You guys.... What is what all of my reads lately leaving me with more questions then answers?! However, unlike my last two where it was confusing and frustrating cliffhangers; Kerri Maniscalco’s latest release has me wanting to pull my hair out — in a good way! The worst part about this book is that when I say latest release, I mean it. This was released October 27th... aka now I have to wait forever for the next in the series. Grrr... I want it now!!
This book is similar to the couple books of hers I have read and reviewed in her Stalking Jack the Ripper series. (Stalking Jack the Ripper, Hunting Prince Dracula) She transports you back in time and back to where ever the story is set, in this case, to Italy. Everything transported me back to the days my husband and I spent there with such accuracy it made my homesickness for Italy relapse hardcore. All the food that is described and talked about made me so hungry. Seriously, I ate so much pasta and bread this week.
Anyway, back to the book. Kingdom of the Wicked is set in Sicily, the home of a collection of witches hiding among the humans. One particular family in this town, the di Carlos, consist of an extremely paranoid grandmother, Nonna, a set of very different twins, Emilia and Vittoria, and their loving parents. They all have a quiet, comfortable life, with the exclusion of the spitfire Vittoria, and a huge secret. Life is good, albeit very sheltered and filled with the constant warning and fearful tales and constant warnings poured into them thanks to Nonna. All of which are taken as the ramblings of an aging woman. That is until one day Emilia stumbles on the mutilated body of her twin. As her world shatters with the discovery, it sets her down a path she would never have dared to go otherwise. In the hunt for the killer, not just of her sister but of numerous other witches as well, to get the answers she needs, she crosses a line and tries to call on a demon for assistance. However, due to her naiveté and elementary knowledge of the dark arts, multiple mistakes are made and she ends up calling on a Prince of Hell. Whoops. Emilia definitely makes the best of well... not a great situation. Time and time again her intellect shines through and she outwits multiple Princes multiple times and proves to all she is stronger and more than she appears.
This book really game me Court of Thorns and Roses vibes and that is amazing. You get a taste of female strength, a glimpse of another world that feels so real, and the tension between a few of the characters is delicious. Bravo, Kerri Maniscalco, bravo.
All in all, I can’t wait to read more from her. She does a fantastic job of creating ‘book boyfriends’ and Wrath is another one you have to love. One thing about this was there a were a few predictable parts, but not in a book-ruining way. It makes you want to find out more about it to see if you were right, and get answers as to why. I am definitely going to add this one as well to my re-read shelf and set my notifications to look for the next release date!
Top Quotes
A grandmother’s love was its own sort of powerful magic.
A twig was just a bit of broken wood until had been sharp ended into a spear. Grief carved me in half. And fury honed the pieces into a weapon. Now it was time to unleash it.
My sister was the adventurous one — I was satisfied with safe, clean fun. Give me a steamy romance novel with forbidden love and impossible odds. That was the kind of adventure I could get behind.
“There are victors and victims. Decide who you want to be. Or the choice will be made for you, witch. And I doubt you’ll like it.”
