DNF at 25%. I went into this book really excited for some dark romance and magic, but I felt like I got a knockoff of The Cruel Prince. I don't know how one can introduce the love interest as shirtless and brooding unironically, but here we are. I liked the magic aspect, but everything else was cheesy and not for me.

This book was everything I didn't know I needed!

The characters were well written and I couldn't get enough of them. Emilia was witty and stood her ground when it mattered the most, and Wrath was so much more than I thought he was going to be. The storyline pulled me in and the plot was executed perfectly. Everything about this book was pure gold. I loved every second of it.

This was a great first book of the series that sets up the plot and set of characters. The plot was intriguing and twisted. There were some things that were very obvious but others that were unexpected. I’m invested in finding out what Emilia is going to do. That ending was pretty wicked.

When I saw a new series coming from Kerri I was so excited - especially when I found out it featured Magic! Kingdom of the Wicked did not disappoint and it is so amazing! It features twin witches, one of which summons a demon from hell who is now sworn to protect her. When witches start being murdered across town they set out to solve the mystery of who has been the one killing them.

Emilia and Wrath have phenomenal chemistry and I cannot wait to see more of them in the next installment. This book never had a dull moment and kept me intrigued during the entire reading experience. Emilia is a fantastic protagonist - so strong and never lets anything get in her way - she truly grows and finds herself during her arc.

4.5 Stars

This book was so freaking good!! It totally got me out of my reading slump! It’s about an Sicilian witch who summons a demon prince from Hell who’s bound by magic to protect her. Together, they try to solve the mystery of who or what has been killing witches across the town.

The chemistry and banter between Emilia and Wrath was to die for. I was so freaking obsessed with them. They hated each other but they also grew on one another over the course of the book. I cannot wait to see what the next book has in store for these two! Hopefully they’ll admit their undying love for each other ;)

There was honestly never a dull moment in this book. I loved it so much. Emilia was on a mission and she didn’t let anything get in her way. Her character arc was so satisfying! You really get to see her grow as a character and find a strength she never knew she had.

After the brutal murder of her twin sister, Emilia vows to seek revenge through the use of dark magic. As a powerful witch, she has magic on her side, but her rage leads her on a path to destruction as she summons Wrath - a prince of the Kingdom of the Wicked. A trickster demon who will steal her heart and soul, she must team up with him to find the one responsible for her sister's murder and stop them from committing further murderous acts within her beloved Italian city.

I will start by saying that the pacing for this is really quite slow. At 70 pages in I still wasn't past the main turning point described in the synopsis of the book, and I was starting to get bored. Also the world building is messy. I was never entirely sure how the magic system worked or what the relationship between the different demons was. Throughout the plot we are given little drops of info about the kingdom of wicked and its inhabitants - which were really interesting, but because we don't get enough information it just ends up being confusing and the plot overly convoluted. For most of the story I had no idea what was going on, or why. The sudden appearance of a new group of supernatural beings towards the back end of the story only further added to this confusion. There is literally no mention of their kind at all until they suddenly end up in one conversatio.n that helps further the plot.

Beyond the twins and their grandmother I also know nothing about Emilia's family. Her father is essentially invisible, uttering two sentences at best. I would have liked to have seen more interactions between the family unit to build this deeper connection amongetbthem all to make me care a bit about them. Unfortunately we don't really get this, and as a result I didn't get that sense of sisterhood I've seen in other witch books, or feel anything for Emilia's family. Any threat to them, and I wasn't bothered in the slightest. The writing at the beginning is also a little off-putting, with similies galore it just feels like the author is trying a little bit too hard to be lyrical and whimsical, and it doesn't quite work.

What did draw me in however, is the relationship between Emilia and Wrath. Theres a lot of sexual tension there right from the get go, and it simmers. A lot. There's plenty of loaded, heated looks to keep the reader entertained, and it all feels pretty genuine. The development of this relationship is interesting too, as they both need to learnt to trust each other and get use to the other being around as they're both quite solitary, independent characters. I also really liked the few other Princes we meet. They're all quite stereotypical of their 'sin', but this made them a bit more fun to read about. I only hope we get more of them all in the sequel.

