This was good but somewhat repetitive. I found myself skimming some pages because I felt like I had already read some of the material. It was still enjoyable and had an excellent mystery component to it. I will still purchase for my library.

Witches, Demons, Curses, Religion, Dead Bodies and Mediterranean Food Delights. I don’t know which held my attention more the story or the glorious foods. Just wait, you’ll see.
This is my 4th book from this author. She loves strong women who don’t follow societies rules and limits well. This one stared a witch, one whose family owns a restaurant, a Mediterranean month watering one. The story follows Emilia, a young witch who finds her twin sister’s body deep in a church with a man dipping his fingers into her open chest and he’s tasting her blood. There are rumors, ancient stories and and lot of danger as to what is going on. Someone is killing witches, the why and who are a tricky thing. Emilia will do anything to find the killer, and does unleashing Wrath. Nothing comes easy, nothing comes without cost, nothing is as it seems.
Oh this was fun. I really loved the characters, they all fit so well into their parts. They were written well I felt I knew even the smallest one without a long backstory. Wrath, my favorite naughty character. I was left gasping, that ending ! I can’t get my hands on the next book fast enough, well right after I eat my cannoli. :P

Did I have amazingly high expectations for this book? Obviously. Did it live up to them? Absolutely. What I did not realise until later was that these expectations started changing as the book went on. It was as if my mind commenced asking for different things as I read, to fit the story better. Which is something that has never happened to me before, and I love that!
What first caught my attention was the prologue. It was engaging and absorbing on a level that I have not seen in YA in such a long time. It made me what to continue reading until the end. The same happened with the first couple of chapters. Flawless.
Then we get to the middle, and this is where my issues begin. Around the 50% mark, the plot started feeling repetitive. After all, they were solely investigating murder after murder without moving forward. But it soon picked up once more.
The ending was INCREDIBLE. There was a moment of convergence where everyone involved came together. But it was sufficiently vague for me to not be able to make any assumptions about what could happen next. I was really confused with Wrath's behaviour, and can't wait for how exactly will Emilia's choice change their relationship dynamics.
I would like to think that Kerri Maniscalco went hard with the foreshadowing in this first instalment, for what I believe is to be a trilogy. Because, even though we get to meet the characters, the only one we truly know is Emilia. And she goes through a vast number of changes through the book. We know her deepest desires and her strong wish for revenge. But besides her, we are pretty blind on what the other characters think and want. And, we also got the prophecy, the Horns, the Grimoire...
Plot aside, the writing was beautiful, incredibly atmospheric. We get engulfed into this Sicilian port city atmosphere. I haven't read any of the Stalking Jack the Ripper books, but I'm quite motivated to after this experience.
My only problem had to do with Sangria. I am not an expert about Italian culture, far from it. But what I do know, as a Spanish citizen, is that Sangria is an alcoholic beverage originating in Spain and Portugal. So, I have my doubts about whether it was historically accurate for 1800s Sicilian residents to drink it.

Now I don't know what to do with my life, I need to know what else is going on!

I have enjoyed this book, it has so much darkness, but this makes the intrigue prevail throughout the story.

The love story is quite atypical, considering the kind of protagonists that the story has, I really loved them and I want more of them especially with that ending!


Thanks for this arc!

This book was received as an ARC from JIMMY Patterson in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I love fantasy novels and mystery novels and this one had the best of both worlds. As I read on secrets were uncovered, true colors literally and figuratively shined through that it left my body in complete shock and my jaw wide open. I also love books with a twist and there were many of them that came just as the right time when you had the mystery figured out. Also, the characters were so creatively written and very relative to the story. I know our teen book club will enjoy and have many discussions on this book.

We will consider adding this title to our YA collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

I am in-between 3 an 4 stars for this book, but I always round up in my ratings so 4 stars it is.
As a fan of the author's previous series, I was really excited to get a chance to read this book early. I love the premise and the magic system of this book! The Italian setting is interesting and the food descriptions are amazing. I enjoyed the characters, but like most first books of a series, they are not as developed as they would be in a stand-alone. What I struggled with a little bit was the pacing of the story and the occasional repetitiveness of certain ideas. Obviously, some of that might be slightly different in the final version so I do plan to read a finished copy of this at some point. I should also say I probably wasn't very fair to this book because I was reading several other things and was super busy.

