Review: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Wicked

Kerri Maniscalco

(Kingdom of the Wicked #1)

Publication Date: October 27, 2020

Hardcover, 448 pages, JIMMY Presents

Genres: YA, Paranormal/Fantasy

Goodreads

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…

My Review

Unlike a lot of people, I didn’t really know a whole lot about this book (or that it even existed) until October’s FairyLoot theme was announced. And actually, I’m glad it wasn’t a book that was on my radar. Surprises for book bloggers are hard to come by in these days of Bookstagram, Booktube, and Goodreads.

All that being said, I did very much enjoy this one. Kingdom of the Wicked reminded me of a cross between Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Dark Elements trilogy and Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series. Two series I enjoy very much.

Like most paranormal romance books, there are two main characters in this one. The heroine is Emilia, a witch who just lost her secret-keeping twin sister, and the love interest is Wrath, a prince of the underworld. Emilia is a decent character, she kind of just ran around making bad decisions 90% of the novel. However, she accomplished what she set out to do. It just seemed like every time she stepped out of her house, she’d run into demon creature goon #99 and discover a clue to her revenge plot. It was almost a little too easy and quick sometimes. Now Wrath, he was cool. Not the best demon prince I’ve ever read about (that title goes to Roth), but sexy, nonetheless.

So the characters are fun, but not super unique. The author did manage to create an awesome world, though. Using the seven deadly sins as demon princes is super similar to Lords of the Underworld, but there’s a different vibe, since these are witch-based demon princes and not demons from Pandora’s Box. Unfortunately, I am still kind of confused about what the time period in Italy was when this book takes place, since there are no cell phones yet the clothes for Wrath reminded me of an early-1900s gentleman. Maybe it was mentioned and I just missed it. Not sure. Oh, and why was there a map of a certain demonland at the beginning if the characters never actually visit it..?

As for the ending, the book concludes on a pretty big, annoying cliffhanger. Gah! I hate it when authors cut the book off when things just get really good. But I’ll definitely be picking up the sequel. Oh, and a random quirk I noticed was Emilia’s parents, who just let their daughter run around talking with demons. Very odd.

All of my nitpicks aside, Kingdom of the Wicked is a fast-paced, addicting read. If you love any kind of paranormal romance, this is for you. In fact, I wish it had been New Adult versus YA. I think it really could’ve been better with a higher page count and some darker scenes.

*Note: I purchased a copy of this book myself. This in no way affected my opinion/review.

The End of the Year Book Tag

The hell that is 2020 is almost over! Hurrah! Now, while 2020 was bad for almost every faucet of my life, one good thing that came out of it was my reading amount. Being stuck at home all the time really helped me get out of my 2019/early-2020 reading slump.

We still have a month and a half of the year left, so I thought I’d do the End of the Year Book Tag. I’m not sure who this tag was created by, but I found the questions on Green Tea & Paperbacks blog. Anywho, let’s get this party started!

Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?

Yes. I started Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare in September. I was about 100 pages in, but I wasn’t feeling it at the time. I had a minor reading slump in September and October that I’m blaming on Jennifer L. Armentrout’s A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. That book was sooooo good, and nothing else I had on my shelves could compare. I put down a lot of books that I know I’ll probably like, simply because I wasn’t in the mood for them right then. I doubt I finish Lady Midnight before 2021, but I might try to get over halfway.

Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?

Not really. I’m not a seasonal reader, for the most part. I do have Let the Wind Rise by Shannon Messenger on my 2020 TBR, and I need to get to it soon. It has elemental magic in it, does that count as seasonal? I’m also going to try (again) to read A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas before 2021. I haven’t read it, so I can’t be sure, but it seems like it gives off autumnal/winter-y vibes. I know that in January of next year I want to read Winterspell by Claire Legrand for a snowy transition book, but that’s not 2020.

Is there a new release you’re still waiting for?

