Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco - Book Review

Hello friends! Today, I’ll be reviewing Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. I've never been as excited for a new release book as I was for this new series. I'm a huge fan of her first series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, and I knew if I had loved those stories, then I was sure to love this new one as well! Not only did I decided to pre-order one of the many exclusive editions available, I also signed up for the pre-order goodies too, which are absolutely gorgeous. Now, how about I discuss my thoughts on this new series!

About the Book:

Title: Kingdom of the Wicked

Author: Kerri Maniscalco

Release Date: October 27, 2020

Series: Kingdom of the Wicked #1

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448

My Rating: 5/5 ⭐

Summary:

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...

My Thoughts:

*Forewarning, this review is probably going to be me gushing over how much I loved this book!*

After suffering from a terrible reading slump for most of 2020, I can say for a fact that Kingdom of the Wicked made it completely disappear! This book captured my attention so quickly, I could not put it down. Kingdom of the Wicked has everything that I've ever wanted in a story and new series, all wrapped up into one. There were some additional details that I never knew I needed until now. I loved the setting of the story, Italy has always been a fascinating place and getting to see glimpses of it described in a historical setting made it sound so beautiful. Not to mention the food that was discussed multiple times throughout the book. This book made me so hungry at times, I wished I had the recipes for the dishes mentioned in this story! Just like Kerri's previous series, I loved the idea of her newly spun murder mystery, with magic beautifully woven into the story. I was on the edge of my seat reading this book until the very end.

I loved Emilia. She's smart and willing to take tons of risks in order to avenge her sister. She took the death of her identical twin sister hard and even though she couldn't bring her back, she was willing to do anything to find her sister's killer, even if that meant conjuring a demon, who just happened to be one of the Prince's of Hell. Wrath, named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, is brooding he has a dark aura, dangerous, and slightly devious. After Emilia conjured him from Hell, they were bound to each other with one simple deal that led them both on a dangerous adventure. 

When I look at Emilia and Wrath, they both had very similar traits to Audrey Rose and Thomas from her previous series, however it was with a slightly different twist with an enemies to lovers feel that I loved! Without giving too much of the story away, I couldn't believe everything that had happened throughout the book, there were so many twists and turns that I never saw coming! The book leaves off on a very minor cliffhanger, but I can't wait to find out what happens next in Emilia and Wrath's story! Especially with the new an uncharted territory that Emilia is about ready to face with only herself to rely on.

Overall, if you haven't already, Kingdom of the Wicked should definitely be on your TBR. You will not want to miss this enticing new series. I cannot wait for Book 2: Kingdom of the Cursed! I've already pre-ordered the next Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition. October 5th can't come soon enough!

If you’re interested in checking out Kerri's pages, the links are below along with places you can get the Kingdom of the Wicked.

Website | Instagram | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Thank you all so much for reading.  I hope you enjoyed my review/suggestion. Until next time!