Lanetlilerin Krallığı

Kingdom of the Wicked #2

by Kerri Maniscalco, Deniz Beril Bacaklılar (Translator)

Kötülerin Kraliçesi olmayı kabul eden Emilia, Cehennem Prensi Öfke ile birlikte Yedi Çember'e doğru yola çıkar. Orada kendisini lanetlilerin hüküm sürdüğü bir dünya beklemektedir.

Yedi Çember'e gelen Emilia şaşaalı saraylar, gizemli davetler, birbirine ihanet eden prensler ve kafa karıştırıcı ipuçlarıyla dolu bir dünyayla karşı karşıya kalır. Bir zamanlar müttefiki olan Öfke'ye yeniden güvenebilecek midir? Yoksa Öfke ondan doğasıyla ilgili tehlikeli sırlar mı saklıyordur?

Lanetlilerin Krallığı'nda ilk kural kimseye güvenmemektir.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Romantasy, Enemies To Lovers, Fantasy Romance, Young Adult, Witches

384 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2021

About the author

I'm mostly on instagram--where I'm always ready to talk fictional crushes and nerd out over books. (Okay, okay. And I've also been known to share snippets and teasers from my upcoming novels, if you're into that sort of thing...) Please feel free to chat with me there @KerriManiscalco. I love talking with fellow readers!


Kerri Maniscalco grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC where her fascination with gothic settings began. In her spare time she reads everything she can get her hands on, cooks all kinds of food with her family and friends, and drinks entirely too much tea while discussing life’s finer points with her cats.

She is the #1 NYT and USA Today bestselling author of the STALKING JACK THE RIPPER quartet, the KINGDOM OF THE WICKED trilogy, and her forthcoming adult debut, THRONE OF THE FALLEN, set within the KINGDOM OF THE WICKED universe. Two other un-named titles will also be set within the KOTW world and will follow two different princes.

For more information, visit Kerri online:
www.kerrimaniscalco.com
www.facebook.com/KerriManiscalcoAuthor

Follow Kerri on Instagram:
instagram.com/kerrimaniscalco

Reviews

[Ayman · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATED: buckle up whores

Pre Pub Date: Kerri Maniscalco really fucked me up with this one! she 👏🏽 fucking 👏🏽 delivered 👏🏽
full review will be posted on pub date; thank you to The NOVL for sending me 1 out of the 7 physical ARCs

Post Pub Date:
This shit was so motherfucking good. this book grab me by the throat and pinned me down on the floor. it hit me from the back and gave me a kiss on the forehead. it smacked my ass like a drum. it has a complete chokehold on me istg.

Daddy? Sorry! Daddy? Sorry! Daddy? I mean Wrath, sorry!
omg this demon prince is a real pussy pleaser. i fucking love him. that fucking lagoon scene? let’s just say wrath and emilia weren’t the only ones wet. 😜 if this book were a pole, i’d fucking strip on it. literally my ovaries were fucking shaking reading this masterpiece.

Emilia. i fucking love her too. she was gatekeeping, gaslighting, and girlbossing!! and i was fucking here for it. there’s so much character development in this book and i fucking loved it.

the whole fucking mystery of it all was done flawlessly. i love how kerri went about it. you're telling me the answers were right in front of our faces this entire time? unbelievable and unpredictable.

i was gasping for air in the final chapters. my knees were trembling and i couldn’t walk straight for days after reading this book. needless to say but i needed book 3 like 2 weeks ago. 💳💥💳💥💳💥💳💥💳

[jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

holy smokes. whatever the opposite of ‘second book syndrome’ is, this is that. i enjoyed this sooo much more than ‘kingdom of the wicked,’ which i thought was amazing. and maybe its because the story has evolved into NA, instead of YA (which is definitely noticeable from the first page), but i sure loved the maturity of this.

this is giving me ‘rhapsodic’ meets ‘a kingdom of flesh and fire’ with a little bit of ‘shadow wings’ thrown in there. except for fae and shapeshifters, its witches and demons. and with this taking place in the kingdom of the wicked, the princes of hell, its very ‘city of thorns.’ the perfect october read.

i love the setting. the different kingdoms representing the different vices of the seven princes is so fascinating and is really conducive for all of the hidden secrets and magic riddles. i love how the mystery has built upon emilias sisters murder to encompass a larger investigation into her lineage and powers. but what i loved most of all is the romance. this is soooo romance heavy and the angst of the love/hate relationship between emilia and wrath is everything.

an impressively strong sequel that has taken this story into a much darker and sinful direction. i now have such high expectations for the next book.

