Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
“It’s funny … Why can’t I find evidence to support you claims of innocence?”
“Are you asking me to comment on your own perceived incompetence?”
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…
I think it’s impossible to avoid comparing Kingdom of The Wicked to Stalking Jack the Ripper, but I’m pleased to share that Kingdom of the Wicked brings out everything we’ve come to love from Kerri Maniscalco. While SJTR had Audrey terrified over the death of young women in her city, here Emilia stumbles onto the mutilated corpse of her own sister. This time we have a literal demon who is a literal prince and is obsessed with sweets and fashion. Look me in the eye and tell me this isn’t an escalation of Thomas Cresswell, who is described as a devilish prince at least twice every book. Still, Thomas and Audrey were pretty much always working together even if he got on her nerves a bit; Wrath is Emilia’s actual enemy, which just makes the enemies to lovers trope way more … intense.
And instead of a subtle undercurrent of dark sorcery we’re treated to a full blow explosion of fantasy. While the forensic angle of SJTR definitely made it stand out, Kerri makes the relatively more common fantasy tropes work as well. The genre allows her to unleash the darkness that all her readers love her for. However, unlike Thomas, Wrath actually isn’t human. He’s immortal and supernaturally gifted, which just makes him lord over Emilia. She is constantly getting into trouble and he’s always there to save the day. Emilia’s idea of being courageous is defying the rules that Wrath sets in place for her protection. And then she’s needlessly cruel to him after he saves her time and time again. Wrath doesn’t make mistakes. He isn’t mean or rude to her, except for a few extreme circumstances. Opposites attract doesn’t mean one is powerful and kind while the other is bumbling and rude. While I’m sure this wasn’t the intention, Emilia’s mood swings and inability to remain civil or logical was … annoying. If it happened a few times, it would be totally natural; but she just loses her temper and/or mind far too often. Basically, for a variety of reasons, I just couldn’t invest myself in either Emilia or Wrath. Also, twins are my weakness but I still have nothing to say about Vittoria, which is just sad.
And none of this touches on the actual plot. I will not lie and say that I 100% followed the plot of any of the SJTR books, but this was a bit much. There are seven whole princes of Hell, along with their henchmen, Emilia’s family, friends, townspeople in general, mythical characters from folklore, complicated spells and magical objects. Not to mention the abundance of Latin and Italian being tossed around (okay, “tossed around” is an exaggeration, but it really didn’t help with my confusion). The twist ending definitely caught me off guard, but it was very on brand for Kerri! However, the cliffhanger at the end was a no-go, especially because the endings of each of the SJTR books were so perfect. Overall, Kingdom of the Wicked turned the dial way up on the darkness and the enemies-to-lovers, but it ended up losing some of the simplicity and sweetness that gave SJTR its charm (at least for me). Still, this is a great read for Spooky Season, layered with deception and betrayal and dark forces galore.
“Are you asking me to comment on your own perceived incompetence?”
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…
And instead of a subtle undercurrent of dark sorcery we’re treated to a full blow explosion of fantasy. While the forensic angle of SJTR definitely made it stand out, Kerri makes the relatively more common fantasy tropes work as well. The genre allows her to unleash the darkness that all her readers love her for. However, unlike Thomas, Wrath actually isn’t human. He’s immortal and supernaturally gifted, which just makes him lord over Emilia. She is constantly getting into trouble and he’s always there to save the day. Emilia’s idea of being courageous is defying the rules that Wrath sets in place for her protection. And then she’s needlessly cruel to him after he saves her time and time again. Wrath doesn’t make mistakes. He isn’t mean or rude to her, except for a few extreme circumstances. Opposites attract doesn’t mean one is powerful and kind while the other is bumbling and rude. While I’m sure this wasn’t the intention, Emilia’s mood swings and inability to remain civil or logical was … annoying. If it happened a few times, it would be totally natural; but she just loses her temper and/or mind far too often. Basically, for a variety of reasons, I just couldn’t invest myself in either Emilia or Wrath. Also, twins are my weakness but I still have nothing to say about Vittoria, which is just sad.
And none of this touches on the actual plot. I will not lie and say that I 100% followed the plot of any of the SJTR books, but this was a bit much. There are seven whole princes of Hell, along with their henchmen, Emilia’s family, friends, townspeople in general, mythical characters from folklore, complicated spells and magical objects. Not to mention the abundance of Latin and Italian being tossed around (okay, “tossed around” is an exaggeration, but it really didn’t help with my confusion). The twist ending definitely caught me off guard, but it was very on brand for Kerri! However, the cliffhanger at the end was a no-go, especially because the endings of each of the SJTR books were so perfect. Overall, Kingdom of the Wicked turned the dial way up on the darkness and the enemies-to-lovers, but it ended up losing some of the simplicity and sweetness that gave SJTR its charm (at least for me). Still, this is a great read for Spooky Season, layered with deception and betrayal and dark forces galore.
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