Reviews with content warning for Gore - Království hříšných

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Království hříšných by Kerri Maniscalco

115 reviews

purplehulk713's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not that I didn’t enjoy Kingdom of the Wicked, but I had higher hopes for it from reading its preview. Maniscalco’s writing was sometimes confusing—too ambiguous to be understood upon a first or second reading of the section. It was frustrating. But the magic was bewitching, especially the culture of the streghe and their myths (some true, others false) about the Malvagi (the Wicked) and La Prima Strega (the First Witch). The romance was pretty good, I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, but I hate how Emilia (like many other YA protagonists) judged Wrath so simply every time she saw a new side of him, and didn’t realize that just because he is one of the Wicked, that does not mean he is heartless or totally evil or whatever. Kerri Maniscalco did do a good job of leaving me wanting more, despite if it was for reasons of ambiguous writing on her part. I’m still confused about the details of the devil’s curse. Envy as a character also seemed rather predictable. Basically, as much as I enjoyed Kingdom of the Wicked, it didn’t wholly satisfy me as a reader.
Beware the Malvagi, fellow streghe…

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saoreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was adventurous for most and gave plenty of thrills, as each journey by Emilia seemed to call for danger. She was weakened and forced to a pivotal point of making decisions for herself and for her loved ones. Gone are the peaceful days and pleasant memories; vengeance was the theme, and her emitting wrath joined in on those who've harmed the human world (no pun intended). It was definitely all-consuming.

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januaryt123's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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taryn_g's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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carat1ny's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.5

I enjoyed this book for the most part. I liked the characters, Emilia's bond with her family, and trying to solve the murders. However, there wasn't as much romance as I thought? And the plot kinda devolved towards the end.. the first half was very strong, but the second half didn't quite meet my expectations. It went from a 4 star to a 3.5 just in the last 50 pages or so. But I'm still going to read book 2 because I have hope that it will get better again. And I added it to the warnings, but there was definitely more gore in this book than I expected. I didn't mind it that much personally, but I know not everyone is okay with that. (Especially the scene in chapter 43, that was gross)

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ronjaorsomething's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book. The world building is great, the characters are amazing and there are many plot twist and unexpected turns. I also love the antihero vibes and how you can literally watch Emilia becoming darked as the story progresses. The only thing I didn't like as much was that sometimes it felt like the author didn't manage to build up the tension that the scene should have had. Like, sometimes there were moments when something unexpected or intense happened but the feelings just weren't brought across so it felt kind of flat. That being said though, there are many passages where the author did do a good job with that and overall I still really enjoyed reading the book and I'll definitely read the rest of the series.

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asipofcozy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I honestly can't tell you the last time I gave a YA fantasy novel above a 3 🌟. Especially one that is in a series. It's just become a rarity for me. Which is frustrating because I still enjoy YA literature...it just doesn't hold that appeal as it used to. Thank the writing gods for Kerri Maniscalco. I read her Stalking Jack the Ripper series when they first came out and I really enjoyed her writing and her character building.

For some reason (most likely the internet and the hype) I held off on reading Kingdom of the Wicked. I am glad I gave it a chance, and I really enjoyed it.

"One day you'll call me death. For now Wrath will do."

I loved the Italian atmosphere, the witchy vibes, the princes of hell, the whole hellish thing about hell and the underworld, the murders, the other supernatural beings. Just all of it enraptured me. And when Maniscalco talked about all that glorious Italian food, it made me want to fly to Italy and consume all the glorious food once again.

A twig was just a bit of broken wood until it had been sharpened into a spear. Grief carved me in half and fury honed the pieces into a weapon.

I loved the growth of Emelia (our female MC) and where she was towards the end of the book. Give me all of Wrath please! And their banter and mistrust of each other, even better. There was that hint of passion behind there words but what I loved more was there was no insta-love! A trope that saturates YA literature. In fact, the romance really wasn't a focus but more of the history between witches and demons, and the murders themselves. So win!

The only complaint I have...which is the same complaint I had in all Maniscalco's other books...is I knew exactly who the killer was and the author made it quite obvious. Which is why it got bumped down half a star. For an author that writes more fantasy murder mysteries you would think she would make it more difficult to figure out the whole "who did it" aspect that is important to these stories.

Anyhoo, there are two more books in this trilogy and I am excited to see what happens next. (Here is to fingers crossed that the second book won't have that dreaded 2nd book syndrome)

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