Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Rating: 3.5 stars

Recommended Ages: 14+

Kingdom of the Wicked is a fairly standard, but still enjoyable older young adult fantasy that appears to promise a good time in the next books to come. (Note: I've heard that the next two books in the series are more adult than young adult). I've had it on my shelf for awhile, but finally decided to listen to it on audiobook. I was really pleased by the narration and the sound effects that pop up every now and then.

In Kingdom of the Wicked we follow Emilia, a witch whose life is turned upside down when tragedy befalls her family. She is thrust into the world of powerful dark magic as she tries to solve who murdered her twin sister with the reluctant assistance of Wrath, a Prince of Hell.

This book is clearly a setup to the much larger story, although we do wrap up--to a certain extent--one of the main mysteries in the book. That said, much of the action doesn't start until about halfway through the book, with a lot of explanatory world-building prior to that point. The pacing felt a little chaotic as a result.

I have already started the second book, Kingdom of the Cursed, as despite this book's slow start I was hooked by the end. Notably, this series is quite a bit different than Kerri Maniscalco's prior young adult book series, Stalking Jack the Ripper, as it strays from historical fantasies to something quite a bit more fantastical. Ultimately, I didn't mind, although there was room to lean further into the 19th Century Sicilian setting. Demons and kisses took precedence, however.