↠ 4.5 stars

[Kerri]

*******FEBRUARY 2023 UPDATE: yes!!! There are more books coming in this world! Three new ADULT titles were announced last month, each will follow the story of a different prince. The first book, THRONE OF THE FALLEN, is Envy's story. The second...well...there are definitely some clues and hints in KOTF. The new stories are now ADULT because they are told from the prince's POV's and they definitely aren't teens. THRONE is up for pre-order and releases October 2023. I am dropping tons of teasers on IG and hope you are as excited as I am!!!!

AUGUST 2nd UPDATE:

I'm hosting the first (and probably ONLY) ARC giveaway on IG! link here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CSE_Yv2r-...

May 17th 2021 UPDATE

In KOTC you can expect:
*enemies to lovers
*more New Adult than Young Adult. (This definitely leaps from the slow burn romance of book one to full on spice, please do be aware of that.)
*schemes
*masked galas
*magic
*mystery
*violet horses with metal hooves
*intro to Wrath’s pets

US preorder prizes are underway, so please save receipts. UK readers, I will share any preorder prize updates as I get them. xoxo


12/4/20 -- two words to describe KINGDOM 2; sinful and steamy.

8/30/19-- let the drafting begin! xoxo

[Ali Goodwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many surprising moments/info & I'm so down bad for Wrath 😫 🥵
quickly become a new fav romantasy series

[ellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

[10/10/21: edited rating from three to two bcos the more i think about this book... the more annoyed i get at the lack of everything. also, the more im reminded of chapter seventeen the more grossed out and pissed i feel.]

In this hatred we were united.

buckle up, bitches. we’re about to go for a ride😎

what did we learn from this book?

that nina zenik and matthias helvar are the superior enemies to lovers who are travelling on a dangerous excursion together. no one does it like them and can’t believe these two bitches here had the audacity to try.

*****

the superfluous language was something i enjoyed in the last book bcos the author’s writing style really is beautiful, but from the first chapter here it pissed me off💀 mainly bcos Emilia said the same shit just in a different font... over and over again.

her thoughts and feelings towards Wrath were repeated over and over, just saying the same thing of him being treacherous and how he betrayed her to describing in lengthy detail the landscape of hell— again, she said the same thing within the same paragraph but used different synonyms and it grated on me sooooo much. it was like she purposefully used big words to flex but when actually paired all together, the sentences were clumsy. they just didn’t flow and i was metaphorically tripping over my tongue.

this was all in the first chapter... scattered throughout, just dropped in even though Emilia had said the same shit just slightly differently several paragraphs ago:

exhibit a)

Wrath, the mighty demon of war and betrayer of my soul, shifted.

exhibit b)

He’d turned on me the second it suited his needs. He was a selfish creature. Just like Nonna had warned.

exhibit c)

A monster among beasts. I could never allow myself to forget what he was. One of the Wicked. The immortal beings who stole souls for the devil, and the selfish midnight creatures my grandmother warned my twin and me to hide from our whole lives.

exhibit d)

Wrong or not, I wanted to hurt him the way his deception had gutted me.

exhibit e)

If I recalled correctly, delivery of my soul to Pride granted him freedom from the underworld. Something he once said he prized above all else.
How exceptionally marvelous for him. His stay was over just as mine was beginning. And all he had to do was betray me to secure his heart’s greatest desire.

exhibit f)

Holding his intense stare, I nodded back, thankful for his treachery. It was the last time I’d fall for his lies. With any luck, though, it would be the start of him and his wicked brothers falling for mine.

(and don’t get me started on the phrase “prideful hubris”🤡 that shit bugged me so much).

take a shot for every time Emilia says the words “selfish” or “betrayed” or any word that would come up in a thesaurus if you generate the words “selfish” and “betrayed”.

i also think it annoyed me more than maybe it would others bcos in the previous book, Wrath’s betrayal was so mediocre for me. i just shrugged like “okay🤪” and moved along bcos it didn’t feel that gut-wrenching bcos their relationship felt so basic, underdeveloped and surface-level.

idk, she just didn’t have to keep repeating the same shit. just one well-executed inner monologue expressing her feelings, her betrayal and how it was impacting her would have sufficed just fine. it just felt too clumsy and rambling, like there was no clear direction, you know?

and i love vivid descriptions in writing. not all readers do— for some it can bog down the story and be distracting and normally that never happens for me, but it did here. so it wasn’t a great way to start the book. i was struggling lemme tell you. i ended up skimming chunky paragraphs bcos they didn’t add anything to the story and i just focused on the actual dialogue between Emilia and Wrath (and even that was pretty boring and a lil rigid).

like the moment Wrath undid Emilia’a corset? i was ready to become a whore bcos that shit always slaps. always oozes with sexual tension...

