The switch is between dark fantasy and romance are often times jarring and throw you out of the story, because one second they'll be investigating a brutal murder where a girl literally had her heart ripped from her chest and then one page later they're out like it's a normal Sunday having a cute little get together and date thing,

I loved this book! It was mysterious, sexy, well written, dark, enemies to well enemies in this book, great banter, and hard to put down!

Overall: 4.5/5 stars 
Spice: 0.5/5 (kissing and some descriptive language) this ramps up in book two! 

The only reason I removed half a star was because the ending felt rushed. Other than then that unbelievably good read!  

I read this already once before and loved it then too. The re-read was just as enjoyable, especially this time as an audio.

Emilia's family are witches. They live and work in Italy, at a family run restaurant. Emilia loves to spend her time cooking with her family, coming up with new recipes and in her spare time, reading romance novels. But Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria have always been warned to keep their cornicellos on them at all times. But they must never be brought together. Other than one time when they were ten, Emilia and her sister listened to their Nonna, and never removed them from their person, or brought them together. But things are rapidly changing, and when Vittoria is found with her heart ripped out of her chest, Emilia will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of her sister's murder, even if that means summoning a demon to help her. What she doesn't count for is accidentally summoning a Prince of demons, instead of a lowly regular one. Not fully understanding the gravity of what shes done, Emilia embarks on a quest to get the answers she needs to make sense of this murder. She receives instead, more questions than answers, and further unravels a curse (or prophecy?) that she was unaware of at the start. Can she trust one of the seven Princes of Hell, to help her find what she is looking for?

I loved both Emilia and Wrath (especially Wrath). The setting was delicious and rich, and though the lore and ultimately the mystery/plot became a little muddled and confusing, I was still all in on this because their (Emilia and Wrath's) dynamic was addicting. I remember upon first read, I immediately bought the next two books before finishing this one, because I knew I wanted to binge the whole thing. That didn't happen at the time, though it is happening now. The audio, though one reader, is well produced with little added music occasionally, and the reader using difference voices for each of the characters. I liked this a lot, and can see myself re-reading this a few times.

The writing in this novel was serviceable at time, but lacked any real beauty. At times, the writing felt robotic: the rhythm of the sentences were unvaried, the word choices odd and chunky, and the emotion lacking from vital moments. It’s a shame the writing was so poor, because elements of the story were definitely compelling but lacked execution.

I wanted to like the characters more than I actually did. Emilia had a very cool conception, but I wanted more depth with her emotions. While her personality itself was interesting, it wasn’t brought to life as well as I would have wanted on the page. I thought there were a couple of great character moments between Emilia and Wrath, yet I wish so deeply there could have been more. I also think that while Emilia’s family was relatively well-rounded, I would have loved more than a passing glimpse at her sister’s personality. It felt mainly like Maniscalco wanted her to be fun and quirky, and yet it came off as a bit chaotic and underdeveloped. 

Plot: 3.25⭐️/5 

The concept of this story is fascinating. And, while its execution was a little clumsy in spots, it read fairly well. A few snags, slow parts, and plot holes aside, I did fly through the story fairly quickly. At first glance it was fun; on deeper analysis, it’s definitely lacking depth and nuance. I do want to say that if you’re looking for a fun, fast-moving plot, this definitely might be for you! 

World: 3.75⭐️/5 

The world of this novel really grabbed me. On a personal level, I’ve heard many aspects of Sicilian folklore before, so it was rather fun to see them brought into this world as real-life magic. I enjoyed a lot of the references to Italian culture. I do think certain elements could have been introduced and explored a bit more deeply, but I did have fun with the world. 

Readers looking for a fast and fun book; Those who know some elements of Italian/Sicilian culture; fans of a decent, fast-paced fantasy romance mystery novel.

Blood, murder, injury, injury detail, murder, gore, body horror, sexual content (mild), 

The ending felt a bit forced to me. I didn’t enjoy it near as much as I did aspects of the middle, and I don’t feel a huge pull to read the next one.