Yes and kind of are my answers. Master of One by Daida Jones is one I really want to read. Unfortunately, my copy is coming in a subscription box, two months after the original release date. Also, the fourth book in the Ember in the Ashes series comes out in December, but I’m waiting on Penguin Teen to release a boxset, so I can have matching hardback covers. Also also, I almost forgot that A Warm Heart in Winter by J.R. Ward is coming out December 1. I’m nervous about it, though, as I did not like The Chosen.

What are three books you want to read before the end of the year?

The big one is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. It’s my book club’s autumn pick, and we’re all struggling to get through. I’m almost halfway right now, but it’s a doozy. The other two are United by Melissa Landers and Let the Wind Rise. I had a 2020 reading goal to read some last books in series that I own. These two are the only books left on that list. Oh, and I need to read Cast in Firelight, since it’s a review copy.

Is there a book you think could still shock you and become your favorite book of the year?

Hmm… Maybe Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco? I’ve heard good things, even though I knew nothing about it prior to it being featured in the October FairyLoot box.

Have you already started making reading plans for 2021?

Yes. I know I want to finish the Daevabad trilogy, including a re-read of The City of Brass. The City of Brass was one of my favorite reads of the year, but I held off finishing the trilogy because my FairyLoot copies didn’t get here until October-ish and I got super busy with work. I wanted to take my time and really enjoy my experience reading the series, so I’m hoping to get to them immediately in 2021. My other reading plans are less concrete, but I do want to start and complete some series I own all the copies of, like Caraval. I also need to read A Clash of Kings, but that will take the entire year since I only read a few chapters of the ASoIaF books at a time.

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Alright, there you have it. My End of the Year Book Tag answers. What would your answers to these questions be? Let me know in the comments below!

September and October Wrap-Up & November TBR

So I haven’t been on the blog for the entirety of October. Sorry about that.

There are three major reasons I’ve been M.I.A. One is that I was in a giant reading slump in late September/early October. It was super difficult to read anything, and what I did read was mostly lighter contemporaries. The second reason is how difficult Blogger has made it to write posts. The new interface is driving me insane. I know simple coding, but to have to code almost every single thing when I’ve been using post templates for so long is frustrating. It makes posts that took 30 minutes to write take double or triple that time. I hate it so much. And, my third excuse is just how busy and overwhelming my life has been lately. Work got crazy and life was icky, but, thankfully, things will be slowing down for a while.

Okay, so that’s my long-winded explanation for being gone. However, I probably won’t be posting super often this month either. I’m focusing on getting back into reading books, not writing reviews and stuff. I’m hoping once I get back into reading, the blogging love will return to me. I do plan on writing wrap-ups for each month, though. I just like looking back at them at the end of the year.

In this wrap-up, I’ll list the books I read in September and October, the books I reviewed, the books I bought/received, and my TBR for next month. Now, let’s get this bookish party started!

Books Read in September & October

 

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire: 4.5 stars (my review)

Witchling: 3 stars (re-read)

Children of Virtue and Vengeance: 3 stars

Bear, Otter, and the Kid: 3 stars

Unnatural: 3 stars

Kick at the Darkness: 4 stars

Boyfriend Material: 4.5 stars

Conventionally Yours: 3 stars

Brothersong: 4 stars

Bonds of Brass: 3.5 stars

In September, I read seven books. The three ebooks I read were Bear, Otter, and the Kid; Unnatural; and Kick at the Darkness. Four were physical copies: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, Witchling, Children of Virtue and Vengeance, and Boyfriend Material. Witchling by Yasmine Galenorn was a re-read, and I’d like to re-read/finish reading the entire Otherworld Sisters series in the next year or so. It’s a long series, so this may take some time. It’s not the best series, but it is fun and unique. As for Children of Virtue and Vengeance, it was the September book club read. Boyfriend Material and the ebooks I read were pretty much just desperate attempts to get me out of a reading slump by consuming light and breezy contemporary/paranormal romance books. And finally, the first book I read for the month of September, and the cause of all of my reading slump pain was AKOFAF by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This book was so amazing that everything just felt blah in comparison. So rude.

