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A review by kori_krc
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
2.0
So here's the thing...if you don't think about ANYTHING or question ANYTHING, this is a fun read. It has all the set up for a good trilogy with an interesting plot. HOWEVER, even though I sped through this and had a semi good time doing so, upon discussing with my friend, who I am buddy reading this with, I just have so many issues with this book that it outweighs the enjoyment. This book could have really done with an editor. There was a point where I'm pretty sure she spelled Emilia's name wrong multiple times, the flip flopping the characters do, sometimes within the same page if no the same chapter, and the plot holes are glaring.
Before I get into the characters, we barely get any descriptions of what these people look like and even when we do, they all have the same descriptors minus eye color. Wrath as a character was shockingly bland. One would expect a prince of hell who's sole purpose is to be one of the seven deadly sins of WRATH to be a hot head, sassy, and violent and he was none of those things. He was so patient and was able to control his emotions very well for a demon who was supposed to embody wrath. Emelia has 0 to no personality. How anyone had any romantic feelings towards her is a mystery to me. She was so painfully naive and every time she had a question she could have asked to actually help her, she asked a dumber question that she could have easily deduced from previous conversations. It also was terribly annoying to have the world building set up where we only learn about lore and the world through the main characters questions. I got to a point where I was screaming, "if you ask one more forking question I swear to god". Oh my god, also, when she finally opened her sisters diary or found the original witches book SHE DIDN'T EVEN READ THE WHOLE THING. Like mam....you spent more than half of this book looking for ways to open/read these things and you read a passage and then you're done?! She also CONSTANTLY did the EXACT OPPOSITE of what anyone ever told her to do and then wondered and complained about the outcome AS IF EVERYONE DIDN'T WARN HER IN ADVANCE. She also had a major case of "im not like other girls". The relationship between Wrath and Emelia was also odd. She kept claiming to hate him and not trust him, but in the same chapter want to climb him like a tree. There was a point where she released him out of anger but within a page, they were back together and hadn't even talked about the issue that made her so upset in the first place.
The magic system feels incomplete. The characters constantly flip flop between the term shadow witch and star witch, Emelia doesn't really seem to know how to use her powers unless she all the suddenly does when it's convenient, and the lore doesn't really match up in regards to how this prophecy came about. It was hard to differentiate Satan from Pride. As I was reading, I figured the Devil was the king of the underworld and the 7 brothers were his sons, but upon talking to my friend she figured Pride and Satan were the same person. We also don't really get a motivation behind why the brothers are either trying to help Pride or keep him from escaping his curse. Why was Greed and Envy trying to keep Pride in Hell? Where was the motivation?
Lastly, the ending was so off and weird. Like she just decided to make her choice without even telling us the rationale behind it which is weird cuz it's from her POV. Emelia also did the same flip flop she has been doing the entire time where she claims she's done with Wrath, then goes back to him, then decides he's always been evil AS IFF HE ISN'T A PRINCE OF HELL?!
To me, this is a draft that got published. It has really good bones, but it's in major need of development and some reworking. The characters lack personalities and motivation, the plot has some holes in it that I couldn't get in to without spoiling anything, and the main character's POV was frustrating to have to sit through.
Before I get into the characters, we barely get any descriptions of what these people look like and even when we do, they all have the same descriptors minus eye color. Wrath as a character was shockingly bland. One would expect a prince of hell who's sole purpose is to be one of the seven deadly sins of WRATH to be a hot head, sassy, and violent and he was none of those things. He was so patient and was able to control his emotions very well for a demon who was supposed to embody wrath. Emelia has 0 to no personality. How anyone had any romantic feelings towards her is a mystery to me. She was so painfully naive and every time she had a question she could have asked to actually help her, she asked a dumber question that she could have easily deduced from previous conversations. It also was terribly annoying to have the world building set up where we only learn about lore and the world through the main characters questions. I got to a point where I was screaming, "if you ask one more forking question I swear to god". Oh my god, also, when she finally opened her sisters diary or found the original witches book SHE DIDN'T EVEN READ THE WHOLE THING. Like mam....you spent more than half of this book looking for ways to open/read these things and you read a passage and then you're done?! She also CONSTANTLY did the EXACT OPPOSITE of what anyone ever told her to do and then wondered and complained about the outcome AS IF EVERYONE DIDN'T WARN HER IN ADVANCE. She also had a major case of "im not like other girls". The relationship between Wrath and Emelia was also odd. She kept claiming to hate him and not trust him, but in the same chapter want to climb him like a tree. There was a point where she released him out of anger but within a page, they were back together and hadn't even talked about the issue that made her so upset in the first place.
The magic system feels incomplete. The characters constantly flip flop between the term shadow witch and star witch, Emelia doesn't really seem to know how to use her powers unless she all the suddenly does when it's convenient, and the lore doesn't really match up in regards to how this prophecy came about. It was hard to differentiate Satan from Pride. As I was reading, I figured the Devil was the king of the underworld and the 7 brothers were his sons, but upon talking to my friend she figured Pride and Satan were the same person. We also don't really get a motivation behind why the brothers are either trying to help Pride or keep him from escaping his curse. Why was Greed and Envy trying to keep Pride in Hell? Where was the motivation?
Lastly, the ending was so off and weird. Like she just decided to make her choice without even telling us the rationale behind it which is weird cuz it's from her POV. Emelia also did the same flip flop she has been doing the entire time where she claims she's done with Wrath, then goes back to him, then decides he's always been evil AS IFF HE ISN'T A PRINCE OF HELL?!
To me, this is a draft that got published. It has really good bones, but it's in major need of development and some reworking. The characters lack personalities and motivation, the plot has some holes in it that I couldn't get in to without spoiling anything, and the main character's POV was frustrating to have to sit through.