...this shit was so anticlimactic. i feel completely crushed right now🤡 i was like bro???? that’s it??? where is the corset-ripping demon prince shenanigans???

soooo, the first few chapters did not give me much hope. i was pretty resigned

*****

now getting past my annoyance with the beginning... let’s talk about Emilia and Wrath.

the beginning also confused me and felt redundant af— after Wrath’s betrayal at the end of book one (which i low-key can’t even fully remember what he did but Emilia reminded me enough of it in the first chapter so id never forget... thanks girly🙂) they begin this book being “enemies” sniping, griping and taunting each other, vouching their hate and blah blah blahhhhhhh.

then within a few chapters Wrath is already nurturing Emilia, tending to her illness, protecting her while she pines and lusts after him... so i was like “where tf are y’all enemies?? AGAIN??” it was my biggest issue with the first book. their enemies to lovers arc was so weak and juvenile on both ends that i struggled to truly ship them romantically. i mean, i like them, but i don’t think they’re soulmates, always and forever, fangirl screaming type of shit.

being told constantly of how vicious Wrath is, how much they hate each other and how much they’re angsting over each other was exhausting— i would like to see it. it was like someone adamantly telling you the sky is green while you’re stood staring at a sky that is clearly blue... how am i supposed to believe what you say if all evidence proves to the contrary? so trying to believe they were enemies just had me blinking like
👁👄👁 it felt like the agony of book one all over again... but on steroids.

were they cute, spicy and a bit swoony? sure.

but as enemies to lovers? ...no fucking way.

if this hasn’t been relentlessly and vehemently promoted as an enemies to lovers, i would probably like this a lot more. but all the advertising and publicity for the series relies on it being enemies to lovers, and in my opinion it truly isn’t. Six of Crows, These Violent Delights and The Cruel Prince are fantasy enemies to lovers... this book ain’t even in the same ballpark. she is banned from their ballpark on grounds of fraud and false advertising.

with the three above examples i understood thoroughly the reason they were enemies, what put them on opposing sides of a war, a political agenda and whatever else. still in book two, if someone put a gun to my head demanding me to tell them WHY these two are enemies... i– adios bitches✌🏻

it just felt like anonymous animosity more than a fuelled hatred. bcos Wrath was a wicked prince of hell (still remains to be seen) and is so so sooooo evil, who Emilia was always warned about, naturally they wouldn’t get along. but i just struggled so much to pinpoint their emotions and WHY they felt/acted that way— nothing ever seemed to be fully explained, more so just convenient for some conflict to prolong the story and unravel the plot.

it wasn’t until the incident in chapter seventeen that i had a solid reason for any hatred... but that’s a whole book and a half of me not being convinced of their enemies to lovers arc :///

”Pleasure. Seduction.” I gathered up my courage. “I want you to stay. All night. With me. And if you even think of bowing afterward and leaving like you did last time you touched me, I will hunt you down and make you regret it.”
“Threaten me again.”
His raw tone indicated he liked it very much. “Twisted heathen.”
“Only the best for you.”

now i know i just shat on the whole enemies to lovers trope here... but Emilia and Wrath’s relationship was truly the saviour of this book. i couldn’t have given a fuck about anything else😭

when these two were good? they were sooooo goddam good. i read their scenes with bated breath bcos i was low-key addicted to their interactions.

during the actual ✨spicy sexy sexy times✨ the tension and chemistry were so good. the end of chapter eight is where this started to pick up for me— the tension between them in the corridor was immaculate vibes and had me on the edge of my seat. THAT’S what i wanted from the beginning and was pouting like a petulant little kid bcos i didn’t get that feeling for a while. (i even ranted to my mam about my annoyance while she just nodded her head like she understood wtf i was talking about).

then it was around the 70% mark that i became REALLY invested👀

His kiss consumed and seduced me. Just as he’d meant it to. It wasn’t fast or hard or fueled by hatred or fury. It was an ember, a promise of the blazing fire to come with a bit of careful tending.

(even tho i felt like the pacing of their relationship was off... i didn’t care bcos i just wanted something to sink my teeth into since the actual fantasy element of the plot just flopped for me).

and lemme tell you... i was NOT expecting explicit sexual scenes💀 the moment i saw the word COCK you best believe i gasped bcos the first book had been YA and i had expected this to be too... but also not complaining bcos Emilia and Wrath in that lagoon?😏 id be having public sex too, Emilia, where hordes of demons can wander past to say hello if Wrath was all up on my business.

bcos idk there was just something about Wrath that hit different in this book— i think him being in his domain, in his element, he came across waaaaay sexier and more mysterious. all his smirking, sexual innuendos and protectiveness just made this so much more enjoyable to read. the first 25% of this book truly had me scared for a minute bcos i wasn’t honestly enjoying any of it but Wrath and Emilia’s relationship gave me hope (i even skimmed most of the scenes where Emilia isn’t with Wrath bcos i just didn’t care lol).

I placed my lips to his ear. “Are you sensing the knife I’m now considering stabbing you with, your highness?”

