My Thoughts: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Wicked
(Kingdom of the Wicked #1)
by Kerri Maniscalco

Publication Date: October 27th 2020
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Pages: 448
ISBN: 9780316428460
Genre: Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy
Source: Own

Add to Goodreads

Available for Purchase:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

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)

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco was high on my list of anticipated reads for the second half of 2020, and I am so thrilled that I was able to read the book! I really enjoyed her *Stalking Jack the Ripper series, and I couldn’t wait for this brand new story. It was definitely worth the wait.

Where do I even begin with this story? I really liked everything about it. Let’s start with the characters. Emilia was interesting. She had a wonderful family, (which is something I absolutely love in books), and a twin sister as well. After her sister is murdered, Emilia sets out to find out who took her sister's life. I love that she is fierce and wanted to get revenge, but I also felt she was a bit too hasty at times. But, I suppose I would feel the same way if I had a twin and something like that happened to them.

I was also absolutely fascinated by the princes of hell. They were all interesting, but Wrath especially. He was not at all what I expected, and I’m super suspicious about his motives and the future of the story with Emilia. I hope we see more of him in the future.

The storyline of the book was really interesting. There were quite a few twists that I didn’t see coming, but that I enjoyed nonetheless. I also really enjoyed the setting for the book as well. Kerri did such a fantastic job with the descriptions and I totally felt like I was there with the characters. Also, I loved the family restaurant and the historical aspects in the story as well.

I should also add that I opted to listen to the audio for this book after listening to a sample and loving it. The narrator, Marisa Calin, did a fantastic job with the voices and story. If you have an opportunity to check out the audiobook, you should definitely do so!

Overall; If you can’t tell by my rambling above, I definitely enjoyed Kingdom of the wicked! I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel, which is currently untitled and without a release date other than 2021, but I am hoping that we will get some information on that soon. I can’t wait to check it out as well.