Two sisters.
One brutal murder.
A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…
And an intoxicating romance.
Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…
-Goodreads
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I swear, I am destined to have a very love/hate relationship with Kerri Maniscalco’s protagonists. Audrey Rose and I still have beef – she knows what she did in Escaping From Houdini, and I will never forgive her. That being said, Maniscalco manages to consistently write books that I just can’t put down. I read this book cover to cover, putting aside any adult responsibilities for the day because I just couldn’t help myself.
The atmosphere in Kingdom of the Wicked is *chefs kiss* perfection. Actual perfection. It made my inner bad bitch so incredibly happy. The setting of the book was moody, dark, and just eerie enough to keep me reading with my lights on. Learning more about the kingdom of the wicked with Emilia, and meeting each of the princes of hell was quite possibly the highlight of the entire book. Well, maybe one of the highlights. Let’s be real, Wrath is the real shining star here.
I also absolutely thought that the portrayal of grief was incredibly well done in this book. Emilia ran through the gamut of emotions and the way those scenes were written had me feeling her pain as well. Though we had very little time to get to know Vittoria, I definitely found myself grieving with Emilia.
While I have yet to really love one of Kerri Maniscalco’s protagonists, I somehow ALWAYS love her romantic interests. Thomas Cresswell will forever be in my harem of book boyfriends. We can definitely go ahead and add Wrath now as well. I have so many questions about him, but somehow absolutely adore him.
I absolutely love that Maniscalco writes strong female characters. Her protagonists are independent and a million times more brave than I could ever be. That being said, I personally find them hard to connect with. Some of Emilia’s decisions made very little sense to me and I felt that she was mad when she shouldn’t be and calm when she should’ve been more freaked out. I also had a hard time understanding how her extremely over protective (rightfully so) family suddenly became less and less concerned about her whereabouts as she continued to sink further and further into dangerous situations. It felt like they were worried for her when they didn’t need to be, and then very suddenly not worried when they should’ve been.
All of this being said, I will absolutely be continuing the series and actually have two more editions of Kingdom of the Wicked on the way. Something about Maniscalco’s storytelling hooks me every time and I can always count on her for a binge-worthy read, and a swoon-worthy romance.
As The Book Ends 