Speaking of the sequel, this book is basically designed as set up for the next book. There's no real conclusion to the story, plot points are left hanging with no answers and I still know next to nothing about the mysterious kingdom. It lef me feeling very flat and unsatisfied, as one of my pet peeves is cliff hangers without any resolution. However, I'm hoping that this will mean the sequel is even better than this one as the door is left open to a lot of potential drama and romance and sinful demons.

Decent YA fantasy, but just don't expect too much in the way of world building or plot development. Just lots of sexy demons and angry witches.

Kingdom of the Wicked is a book that I have been seeing all over Instagram. I think the cover is gorgeous and that this will be a book that a lot of people will enjoy.. Unfortunately, I am not one of those people. Despite the age of the characters and the author's previous experience with successful novels, I felt that the writing, characters, and plot felt very juvenile and unpolished. The underdevelopment of the characters caused me not to feel any emotions during highly emotional scenes. I wanted more from the witch culture and magic. It was just glossed over. I felt like Emilia would conveniently forget and then remember things for the sake of furthering the plot. Overall, I liked the idea of Italy and witches but I just could not get into the writing, characters, plot, or world building.

I deeply loved this book! It´s one of my favorite reads of 2020!

Those who had read and liked Stalking Jack the Ripper will not be disappoint with this new novel from Kerri Maniscalco, in fact the structural plots of both books are similar. We followed our main character Emilia, a witch, who used forbidden magic to solve a series of murders and in her journey, she will end up involved with powerful demons and the devil.

Everything about this book was intriguing, dark and totally immersive. Emilia as a protagonist is a great and strong character, she knows what she wants, and no one will stop her to seek vengeance and justice. And of course, we have the seductive male character for whom it’s impossible not to fall in love.

As for the plot, it was what I expected and more, a thrilling story who catched me until the end. It was well executed, and I loved all the details Kerri used to built up this tale about witches, demons princes and dark magic.

Although this novel didn’t bring something new to the YA genre it’s the kind of story that keeps you reading until late at night. I highly recommend it to those who want an exciting story with great characters and impossible to put down.

Cannot wait to read the sequel!

Thanks so much to JIMMY Patterson and NetGalley for providing me an e-arc of this book.

I did enjoy Kingdom of the Wicked probably about half-way through. Once Emilia started to get her head on straight and started to understand that the dark forces that her grandmother was warding her and her sister from were actually real. The denial in the beginning did not make for an enjoyable read.

I think the Princes of Hell really made this novel shine. The way that Maniscalco describes the different sinful natures of the princes that Emilia comes into contact with, the way they are dressed, the different colors of their eyes and their attitudes was masterfully done.

The new trope of enemies to lovers is hard not to enjoy. I did feel like the relationship between Wrath and Emilia was quite awkward and the passion quite sudden despite their revulsion of each other, though once certain elements are revealed, I was very much interested in how these two progressed together. I found their banter to be enjoyable, and I hope to see more of it in the second installment.

I just wan't to preface this review by say I read this while in a reading slump. I don't feel I could give this a fair review without starting that, so I will say this, the writing is great and like Maniscalco's other books, the characters were well written and the world was interesting. The magic definitely was a selling point for me. The problem was mainly that there were some slow parts that caused me to continue to put this book down. That was half me being in a slump and half nothing interesting happening. The ending definitely picked up with some twists which has me needing book two yesterday. I will be rereading this one when I'm no longer in a slump in prep for book two because that ending was crazy! 3.75/5 stars,

I loved reading this book up till the end. I wish it had ended clearly but we shall see what happens in book 2. Over all I really loved the story and the way it was beautifully written, very entertaining and it kept me on the edge of my seat quite a few times! I would definitely recommend this book!!❤️🖤

Thank you to hodder for providing me with an ARC to review.All opinions are my own.

I was very excited to read this book going in as I loved Kerri Maniscalco's Stalking Jack the Ripper series and I'm very happy to say I was not disappointed. This was everything I wanted in the book and more. I knew Kerri Maniscalco could write a great mystery and this was no exception.

This follows Emelia who is a witch and believes that a lot of the things her grandmother tells her about the demon princes is silly superstition. That is until she finds her twin sister dead and everything her grandmother said coming true.


