I started this book with the idea it was going to be standalone, but around the mid way point, I did quickly understand it couldn't be. I really liked it but there were some things that made me cringe. I'm italian and I'm not used to read italian words in english books, so I was both happy and cringing so bad. They weren't wrong, mind you, but they took me out of the story so many times!
I really liked the food descriptions and smiled a couple of times imagining a demon enjoying cannoli.

Characters 8
Atmosphere 7
Writing style 7,5
Plot 7,5
Intrigue 7,5
Logic 8
Enjoyment 8

I loved the book and I can't wait for the second installment!!! The romance and banter between the main characters was *just* right!

I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this. The world-building and magic system is really cool, and the idea for the story is solid. I really liked Wrath and the set up for the Princes, but after about halfway, it all fell apart of me. At first I hard time connecting with Emilia, even harder time recalling her name, but she started to grow on me, then I wanted to grab her by the shoulders shake her. I understand she went through something terrible and her life has just been thrown upside down. But, at some point, you have to start making a decision. The going back and forth got annoying after a while. Either do what you need to solve the mystery, step up, or walk away and be the witch your grandmother wants. The whining just got on my nerves.

My biggest worry originally for this book was the enemies to lovers. This isn't my favorite trope at all, but honestly, there didn't feel much of a romance. There was a couple of near misses and almost moments, but they were always adrenaline-filled or caused by magic. So it easy to ignore that part. However, the Chosen One trope was not. I have a love, hate relationship with that trope. I hated this one. I hate the fact that one person has all the answers and is too stubborn, or "wise" to give said Chosen Ones any info. So both the twins were left flying blind in the wind. Which makes everything that happens, in my opinion, Nonna's fault. And, instead of fixing anything or actually dealing, she tells Emilia to run toward the end of the book.

REALY?!

As for the mystery part of this book, like the author's series, I had it figured out fairly quickly. In fact, the mystery to solve this murder seems to take a back seat as Wrath and Emilia run around this town doing nothing but chasing their own tales, because Wrath is hiding things and Emilia is hiding things. It's pages of them circling the same point. Though I realized the set up when the two of them go back to one of the crime scenes.

I also wasn't really happy about the ending. The author spends all this time trying to set up Wrath and Emilia and then that ending just happens. It felt rushed and not overly fleshed out. Like the book needed to end, but it needed to be a cliff hanger because there's a second book. I don't know, I wanted to like this book more than I did, but I ended up marathoning the last hundred pages just to wrap the book because I had been reading it for nearly a month.

All this said I do see why people are liking it. I did enjoy Wrath as the character and there are some solid moments that I enjoyed. The snark between Emilia and Wrath was fun, and I could see how they could start to fall for each other. Still, it felt like this book needed a bit more editing. I'm not sure I'll read the second book.

I need the sequel right now!

When I first started reading Kingdom of the Wicked, I knew I'm going to enjoy it. Stories about demons and witches has always piqued my interest. Moreover, this book is about a witch who seek the killer of her dearest sister by making a deal with Wrath, one of the Princes of Hell. What's more intriguing than that?

Right from the beginning, I was immersed by the tale and couldn't stop reading. There was a story about seven of the wicked (seven deadly sins) and each belongs to kingdom of the wicked demon houses. In this book, I had the absolute delight meeting with Wrath, Lust, Greed, and Envy. The writing flowed flawlessly so it enabled me to follow Emilia's journey without any difficulties.

I loved Emilia! She was a strong, brave, and lovely woman. Her love for her sister and her family is admirable. Wrath, as expected, was a delicious morally grey character. Yes, he is one of the wicked so there were moments when his motivation seemed evil and I don't know if it's just me but I'm digging for his sweet and caring moments towards Emilia. Their relationship was nowhere romantic or ideal but that's exactly what I liked.

Overall, Kingdom of the Wicked was one hell of a ride. The ending left me breathless and dying for a sequel. This book is for those who are looking for an enthralling demon/witches fantasy read.

The thing about a good book is what I like to describe as: drawing you in and you cannot escape it until it’s done. The story progressed quickly with the easy-to-read style of writing. I appreciated how Kerri Maniscalco crafted this book and it reminded me of how I felt when I first read the Stalking Jack the Ripper series.

