side of things, Wrath was a very complex character not in terms of his characterisation per say but rather in the way that as a reader, you never knew whether or not to trust him. He was a very unreliable character because every time you believed he earned trust and lots of respect, a certain situation would arise that would make you believe the contrary. That being said, he did perpetuate the stereotypical brooding bad boy cliche. However, it was forgiven considering I genuinely enjoyed the scenes he popped up in and his clever banter with Emilia. Emilia was also very complex and I liked seeing her develop over the course of the novel. She seemed to be very cautious to begin with but as the book continued, she took so many risks and became a badass main character.

My only real criticism was with the ending. And what an ending it was! I literally went back and had a look to see if I missed out on anything. It was so good but at the same time it felt kind of rushed? It felt like a million things were happening at once that I needed to take a minute for everything to sink in. Even now as I contemplate, I'm still in the process of processing and really wish I had a sequel just sitting there already on my bookshelf so I could see just how much Emilia would enact her ultimate revenge and manipulation through Hell.

ACTUAL RATING: 4.3 STARS

Kingdom of the Wicked is the first book by Kerri Maniscalco that I’ve read, and I’m currently kicking myself for not discovering her beautiful work sooner. Her prose is stunning, loaded with vivid descriptions and imagery that make it so easy for the story to come to life in the reader’s mind. Her descriptions of delicious foods and gorgeous clothing were amazing. I can’t wait to see artist depictions of the characters in this book. Luckily, they’ll have a lot of source material to base their creations on! (I am 100% hoping that Faecrate eventually makes Emilia and Wrath plushies – and maybe the other princes of Hell as well.)

This book is perfect for the month of October. I’m very lucky that I got to read the ARC early, but it will officially release in bookstores in late October, just in time for a perfect Halloween read, especially considering that a lot of people will be staying home for the spooky holiday this year. I personally didn’t find it to be gory, but people who are a bit more squeamish than me might find a few scenes to be difficult to read.

For a book touted as having “an intoxicating romance” it really wasn’t there for me. There’s attraction, banter, and clearly some sort of connection between Wrath and Emilia, but we don’t really get much romance, which was disappointing. I wasn’t expecting anything too steamy, but we barely got anything! Hopefully the next books will explore this potential relationship more.

My biggest complaint (and the reason why this book, as gripping and fantastic as it was, only gets 4.5 stars in my eyes) is the ending. I felt like it was way too rushed, and left me confused with all of the loose ends. I obviously won’t spoil things, but a lot of things were introduced and revealed in the final chapters of the book without being resolved. The book ends on a fairly abrupt cliffhanger ending. I wish that there had been more falling action so that I could process everything that went on. Even hours after finishing it, I’m still trying to process things.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m glad that I have a few special editions pre-ordered from various places! It’s definitely a new favorite, and I’m hoping to collect as much merch inspired by the series as I can. (I’ve already started making my own!) I’m hoping that a lot of my questions and confusion will be answered in the next book, or that my fellow readers will be able to clear things up for me once it releases later this month.

4.5 star read!

I have been in a fantasy slump for a while. But i read a lot about this book and wanted to give it a try and whole fuck did it pull me out off my slump. This book was everything i never know i needed. It was a goos story with an amazing plot and i can't wait to read more. I fell so in love with Emilia. When she started to investigate the murders i had a suspition about who i was. And turns out i was right. Wow. I really want to read what Emilia gets up to next!

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco is absolutely amazing. Anything Maniscalco writes you can send it my way. She is such a great writer. I love her work so much. In Kingdom of the Wicked, we have two sisters who are witches that secretly live among humans. I fell in love with Emilia right away. I really enjoyed her character. When Emilia finds her sisters body, she doesn't now what to do. She soon decides that she is going to find out what happened. I found Emilia's journey to be great and I really loved her meeting with Wrath. Wrath and Emilia's interactions were the best. I loved the snarkiness between the two. This was a great enemies to lovers story and I am so excited to get so much more of this world.

