This was a 4.5 stars just for the readability and good vibes throughout but it dropped a few points at the end because I just don’t really understand how it went where it did so I’ll round down instead of up. I went into it blind and with no expectations it was just a halloweeny read for me but pleasantly surprised and eager to see what happens next.

Spooky season is here and this feels like such a perfect read, was instantly gripped by the plot, the characters, Wrath is about to hit the book boyfriend too 5 I fear. Fast-paced and plot-heavy, some things are questionable but I think at least this book is YA. I got Caraval vibes but a lot darker and with more angst. Looking forward to the rest of the series!!

The foundation of a story is promising but needs some polishing. Feels bit rushed. And the cliffhanger arrrgh I hate waiting!

I feel like nothing happened but also a lot happened if that makes sense? Interested in reading the second one…

I loved it, but I am so confused. I need to process and figure some stuff out before I review. Yeeeeesh I feel stupid right now.

******

So I did a quick flip through and was able to find the information I was looking for, which I somehow missed the first time.

This book ticks a lot of my boxes, but there are probably three really obvious ones.

Setting: I enjoyed this a lot, not least of which is the Italian setting (specifically Sicily) and focus on Italian culture. In reading other reviews, I understand that there were some inaccuracies, but I never picked up on those. Being Italian-American, and Sicilian on my father’s side, it passed muster with me. There’s a distinct difference, even amongst the American Italian community, between Italians from Sicily and those from the mainland, it’s not always a favorable one, and I was really pleased to see a book not only so focused on the region, but one set in a world that just makes my black heart sing.

Heroine (specifically her physical description): As a heroine, Emilia isn’t really that unique....while she does show some interesting growth from goody-two-shoes into a daring adventurer, she still does a lot of stupid stuff and misses a lot of obvious things. Emilia looks classically Italian, and as a classically Italian girl myself, I was here for it. Granted, there are certainly blonde people in Italy, but you don’t really see them as far south as Sicily (one of the many, varied reasons we’re referred to as black Italians). Books shouldn’t live or die on a heroine’s physicality, and largely for me they don’t, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m more inclined to like something if I can identify with a main character on multiple levels. I’ve read a crap-ton of YA at this point, and if I’ve noticed a trend amongst the physical characteristics of the heroines in these books it’s that you don’t run into the dark-haired dark-eyed ones all that often (the only one that really springs to mind is Elide from TOG, and she’s a secondary character to it hardly qualifies. I know it seems minor, but when you’re drowning in seas of amber/cobalt/emerald/violet/some other totally unrealistic color for eyes, it’s kind of refreshing to see boring old brown ones once a while. Plus, having a heroine that looks kind of like you totally enables me when daydreaming about super-dreamy male leads, which brings me to....

Wrath: Oh Wrath. I’m not naive enough to think that guys like him aren’t a dime a dozen in YA, but booooyyyyyyy am I all over it Every. Single. Time. Give me tall, dark, muscley, and evil any day of the week. Yes, he’s cookie cutter, and no, there’s not a damned earth shattering thing about him, but I LOVE HIM ANYWAY. If I have one complaint, it’s that we didn’t get enough of a window into his soul (if princes of hell can have those, but you know what I mean), but I’m hoping that as it looks like the next book is taking place in the actual Kingdom of the Wicked, that maybe we’ll get better insight into Wrath as a character.

Assorted musings:

1. If you miss one very small, throw away comment about Pride in the very beginning of the book (right after Emilia summons Wrath for the first time) you’re going to end up really confused like me. I was totally thrown off by how the book seemed to conflate the devil himself with Pride (who is mentioned as one of Wrath’s brothers and a prince of hell as well), but it turns out that was intentional. I mean, it makes sense that the devil would be associated with the sin of Pride, but for some reason I just assumed that the devil was like the King of hell and then you had all the princes beneath them. Taking that into consideration, missing that critical piece of info made the ending even more confusing, as I somehow wound up thinking that Wrath and Pride were one and the same, instead of Wrath just working for Pride (for as yet unknown reasons).

