A review by asipofcozy
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

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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