Kerri Maniscalco introduces her next series, a dark tale of a beautiful young witch, a troubled demon, and their epic romance, set against a 19th century Italian backdrop.
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...
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Kerri Maniscalco's newest series starts off with Kingdom of the Wicked and you can expect demons, witches, magic, vampires, murder, mystery, and mayhem among the other delights in this dark and enchanting tale! Here we have something that borders between Faustus and Beauty and the Beast but with an added murder mystery! This is sure to be a book to haunt you (in all the best possible ways) until its very end!
This book...whoa, you guys! Just whoa! I expected yet another engaging murder mystery from Kerri with a dynamic duo who may or may not kill one another before the night was through, but I wasn't expecting such a twisted and dynamic plot to evolve along with it! Just whoa!
Emilia and her twin sister, Vittoria are witches in secret, along with their family. It's a time when witches are killed for practicing magic and "consorting with the devil" yet that's not exactly how Emilia's magic works, nor her family's. Things were happy and content...until the murders started happening. Two young girls are brutally killed, and then the next victim is Vittoria, and Emilia's world shatters. Emilia had come across a young man standing over her sister's body who seemingly disappeared afterwards.
She's determined to uncover the truth behind her sister's murder. Not only finding out the whodunit, but to also figure out the secrets Vittoria had been keeping, dark and dangerous secrets...ones that involve demon summoning. When Emilia finds out the spell to summon the demon her sister was possibly summoning as well, she is astonished when the man who stood over her dead body appears.
Wrath is a demon, but not just any demon, a demon prince of one of the realms in hell. He offers an enticing deal to Emilia, if she agrees to a bond between them, one that will lend her protection, he will help her find her sister's killer. But Emilia is a not a witch to be trifled with, she knows demons are not to be trusted and they twist their words to their benefit.
But when more demons start popping up and more murders start happening, she relents that it's better the devil you know, than the one you don't.
This book was positively gripping! In simplest of terms it's darkly enchanting! A witch and a demon! Eep!! While there's no love lost between these two, there's definitely something there! Which also sounds familiar, right? Lol. Wrath is one secretive guy, and he chooses his words carefully, so much so that you can't find the lie within the truth. He's very misleading and oh my goodness, I'm dying to know what's going on in this guy's head! There's always these linger looks, the way he acts like he wants to protect Emilia, yet she can't help but think he has ulterior motives.
The mystery does get resolved in this one and it was pretty astonishing! I mean, I started to make my suspicions and was proven correct, but I couldn't get the reasoning down pat other than generalities. But the story is far from over after this revelation and it gets totally twisted after that. I'll admit I got a bit confused with references to the different princes and the devil himself. At times it read like they were one and the same. And then that final chapter reallllly threw me through a loop! Like what just happened?! I mean I suspected a teeny part of it, but other than the most basic element of the situation everything else was positively mind-blowing!
Kingdom of the Wicked is a dark and mysterious tale that will hold you spellbound! It's a tale filled with dark deals and sinister secrets. Add in a slightly forbidden romance and you have a simply unputdownable read in your hands! Kingdom of the Wicked is a book you will want to devour in one sitting, so set aside some time to enjoy this one to its fullest!
Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars
Kingdom of the Wicked releases October 27, 2020
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