This was such a great mystery and I loved following Emilia as she tried to learn of her sisters killer. The pacing of the story was excellent and I did not want to put the book down. It kept me on the edge of my seat. The plot was amazing and I could not guess the direction it would go in.
I loved the setting of this as it wasn't very complicated and read as our world but I'm guessing the next books the world will be expanded a lot. The magic system was really interesting. I love the concept of the princes being the 7 deadly sins.

I loved the two main characters, Emilia and Wrath. The dynamic between them was great and the romance was done so well. It was developed and not just thrown in. I can't wait to see what happens with it in the next book.
.
The ending has me wanting the next book straight away and I have to wait so long.

I highly recommend this book if you like mysteries. I think you can read this even if you're not a big fantasy reader as it's very easy to get immersed in the story. If you loved Kerri Maniscalco's other series, you'll love this.


5/5

This is a dark, fast-paced murder mystery based on a sister's quest for vengeance when her twin is brutally murdered. Set in Sicily and based around the protagonist's family trattoria, the novel has a transportive effect through its description of the environment and the food. I loved the magical elements and felt the chemistry between main character Emilia, a witch, and Wrath, a demon. The cliffhanger left me hooked and I am looking forward to reading the next installment.

3.5 stars

“Magic is a living, breathing entity; it thrives on the energy you give it. Like all forces of nature, it is neither good nor bad—it simply becomes based on the user’s intent. Feed it love and it blossoms and grows. Nourish it with hate and it will deliver hate back to you tenfold.”

This was my first time reading a book by Kerri Maniscalco, but I heard a lot of positive things about Stalking Jack the Ripper. I was expecting something a little darker maybe, but I still greatly enjoyed reading Kingdom of the Wicked.

Emilia and Vittoria are twin witches. When they were 8 years old, their grandmother made them promise to always keep their magical amulet on to protect them from the Wicked. Everything is fine from that day until 10 years later when Emilia finds the body of her twin. She then starts to realize that she did not know everything about her sister and that Vittoria was involved with demons and probably even one of the Wicked. Emilia is consumed by the idea of revenge and will even go as far as to work hand in hand with Wrath to find her sister’s murderer.

The world-building is very minimalist. We know that Emilia’s family lives on an island in Italy and that they own a restaurant. We know that Emilia’s grandmother is a witch and so are the twins and that they need to be careful so the Wicked (aka the Princes of Hell) don’t come for them because of an old blood debt between the devil and the witches. The author did not spend a lot of time on world-building and it worked fine with this story. We had the information that we needed to understand and appreciate the story, but at the same time, I would have loved to read a little more description in this book.

The first 40% of this book is a little slow (but still a good read), and the intrigue develops more after that, so it becomes much more interesting and addictive. I was hooked after the 40% mark.

Emilia is a good main character, she is stubborn and strong, but also makes mistakes and bad decisions. She is likable, but nothing more. Wrath is an interesting character, and I liked him much more. He has this dark, mysterious, and dangerous aura, but he is kind-of nice at the same time (meaning that he is not actively trying to kill everyone around him). I like how he and Emilia were (almost) always at each other’s throat. I was hoping for a romantic interest to develop between them because that’s how cool Wrath is, but at the same time, I was not sure if and how it would happen because Emilia is so strong-minded and Wrath is a mighty and pretentious Prince of Hell. Also, I am not sure what will happen to them with that ending, but I am eager to find out in the next book!

"I crave power more than money, or blood, or lust. And there’s no greater power than choice. I’d lie for it. Steal, cheat, maim, and murder. If I could, I’d sell my soul again for it, witch.”

Special thanks to NetGalley and JIMMY Patterson for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars

So… I finally finished reading this. That’s right, after attempting to read this over a period of several weeks and continuously putting it down because my attention kept straying, I managed to push myself to finish it. Now that I have, I've got really conflicting feelings because there was a lot that I enjoyed, but the same issues I had with SJTR happened here too. Might it just be that Maniscalco is not for me? Sadly, it’s looking likely. I’m not giving up yet because after that wicked (heh) cliffhanger, I'm eager to know what happens next, though I’m definitely going in with much lowered expectations.

