My expectations were awfully high going into this, I’m not gonna lie. Did it live up to them? Yes and no.

In Kingdom of the Wicked we follow 18 year-old Emilia di Carlo, who is the complete opposite to her twin sister Vittoria. Where Vittoria is bold, fierce and outright reckless, Emilia is calm, collected and overly cautious. So what do they have in common other than their looks? They’re witches.

But when witches start showing up dead and Vittoria becomes a victim of this unknown murderer, Emilia’s life is turned upside down. Her overly cautious self becomes a thing of the past as she vows to solve her twin’s murder and avenge her death, no matter the cost. We’re then thrown into a story of curses and prophecies, dark magic and secret diaries, demons and blood debts, the seven Princes of Hell and the devil himself.

It was a great book. For one, the world-building was flawless. I loved that it took place in Italy and food and culture were brought into it, I did not once forget we were in Sicily. The magic system was awesome too and like nothing I’ve read before, which was refreshing.

And then there’s the romance. I’ve read enough YA to be able to spot the love interest the moment they walk into the story, and this was no different. But I didn’t care because he was my favorite character of the whole story and I love me a good enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn romance. I got Rhys and Feyre vibes here and there, you’ll understand me when you read it. Also, I’m calling it a romance but nothing really happened because it’s building up for the next books and I love that. Or at least I hope so. However, the constant hot and cold from Emilia’s side did bother me a little. I get that it’s difficult for her to trust him because of who and what he is but

all he really does is protect her and save her life and almost die in the process. It’s true that he sometimes hides things from her and that rightfully pisses her off, but I feel like he is much more invested in the love story than she is right now

.

My issue with this book is that everything was very predictable and somewhere near the ending it all started to feel rushed, which might very well have been dealt with by the time it gets published, but I read what I read. I also didn’t get the full-on hate in that reunion at the end.

Overall, it was a wonderful book. I had minor issues with it but I loved the story it told and the world-building was absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait for the sequel to come because I sense big character (and romance) development coming!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Jimmy Patterson for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.