I'm a huge fan of Kerri Maniscalco's books and Kingdom of the Wicked is right up there with the rest of them.

Kingdom of the Wicked is a great start to a brand new series. Kerri's writing is so enjoyable and she creates a stunning world with vivid descriptions and an atmosphere that matches the storyline in an amazing way. This is something I always enjoy about Kerri's books, and I thoroughly enjoyed it in this one.

I really enjoyed the characters. Emilia is a really intriguing main character and I love how she dedicates herself to her sister — while it does come at her own expense, I think the focus on sisterly love in this book is really enjoyable. Wrath is such a good character; he draws you in from the first meeting and I'm so excited to see how things continue in the sequel.

The storyline is mysterious and engaging. It keeps you turning each page, and wanting more. I'm so excited to pick up the sequel to see what happens next in this adventurous story!

Fine. Good enough. Enjoyable.
There's a lot like Kingdom of the Wicked on the market these days. And unfortunately it doesn't do anything to wow me and make it stand out.
It's pretty middle of the road.
The pacing was really slow too. Like 50% of the book is the same scenes and conversations repeated in slightly different variations. I will admit to some skimming.
But Maniscalco's writing is compelling enough to keep going. We'll see if I get the urge to continue the series. This one was very predictable so I'm not sure that'll change going forward.
Also that promised steamy romance; non-existent. FYI.

Listen, as soon as I read Prince of Hell I immediately wanted to read this. Add in the murder mystery element? YES PLEASE. Kerri Maniscalco is really out here giving readers what we want.

I am addicted to historical mysteries, so much so that I can binge read them. I feel like the mystery was done well, though I kind of guessed who was involved fairly early on thanks to foreshadowing. If you give off a suspicious vibe, I will be suspicious. But what’s nice is the Maniscalco does throw in little pieces to try to throw you off and keep you guessing, which makes the mystery more engaging.

Like the "Stalking Jack the Ripper" series, this one is heavily focused on the romance aside from the mystery. And you know what, folks? I’m not mad at it. The fact that the love interest is a Prince of Hell makes the romance even more delicious. Probably because it feels a little bit dangerous and, let’s face it, he’s pretty much the ultimate bad boy. I was living for their interactions.

Being a fan of witches in books, I was really looking forward to this element. I think that in some ways the way they’re portrayed here felt different than other witch books I’ve read. I liked the world building and the omen surrounding the sisters that haunts the characters in the book. It made the story seem darker and more mysterious, giving the plot a sense of urgency and doom.

I think where things went a little downhill a bit for me is the ending. I don’t like the way the book wrapped up, and though I know it’s a series and things will change in the next book I was still frustrated with the route it took. The ending felt forced and out of sync with the rest of the story, but maybe that’s just down to me wanting and expecting a different outcome.

But as you can tell by my rating, I really enjoyed the book. Maniscalco knows how to craft dark historical mysteries that are captivating and hard to put down. The magic and mystery combine with the romance to make for a truly enjoyable book overall. If any of this sounds like your cup of tea, you should check it out.

4.5/5 ⭐️ to Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Thank you so much to Hachette Book Group Canada, Little Brown Young Readers, and NetGalley for an egalley to review!

I am a huge fan of Kerri Maniscalco and her Stalking Jack the Ripper series, so I was anxiously anticipating this newest novel. And it didn’t disappoint! It follows this girl, Emilia, who is a witch along with her twin sister, Vittoria. After her twin is found gruesomely murdered in a sort of ritual, Emilia will go to any length to solve and avenge her sister’s murder, even if it means teaming up with an actual prince of hell. I so loved the historical Italian setting and lush, dark atmosphere. The writing was beautiful, and reflected the intensity and emotions of the story. And as she did in her SJTR books, Kerri Maniscalco introduced a simmering romance that started as a begrudging partnership. On that note, I was just as invested in Emilia and Wrath’s relationship as I was with Audrey Rose and Thomas’, but I found that we didn’t get as much payoff of the relationship. Hopefully with the continuation of this series, we will get more, because she can really write romance! I also loved Emilia’s family, especially her Nonna. They own a family restaurant and there are so many delightful scenes of them creating delicious Italian food together. Finally, I found it super intriguing how Maniscalco interpreted the idea of the 7 deadly sins, demons, and hell into these dark Princes, 3 of who we meet.

