Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, 1)
Book by Kerri Maniscalco
DETAILS
Publisher : Jimmy Patterson; Reprint edition (September 7, 2021) Language : English Paperback : 400 pages ISBN-10 : 0316428450 ISBN-13 : 978-0275945367 Reading age : 14 years and up Grade level : 9 and up Item Weight : 12.2 ounces , From the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series comes a new blockbuster series... 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... Read more
REVIEW
I will not lie to you, I devoured this book within 48 hours, but I am out of town without much to do, so do with that information what you will. Let me start by giving a spoiler warning- I won’t be giving up the entire story, but will definitely spoil some good plot twists so if you plan on reading this book- and I recommend this you do- the TLDR is: I thoroughly enjoyed it, but the writing can be a little lacking. I’ll start with the positive- the story is absolutely dripping with the tantalizingly forbidden. From witches dabbling in forbidden magics, to terrifying demons invading the earth, to mysterious and violent murders, to handsome princes from hell- this story by all means has good bones and a sturdy foundation to work with. Now here’s why it didn’t all work for me. The writing feels like it’s shooting for SJM and just falls flat. There’s points where it’s unclear what actions are actually being taken, and what’s being imagined by the main character. There’s points where very important and dramatic events are happening and the writing does not offer the emotion and drama to match- moments that should be tense, frightening, or exciting that are explained with only a few dull sentences. Do not get me wrong- there’s some beautifully written moments, and great imagery, but it is NOT consistent. For instance- when an invisible demon attacks Emilia’s grandmother, the writing does a great job expressing how unexpected the attack is and how Emilia emotionally handles the aftermath in a way that invokes the feelings in the reader perfectly. But then you get Emilia’s two weeks of crippling depression brought on by Lust’s emotion draining magical influence. The entire two weeks are summed up in just a few pages and simply cured by Wrath throwing her into an elemental bath (why it took him this long to help her, I’ll never understand). I would hope the writing would put the reader through that emotionless, motivation-less time as well- forcing us to experience a bit of that alongside Emilia- but it was quickly resolved and moved past. It does not feel like Emilia has to face many consequences- as before mentioned, her falling into Lust’s trap and being influenced by his powers, being childhood friends with a witch hunter, mouthing off to princes of hell, and dabbling in dark magics she once thought to be forbidden… there aren’t really any lasting consequences until the end of the book when she agrees to align herself with (MAJOR SPOILER) the house of pride and sell her soul, and even then that was ultimately her choice to make. When it comes to the characters, it feels like everyone has depth except for Emilia. Now I’m holding out for some character development in her as the series goes on, but for now she feels a bit two dimensional. I will say there is change! She does goes from quiet and safe to vengeful, courageous, and power hungry but there isn’t much build up- she does have the motivation to become this way, but it goes from 0-100 quickly. Emilia went from fearing dark magic to summoning a demon. Normally I’d appreciate some work on the MC’s part that takes her from a weaker witch only interested in peace to a courageous witch with the magic to back it up, but as some others in the reviews have noted, Emilia has no business being as bold as she is. She never seeks out other witches- including her grandmother, and her friend and her friends aunt who practice the dark arts(and both have names starting with C and ending in A which gets confusing and easy to mix up)- to expand her magical prowess. Even Emilia herself admits she knows little when it comes to magical attacks and defenses, especially ones meant to protect her from the powerful demon princes she’s facing, but she does little to fix it. Plot wise, things feel a little too convenient. There are multiple times when Emilia happens to stumble upon the very thing or person she’s seeking out(or events that push the story along.) I get that the horn leads her to it’s matching half- that much makes sense- but she just happens to find things because some disembodied whispers guide her to it a little too often. Don’t get me started on the romance. Wrath and Emilia go from hating each other to passionately making out. I definitely feel the narrator hinting at Wrath having a soft spot for her from pretty early on, but there’s not enough to back up the sudden switch for me. I know there’s a fine line between love and hate, but the line was just a little too fine for my tastes. I feel their friendship developed nicely, but the romance came and went quickly. To wrap things up, I will be reading the second book. It’s probable I will recommend this series. There’s been quite a few books/series recommended to me lately that have been downright unbearable, but this series is one I’ve enjoyed despite my harsh critique. I know I just spent a good while tearing this book apart, but I enjoyed reading it nonetheless. I’m still holding out hope for some character development and some plot holes to be resolved in the second book though, but all in all I’m excited to start it.
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