theintrovertsbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Vomit, Gore, Violence, Murder, Body horror, Hate crime, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual content, Animal death, Torture, Kidnapping, Cursing, Stalking, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
purplehulk713's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Not that I didn’t enjoy Kingdom of the Wicked, but I had higher hopes for it from reading its preview. Maniscalco’s writing was sometimes confusing—too ambiguous to be understood upon a first or second reading of the section. It was frustrating. But the magic was bewitching, especially the culture of the streghe and their myths (some true, others false) about the Malvagi (the Wicked) and La Prima Strega (the First Witch). The romance was pretty good, I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, but I hate how Emilia (like many other YA protagonists) judged Wrath so simply every time she saw a new side of him, and didn’t realize that just because he is one of the Wicked, that does not mean he is heartless or totally evil or whatever. Kerri Maniscalco did do a good job of leaving me wanting more, despite if it was for reasons of ambiguous writing on her part. I’m still confused about the details of the devil’s curse. Envy as a character also seemed rather predictable. Basically, as much as I enjoyed Kingdom of the Wicked, it didn’t wholly satisfy me as a reader.
Beware the Malvagi, fellow streghe…
Beware the Malvagi, fellow streghe…
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual content
anastashamarie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
🕯️ If you want to read this, I GREATLY recommend the audiobook. This is one that I think is made by the narrator. I'm a sucker for a paranormal/fantasy murder mystery and for slow burn enemies-to-lover so I devoured this story and thoroughly enjoyed it...UNTIL the last 10% or so.
Tuck in, little witches and surly demons. This might turn rambling like I got stuck between worlds in a scrying session.
🐍The whole time I was reading/listening to it, I was thinking this would be a 4-star read for me. Yeah, it had some problems (which I'll get into). But I loved the magic system and the setting. I loved the concept of the 7 Deadly Sins embodied as demons and the ways that their powers manipulate humans. I loved Emelia's and Wrath's banter. (And okay, like I said, the narration really made this one.)
🗡️ I liked the characters, too. Some people complain about Emilia being dumb, and though I definitely think there certain things she did or didn't do only for the obvious sake of the story, I don't think "dumb" is the way I'd describe her. She thought these demons and dark forces were scary stories made up her Nonna to scare little witches into saying in bed at night. She was very traumatized by seeing the brutalized bodies of people she cared about and by witnessing multiple graphic attempted murders. I don't blame her if she didn't always ask the right questions or if she fell prey to immortal beings who spend their whole lives trying to trick humans. 2 months ago, she didn't even know they existed. She's pretty adaptable, all things considered.
I also liked Wrath and the ways that he wasn't nearly as stoic or good at hiding his emotions as he might have thought. I liked his insistence on consent and choice and the ways that the demon magic just enhances what people already feel or desire. I liked that he clearly had his own motivations and seemed genuinely ambiguous throughout much of the story. I wouldn't call him morally grey, per say, because he doesn't actually do anything bad. Maybe morally shadowed...I'm still not totally sure what his ploy is, but I'm very curious as to where his story will go next.
💀 But oof, the ending just left so much to be desired that I had to take another star. I get that it's meant to set up the storyline for the rest of the books. But so many of the characters motivations seemed loosely strung together by the end and nothing is as well tied-up as I thought it might be. New characters are introduced up until the last few pages, but in a "better shove this in my hidden pocket before I forget it like Emilia keep forgetting her chalk" sort of way, not in a necessarily intriguing sort of way. Personalities seem to suddenly flip flop. Clues that were presented seem to now be forgotten.
And speaking for clues, I feel like I needed a Handy Dandy Notebook to keep track of the spells and symbols and other hints littered throughout, because Emilia was finding paw prints I couldn't even see (I think because they're as invisible as a umbra demon). Meanwhile, Emilia is out here just drawing connections out of thin air. She suddenly remembers seeing symbols before that I don't remember ever being mentioned (because they weren't) and is like "oh, a clue!" I feel this could have been solved by more showing and less telling in the book; more descriptions of the scenes and interactions and behaviors. In other words, I wish more clues were dropped so the audience could play detective, too.
🍝 Still, even though I didn't rank this as highly as I hoped, I'm very excited to read the next one. I borrowed this from Libby and will probably buy an actual copy of it to keep on my own shelf I liked it so much. I'm just hopeful the next ones redeem some of the ending of this one for me, otherwise I'm sending them back to the summoning circle.
Tuck in, little witches and surly demons. This might turn rambling like I got stuck between worlds in a scrying session.
🐍The whole time I was reading/listening to it, I was thinking this would be a 4-star read for me. Yeah, it had some problems (which I'll get into). But I loved the magic system and the setting. I loved the concept of the 7 Deadly Sins embodied as demons and the ways that their powers manipulate humans. I loved Emelia's and Wrath's banter. (And okay, like I said, the narration really made this one.)
🗡️ I liked the characters, too. Some people complain about Emilia being dumb, and though I definitely think there certain things she did or didn't do only for the obvious sake of the story, I don't think "dumb" is the way I'd describe her. She thought these demons and dark forces were scary stories made up her Nonna to scare little witches into saying in bed at night. She was very traumatized by seeing the brutalized bodies of people she cared about and by witnessing multiple graphic attempted murders. I don't blame her if she didn't always ask the right questions or if she fell prey to immortal beings who spend their whole lives trying to trick humans. 2 months ago, she didn't even know they existed. She's pretty adaptable, all things considered.
I also liked Wrath and the ways that he wasn't nearly as stoic or good at hiding his emotions as he might have thought. I liked his insistence on consent and choice and the ways that the demon magic just enhances what people already feel or desire. I liked that he clearly had his own motivations and seemed genuinely ambiguous throughout much of the story. I wouldn't call him morally grey, per say, because he doesn't actually do anything bad. Maybe morally shadowed...I'm still not totally sure what his ploy is, but I'm very curious as to where his story will go next.