In 19th century Italy, witches live in plain sight amongst unsuspecting humans. Emilia is a part of this paranormal world, but she finds her twin sister Vittoria’s body in the aftermath of an alleged ritualistic scene. This is the point when we dive deep on Emilia’s path of vengeance hunting after Vittoria’s killer, and along the way, she encounters Wrath, an infuriating Prince of Hell.

The mystery and magical aspects of the story brought me to be immersed into the world of witches and demons. I was thoroughly enthralled with Emilia’s story and didn’t want to put it down. She does manage to get herself in a lot of trouble, and Emilia could have paid more attention before charging blindly into deadly situations. But I enjoyed the family and food parts of the book, especially Nonna, Emilia’s grandmother. I wanted to eat some pasta or cannolis while reading!

All in all, Kingdom of the Wicked is a thrilling historical fantasy with paranormal elements and action. The ending made me want to read the sequel immediately, I don’t know if I can wait until October to read it!

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the setting and all the descriptions of food and the cliffhanger will ensure that I need to read the second book to find out what happens next. I just wish I connected with the characters a bit more. It did feel like I had read books with a lot of similar elements before. Overall, a solid YA fantasy but maybe nothing too special

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

Okay so I have mixed feelings.
1. I liked it
2. I'm so frustrated with it.
It has so much potential and a lot didn't come out.... There are so many plot holes that I need the answers to and not the ones where I know they're going to be answered in the second book.... So many random things happened and there was no build-up for those things and it frustrates me.

The book was very fun and quick to read, highly entertaining.

The plot itself wasn't exactly it's strength and some of the choices made in the plot got me confused since they were a little bit inconsistent.

I was looking forward to reading KIngdom of the Wicked as soon as I found out about it! After reading Kerri Maniscalco's previous books, I just knew she would do an amazing job with this book. She has a touch for the dark and disturbing without it being creepy or throwing you into a slump. The tension and banter between characters has you on the edge of your seat, not to mention the plot twists you just can't see coming. Kingdom of the Wicked not only explores familial relationships, but inner reflections on morals and personal values, and I immediately connected with the main character, Emilia. I'll be anxiously anticipating where the sequel will take us!

Wow I was not ready for this book.
I loved this.
‘We have two sisters, a brutal murder, and a quest for vengeance’
I thought the world, the magic, the different witches and the princes of hell were done so well. I had no complaints.
The romance was maybe my favorite bookish romance ever.
Kerri Maniscalco has definitely become a new auto-buy author and I can not wait for the next book in this series.

On their 8th birthday twin sisters Emilia and Vittoria were gifted their amulets – with the important warning to never bring them together. But that‘s exactly what they do in this stormy night and afterwards they believe to hear the howling of an hellhound in the distance. Ten years later. The sisters have never spoken about this night again, but when Emilia finds her twin murdered in the towns monastery, she instantly knows that the Wicked, the seven demonly brothers of hell have returned. So Emilia sets out for revenge with the help of Wrath, one of the brothers she summoned using the dark arts of witchery.

First of all: I really wanted to like this book. I loved „Stalking Jack the Ripper“ by Kerri Maniscalco and enjoyed the rest of the series. (Some volumes more than others.) The characters were fresh and full of life, especially the female protagonist Audrey Rose. While the premise of „Kingdom of the Wicked“ sounded quite interesting and the setting was intrigueing, the plot was just dragging along. The same elements are repeated over and over. There‘s the murder of a young girl, Emilia encounters another prince of hell, makes another stupid decision and poor Wrath needs to save her.

I wasn‘t able to establish any kind of connection with Emilia as the main character. I found her to be super erratic and inconsistent in her choices. In the beginning she states that she would do anything to solve her sisters murder and avenge her. But she just can‘t bring herself to trust Wrath, who has proven multiple times that he is willing to help. She then wanders off alone, makes the most stupid mistakes, risks the lives of her family and diminishes her chances to win against the eil that awaits her.

The ending is at least strange if not disappointing. The murderer was clear to me from the beginning of the book – no surprise here. And the last sentences of volume one make the whole novel feel like one big preface to volume two. Kerri Maniscalco brings up more new questions than she gives answers to old ones and that really doesn‘t make me want to read any further. It‘s sad to say that Wrath is the only light in this plot although he is full of stereotypes. No, that book wasn‘t for me, sorry.