I don't usually do reviews in this format but I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts down, so we'll split this review into what I liked and what I struggled with. Let's take a look at what I liked:
-Setting/atmosphere. There’s no doubt Maniscalco is amazing at creating perfectly eerie settings that make you break out in shivers. I had a constant prickling sensation at the back of my neck as I was reading and not just because I’m The Ultimate Chicken™️, but because the gothic supernatural-esque setting was incredibly well done. It was gritty and fitting for a story about demons!
-The foodgasms. Don’t read this on an empty stomach because you will be ravenous and crave Italian food like never before. There are mouthwateringly decadent descriptions of all the food--and there’s a lot of food. All the time. It was just too good and I wanted EVERYTHING! 🤤
-Princes of Hell. I found this aspect of the story really unique because I can’t recall reading something similar before. Aside from Wrath (who *swoon* definitely was my favourite!), we meet a few of the princes and I found them devious and mind-twistingly frustrating in the best way. I didn’t find them really scary, although their abilities to twist thoughts/emotions were terrifying if you think about how easy it is for them to manipulate us mere mortals!
-The banter and potential romance (to an extent). There were some surprising laugh-out-loud moments with the characters' dry/sarcastic humour that brought levity to the story. I admit that the chemistry (and potential romance) between Emilia and Wrath was pretty fire and intriguing, and I’m looking forward to seeing where that goes. Although I wasn’t a huge Emilia fan all the time, I still managed to enjoy parts of the romance (thanks to broody hell-prince Wrath)!
-The mystery (mostly). I’m notoriously bad at figuring out “whodunit” but I was surprised to find that I predicted many of the twists, though it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the flow and reveals because I was looking forward to understanding motives (which was the only unsatisfying bit of the mystery for me).

Sadly, despite all the fun stuff, I struggled with elements that generally have a huge weight in how I feel about a story. I’m not sure if this is more an issue of “it’s me, not the book” though…? I don't know but let's take a look at what I didn't really enjoy:
-I had a hard time connecting with characters, and the detachment I felt made it hard to feel invested in what happens to them. Of course, I sympathised with what happened to Vittoria and the other witches, but there was something missing to really make it hit home for me. I thought there was a lot of telling and not enough showing, and that probably contributed to my overall impression as I didn’t feel the characters’ fears or anger or vitriol. I was told they felt a certain way and how it “morphed” their states but it didn’t show enough.
-Emilia. There were times that I really did like her but she frustrated me a lot! She’s supposed to be this smart and fierce heroine but she made so many infuriating decisions that literally made me scream at my Kindle. Just… Gah, no! What are you doing?! Why are you making such unsound decisions that make zero sense and that will only lead you to being stuck in a situation where you’ll need to be rescued? And she needed to be rescued a lot! Unpopular opinion: I experienced this feeling with Aubrey in SJTR as well, although I did like her more initially but the silly decision-making for someone who’s meant to be brilliant really stuck in my craw! Not to mention, following her thoughts/feelings about Wrath kinda gave me whiplash. One moments she’s realising how helpful he is and then he opens his mouth and she immediately goes back to fiercely loathing him, and it kept going until (literally) the very end. I understand he’s meant to be her mortal enemy but some consistency would’ve been nice? Also, Wrath tries teaching her how to deal with the princes and lesser demons, and she gives him crap for it but then moans about how secretive, unhelpful and annoying he is? Girl, please!
-There's just a lot going on in this story. There's so much happening from scene-to-scene and as we jump around I feel like it didn’t give enough time for anything to properly develop, which gave the story a somewhat haphazard feeling. Also, as I mentioned, I enjoyed getting to the reveal for the most part, but I thought it was a little anticlimactic and rushed, and then it led to that cliffhanger and that was a bummer. 😅 I have so many questions about motives and I’m still not really sure what ‘goes’ and doesn’t when it comes to the magic because I felt that there were inconsistencies to those rules as long as it kept Emilia and the plot moving forward.

In a way, I felt that this was more like a “filler” because while some big events happpened, I feel like they only occurred to set up the next book, if that makes sense? This review ended up being much longer than I expected and I’m sorry that it's all over the place but that's how I felt after reading it! This definitely had it’s plusses but I’m disappointed that I didn’t enjoy it more. I feel like that might have to do with me more than the book because so many in the community loved this one. I’m hoping that book two will clear up some of the issues I had and hopefully be a stronger story overall!

Wow.. I freaking loved this!