In October, I only read three books. Two were physical copies: Brothersong by TJ Klune and Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert. I also read Bonds of Brass, an ebook I purchased for cheap on Kindle back in the spring.

I’ve only written a review for one of these reads. I have notes ready to write up reviews for the other books, but I’m not sure when I’ll get to them. Also, none of the books I read these two months were pre-2020 purchases. Yikes.

Books Bought/Received in September & October

 

Unfortunately, I made a lot of impulse purchases/downloads in a desperate attempt to get out of my reading slump. I won’t be sharing every Kindle Unlimited book I downloaded, but I will share the ones I read. Those include Unnatural by Alessandra Hazard and Bear, Otter, and the Kid by TJ Klune. These were both downloaded in September.

In total, I purchased six books in September. Three were ebooks: Kick at the Darkness by Keira Andrews, The Black Witch by Laurie Forest, and A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire. The Black Witch was cheap on Kindle, so I bought it. AKOFAF I bought as an ebook because my print book wasn’t going to arrive quickly enough for my taste. As for the three print books, I purchased Conventionally Yours by Annabeth Albert. Also, my copies of AKOFAF and Midnight Sun arrived from Amazon, so I was charged in September versus when I ordered them in August. Oh, I also got the September FairyLoot which I sold because the cover of the book was ugly and the items were meh. Additionally, I traded a book for an ARC of Wicked as You Wish.

In October, I purchased one ebook: The Name of the Wind. I also purchased five books that have arrived this month: Legendborn, Brothersong, Spoiler Alert, White Trash Warlock, and Black Sun. Legendborn was the October Owlcrate book. Brothersong was an Amazon order, and Spoiler Alert and White Trash Warlock were from Semicolon online. Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse (not pictured) I purchased at B&N on Halloween. My first time being in a bookstore since this all started. In total, I purchased six books that arrived in October, seven if you count my October FairyLoot that I’ve purchased and just hasn’t arrived yet.

As for new arrivals, my FairyLoot special edition order of the Daevabad series came in, finally. My Owlcrate pre-order special edition of A Deadly Education also came in. I’m kind of disappointed with how this one turned out. Plus, I’ve heard some not-so-great things. I think I’ll stop buying special editions of books if there aren’t photos of the product available beforehand.

Currently Obsessed With

I’m not super obsessed with anything right now. In the month of September, I was very much into Twilight. I was reading all kinds of fanfic, and I just couldn’t find adequate paranormal romance books to slate my thirst. I ended up putting down a lot of books during that time. (I won’t say DNF, simply because I plan on trying them again when I’m not in a slump.)

I did end up watching Schitt’s Creek, however. It was fun. Patrick and David are very cute together, and the Rose family as a whole is entertaining. I’ve been reading a bit of fanfic for it, but there’s not a lot of longer fics out there for this series. Besides Schitt’s Creek, I’m still re-watching Buffy and Angel with my mom—her for the first time. We’re on season seven of Buffy and season four of Angel. Oh, and I finished season two of The Boys, and Supernatural season 15 is almost complete. Supernatural has terrible writing right now, but I’m still dedicated to watching every Thursday. I just hope the last episode is decent. Jared and Jensen deserve that, at the very least.

Currently Reading/November TBR

I’m not really giving myself a TBR this month. I’m wary of forcing myself to read anything after being in another reading slump. Thankfully, this one didn’t last a full year like 2019’s did, but I don’t want to risk spiraling again. I will say that I’m currently reading The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss for my book club’s fall 2020 pick. I’m only 10% in now, so I’ve got a long way to go. I’m also almost finished with A Game of Thrones. Woot! Woot! Only 7% left. Other than those two, I’ve been hoping to re-read The City of Brass and then read The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold, as well as Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade and White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton.

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Okay, well, that’s the months of September and October, plus some November sneak peeks, all wrapped up into one post. Do you have a wrap-up post for this month? If so, share in the comments!