I am invested in this series, and highly recommend it to those who like a dark, historical fantasy romance! Hopefully we get book 2 soon!

I love how the main character Emilia went from being the reserved and rule abiding sister to this revenge driven witch with a score to settle. She starts off dreaming of owning their family restaurant and coming up with her own recipes but that quickly falls to the side when her twin sister is found dead. Determined to find the person responsible, Emilia uses the dark arts after being warned against it for as long as she can remember. Her family of witches believe dabbling with dark magic invites evil into your life and avoid it at all cost. I was a little confused with how unbothered her parents were with her disappearing for weeks on end after they just lost one daughter. Her grandmother was the only one who seemed worried but not enough to actually tell Emilia everything she needs to know to protect herself.

I was a little disappointed her best friend and cousin was only used as a plot device and had very little personality of her own. However I was able to overlook my issues with the other characters because of how much I enjoyed the main relationship of the book. Emilia and the Prince of Wrath had this amazing dynamic. Despite how dangerous Wrath can be, Emilia holds her ground with some threats of her own. I was obsessed with the banter and tension between the two of them. Not knowing Wrath true motivation kept me on my toes waiting for the inevitable betrayal. I loved his dark and mysterious persona but I think Emilia is wrong about him and I wish she would give him a chance to explain instead of assuming the worse.

Their grandmother has been warning them every since they were children that the devil and the princes of hell would one day claim their family's blood debt. This created a sense of danger from the start but I wish she would have elaborated on the blood debt to better prepare the girls. Sending Emilia away on her own seemed very reckless. I loved the revenge centered plot full of mystery and secrets. We follow Emilia trying to retrace her twin sisters last moments and discover what she was involved in before she was murdered. I had a pretty good idea who was responsible but I still really enjoyed the ride of piecing all the clues together. The pace was gripping from start to finish with new information and new threats at every turn.

I really enjoyed the historical Italian setting and since the main characters family owns a restaurant we get a bunch of delicious food descriptions. The monastery were a lot of scenes take place was super creepy. I loved the somber atmosphere and dark magical elements. The concept of the seven princes of hell each representing a different sin was a lot of fun. We get a few different types of demons and I was most excited about the vampires. I also liked the dire prophecy and all its implications. The writing had a wonderfully addictive quality to it. This had a wonderful map that gave me the impression we would be spending some time in hell but that wasn't the case. I think the author saved that setting for the sequel and I seriously cant wait to explore it. I need to know what happens next.

Unfortunately, this book did not work out for me.
I did not like many things about this book, but let's start with the one thing I did like: The setting. Some way-back century Italy was a really interesting place in some ways. The places and the people were intriguing, I must say.
However, I did not hold much love for the characters and that was a big red flag for me. .
First of all, how can this book be about dealing with devils and the main devilish character, Wrath, is the most bland and boring character of them all? And he is not even wrathful? I was so disappointed and bored with his character. Emilia. was also a mess. I really can't pin point her personality other than she makes decisions in the heat of the moment and like anyone who does that, they are not very good decisions. Her voice was not compelling nor interesting. It was just telling me this story that was okay at best.
The witchiness of the book could have been way better. I wanted more spells and more magic on page. I wanted more history and more more more. But again it just sort of fell flat.
The plot was sort of like a murder mystery turned deal with the devil that had so much potential but turned out to be so boring. She does a spell, she runs from monsters, he doesn't put on a shirt, they run from monsters and so on. I know at one point I did give kudos to Emilia for doing something cool. Can't remember what it was, but it was a point that I didn't totally hate the book! Hence my generous rating.
The part that did not work for me at all was the "murderer" I...I didn't like the person regardless and some of the angles Maniscalco used to explore them in the beginning didn't suit me, but I don't know. I was surprised and yet the reasoning behind their motives was kind of weak in my opinion.

Overall, I'm upset that this anticipated read didn't go as planned. I was hoping for so much more, but this book was just not for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I have recently been in such a witchy mood and this book had me right from the start! I loved the Italian world and how magic was so seamlessly drawn through it. It felt so real.

The characters were so great! I loved the Emilia and Wrath scenes and want more of them together. Their banter really gave me life.

The end though. What was THAT!! I need the next book now because I have too many questions and not enough answers!!