The premise of this book sounded amazing to me which is why I was so happy to be asked to be a part of the book tour. The premise of this book was so interesting and I have to say it pulled it off. I ended up loving this book.
I’ll start with the plot which was really engaging and I could not put this book down without constantly thinking about it. I really enjoyed the mystery in the book and the romance was good. I’m not usually a fan of romance but I really enjoyed how it worked in this book. The story is intriguing as the main character is trying to find out how her twin died but she has demons, magic and family detracting her. The writing style was easy to read and it flowed really well. I really enjoyed the deliciously dark descriptions and the writing just worked for me.
Another part I relay enjoyed was the world. It is set in an old Italy where there are several witch families. I really enjoyed the magic system of the witches and how dark magic was shown. I love books with witches. I also enjoy books with demons and summoning. There is a history to the witches and they have their own myths which I enjoyed reading about, I found the magic interesting and I would love to know more about it. The author excels in this book and her imagination shines. I can’t wait to see what happens next in the series.
The characters were okay. I found that I really enjoyed the main character Emilia who is the main POV in the book. I liked her and loved that she was strong, caring and determined to find out what happened to her twin. Her twin I didn’t really like but there isn’t much of her in the book. Wrath is a demon Prince and is the other main character. I liked Wrath and I enjoyed his personality, although I would say it is what you expect in a demon prince. One of my favourite characters was Nonna and I would read a book about her. There are plenty of other characters as there are seven demon princes, lots of witches and non magical people.
The only complaint is the ending, it ends on a sort of cliffhanger and why leave it there? I need the next book! That’s all I will say as I don’t want to spoil anything.
Overall this is a wonderfully dark read with witches, demons, mystery and romance. I enjoyed it way more than I expected and I did expect to like this. I would highly recommend this book!

I adore Maniscalco, so my expectations were high; I was not disappointed! Yet again, she captured me with interesting characters, complex (at times frustrating) characters, and a very cool setting. Excited to continue in this world!

I dont even know where to begin with this review. I am shook, I am in love, I am a mess!

Where to begin? Well I loved the setting and the sense of family I felt from Emilia; the family dynamic, the restaurant, the food...it was all superbly done.

For me, the absolute prize of this book is the way grief changes Emilia into someone she wasn't before. It twists and warps her through rage and wrath until she is almost unrecognisable. I absolutely loved reading about her journey, and was addicted every step of the way.

The dark and seductive magic was so compelling, so hard to tear your eyes away from that this read became something I was willing to loose sleep over...and no, I do not regret that decision at all.

This book has since kept me wondering, made me want to reread from start to finish and made me despair that I have to wait so long for book 2!

Truly a joy to read and I just know I'm going to be absolute fangirl trash for this series.

This book was in a word delicious! I loved every second of it. I'm addicted! And now I have to go through the torture of waiting for a sequel.

Wow wow wow wow. Kerri Maniscalco doesn't even need to take my money because I will be throwing it at her.

I forgot the last time I read a whole book straight without any distractions. The world-building, characters, and Italian settings were a feast for the senses (as Kirkus said) and I can not believe she had the AUDACITY to leave us hanging.

I think the romance was perfect; there was only a hint but it was enough in that it wouldn't go overboard. The best thing about Kerri's work is that she always leaves room for more character development. I see a lot of other authors who word barf onto their characters so that in the second book we can't learn anything new out of them, their romance becomes boring and flat. Not for these perfect, amazing, feisty characters! Wow, I loved Kerri's portrayal of Emilia and how she grew from the nice twin to the vengeful witch. Amazing. AMAZING.

There was never a dull moment. Kerri is an expert at making sure there are no bland filler chapters, but she also paces her action scenes very well, so it doesn't feel like I'm reading a whole year in a chapter.

BUT NOT THIS BOOK. MY GOD. I think I read this arc more than 4 times. There a lot of little hints that might (fingers crossed) allude to the second book. I had a little tantrum reading this book knowing I will have to wait till 2021 or later for the next.

I recieved this free eARC from NetGalley for a review. All opinions are my own.

This book though. I took my time reading it because I did not want it to end and I now have to wait till 2021 at least for the next book in the series.

We follow Emilia and her need for revenge in this story. Emilia has a twin sister who is murdered and she doesn't know who did it. Through out this story we follow Emilia's pursuit to try and find her sisters killer and avenge her death. Along the way, we find out about the Wicked and the Princes of Hell, and how witches, like Emilia, do not mix with them. There is romance in the most unexpected ways, banter, humor, and intense moments through this entire story and you will not want to put it down.

Before reading this story, I read Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper and Hunting Prince Dracula (I haven't finsihed the other two because I am not ready to be done with that series. I am taking my time with it), and I am in love with those stories, so I was nervous going into this book because I wanted to love it just as much. Kerri Maniscalco did not disapoint. I was engaged the entire time I was reading the book.

I think my favorite thing about this book is the banter in it. I found myself laughing outloud when it popped up. Emilia and Wrath, one of the Princes of Hell, are an unlikely duo that just work even though they aren't supposed to. They know how to jab at each other and get on each other's nerves but still work together. Maniscalco really knows how to write these fun, bantery realtionships and I am here for it.

I really, really loved this book and will be buying a phyiscal copy once it comes out. I can already see this book being turned into a TV series. I am totally getting some Vampire Diaries/The Originals vibes and could see some of the actors playing characters in an adaption here. Daniel Gillies as Wrath... Yes please.

