Kingdom of the Wicked - Kerri Maniscalco

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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Serpent & Dove

Serpent & Dove

Shelby Mahurin

I should just start by saying I am a sucker for the enemies-to-lovers trope. If you tell me that two people are supposed to hate each other, or oppose each other in any way, I will immediately begin to ship them. Then throw in some magic or something(someone) paranormal and I am done for. Hook, line, and sinker I am ready for drama. 

Serpent and Dove has everything I mentioned above, so naturally I was all about it. There were definitely some criticisms after reading the whole story, but as a whole i really enjoyed it. For the author’s debut I couldn’t have asked for more, and I’m so happy to have gotten to read this near when it came out. (Usually I am late to the party, but I am trying to correct that! Damn adulting getting in the way of my hobbies.)

Lou is sassy, smart, and thinks on her feet. She’s quick to push your buttons. She’s fiery. Reid is strong, masculine, and fiercely loyal. He’s the ice to cool Lou’s burn. 

If you’re looking for a light, but really engaging enemies-to-lovers story, please do yourself a favor and pick up Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

"Beasts of the Frozen Sun" by Jill Criswell - Review

“Beasts of the Frozen Sun"

Jill Criswell

When we take the Green Isle, we will show them what a warrior is – a man made of ice and steel.

Man made of ice and steel. That is exactly what Criswell gives readers when she describes the Dragonmen, warriors from the faraway Iseneld, who have come to claim Glasnith for their own wicked agenda. They are fearsome and frightening soldiers lead by the Savage known as Draki, who claims to be half-human, half-god. Draki is out to steal not only the island of Glasnith, but also our heroine Lira of Stone, who is one of the Daughters of Aillira, a girl gifted by the gods. There is only one person who can help Lira defeat Draki, an Iseneld ‘beast’ named Reyker.

Lira and Reyker have a history. Years before our story starts, Lira was captured by the Dragonmen and taken hostage. Reyker, seeing Lira bound for torture at the hand of Draki, puts his own life in jeopardy and cuts her bonds to free her. He marks her with a skolar, a shield scar that will help protect her, and pushes her into the water so she can escape. Years later, he arrives back on Glasnith as the survivor of a shipwreck and Lira is the one to find him and nurse him back to health, even though she knows he is the enemy and doesn’t trust him. They must work together if either of them are going to survive the Dragonmen.

Magic and fantasy weave through Celtic and Norse history to create a beautiful story of the struggle of a people who are trying to protect themselves from invasion and oppression. Criswell builds a wonderful land for the people of her novel, using her words simply but elegantly, with just the right amount of description and none of the extraneous adjectives that readers’ eyes would glaze over.

My only criticism would be that the beginning of the novel took a smidgeon too long to get to the heart of the story. I could have used a little more action in the first 100 pages to get things moving, and there was one too many capture/escape scenes for my buy in. Hopefully because this is the author’s first novel and she’s building a world for a trilogy, these are some kinks that will be worked through in Book 1 so 2 and 3 can thrive. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next installment, which should be published by Blackstone Publishing in 2020. 4 out of 5 stars from me. #LandRforever.