kerri maniscalco

First Line Friday #14

It’s getting very late, but I was, uh, busy. With stuff. I’m here now, though, and am participating in yet another First Line Friday.

First Line Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers (formerly) hosted by Wandering Words, but I saw it over at One Book More.

What if instead of judging a book by the cover, author or most everything else, we judged it by its content? Its first lines?

If you want to join in, all you gotta do is:

📚 Take a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open it to the first page
📝 Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
📙 Finally… reveal the book!

Here are the first lines:

Outside, wind rattled the wooden chimes in warning. In the distance, waves crashed against the shore; the frantic whispers of water growing louder as if the sea was a mage summoning vio- lence. On this date-for nearly a decade now-the storm followed the same pattern. Next, thunder would roll in quicker than the tide with lightning cracking electric whips across an unforgiving sky. The devil demanded retribution. A blood sacrifice for power stolen.

It wasn’t the first time he’d be cursed by witches, nor would it be the last.

Any guesses? Here’s some lovely photos of books for your viewing please while you ruminate…

Annnd the book is 🥁🥁… Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco!!

(Did you guess it right??)

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

SERIES: Kingdom of the Wicked (Book #1)

LENGTH: 384 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, YA, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Jimmy Patterson

RELEASE DATE: 27 October 2020

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Two sisters.
One brutal murder.
A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…
And an intoxicating romance.

Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost—even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.

Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked—princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…

Thank you so much for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Majestic Monday #11

It’s been a couple of weeks, and I’m feeling waaayy better, so I decided that it was more than time for another Majestic Monday!

For anyone unfamiliar, Majestic Mondays are when I highlight an awesome looking book cover and talk about what I like about it.

This week I’m talking about Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco.

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Kingdom of the Wicked (#3)

Length: 401 pages

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Fiction

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Release Date: September 27, 2022

Book Description:

Two curses.
One prophecy.
A reckoning all have feared.

And a love more powerful than fate. All hail the king and queen of Hell.

Emilia is reeling from the shocking discovery that her twin sister, Vittoria, is alive. But before she faces the demons of her past, Emilia yearns to claim her king, the seductive Prince of Wrath, in the flesh. Emilia doesn’t simply desire his body, she wants his heart and soul—but that’s something the enigmatic demon can’t promise her.

When a high-ranking member of House Greed is assassinated, Emilia and Wrath are drawn to the rival demon court. Damning evidence points to Vittoria as the murderer and she’s quickly declared an enemy of the Seven Circles. Despite her betrayal, Emilia will do anything to solve this new mystery and find out who her sister really is.

Together Emilia and Wrath play a sin-fueled game of deception as they work to stop the unrest that’s brewing between witches, demons, shape-shifters and the most treacherous foes of all: the Feared.

Emilia was warned that when it came to the Wicked nothing was as it seemed. But, have the true villains been much closer all along? When the truth is finally revealed, it just might end up costing Emilia her heart.

Book Cover Rating: 💀💀💀💀💀 • 5 / 5 skulls

So eventually, I think I’d like to give this series a shot, even though it appears to have quite a bit of focus on romance. And I’m gonna be honest here: the covers of this series are definitely part of the reason why I want to try it, though the plot summaries also seem interesting.

Anyway, back to the cover of this book specifically: I really like it for some reason. Black and white and red always look good together and it’s part of what sets it apart for me from the other covers in the series. I also love the crown and how it looks on the skull. The blank backdrop also makes everything stand out so well.

The thing I like the most about the cover, however, are the smoldering roses around the skull, and the rubies glistening in its eye sockets. It just looks sooo good. I love this cover.

What do you guys think of this cover? Have you read any of the books in The Kingdom of the Wicked series? If you have, what did you think of the book(s)?

Thanks for reading, and have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Shelf Control #11

It’s been a couple of weeks (again), but I started getting sick (again) last week, so I couldn’t post as often as I might have liked. But here it is – another Shelf Control post!

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books languishing on our bookshelves created and hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies. It’s a whole lotta fun, so if you’re interested in participating yourself, click the backlink above.

This week I’m focusing on the first book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, eponymously named Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco.

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Series: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Book #1)

Length: 464 pages

Genres: Horror, Mystery, YA, Fiction

Release Date: September 20, 2016

This #1 New York Times bestseller and deliciously creepy horror novel has a storyline inspired by the Ripper murders and an unexpected, blood-chilling conclusion.

Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life. Against her stern father’s wishes and society’s expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle’s laboratory to study the gruesome practice of forensic medicine.

When her work on a string of savagely killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her search for answers brings her back to her own sheltered world. The story’s shocking twists and turns, augmented with real, sinister period photos, will make this dazzling, #1 New York Times bestselling debut from author Kerri Maniscalco impossible to forget.

Why It Languishes on My Bookshelf

When I Got It: 2019

Why I Wanted to Read It: I thought that it looked interesting at the time.

Why I Haven’t Read It Yet: I essentially bought it on a whim and checked out some (spoiler free for the story) reviews, and realized that this book was probably not for me and kind of ignored it. I was distracted by other stuff going on that was more important, too.

Will I Ever Read It?: Probably not. Mostly because I bought it on a whim (as I’ve mentioned) and I lost interest quickly. I’m considering trying out Maniscalco’s other series, though I haven’t bought or even borrowed a copy of Kingdom of the Wicked yet.

Have you read this book or any of the author’s other work? What did you think? Or is it just sitting unread on your bookshelf too?

Thanks for reading and have a glorious day/night!

See ya ~Mar