“If this is an attempt to change the topic, you’re failing miserably.” His hand dropped beneath the table, landing gently on my knee. There was little doubt it was a nonverbal acknowledgment of my most recent lie. “I am even more interested in where this may lead, my lady. You forget what sin I rule over. I am rather fond of a bit of knife-play.”

anytime Wrath wasn’t there i was waiting for him to return like ”excuse me. excuse me. daddy? sorry. daddy? sorry. daddy? sorry.”

*****

while Wrath felt more fleshed out in this book (still not as much as id have liked), his brothers were all boring— i think in my review of the previous book i compared them all to slimy, white collar CEO’s who have a surplus of sexual assault allegations against them. again, they were supposed to be the big, bad Wicked, as vicious than your nightmares... respectfully... 🤡where??🤡 so the plot just felt redundant, boring and anticlimactic bcos they didn’t feel threatening or fleshed out at all. any interactions Emilia had with them were so underwhelming - again i skimmed... a lot.

Pride was the only other brother that i was remotely interested in. he was kinda sexy and alluring... gimme his story please and thank you😌

i just didn’t understand the plot much bcos it didn’t feel like much was revealed? everyone spoke in riddles, again that superfluous language making the dialogue stiff— like none of the Wicked ever spoke in a solid, coherent sentence without embellishing it with riddles and such. i imagine they made Shakespeare shiver in his grave.

exhibit a)

“The night my nonna attacked you… you seemed to know her. How?”
“Curses are curious things.” He downed another glass and splashed more into his empty cup. “Sometimes they’re like trees. They stay rooted to the spot they’re planted. Other times they’re like wildflowers. Their seeds float along with the bees and fly with the birds. They tangle and grow and thrive outside of that original patch they were sprinkled upon. Kind of like keys. Not all keys fit in locks. Some keys are much more cunning.”

exhibit b)

“Tell me about the curse, then.”
“It’s a tale so old its origins are known only to a few. And even their memories have become copperlike with the age and patina that’s formed over them, dulling their shine until the shadow of what was is all that remains.”

the whole book was like this and it drove me mad. again, if u asked me to summarise the plot of this book? adios bitches, part two✌🏻

idk, if i rated the book solely for the plot it would be one star for sure.

then in addition to this, being constantly told that Emilia was this bloodthirsty, violent heroine who wanted to inflict pain on Wrath and just anyone who wronged her was kinda awks bcos she thought wearing red lipstick and sneering on occasion made her maniacal and badass... when her actions couldn’t have been further from the truth

When the demon responsible for Vittoria’s death finally felt the flames of my fury, I’d hopefully have burned his House of Sin to ash.

i truly never felt an ounce of that fury? that vengeance? and her desire to be deceitful never felt fulfilled— she never actively tried to learn any tricks or anything. she still felt like the somewhat impulsive and passive girl we met at the beginning of book one. she was all talk and no action. she felt idle and aimless.

At home, I wouldn’t second-guess my choice to weave them into my hair. But here…
I chose a violent, bloody shade of red and painted my lips the color of murder instead.

okay, i guess? if you actually fulfilled those fantasies of yours, this would be a cool af line. but Wrath literally did anything and everything for her while she acted like the biggest dumbass with her head in the clouds. like the incident with the pervy Lord at their dinner party. Emilia spoke about gutting him herself with her dinner knife and such, intending to stand up just before Wrath slaughters the guy right at the dinner table.

so just like book one, she relies on everyone else doing things for her or telling her valuable shit that is just oh so convenient for her and she never does any of the heavy lifting😭 Anir, Fauna, the Matron— all of them just randomly told Emilia shit that wasn’t even on her radar but worked out to her advantage, every time it happened i just shook my head. im never on the edge of my seat bcos the stakes feel so low since i know everything will work out just peachy for Emilia.

like Emilia stumbling across Wrath’s library, picking up a basic, random grimoire and after reading one single passage she figures out she has some kind of magic/power to destroy the whole realm of Hell itself...? it gave me whiplash low-key, one minute she was reading a random book the next she was like “woah this force that lives deep inside of me that i have never known or acknowledged can obliterate Hell”
👁👄👁 ...so can y’all see how convenient everything is for her? there’s zero build up, anticipation or map work to try to figure things out.

or when she has dinner with Envy and he offers to drink a truth serum and answers Emilia’s questions... why tf would he do that!? so much just made zero sense bcos the motivations behind so many actions were solely to provide Emilia with vital information without her having to lift a finger.

and this girl is 💜the shadow witch👻 so why tf ain’t she using her magic??? i mean i may as well be the protagonist if all she’s gonna do is wear pretty dresses, eat some bomb food and simp after Wrath, fantasying about all the positions he’s gonna do when he rearranges her insides.