This plot was a little messy. The point of the hearts was never explained. The MC is super annoying with her back and forth. I predicted the enemy but just don’t understand how we got to this end point LOL . She wasn’t supposed to go with *that one* and somehow ends up with them? Just weird. And so much running around. It’s 4 stars which means it’s a good book these are just the things that were wrong with it and needs work 👌🏻
But I enjoyed it immensely and even though this is whats wrong with it I loved the romance and the mystery kinda.
This is gonna be a long series LMAO reminds me of ACOTAR
If you liked The Beautiful then this is right up your alley.

I have loved all of Keri Maniscalco’s book. This one I was super excited about but it took me a little bit to get into and once I did I did not want to put it down. Definitely read this if you haven’t.

Oh My Goodness this book blew me away it was intoxicating to read. Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe - witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. and one night Vittoria never came to dinner, and Emilia finds her sister dead. This causes Emilia to seek vengeance and want to catch the killer even if that means using Dark Magic that has been forbidden. Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell who has told her he is on her side and is tasked by his master to solve the series of women's murders on the island. but nothing is as it seems.. Boy was this book exciting.

I really enjoyed the Jack the Ripper series so I was excited to hear the author had created another world and I was not disappointed. The beginning was a little slow for me but. Once the action got started I had a hard time putting it away. I’ll admit there wasn’t a lot of development to the relationships and few of the characters caused the reader to want to cheer them on, but the story was full of fun twists. I also loved the concept that the 7 deadly sins were truly devil princes that embodied their traits. I will definitely be reading the next book when it comes out.

I do not even know where to start with this book. I am a huge Kerri fan so when I first saw this book I knew it was a must read. I am happy to say this book did not disappoint me. The premise was well done and the characters and plot were written excellently. I always have a thing for a dark brooding lead male character. So if you liked stalking Jack the Ripper I do recommend this, but be aware there are differences between these and that series.

I absolutely loved this read. It was magical and dark. The writing was easy to follow and the story flowed well and was paced appropriately. There were no slow sections, and it kept me hooked throughout the end.

The story itself was sad and powerful. The loss of a loved one changes a person, and Emilia is a conflicted character. She's thoughtful and indecisive, and seems to have put herself through much pain. I really hope she finds herself again, but given the way this novel ends... it is unlikely. I really enjoyed Wrath as a character, and hope that the story continues including him as a main character. I'm looking forward to the next novel and can't wait to read it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Jimmy Patterson for providing a copy of this e-book for review.

A book as captivating as its beautiful cover. A story that absolutely sucks you into it and keeps you there until you've finished the book.

Things I am trash for:

Demonic bargains
Secret witches
The Deadly Sins

Things Kingdom of the Wicked has given me:

EVERYTHING!

Stalking Jack the Ripper is one of my favourite series so when Kerri Mansicalco announced a new series with a GORGEOUS cover and a whole lot of sinful darkness….I needed it. Desperately.

After jumping with joy at having a copy of the book in my hands I sat down with every intention of devouring this beautiful beast in one sitting only to find that I just couldn’t get into it. Disappointment doesn’t even begin to cover what I felt. I had this book hyped up so much in my head yet I couldn’t get past the first few chapters. The beginning of this book felt so slow paced to me that I found myself unable to connect with the story and characters. Feeling betrayed, I pushed this series started into the black hole of books that did me wrong and prepared to move on – but I never forgot.

After a couple months I broke down and decided to grab myself a copy of the audiobook, hoping that the format of reading might have had something to do with my bitter disappointment and…it worked! Finally able to get past the first few chapters I was excited to find that I was pulled into the story and managed to finish in a day and a half.

While the pacing is still something that leaves a lot to be desired and Emilia herself is a character that I find a hard time finding a lot of love for right now, Maniscalco still managed to pull me into the story with excellent writing, a dark yet captivating plot line, the grandma of all grandmas and (of course) the demon Princes of Hell. I’m seriously a sucker for the Deadly Sins and Four Horsemen incarnate so I was all my glory for this.
This might not be my favourite of Maniscalco’s books right now, but Kingdom of the Wicked has shown me the promise of another series that will be high on my “Read Again and Again” list. I’m already dying for the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Jimmy Patterson for providing an early copy of this book to read and give my own honest opinion.