Synopsis:
Two sisters.
One brutal murder.
A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…
And an intoxicating romance.
Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria 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 find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…
My Review:
This might just be my favorite book of all time.
Emilia and her sister Vittoria are twin witches living in Palermo, Sicily. Life is all fun and games until Vittoria turns up brutally murdered with her heart cut out. Turns out someone has been killing witches. But why? Emilia intends to find out. She has turned vengeful after the lost of her sister and she will stop at nothing until she finds the killer and makes them pay. So her brilliant plan includes summoning one of the seven princes of Hell, Wrath, and binding him to her so he is forced to help her solve the mystery. They are mortal enemies but Emilia will cross any line for revenge.
The best way to describe this book was deliciously wicked. I love morally gray characters and this book is full of them. First of all there is Wrath who is literally a prince of Hell so his personality should obviously be evil. But surprisingly he is a lot more well mannered and tolerable than one would think. Then there is Emilia who starts off as a really sweet white witch but slowly becomes twisted by grief and vengeance. Emilia is cunning but still tries to keep to her morals…when she remembers them. I loved both of these main characters so much because they have such an interesting dynamic. They really don’t like each other but for some reason they feel some pull to each other. Wrath will do just about anything to get what he wants and Emilia will do just about anything to find her sister’s killer. Truly a match made in Hell.
There really isn’t too much romance in this book which I loved. The description makes it seem like this book is more of a romance but it really isn’t. This is the story about a girl who lost her twin sister and wants nothing more than to make the murderer pay. Romance is the last thing on her mind. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t some stirrings between certain characters. It was the perfect amount of romance. Not that much but just enough to want more of it.
This book leaves you with a lot of questions but this is a series so that shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll get my answers eventually. My only critique is that I wish we were told more information and not as kept in the dark. It makes sense though because we follow Emilia who is very much kept in the dark about everything from everyone.
I adored the atmosphere of this book. As a Sicilian (American) named Emily who’s family hails from Palermo and always wished she could be a witch you can imagine how much I connected to this book. It was very nostalgic of my culture and it was almost like I could live out a life I always wanted. Well maybe minus the whole summoning demons thing. The food descriptions were incredible and this book made me so hungry. I want nothing more than to go to Sicily right now
I can’t wait for the next book in the series. I highly recommend this book if you are on the fence about checking it out. It’s definitely worth it.
Add to goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52735921-kingdom-of-the-wicked
Series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/270202-kingdom-of-the-wicked
Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/28645541-emily
Follow me on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/neverlandsreads
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neverlandsreads/
justlovemybooks 
November 19, 2020 at 9:10 pm
Great review! I published my own review today and it’s great to see someone else enjoying the book, especially someone with a knowledge of the culture and setting. Can’t wait to pick up the sequel.
LikeLiked by 1 person