I think Maniscalco did a great job with the scents of the city, but most of the other descriptions were left up to the reader’s interpretation. World BuildingĪs someone with an Italian heritage, I was excited to read a story based in Italy. The rest of Emilia’s family was completely one-dimensional and only there in certain scenes to prove Emilia wasn’t an orphan.

She kept life-or-death secrets from the girls, then when one of them died, she was surprised-as if the information she had kept to herself wouldn’t have saved Vittoria. I think she was supposed to be portrayed as cool and powerful, but that’s not how I read her.

I thought Maniscalco did a good job personifying the sins we met, though they could have stood to be even more evil.īesides Emilia and the sins (Princes of Hell), the only other character who seems fleshed out is Nonna, Emilia and Vittoria’s grandmother. Obviously the grief of losing her twin brings about that shift, but even before Vittoria’s murder the “shy and smart” characterization didn’t really come through. She’s characterized as smart and timid when other characters talk about her (or she reflects about herself), but portrayed as reckless and all over the place by her actions. Honestly, my favorite character was Wrath, not the main character Emilia. I’m bummed because I really wanted to fall in love with this new series (and tried!) but at the end of the day, there were a number of problems too distracting for me to fully love this book.

Unfortunately, it didn’t meet my expectations. I’ve read Kerri Maniscalco’s other highly-acclaimed series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, and loved it so I went into this with high hopes. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems… Overall thoughts Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked – princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. 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.

Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. 3.5 / 5 stars Sourced from GoodreadsĪ quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…Įmilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. This is a review of Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco. I’m excited to bring you my first (of many!) reviews.

The wicked kingdom