Happy Saturday book friends! I am back at it with ANOTHER arc review! I am slowly making my way through them all and yet find myself requesting more everyday 😛 When will I learn?
This time around I am bringing you my thoughts on Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco!
Synopsis:
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 at is seems…
I would like to start by saying a HUGE thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
If you have not read Kerri Maniscalco’s Stalking Jack the Ripper series, you definitely need to get on that! I absolutely loved that entire series and am completely engrossed with her writing. When I saw that she was coming out with another series, this one with witches, I knew I needed to read it!
Just like her other series, Maniscalco has put together another engaging and intriguing murder mystery. I can not get enough of her writing and will pretty much read anything she publishes at this point.
The female lead, Emilia, goes through a true character transformation from start to finish and it was a pleasure to go on the journey with her. She is determined to find out who killed her twin sister and why it happened in the first place. Through the writing I could feel Emilia’s emotions while she sought her vengeance.
Another part of this story that I found really fascinating is Maniscalco’s take on the seven deadly sins in demon form. The Seven Princes of Hell which are classified as the Wicked in this story are the manifestations of those sins. They bring about their powers by inflicting their particular “sin” on whoever is around. They may be family, but they all hold their own secrets and lies.
Tie all the characters together and throw them into a dark historical style setting and you have all the ingredients for the perfect murder mystery; add in all the betrayals, witches and demons and you have yourself one HELL of a series!
Watch out for the cliffhanger at the end though, it has me a little upset that I have to wait for the next book to release. You better believe I will be requesting it on Netgalley as well!
Book Details:
Title: Kingdom of the Wicked
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Publication Date: October 27, 2020
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Mystery
As always, thank you so much for stopping by our blog! We appreciate all of your support!
A Court of Books and Brews 
This does sound good. How prominent is the romance? Because I can dig a revenge story, but YA romance is not my thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Honestly it is not much of the story. I also have a hard time with YA romance at times. But this one was not a problem for me and didn’t detract from the overall story.
LikeLiked by 1 person