So I devoured Kingdom of the Wicked in a single sitting and then picked this up immediately. While I enjoyed it, this one didn’t suck me in as completely as the first one. This is not to say it wasn’t a fabulous read.

This review will contain spoilers for Kingdom of the Wicked.

Picking up right where the first book left off, we follow Emilia from her home in Sicily to Hell, newly engaged to Prince Pride of Hell, and escorted to the underworld by Wrath. She insists on taking Vittoria’s murderer Antonio with her and that is essentially where the story begins.

I think the first book essentially establishes Emilia’s character as a streghe who takes pleasure in the mundane aspects of life. Cooking, living her life, and flirting with boys. This book sort of shatters that world for her and introduces her to the world of sin and what the indulgences of those sins mean. It made me question the nature of what we call sin. If it feels good with no consequences can it be deemed a sin? It was an interesting concept to explore.

I liked Maniscalco’s description of Hell. She chose to go a different route from the usual burning heat, barren fields and rivers of fire. She made Hell, cold and desolate, and described it in a way that I’ve never read before. The world-building here was different from the first book because while there she created Italy, here she gets to create a realm that is entirely her own which was executed brilliantly.

I did feel like a lot of this book was movement. Movement from kingdom to kingdom and the story was building up to the singular event which was the Feast of the Wolf. But it was still a good read to immerse oneself in. It also helped that this installment was more character driven than plot driven which means as a reader one gets invested more in Emilia than the actual plot. I liked Emilia’s character growth here as well, she is learning how to navigate the world of demons in a realistic manner while being a badass in her own right. Plus the food, had me drooling once again.

The plot-twist at the end had my brain swimming and I don’t know how I’m going to live until September 27th for the final book in the trilogy.

Four stars.