Book rate: 5/5 stars

“I wanted him to be the shining prince of this nightmare.”
•
First of all let me just say that I’m Italian and that every time I found an Italian word I just felt like home 😂. This book was so good and so dark. Emilia is such a lovely young woman when her twin is murder. At that point, the only thing she can think about is revenge. Well, revenge and that stunning, very evil, demon that is helping her uncover the murder. I am quite proud to say that I guessed correctly, but I was really intrigued by Emilia’s investigation and her approach to dark arts. She has always considered herself a witch of the light, her Nonna has always warned her and her sister about the payments required by dark magic, but as time goes Emilia realizes she would do everything to protect the people she loves. This book is a perfect example to show how loss and grief can change people, not always in a bead way... sometimes you just understand you are strong than you’d have imagined. The story is dark but there is still space for romance and I couldn’t help but falling in love with Wrath and I can’t believe his feelings for Emilia has been all but a pretense! Finally, let me warn you that you’ll get very hungry while reading this; Sicilian foods are described with such accuracy that now I just want to fly there and spend all my time in restaurants!

Amazing book!! It was a very well rounded well planed story with characters so well written they could be your friends. It opens a world to you that you may have never thought of before.

**3.5 Stars**

I like where this series is headed but that potential can’t impact my rating for this introduction.

“Kingdom of the Wicked” dives into a world of magic and mayhem as twin sisters manage their craft under the direction of their grandmother and stay weary of demons and their masters who happen to be the 7 Princes of Hell. When tragedy befalls the family Emilia makes a dangerous bargain with one such prince and will stop at nothing to uncover which monster is slaughtering witches and how to prevent herself from being next.

I’ll begin with what I enjoyed the most being that of our main character Emilia she is very much the Sally Owen to her twin sisters Gillian from ‘Practical Magic’ in that she cares about learning how to be a witch and following the rules though when the tides shift she is willing to get her hands dirty in order to right each wrong that comes her family’s way. She is strong and foolish making mistakes and paying for them but all of her actions are fueled by her desire to bring about justice and I can’t fault her for that.

The Princes of Hell are also a lot of fun while each embody their sins we get to see how they play in the human world being both smart and dangerous gearing up for a war that is fast approaching and though we don’t meet them all, I’m confident that those yet to visit will be just as fearsome.

My biggest struggle is that of the way the mythology and world building is given to the readers. It’s very clear that a lot has to be shared with us in order to amp up the threats and explain some of the magical elements but the overall execution of this leaves much to be desired. Had we focused more on the witches and their ties to Hell and the human world and slowly teased in that of the monsters and Princes as we moved forward, especially given that ending, I think it would have worked better. What we have is a lot of dialogue back and forth that slows down the plot as they do the classic I’ll explain this to the reader through character A despite the fact that that character should be aware of at least part of this given how they grew up

Not a bad beginning but one I think could have benefitted from a more narrow focus giving time to the characters and the foreshadowing of the fight to come but I will say I’m loving the taste of Hades/Persephone even if it doesn’t fully deliver.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Kingdom of the Wicked was such a sinfully good book full of demon princes, witch magic and a secret curse hidden away for centuries.

Emilia and her twin Vittoria seem like typical girls to everyone in their village. They help run the family restaurant, one dreaming of new food concoctions to try and of expanding the restaurant one day while the other is such a joyous soul captivating the love of everyone she meets. They seem like typical young girls, except for the whole they’re witches and they have to hide themselves from Malvagi (Princes of Hell). It all seems like superstitious nonsense until one day it isn’t and Vittoria ends up dead.

I loved Emilia immediately. She is okay fading into the background while her twin takes the spotlight, content to read at home or experiment at the family restaurant. Vittoria’s death changes her though and we get to see this amazing development in her. She steps up determined to find her sister’s killer no matter the cost. While still a tad naive in the ways of the Wicked Emilia is a fast learner and while she makes mistakes she’s still an incredibly strong young woman. I admired her determination and how she approached situations.

The Princes of Hell were downright terrifying yet simultaneously swoony as hell. Pun intended. Each the personification of sin itself. I loved when a new one showed up on the scene. Wrath, Greed, Envy, Lust and finally Pride, the real devil. Yes they’re bad and you should avoid them but gosh dang it we love our bad boys. The bad boy that’s only good for you trope (if it’s not a thing it should be).

While Emilia isn’t easily swayed by looks lines did get a tad blurred with Wrath. The romance was so swoony that at times it was hard to remember that Wrath was an actual Prince of Hell, the bad guy. I don’t want to give too much away here but the ending between them was quite the steamy yet rude awakening.