*****

the final three chapters really turned this around for me, that’s why im settling on a firm three stars. the plot twists regarding Wrath and Emilia were pretty fun to uncover— the ending still has left me confused but in a good way? more curious than frustrated. but i just feel like not much happened? the romance really saved this book. i think without it... this would have seriously flopped bcos the unfurling of the plot was portrayed pretty poorly.

so if you wanna read this for the plot? respectfully, don’t.

curious to see how the final book goes, but i ain’t on the edge of my seat.

[Lia Carstairs · Rating 4 out of 5]

2nd read [Nov, 2023]: 4.5⭐

"Every villain thinks themselves the hero. And vice versa. In truth, there's a little villain and hero in each of us. Depending on the circumstances."

i definitely adored rereading this wayy more than kotw so im glad for that😭 wrath was so adorable here omg the romantic gestures he made, the softness, the vulnerability shdkgksh MY HEART. and emilia's character growth >>> the other princes are so fun (mostly envy and gluttony) but i cant wait to see more of them

now on to kotf and to finally see how the story ends!!


1st read [Oct, 2021]: 4.5⭐

This was definitely a character driven book and I was here for it all the way.

^^ basically Emilia in KotC *cackles*

"Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven."

After the betrayals and shocking revelations in Kingdom of the Wicked, Emilia is even more determined to find her sister's murderer—no matter what bargains she must make... even if it means doing the forbidden.

With all of that, she must also deal with her conflicted feelings towards a certain hot demon prince. Is it lust? More lies? Or something more? Either way, Emilia must not fall for his charms and demonic influence.

But I mean, who can resist a demon prince??? certainly not me

Credit: @morganaOanagrom

"I may have been foolish before, but, thank the goddess, I was learning quickly."

Okay but like Emilia was such a queen in this book. I loved her already in KotW BUT HERE??? Her character development was spectacular sdfgdfs my love literally went📈📈 She's not as naïve as she was in the 1st book and now is soo cunning with her schemes, it makes me cackle in delight.

And after that ending??? No words will ever be able to express how hyped I am to see certain events play out. Emilia is on a very intriguing path and I definitely can't say I don't love it. For so long, Emilia's been struggling with doing what's right and avenging her sister—doing all of that alone. With demons everywhere. In Hell.

I don't know how this girl's able to deal with all of that and not lose her mind. Emilia needs a hug🥺

"Every villain thinks themselves the hero. And vice versa. In truth, there's a little villain and hero in each of us. Depending on the circumstances."

Oh Wrath, how my love grew for you but also declined. There were so many precious and wholesome moments between Wrath and Emilia omg it made me swoooon. And then Emilia has the audacity to say she wishes her "real life" was a romance novel- *pain* That hit hard😭

Like Wrath taking care of Emilia when she was suffering from hypothermia?? Wrath feeding Emilia chocolate-covered berries?? I'M JEALOUS.

But unfortunately, I do have to say that Wrath disgusted me at one point in the novel iykyk and though he learned from those mistakes and went to great extent to redeem himself—apologizing and following without question orders given by Emilia, I don't 100% forgive him. It'll probably take awhile tbh, but hopefully the 3rd book will clear up all of that for me.

"Fate may deal its hand, try encouraging our path or intervene, but we are ultimately free to choose our own destiny. Never doubt that."

The new characters interactions that were in this book!! I absolutely adored it. Anir and Emilia's friendship was so sweet ugh I love them so much. The training and conversations they had together were amazingg, but Fauna and Emilia's conversations were definitely god tier - omg the things they said *wheeze*

The best interactions though were the ones between Emilia and the other Princes of Hell. I wish we could've learned and seen more of them :(( Like for a book set in Hell, they barely made much appearances and the three that we did get to see... were pretty brief, so that was a little disappointing.

Pride intrigues me so much, there's definitely more to him than meets the eye. The same goes for Envy and maybe even Gluttony sdfsfsgfs I really want to know their true motives like they're such interesting characters ughh the questions I have are killing me. Even with these princes not appearing as much as I hoped, AT LEAST I GOT TO SEE A DRUNK ENVY. Now that is something I'll never forget anytime soon.

Anyways next book - petition for more Princes of Hell.

"All legends contain fragments of truth."

I'm proud to say that I guessed one of the major plot twists yes ik practically everyone guessed it too but shhh let me savor this !! THE OTHER PLOT TWIST THOUGH??? I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. AND THEN KERRI ENDING IT THAT WAY??? That is so cruel *sobbing* I flipped the page expecting there to be another page and then see "Acknowledgements" staring back at me-

We thought the ending of KotW was cruel?? *laughs* She definitely showed us what "cruel" really is. I'm in pain knowing that we have an agonizing year ahead of us to see how this concludes.


I wish I could've given this 5 stars - especially with how excited I was for KotC - but I can't deny that I didn't love it as much as I did with KotW. And like I'm always a sucker for romance, which is exactly what this had more of than the 1st book yet I still love KotW more. I'm thinking it might be the mood I'm currently in, but this just didn't give me the same feelings I got with the first book. Of course, I definitely still enjoyed this and am so ready for the next book!


