Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
Emilia and her twin sister, Vittoria, are witches, who live secretly among humans on the island of Sicily. Their family runs a renowned local restaurant, where both girls work.
At eighteen years old, they’ve been raised hearing the lore of their family, and other beings of the underworld; mostly at the knee of their beloved Nonna.
But these stories become all too real after Emilia discovers the body of her murdered sister.
Overcome with grief, Emilia’s saving grace seems to be her need for vengeance. Her overwhelming need to find her sister’s killer keeps her from wallowing in despair for too long.
Pairing herself with a Prince from Hell, Wrath, Emilia begins to follow clues through the shadow-ridden Sicilian streets, as more and more witches fall to the same fate as Vittoria.
In the beginning, I’ll admit, I wasn’t sold.
The first couple of chapters seemed generic. Emilia felt like many YA characters I had read before. I was sceptical.
However, I am so happy to report, I had no reason to be. Once Emilia and Wrath met up, everything began to fall into place and I ended up really enjoying this.
While the format was slightly typical, as far as enemies-to-lovers tropes go, I still thought it was special; and I love that trope.
I thought the evolution of their relationship was perfectly paced and the way they worked together, two thumbs up. Until the bitter end, I was with them, hook, line and sinker.
As the story unfolded, I was so impressed with Emilia’s guts and determination. She’s up against some super scary forces, yet never backs down.
Pushing herself to the limits, her ability to stare straight in the face of danger was admirable. By the end, she’s one of my new favorite heroines.
As far as Wrath goes, we stan. Everything about him, from his snarky attitude, his knowledge of all things dark and hellish, his tattoos, his sexy outfits, I loved it all.
I also feel like we have so much more to learn about him. Fingers crossed this happens moving forward in the series.
The atmosphere is top notch as well and I liked that Maniscalco didn’t shy away from some very dark images and scenes. This last bit of this book was absolutely wild and I cannot wait for the next one to be released!!!
Seriously, is it too early to request a copy!?
Thank you so much to the publisher, Jimmy Patterson, for providing me with a copy of this to read and review.
I truly appreciate it!
