Rating: 4.5 Stars
You guys cannot believe how excited I was to receive this book from Hodder! This was a super anticipated realise for me after finishing the Stalking Jack the Ripper series finished and I wasn’t disappointed!!
Similarly with Kerri Maniscalco’s previous books this one had a edge of delicious darkness to it and thank the gods, a charming and sexy male character!! We also get elements of gore but not overwhelming or too much (It’s a murder you know) and in this book some moments where I held my breath just in case!! Let’s talk about the characters! The main character Emilia faces a huge amount of loss following her twin sister Vittoria's death but that doesn’t stop this character from taking some kick ass revenge. We have a mix of witches, demons, princes from hell, one of which is our main man Wrath. Both of the characters worked amazingly with each other and I also got a good sense of all the other characters too from Emilia’s family to even just the town’s people. I love the detail that went into this book to make it feel whole and not solely based on the main characters!
And I feel like no matter what book I read by Maniscalco I will never be disappointed by the two main characters and how their relationship evolves, there’s always stomach flipping moments between them where you just scream for more and eventually you get it! But on top of amazing characters and relationships you also have the plot which is so good and always laced with mystery that you just can’t put the book down until you’re finished!
I love the feel of the witches having to keep their powers secret, it created a separate world of magic, creatures and intrigue compared to the world Emilia and her family had to hide away in. AND THE FOOD! Oh god prepare to read this book with snacks!! With my review copy Hodder included two recipe cards based off of the book and I will be trying these out and updating this post just as soon as we settle into our new apartment!
My one and only fault with this book (other than it ending and me needing the next one now) was that I guessed the ending fairly early on which didn’t ruin the book but it did make the who dun it element less exciting when I got to the end (Hence my 4.5 star rating), but regardless Kerri Maniscalco has made a place for herself at the top of my favourite YA/Fantasy authors and it’ll take a lot to remove her from that spot.
If you want decadently dark and mysterious books then these are the books you should read! I will be waiting impatiently now for the next book!!