Anyways, let the suffering begin😃✌

_____

Reviews:

Kingdom of the Wicked: ★★★★★
Kingdom of the Cursed: ★★★★

[Melanie (meltotheany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher

➽ 1.) Kingdom of the Wicked ★★★

"And there is nothing more dangerous than love, is there? People fight for it. They die for it. They commit acts of war and treason and all manner of sin in its name."

Whew, what a rollercoaster again! Kingdom of the Cursed picks up immediately after the events of Kingdom of the Wicked, and with Emilia trying to pick up the falling pieces of her life. Her main priority is to still avenge her sister and discover who was killing witches in her Italian town, but this time she is looking for clues in the land of actual heck, where she is promised to one of the seven demon rulers, and not the one she already has feelings for. Yet, Wrath escorts her back to his personal heck kingdom, and Emilia soon realizes there is much more she has to be in search of if she ever really wants to live a normal life again.

I feel like talking about my thoughts on this series is just so difficult. Let me start out by saying that this was the most easily consumable book I’ve read all year, and there wasn’t a moment I wasn’t thinking about it while not reading. The atmosphere, setting, and entire vibe is perfect, especially for the autumn time! The main character and her quests for vengeance and for her own discovery really is phenomenal. The writing is lush and descriptive and feels like its own sort of magical teleportation. And the story itself feels enthralling at every turn, and plot points are constantly being set up to leave the reader anticipating that next page, while also begging for the next book.

"When the demon responsible for Vittoria’s death finally felt the flames of my fury, I’d hopefully have burned this House of Sin to ash."

But there was just a horrible chapter that really dampened my entire reading experience and it really breaks my heart because this is one of those situations where I truly believe if publishing houses would just hire beta readers who review critically, this could have been such an easy chapter to fix. I actually believe that if chapter 17 did not happen, this could have been a five star book for me and you could have seen me holding it up as a new profile picture in 2022. But that scene just 1.) made me wanna throw up and 2.) made it so hard to root for the romance after, even though the author constantly tries to make an excuse for the behavior, but it honestly just makes it feel even worse. Also, I wouldn't make excuses for anything that happened in that chapter, but once I finished the book I realized that the “training session” was so unnecessary, at least in this book, and again it just ruined my reading enjoyment.

For the sake of the rest of this review, I’m just going to ignore this chapter. But in my review of Kingdom of the Wicked , I said how this series is the first series in so many years to remind me of those fantasy series I read when I was younger and truly could not put the books down, and I would look forward to their next installments being released months and months in advance, while trying to devour to story when it hit my kindle at midnight!

And this story was extra reminiscent of those feelings because this second book takes a very large jump in the adult or new adult fantasy genre. This book is very steamy, and Emilia and Wrath have very sexy thoughts on the brain 24/7. This author also makes full use of this series being about demons inspired off the seven deadly sins, and this story uses very public displays to showcase this. (I do scream at Emilia not knowing about oral sex though, especially when she claims to have read such naughty romance books in her past though!)

Overall, again, this is just a hard one for me to review and rate. I will for sure read book three and see how it all wraps up, because I am actually unhingedly invested in everything, especially with how this second book closes! I really loved all the new developments with Emilia’s powers and with all the witches and the history of witches, actually. I loved a lot of the side characters we were introduced to too, and maybe one demon prince will actually pull a Rhysand, which would be insane but I’d really welcome it at this point. I also want to see all of the different lands and castles of hell, too, because so far every exploration has felt magical and so exciting! I do apologize for this review being all over the place; middle books are always a bit more difficult for me to review, especially ones where I am trying to pretend an entire chapter didn’t happen. I’m going to be very curious what everyone thinks of this book once it releases!

"Not all stories end happily, Emilia"

Trigger + Content Warnings: a lot of blood descriptions + depictions, grief, gore, violence, mention of loss of a loved one, brief mention of the topic of rape, drugging, a lot of sexual themes and scenes, and a full warning that chapter 17 has very questionable physical consent involving mind control powers using magical compulsion - truly full dubcon vibes but sex does not ultimately happen, but it is just a very uncomfortable scene that actually made me nauseous, so please use caution while reading.

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Buddy read with Maëlys & Lea! ❤

[danni · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got very lucky, or maybe unlucky, in that I got my pre-order of this book several days early. It was my most anticipated book of the year, and I was gutted that it fell so flat.

I'm going to just spill my thoughts about the book, so serious spoilers ahead...

The first issue was the setting. We went from this really, unique cool setting in book 1 to a couple of palaces in book 2. This was honestly a huge issue. The charm and whimsy of the first book about witches and demons in Sicily were completely absent in the second.The mystery that had fuelled so much of the first book, the detective aspects of it, uniquely set in old day Italy, was gone. The grounding in real daily life disappeared.