If you're looking for an Italian-based historical fantasy following a young witch who has to work with one of the Princes of Hell to avenge her twin sister's death, this is for you! The whole book was just beautiful and mesmerising and perfect.

The world-building and atmosphere is interesting and so vivid. It felt so realistic and I so want to live there.

I loved the bantering and bickering between Emilia and Wrath, although the ending broke my heart.

Eagerly awaiting the next book!!!

I read this book at the worst possible time: in the midst of exam season. Having to put this book on the backburner for nearly a month, just as things were getting better and better, was torture!
I had a blast reading this. I though Emilia was a very likeable and well-rounded character who I couldn´t help but root for. The romance was the epitome of enemies to lovers and I loved every second of their threateningly flirty back and forth.
This was my first book by Kerri Maniscalco but it certainly won´t be my last as I now plan on trying out the Stalking Jack the Ripper series and I am definitely going to be picking up the sequel.

I received an eARC from Netgalley, that doesn’t affect my opinion of the book, all my thoughts are my own and honest.

When Emilia’s twin sister Vittoria, is brutally murdered she will do anything to avenge her death and find her killer, even working with one of the princes of hell.

Vittoria’s death changed Emilia. At the start, she was shy, quiet and liked to play it safe and read her romance novels. When she goes on her mission to solve her sister’s murder it brings out a side of her that even she didn’t know she possessed. She is strong-willed, badass and above all intelligent while remaining a relatable character.

Wrath was different from the typical YA fantasy love interests you see, while still having a lot in common with them. As he is a prince of hell and practically immortal he doesn’t really have any feelings or shows them at all. But throughout the book, you start to see a difference in him and how Emilia affects him. It was a slow burn romance, that I feel was paced right.

This was my first time reading a Kerri Maniscalco book and I enjoyed reading her writing style. It was very descriptive without being dense. She was able to weave the words together to make the setting and characters very easy to imagine.

There were so many layers to the plot, woven into each other leaving nothing forgotten. It was both engaging and intriguing. It left me never knowing exactly what was about to happen. It finished on a huge cliffhanger that had me wanting to pick the next book up straight away to know what happens next. Overall thoroughly enjoyed my time reading and would recommend it for YA fantasy lovers who love revenge plotlines.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kerri Maniscalco and the publishers for approving me a copy.

Kingdom of the Wicked was a hell of a romp, I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced, fun and full of witty banter. I loved the setting for this novel, it was beautiful and I had no issues getting lost within it's descriptions of Sicily. I absolutely loved the characters, Eimilia was flawed and driven by the need for vengeance, while Wrath was ever the dangerous and sly. They had my favorite relationship too, I'm a sucker for certain tropes. I felt like the story was well thought out but it did fall flat for me a few times, the pacing was tiny bit off and it felt like there needed to be less time that passed, especially when weeks would pass with no story, I just wish it had happened quickly because it felt a little awkward when I was reading it. Overall I think this was a very fun read that I really enjoyed, solid 4/5 stars.
I would reccomend it to people who liked the Shadows Between Us, Shadow and Bone, Serpent and Dove, and the Cruel Prince.

TW: Family death, body horror

“Why do villains always wear black?”
“Better to hide the blood with, witch.”

Kingdom of the Wicked was a book right up my alley and aligns with my interests, so it’s no surprise that I really enjoyed this novel.

Maniscalco has a wonderful way of writing mysticism that shows a great level of understanding and / or research. I loved the way that the witches beliefs, rituals and stories were written and interwoven into the world. I’m not streghe so I can’t speak to how close it is to that practice, but I can speak to a generic sense of witchcraft and was pleasantly surprised with the accuracy.

Emilia is a relatable MC who is weaving her way through grief and vengeance, while at risk of slowly being consumed by both. I felt like her mannerisms and choices were reflective of the situations she found herself in and nothing was odd or out of character for her. I enjoyed witnessing the developing, reluctant, working relationship between herself and Wrath and I have a few suspicions about where we may be taken in book 2, and I’m going to enjoy that ride.

Kingdom of the Wicked contains all the things I loved about Escaping from Houdini and Hunting Prince Dracula mixed together.

*I was provided an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review, however I ended up purchasing the published copy on release date and read purely from that one.