💀 But oof, the ending just left so much to be desired that I had to take another star. I get that it's meant to set up the storyline for the rest of the books. But so many of the characters motivations seemed loosely strung together by the end and nothing is as well tied-up as I thought it might be. New characters are introduced up until the last few pages, but in a "better shove this in my hidden pocket before I forget it like Emilia keep forgetting her chalk" sort of way, not in a necessarily intriguing sort of way. Personalities seem to suddenly flip flop. Clues that were presented seem to now be forgotten.
And speaking for clues, I feel like I needed a Handy Dandy Notebook to keep track of the spells and symbols and other hints littered throughout, because Emilia was finding paw prints I couldn't even see (I think because they're as invisible as a umbra demon). Meanwhile, Emilia is out here just drawing connections out of thin air. She suddenly remembers seeing symbols before that I don't remember ever being mentioned (because they weren't) and is like "oh, a clue!" I feel this could have been solved by more showing and less telling in the book; more descriptions of the scenes and interactions and behaviors. In other words, I wish more clues were dropped so the audience could play detective, too.
🍝 Still, even though I didn't rank this as highly as I hoped, I'm very excited to read the next one. I borrowed this from Libby and will probably buy an actual copy of it to keep on my own shelf I liked it so much. I'm just hopeful the next ones redeem some of the ending of this one for me, otherwise I'm sending them back to the summoning circle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Sexual content
selestre's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Death, Abandonment, Cursing, Gaslighting, Violence, Murder, and Mental illness
bootsmom3's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Sexual content
rensreading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
there was a plot, but whether we stuck to it or not was another thing. emelia was annoying and also an idiot, not gonna lie. i don’t like her character but i do understand her initial reasoning for trying to solve her sister’s murder. i too would unleash hell if someone ever laid a hand on one of my siblings’ heads. i can only imagine how much more intense that fury would be if it happened to be my twin who was hurt. also nonna telling emelia to deal with the fact that vittoria is gone and move on already is a pretty crappy thing to say. emelia described her twin as her other half and to be expected to keep going after losing that is cruel, especially by someone who had a hand in raising both those halves.
it makes sense why its wrath who she summons. her twin is dead, her grief is choking her daily, and no one is doing anything to try and solve her sister’s murder. summoning rage and fury itself? that’s a given.
emelia’s moods give me a lot of whiplash though. her character didn’t have any substance and she played the damsel-in-distress role so often that i hardly think her capable of figuring out who ate the last cannoli, much less a murder and bringing hell down to its knees.
wrath was a complex character and it was pretty clear who the author’s favorite was. if she had put even half as much of an effort as she put into wrath’s character into emelia, then maybe she would be decent instead of all-around pathetic.
that ending was meh and i could tell from the moment vittoria scared them in the monastery’s kitchen and he just stepped in front of emelia while holding up his rosary, unfazed.
also pride x emelia? as if. she’ll be back in wrath’s arms soon enough. doesn’t help that he’s acting like such a dick though so i guess we’ll see if they even deserve to be together in the next book.
this gets 3.25 stars from me. it had promise but the execution of it all was terrible.
it makes sense why its wrath who she summons. her twin is dead, her grief is choking her daily, and no one is doing anything to try and solve her sister’s murder. summoning rage and fury itself? that’s a given.
emelia’s moods give me a lot of whiplash though. her character didn’t have any substance and she played the damsel-in-distress role so often that i hardly think her capable of figuring out who ate the last cannoli, much less a murder and bringing hell down to its knees.
wrath was a complex character and it was pretty clear who the author’s favorite was. if she had put even half as much of an effort as she put into wrath’s character into emelia, then maybe she would be decent instead of all-around pathetic.
that ending was meh and i could tell
Spoiler
the murderer was antonioSpoiler
that was kind of a dead giveaway that he wasn’t the innocent boy next door emeila always thought of him as.also pride x emelia? as if. she’ll be back in wrath’s arms soon enough. doesn’t help that he’s acting like such a dick though so i guess we’ll see if they even deserve to be together in the next book.
this gets 3.25 stars from me. it had promise but the execution of it all was terrible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Vomit, Stalking, and Confinement
the sexual harassment and violence happens after emelia meets lust, so do with that what you will.a_libra_library's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The longer I sit with this, the more I realize I don't remember anything about this book. I did have a good time trying to figure out the mystery. I will be reading book two and three and I hope Wrath and Emilia's relationship get more developed because it was not giving the tension at all. I think Wrath was modeled after Ryhs from ACTOAR
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Grief, Gore, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Death
hapalyn's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Grief, Blood, Child death, and Murder
averyconfusedhomosapiensbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Um, well, this was not the greatest start for the new year. I can't even say much about this book. It was definitely well written, and I always appreciate that. I did however feel that it was lacking in keeping the story line going. I often felt like there were parts that I missed, which may be my fault for not paying attention... but overall affected my feelings about it.
The character design was actually quite flawless, and very well done. I feel like I know so much about Emilia, and even Vittoria. I will always be happy about the token grandmother that actually knows what she's talking about. (Sort of.) Supporting characters actually supported the story—thank god.
The character design was actually quite flawless, and very well done. I feel like I know so much about Emilia, and even Vittoria. I will always be happy about the token grandmother that actually knows what she's talking about. (Sort of.) Supporting characters actually supported the story—thank god.
Honestly, I think I could have given this book higher than three stars, but I'm just not as interested in fantasy anymore. That seems to be why I found it lacking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death of parent
rosalie5's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, and Deadnaming