2. The above point brings me to probably my biggest gripe in the book. I think the idea, the basis for the world-building, and the mythology around it all (esp. the seven princes of hell each corresponding to one of the seven deadly sins. Coooooooooool), but I felt like it was not always within Maniscalco’s grasp. I sometimes got the sense that she had the outline of some really cool ideas in her head but the narrative got away from her before she could fully form them, so a lot of stuff is left kind of vague (I.e. the hell structure, what witches are and what they can do, etc.). Hoping this changes with future volumes, or it becomes clearer on a re-read. Also, I think books with mythology-rich settings really benefit for being read on Kindle, because it enables you to easily take notes and make highlights. I mean, you can do that in a regular book, but I’m old school and I won’t mark stuff up if I can avoid it. So I think my plan is probably to conduct a re-read on Kindle, and see if it helps make the weird bits more palatable.

3. This book really made me wish that books like this came with illustrations (the maps of hell inside the cover are cool though). Like is it too much to ask to have some “official” character/location art created for books like this? I mean, everything was so lush, from the locale, to the food, to even some of clothing descriptions (I need to see someone’s interpretation of Emilia’s “wedding” dress like now), that I would have love to just have something to refer back to, if only to keep resetting the view in my own head. That’s another caveat with books that need to rely so heavily on info-dumps for the mythology and to set up the world and all that - you’re trying to process so much info you don’t always have time to get detailed pics of the characters and locations in your head....or I do, anyway.


In any case, I’d give this a solid 3.5, rounded up to four because I love the source material and the callbacks to my own heritage. If I knocked it down a couple of notches for anything it was really just because I wasn’t always sure that Maniscalco had the firmest grasp on the story, and that she was often playing catch-up with her own mythology.

All of that being said, this was super-fun, and if you like this sort of enemies-to-(most likely gonna be) lovers with a supernatural, spooky setting, this will suit you nicely. At the very least, I was left salivating for the next volume, and some would say there is no better mark of a good book than that.

wrath

Reread on audio: still a 4.5 but rounding it to 5 this time because hello, I’m rereading a book within a year of reading it? Clearly I’m in love. Also, the narrator does such a banging job with the accents and voices and with her sexy Wrath voice that enhanced the experience further. To add to that, it’s so well produced with the witchy sound effects and music and the whole vibe! I still adore Emilia and want to kneel for Wrath (sorry TMI) and am ready to finally read KoTC.

4.5 Deal with the Devil stars

Enemies to lovers is my jam, but mortal enemies who’d rather murder each other but have to be bonded together instead is like my super jam. Just give me all the “I want to kill you but really also kiss you” vibes and I’m a happy girl. I was instantly enchanted by this world the author has created in what is presumably (sorta alternate historical Italy) and even more instantly enamored with Emilia and Wrath and their crackling connection. There’s fireworks right from the start but it’s a serious slow burn, what with them being natural enemies and all. I’m so looking forward to seeing more of that sizzling chemistry, but certain events at the end of the book left me slightly terrified and seriously uncertain of the future.

I love unexpected strength in seemingly soft heroines and Emilia has that in spades; her evolution from introverted bookworm to fiercely protective warrior over the course of the book is beautifully captured. Wrath, that sexy beast, is perfectly sinfully evil and equally compelling, mysterious as he remains through most of the book. The gorgeous setting of Palermo and the deliciously evocative descriptions of food were just the cherry on top; I was simultaneously hungry and wanting to cook all the things!

The story progresses at a quick pace right from the start, but a lot of elements are introduced towards the end, making the conclusion feel slightly rushed. But this might just be due to the world building typical of a first book, and otherwise this book has alll the elements I love in fantasy and romance; interesting, complex magical systems, witches and vampires, mysterious, sinfully yummy demons, off-the-charts chemistry, and superb banter. The ending is pretty explosive and shocking, and the cliffhanger has me jonesing for the next book ASAP.

2'5.

No es que no me haya gustado la historia, es que no me ha enganchado la forma en la que escribe la autora. El libro empieza rápido y a la vez muy lento, no he llegado a congeniar con ninguno de los personajes y al final hace que se haga muy tedioso seguir leyendo. Me esperaba bastante más porque es una saga que recoge prácticamente todos mis intereses, pero ha terminado siendo una decepción.