I was intrigued. It was good. I need more.

I’m not sure what I expected, since I read this before I read her SJTR series. While it was quite enjoyable, and 4 star worthy, it felt lacking in something. I think I went in expecting romance, and there really wasn’t any. Not that I base all my books on that, but even in YA I expect a little more than what we got in this one.

I will definitely be reading the next book and I look forward to my reread of this one. Now that I know Kerri’s writing style, I’m willing to bet I’ll like this more the second time around.

And that ending‽‽ Dude. That’s all I’m saying about it.

I'm still holding out hope for more kissing in the next book.

I requested this book because I loved, loved, loved Stalking Jack the Ripper, and I was excited for more from Kerri Maniscalco. However, I just really...thought it fell flat next to Stalking. I found the main character to be a bit too flat, and the plot seemed to be primarily a vehicle for portraying the paranormal elements rather than a compelling force to drive me through the novel. With the Stalking series, I eagerly devoured all 4 of the books. With this one, I think I'll be content to just read the first and move on.

I went into this book expecting some fun witchy magic and dark spells. Instead what I got was half a story where not a lot happened. Sure, the books kicks off with a gruesome murder and there’s some nice sexual tension going on when our heroine summons a sexy demon to help her, but I felt that the story just didn’t have much pace. There are parts when days or weeks passed with nothing happening, and this lack of urgency to solve her sister’s murder and find out what is going on down in hell was just frustrating. I was terribly confused by all the demons and their Houses and at times honestly couldn’t figure out what was going on.
I thought the MC was poorly sketched and could have done with some more character exploration so the reader could actually root for her. I definitely wanted more sizzle with the demon prince Wrath as he was about the only interesting thing about the story, and yet we discover next to nothing about him.
I suspect this is because the entire novel was simply a set-up for the sequel or series. I was very annoyed by the ending as it answered no questions and resolved nothing.

This book truly felt like what it was, the beginning of a series. Characters were half baked, but there is extreme potential for the future and I plan to keep reading.

First line: Outside, wind rattled the wooden chimes in warning.

Summary: Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are witches. They live among the human population in small Italian village. They were raised on stories of the kingdom of the wicked but never actually thought they would encounter it. But when Vittoria is found murdered and her heart ripped from her body, Emilia has to confront the evil that has come to her village. With the reluctant help of one of the Princes of Hell, Wrath, she formulates a daring plan to solve her sister’s murder.

My Thoughts: I loved this dark story. It has an interesting plot, great characters and a few twists. I’m a sucker for a sisters story, having a sister of my own. There was a good magic system. A angry, dark demon who obviously is going to be a love interest. I am looking forward to the next book.

I like that authors are starting to focus on darker characters and storylines. I would say this is a book perfect for any Slytherin. It is perfect for fans of The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller.

FYI: This is book one in a series.

ARC from NetGalley

When you've read as much YA fantasy as I have, it starts to become difficult for authors to meet expectations and breathe new life into old tropes. The enemies to lovers in this book was nearly perfect, and I love that it hasn't come to complete fruition in the first book. I'm not even mad about the cliffhanger ending. I'm looking forward to the next one immensely. Gosh I love broody fantasy boys, and wrath is so very broody. *swoon*

The witches vs demons thing is pretty great. I love me some demons. I love me some witches. It just works. While I would have sort of thought they'd be on the same side, there are still more books to go.

Emilia was only very infrequently stupid and irritating. There were only a couple of times that she reacted in a way that I thought was engineered to move the story forward and not realistic. I was not at all surprised by the betrayal at the end because I mean what else were we working toward with that relationship? Still, I devoured this book.

This book has reached a status which few books tend to lately; where I tell myself I can't read it because I won't get any of my work done, and then I allow myself to read it only if I exercise while reading, which I loathe. And here I am red and sweaty and finished. *chef's kiss*