Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Series: Kingdom of the Wicked
Series #: 1
Genre: fantasy, historical fiction
Age Group: new adult/young adult
ARC?: yes

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…

Review

Thank you to NetGalley and Jimmy Patterson Presents for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

*insert screaming*

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the fall. Imagine this: me biting my fingernails anxiously waiting to see if I’d be approved and then SHRIEKING when I was! Happy days!

Was it as good as I thought it was going to be?

Well?

IT WAS BETTER. This was witches done right. This was demons done right. This was the whole package of evil goodness that I love and is my cup of tea. It was also…pretty much in my wheelhouse of everything I could ever want in a book? Like, this book was magnificent and I am obsessed with it now. I need ALL the merch and good stuff that comes along with it.

Emilia was such a great character and I loved every moment we spent with her. It was a journey from beginning to end – and I definitely did not want this book to end. In fact I was screaming when I got to the end of the book and going “I NEED THE SEQUEL” because HOLY COW was that book just…no words. I feel like I had brain dribbling out of my ears by the end of it.

Things I really liked in the book were Maniscalco’s writing. I loved it in SJTR series, and it was just as good here. I became immediately invested in the book and was over the mood with how everything was written. The pacing was fantastic too, I just kept tearing through the book because I could not stop reading it. It definitely had me on the edge of my seat.

One thing that I enjoyed was the familial relationships in this book. I enjoyed reading about how Emilia interacted with her family and her world and how they came together. I especially loved her relationship with her grandmother. It felt so warm and happy, and it brought about good feelings. It just also, worked.

I also am still laughing about her and Wrath and that relationship. I don’t even know if I’d call it enemies to lovers or enemies to friends or enemies to enemies? All I know is that I enjoyed watching how their relationship progressed and changed and how they went about doing things. Suffice to say, I am invested to see what happens next. Maniscalco has always been good at crafting romantic relationships, and this one feels like it is going to be a slow burn all the way through. I think it is a curious one as well.

What else did I love? Pretty much everything. I loved EVERYTHING. I am so…unable to form a coherent thought about this book because I just loved it so much. It was atmospheric, it was well written, it was beautiful and enchanting, and I love Emilia as a character SO SO much and I am just so excited for the next book in the series.

Things I am excited for: hopefully expansion on the magic system? I definitely want more of it, and I am insanely curious about it. Also more about the princes? Yes please. More more more more is pretty much the one continuous thought I have at the moment.

I am just over the moon happy with this book and I cannot wait to reread it!

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Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper
Series #: 1
Genre: historical fiction
Age Group: young adult
ARC?: no

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

Review

Audrey Rose is interested in the forensic sciences — despite the protestations of her family. And when the killings start Audrey Rose is determined to find the solution. Joined by the (intolerable) Thomas Cresswell, she sets off a chain of events not even she could imagine.

Human flesh flayed much easier than I’d anticipated.

We are launched directly into this book as Audrey Rose performs an autopsy at her Uncle’s house. It was a great opening and I really thought it served to set up Audrey Rose’s blooming character arc. She is a clearly strong willed girl that defies what society expects of young women, and she is aided by her uncle in these matters. But, she is also a young woman with feelings. Audrey Rose felt like a very well constructed character and I enjoyed her voice very much throughout this book.

Thomas Cresswell is an interesting character, and he falls into your typical bad boy trope, but it works well for him. He isn’t boring (and he’s not necessarily doing bad things either) and the banter he has with Audrey Rose is amusing most of the time.

The minor characters too, were interesting, and they were in it enough to have a purpose, but not so much so that they took away from the main characters. There was a lovely balance.

Death was not prejudiced by mortal things such as station or gender. It came for kings and queens and prostitutes alike, often leaving the living with regrets.

Plot wise I enjoyed it. About halfway through, I did guess the end result, but it didn’t take away my interest in the book. It made me want to find out how she resolved who Jack The Ripper was. I thought Maniscalco did an excellent job of that by the way. I was impressed.

Both the subplots and the romance plot tied in nicely with the main overarching plot. They didn’t dominate the story and make you forget what was actually going on, but instead they added to the plot, they pushed it forward both character and main plot wise. I was happy to see that. I was even happier to see there was no love triangle in this. I think the romance that was there was plenty for what this book required.

He was in love. How exceptionally wonderful for him. I wished them both a lifetime of misery with ill-mannered children.

I know I’m repeating myself, but I did enjoy Audrey Rose’s character arc overall. She starts out disobeying orders quietly, still trying to make nice with her family and be who she isn’t. (Along with some snarky asides, which HAH.) As we go along in the book, she grows more and more into herself and it is a good growth, both in terms of her coming into knowledge of how she wants to live her life, and her romantic feelings. It was really one of my favorite parts.

I think part of it is that the writing is just SO GOOD. It draws you in and won’t let you go. The way the action occurs, the way the dialogue moves the story along, it all works in tandem and it made it an even better read. And that helps keep you engaged in a book. If you’re having trouble with the writing even as good as the plot may be, you probably aren’t enjoying the book. In this case I loved the whole package!

This book also focused a lot on family dynamics and how they change, and I again, liked that a lot. There were a lot of things that this book did well, and I am so excited to start the sequel! This one I did really like! I’m so glad that I gave it a chance because it was totally enjoyable. 

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