Secondly, the plot got really messy and all over the place. What was meant to be surprises just felt like a mess and in direct contrast to the tight plot and narrative of the first book. Equally, nothing really happened for the whole book. Even when Wrath admits that him and Emilia are betrothed and I was excited, thinking it was all going to kick off, nothing happened. I was gutted. Even when Wrath and Emilia fought, nothing happened. Sensing a theme?

Thirdly, the characterisations suffered. In the first book, I felt that Emilia, this sweet girl, had undergone a terrible loss and from that became determined to find answers and revenge. I saw this good person walking down a bad path motivated by very human emotions. In this book, Emilia becomes a bit I am very badass, without seeming to do anything very badass. She keeps saying 'I'm going to twist this to my advantage' and all I could think was, 'well, how?'. She knows no good magic (she still barely does any in the book since for half the book she can't use it, so she ends up just doing a few fire flowers and this signals that Emilia is now very badass). She can't physically fight (which would be fine, since all the demons have enhanced strength and speed anyway, so she's not going to exactly win any WWF fights with them, but instead we still get the dreaded 'training' plotline like every. fucking. YA/NA. book. It would be so much better for women characters not have to be martial artists all the fucking time). And she's still outwitted at every turn. I also couldn't get a strong grasp on her anymore. Who she is? What is she doing? What are her morals? I couldn't figure out why Wrath liked her anymore. Whereas in the first book I could see it. I could see that she was a good person with a veneer of fierceness.

On a similar note, in the first book, Wrath felt very much like a very frightening, violent demon keeping himself on a short leash. The tension was palpable. In this book, he shakes a few walls, cuts someone's tongue off and that's it. Emilia keeps going on about how terrifying he is. But he never does anything terrifying. A few stabbings are par for the course of a fantasy novel.

Equally, the side characters, of which there were about two, were hardly fleshed out at all. Fauna seemed to be there simply to be the voice in Emilia’s ear, telling her how great Wrath is and how much she should be grateful for him not being a bigger prick than he is.

Fourthly, I wonder if the poor plot and characterisations arise because the romance took up so much of the book. Where before we had had a book with a strong plot and brilliant teasers of romance, we now just got Wrath and Emilia mooching around together not doing much. At the same time, their relationship seemed to become sexual and romantic overnight. The slow-burn suddenly hit the accelerator and I couldn't see why, even with the in-story explanation. The progression from the first book to the second just didn't match up. The slow-burn and Wrath's stoicism had been so great in the first book and coaxing those teasers out really made it enjoyable. Wrath becoming Romeo really weakened the dynamic I had loved so much at the start.

Next, the inner narrative was so cringey. It was 'demon' this, 'wicked prince' that. Embarrassing sentences I felt I could have read in bad (no offence) fanfictions. Descriptions going on about how good-looking he was, how much she lusted after him. Just the way she sometimes narrated the book felt weird and fake and out of place. The first book had felt like a reflection of her inner calculations, this book was often cringey.

Finally, however, my biggest issue with the book was, honestly, chapter 17. I'm sure a lot of complaints won't be about it, so I'm going to complain on behalf of everyone else about how dreadful this chapter was. In this chapter, Wrath uses his powers to influence Emilia into performing humiliating and cruel acts, which she finds disturbing. Several of these were sexual in nature. I found these scenes disgusting. They were, for me, genuinely upsetting to read. That this was meant to be with her love interest was also repulsive.

Another character knew this was going to happen. I found it gross that he would share that with someone else. He provides things to 'comfort' her after. The book seems to want to paint this as a compassionate act, but it was actually disturbing due to the a) preplanning and b) the cruelty to comfort technique used. It almost mirrors how negging and abuse works. He then literally says it wasn't to 'shame' her. But it was all about shame! His key part in the books is 'don't judge people on their words, but their actions'. His actions spoke loud and clear: he humiliated her.

He does this to 'help' her be able to resist demonic influence, despite the fact he offers no guidance, suggestions, or help. It's like it never once occurred to him to go, 'actually, if you want to resist it, try X, Y, Z.' The man honestly acted like a prize a c*nt, and I'd have sashed all the way home out of his sad, cold little palace. Instead, Emilia is only really upset that he was able to overpower her and she stabbed him.

This was where the writing got really annoying. It was like 'it was really bad, but Wrath is totes a stand-up guy actually, and his brothers would have been wayyy worse.' Like, it was being rammed down our throats so hard that whilst Wrath was a prick, he could have been more of a prick, so he gets brownie points!

Um, no.

It then got even worse. Emilia starts talking about how it was a test for Wrath because he would get angry seeing his brothers do that to her. The classical narrative of when something humiliating or shameful happens to a woman, it is her male partner who really suffers.

