Book Review: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco (DNF 40%)

Twin sisters, born to a family of magic in the late 1800s choose to hide their identities as witches in fear of the witch hunters and the demon princes who will eat their souls. Kind of a cute story, yeah? No! The writing was terrible! I had to read the lines again and again in an attempt to register what Kerri might have meant with those ridiculous words of hers! How did she even get an English Literature degree?!??!! I'll just quote her best lines (please note the sarcasm)

Chills caressed my spine

Emilia, the protagonist, after her sister is murdered, tries to find the mysterious man who was standing on her body and avenge her death! The idiotic girl cannot make a single rational decision on her own! Her monologues made no sense and lead nowhere!

The night air was balmy, but chills trailed sharp claws along my flesh

Somke swirled around the circle's edge like it had been trapped in a jar, never crossing into the rest of the cave. It pulsed with energy; almost lovingly caressed my hand. I dropped the dagger and yanked my arm back, hugging it to me until the sensation ceased.

The demon prince, who Emilia summoned, I think he was Greed (the effing 7 deadly sins! Why couldn't Kerri just say that the five princes where named after the 7 deadly sins!) was another imbecilic character! And whatever attempt Kerri was playing at a "cute quarrel scene" was just as stupid and lame as the characters were!

Oh, and did I mention that Emilia had a thing for "steamy romantic books"?! How the hell does that fit in the story... Oh yeah, she was drooling over her neighbour and the demon, right, makes sense. I just revolt at the mention of a "chiselled chest"

I stood inside the lip of the cave, listening as the sea smashed into the rocks, angry and insisted.

Salty spray raged up over the cliff, prickling the exposed skin on my arms and neck. Maybe the water was mirroring my mood. Or maybe it sensed the darkness of the rolled parchment tucked beneath my arm. I certainly could.

Omg I think I've just lost so many greys just typing those horrid lines

Short Analysis:

Book cover: (1 star)

The cover is interesting. But the snake kinda killed it. There's a mention of this snake later on in the book...

Writing style: (0 stars)

Ok... Maniscalco is simply trying too hard! This book is a mush of words aligned together in some pathetic attempt to add some non-existent depth to the already weak story!
The characters are very odd and stupid. Like, the prologue was well written, yes. However, for around 100 pages, the same attitude of the granny goes on and on, the girls think for themselves to make a sane decision. Emilia on the other hand is far too reckless, even for an aloof MC.
Emilia's monologues made no sense! She, as a character, was very confused and didn't know what to do. And when she thought she knew, she'd do the dumbest things ever!
There's a lot of cooking described... they were always in the kitchen... like... am I reading a fantasy book or cookbook!? I noticed that a lot of the reviewers were even raging over the ingredients and the recipes... like... Maniscalco, have you really done your research!?
The scenes, the house, the restaurant nor the settings of the story have clearly described... well, not at All. I was quite confused at the time period the story was set in. I mean, let's go basic here, I wasn't sure if it was past, present or future... there were no indications whatsoever! Not the clothing, the language in conversations, the food... Idk... am I missing something here?! In fact, a lot of the time (that I've spent reading this pile of crap) I was confused about the whereabouts of the characters!

Story structure and content: (0 stars)

It's possible that the prologue was the only interesting bit of the story! I DNF'd at 40% of the book, then skimmed through the rest! I just couldn't deal with all the horrid writing under the false pretence of a YA fantasy novel!
There was a non-cohesive flow of events, the characters were odd to each other and to the reader. I was not able to sympathise with the characters... none...
There was no chemistry between Emilia and Wrath. I don't need to press this any further
I'm sure Kerri read a lot of "hot steamy romantic books" back in her day. Maybe Emilia was her... Idk. And what's with the "chiselled chest" of the demon!?
More importantly, it was impenetrable identifying Emilia's stance on magic (or the wicked, according to this book). She was a major non-believer in it, then on a whim decides to use dark magic *smh* The magic system made no sense...
The isolation of the magic families was just gawky...
Now, the grandma, wth granny?! So being mysterious with 8-year-old kids, ok I get it. But how could you not fill them in as they grew older? Makes no sense! Kinda kills her wise character.

Plot: (0.5 star)

Emilia is avenging her sister's death/murder. That's all.
Maybe there's more: she falls for one of the demons (if that isn't clear from the start)
There isn't much to it really. No element of surprise. It was quite predictable and very disappointing.
If there's something more... just let me know lol

Ending: (0 stars)

Yet again, predictable and boring.

Final rating: 0.3 star /5

I believe this is the lowest rating I've given this year... and it's only February! The idea of this book was intriguing, yet the execution was simply appalling. The events, characters and settings were all very loosely put together, and was definitely disappointing. This abomination of a YA fantasy book has a sequel coming this year... Save yourselves from this pile of horse load and find something else to read!