I dislike the term "Young Adult". The genre "Young Adult" gives off a very watered down kind of vibe to me. The caliber of writing and craft being published these days is really so far away from the old "YA" that I don't think there is even a comparison. I wish we could abolish YA as a genre altogether, and call them what they really are: fantasy, romance, mystery, etc. Calling a book YA and trying to market it to only teenagers does the story a disservice. Sorry, but it needed to be said.
I love reading Young Adult books, and consider YA to be my genre of choice as far as new stories go. I will always reach for a fantasy or a rom-com, and I find the material much easier to read especially after working at 45+ hour work week at a computer all day long. I don't want to strain my eyes throughout the day and then dive into a dense, sluggish novel because someone has told me that it's more suitable for my age group. Some days I feel 16 - some days, 150. Who is to say what age group I'm really in but me and my heart.
I recently read and reviewed Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco, author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. I hadn't read anything by her before, and though I wanted to get into SJTR and the following books I was hesitant to dive into a series that was already a few books in length having not read the author before. I requested the book on a whim from Netgalley and Jimmy Patterson books happily granted my request. I was shocked, thrilled, and really excited to dive into it.
Kingdom of the Wicked follows Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria and their family of witches in Sicily, Italy. The two girls are complete opposites. Where Vittoria seeks excitement and adventure, Emilia is content to curl up with a good book after a day of working at their family's restaurant. These twin witches keep their magic at bay because witches are being hunted, but when something evil happens to her twin, something in Emilia snaps and changes her forever. Soon Emilia is practicing dark magic in order to find vengeance and she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for. Literally.
There was a lot that I loved about this book: the Sicilian setting, the use of the Italian language here and there, magic, and steamy enemies-to-almost lovers scenes with a gentleman we'll call Wrath.
I admit, I did want more. I wouldn't have minded more steam, more Emilia/Wrath interaction, and more details. I would have wanted to dive deeper into the way their magic works, and how they learned to use it and hone their skills. That being said, I can't wait to see where this series goes, and whether we'll get down and dirty with the Wicked. Definitely will be reading any sequels to come. This book comes out 10/27 so you still have time to pre-order and pick up a copy the day it comes out!
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