While overall I really loved this book and binged it in one sitting, there were a couple issues I had with it. The magic system was never really explained. Emilia seemed naive in the ways of Magic, sheltered almost, but then could pull a spell out of nowhere it seemed at times. So we truly don’t know her experience level with magic, it’s not really explained and that bugged me just a tad at times. My other complaint was how rushed the ending felt. It actually jumped around a bit, to the point where I thought I’d missed a paragraph or even a page about a scene change. It just didn’t seem to fit with how the rest of the book had been written, the pacing felt extremely off and made it a tad confusing.

The ending was brutal, leaving us with some big unanswered questions. It also ended up taking a turn that I somewhat expected but ended up discarding halfway through the book. I do still have some theories though about Wrath, Pride, the curse and how Emilia will fit into it all. A year seems so far though and I’m way too excited to explore the Kingdom of the Wicked.

I am slowly starting to really love and be addicted to the fantasy genre and this only cements the decision. Can we just talk about the cover for a second? Wow! It just draws you in and it's creepy AF. I love the relationship between Emilia and Vittoria, and the pain Emilia feels after her twin's death. She does everything in her power to seek vengeance, even if it meant tapping into her dark magic that they both swore off. Then she meets Wrath, OMG!!! Plus the delicious food !! YUM!

This was a page turner from cover to cover and my brain was like. "WTF just happened? Did that happen?" MIND BLOWN! I recommend this 100000000000%. If you are not into fantasy books, let this one convince one you. perfect book to get in the mood for Halloween.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kerri Maniscalco and Jimmy Patterson Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. I cannot wait for publication to own a hard copy because the cover is gorgeous.

Available: 10/27/20

So many emotions....
This book was wonderfully atmospheric, and whisked the reader away to a setting that was both deliciously dark, and beautifully light. I loved that this book was set in Sicily, because the island setting and the beautiful descriptions of the oceans, markets and mouth watering food, created a perfect balance with the darkness of demon summoning witches. It was a perfect end of summer and into fall read.

I have read most of the the JTR series, also by Maniscalco, and this book was definitely a bit darker. Audrey Rose is fierce, but also filled with humor and curiosity. Emilia di Carlo is smart, strong, resourceful, and going through some s***. While I thought the author once again provided a compelling mystery that I couldn't wait to solve, I did miss some of the humor from the JTR series. There was definitely still some, but not as much. This book feels darker, more urgent and a bit sexier. I also love that, once again, Maniscalco gives us a strong, imperfect main character that does not apologize for who she is, or what she wants, and does not need to be saved by anyone but herself.

I feel like the world building was lovely, but somewhat clumsy at the beginning of the book. It took me several chapters in to get truly invested in the characters, and to understand what was going on. I also thought the last few chapters seemed a bit rushed, however, full disclosure, I was tearing through them to find out what was going to happen, so I probably rushed it even more (that's how you know the story is good!).

I really enjoyed this book and it took me by surprise, because it was not what I was expecting. It was well written, sexy, full of magic and dark pleasures. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to read this book, especially at the perfect time of the year. I will be not so patiently waiting for the next in the series.

I have received a copy of this book from the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Kerri Maniscalco has created the perfect addition to your Halloween TBR pile! Spooky, sexy and what a cliff-hanger! Once the characters cast their magic spell on you - you won't be able to put this one down. Not only will the cover look cool on your coffee table this October - but the story she's brewing is quite bewitching!

Emilia & Vittoria are twin witches and also part of an ancient prophecy - they will either stop the gates of hell from breaking down or bring about the end of the world by unleashing the devil. To keep this review spoiler free, I can't say any more! If you like star-crossed romance - it's in there. Supernatural characters - in there. Murder mystery, high-stakes adventure, conspiracy plots - it's all there! The pace is quick and the chapters fly by.

Set in an alt-fantasy version of Italy (not modern day), the supernatural world Maniscalco has created is the gift that keeps on giving. Shapeshifters, werewolves and demons of various kinds were all just touched on in this first installment. She has barely scratched the surface of where the possible characters and plots could go from here. By the final chapter you'll consider selling your soul for the sequels!

I'm a huge Maniscalco fan! Love her writing and the stories she spins! I was super excited to see what type of new book she would bring to the table after I finished the Stalking Jack the Ripper series! And she did not disappoint!

This was a page-turning world that had me glued to the story at page 1! I loved the twin bone between Emilia and Vittoria! And also the food and the family! Emilia was a strong character and when she met Wrath, I just knew things were going to get awesomer!

Wrath was the kind of book guy I like, where you don't know if he's hiding secrets or not but you love him regardless! I wanted to pinch Emilia at times and tell her to just go hug and kiss Wrath, but I understand why it would be hard to trust a prince demon of Hell! There chemistry and bickering was just excellent!

But seriously, I highly recommend to read this book! And yes, there is a dreaded cliffhanger, one that will leave you yearning for book 2, which is a great thing!