Thank you to Terminal Tours for having me on this blog tour!
This book was dark and magical and seductive and I loved it so much!
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Emilia and her twin sister Victoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Victoria 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 discover who did this, and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, the outlier among the seven demon brethren, always choosing duty over pleasure. He’s been tasked by his master with investigating a series of women’s murders on the island. When Emilia and Wrath’s fates collide, it’s clear this disturbing mystery will take a bewitching turn…
This book is a murder mystery with magic and demons and it is dark and bloody and the perfect spooky read. I absolutely loved this book and I was completely hooked by the first chapter. I loved the whole atmosphere of this book and how it showed the dark side of people.
“Find forgiveness and acceptance in your heart, or darkness will seep in and destroy you.”
The main character, Emilia, goes down a dark path of vengeance when she discovers her sister murdered and will go to any lengths to find the killer, even making a deal with the devil himself. I loved how conflicted she was from wanting to find who murdered her sister to also seeing there is more to her sisters death and wanting to find out what her secrets her sister had been hiding and to do that while working with a Prince from Hell. I really liked her character and how driven she was and how she overcame her fears to find her sisters killer.
“Vengeance was now a part of me, as real and necessary as my heart or lungs.”
I also loved how passionate she was for cooking and worked in the family restaurant. We got so many incredible food references and it just had me drooling over everything and I do not recommend reading this book on an empty stomach! I just wanted to try everything that she would cook, I loved how vivid the descriptions were too and could practically smell the food cooking.
The descriptions throughout the book were really vivid and created a dark and creepy atmosphere where you really felt for the life of Emilia on several occasions in this book especially as we see what lurks in the shadows. The terrifying creatures released from hell and other dangerous creatures and that doesn’t even include the other Princes from Hell that we meet. There is no one truly good person in this book which made all the characters complex and intriguing.
“Lethal, Beautiful. Wholly untouchable.”
The most intriguing character in this book was Wrath who is a literal Prince of Hell and yet I couldn’t help but like him. Kerri did a great job creating a complex character who we know isn’t good but we can’t help but root for too, especially as he is usually the type of character I don’t like! While he is unable to lie to Emilia due to her summoning him, he still withholds information from her and has his own ulterior motives and then there is the intense chemistry between him and Emilia which becomes more and more electric as the story progresses.
I loved the bickering and tension building throughout the book between the two of them and while it’s clear they both have some sort of feelings they both have their own motivations too which of course complicates matters. I am really intrigued to see what will happen between the two of them in the next book.
“In the end, the monster we feared didn’t come from hell. He came from privilege.”
This book had me intrigued from the beginning and while I was able to figure out some twists there was some that took me by surprise and I really loved the whole eerie atmosphere of this book. The ending of the book left me instantly needing the sequel so I am really looking forward to reading what will be next!
Author Bio
Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats.
She is the #1 NYT and USA Today bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series and the forthcoming Kingdom of the Wicked.
JIMMY Patterson books is running a pre-order incentive campaign. All who pre-order a hardcover, ebook, or audiobook edition of Kingdom of the Wicked before 11:59pm ET on October 26, 2020 will receive an enamel pin, signed bookplate, and pair of oracle cards. This offer is only available in the US and pre-orders from subscription boxes are not eligible. Conditions and details here for the preorder
The Tsundoku Chronicles 
I’m so excited to read this!
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Great review!
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