There was something about this scene that really crossed a line for me. I just couldn't see them together after that. I couldn't ship them. It's not okay to belittle and shame someone like that.

Also, what the fuck was that ending? Vittoria's alive? Seriously? *eyeroll*.

So overall, I had a lot of issues with the book. There were certainly parts I enjoyed, but it was a very disappointing sequel, and I'm a bit gutted about it. I'll probably read the third though just to know what happens.

[₊ ˚ ale ࿓ ♡ ⋆｡˚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. my review on tumblr

“Tell me,” he whispered, his voice sliding like silk over my flushed skin.
“What?”My own voice came out breathless.
“I am your favorite sin.”

I heard from a friend of a friend, that that dick was a 10 out of 10. —Ale to Wrath, 2021.

A little reminder: my review has many spoilers (I'm gonna hide them as "spoiler" or I'm gonna warn you with the yellow emoji, or maybe I forget to tag them because I'm THAT distracted), so, you've been warned, pal.

That being stated, I have more things to say. Take a seat.

I've waited for almost a year this book because the cliffhanger of Kingdom of the Wicked was *chef kiss* and I was already drooling and simping for daddy Wrath (JAJKSDHKJDF jk or not???). If you wanna join the Wrath team, let me know, I need to fangirl... So, my hype for this book was over the top of the sky; it was fucking enormous.

Emilia finally traveled to the underworld, or hell as you will or think, and she thinks she's being escorted by Wrath, but little does she know. Since moment one, you can feel the tension between Emilia and Wrath, and grabs you like a fucking claw. It's wonderful. So, they both travel for the Sin Corridor (for me, 'sin' in Spanish means 'without' so I was reading it like "el corredor sin o vacío" JAJKSHKJDFH follow me for more Spanish classes) and Wrath warns Emilia that the sins are gonna try to test her. Many other things happen, lol.

aNYHOW, I'M NOT GONNA RESUME THE BOOK FOR Y'ALL BC SPOILER, SO NO.

This book is mainly character driven, and it wasn't bad at all. Actually, it was pRETTY GOOD, more than I expected. Nevertheless, if I wanted to punch and kick the shit out of Emilia in the first book, here I was on the fucking verge of tears, I swear that I was screaming in silence because our heroine can't put two and two together at first, so it makes you wanna slap her (or beat the shit out of her, just like me).

The development of Emilia was also good tho I can't say the same of all of her braincells, so... Y'all figure it out soon if you haven't read it yet. However, I shelved this book as "badass female mc" and "stupid female mc" because Emilia vibed in both sides tbh.

The slowburn was SO SO SO SO SO SO fucking good that I was crying, dying, screaming and the devil knows what else, but I was trapped. The romance was gorgeous, bEAUTIFUL. And the way Kerri got me wanting to put both assholes in the same room so they could finally bone was amazing. Their relationship/romance gave me "State of Grace by Taylor Swift" vibes.

The fact that I was simping for Pride was funny JAJKSJDHJKDFH. Idk why but I was like "yeah, I'll marry you, honey, come here" aND MY PHONE AND THE HELL ARE WITNESSES OF IT, OMG. I mean, when he appeared my heart dropped and I was already simping JSJKHDJKFHDFH.

I can't say much about the plot because how I said up, it was more character driven and the plot was quickly solved towards the end of the book sooooo (at least from Emilia because I solved this puzzle really quick, we'll talk about my theories below this).

⚠️⚠️⚠️ oK, SO, HERE ARE SOME SPOILERS, BITCHES, YOU'VE BEEN WARNED.⚠️⚠️⚠️

I had many theories since book 1 (yup, I had drank a lot of coffee that day, so my mind was at 100% creating scenarios and theories, and guess what? today too!) and here it was the same, so, you can imagine. And I guess y'all had the same theories.

1. Wrath being the devil. Was I the only one who saw it coming? (Pietro reference, if u know, u know, and how it hurts me) I mean, c'mon, the hints were there. The snake tattoo (I'll talk about that after), Wrath's response to Emilia calling him "Samael", the fact that he hid his interest on the cornicellos, etc. The hints were there!

2. Vittoria being alive. oK, HEAR ME OUT. Before y'all start to say "but she was pretty dead on the first book", yeS, SHE WAS, EVEN I THOUGHT IT AND SHED A TEAR FOR THAT BITCH, but we were tricked and now she deserves all the hell Emilia has for her. Idk why, but the hints kinda were there?? I don't quite remember if Vittoria told Emilia (I might be imagining all of this, so please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong; I have terrible memory, LOL let this be no surprise to you) that she was up to something, or just gave the hints and vibes. IDK, BUT THAT MF ALWAYS GAVE ME BAD VIBES.

3. Emilia being bethroded to Wrath and not my boi Pride. Did y'all see this coming? I surely did. fROM THE BEGINNING SHE DID THE SPELL FOR IT (by accident tho) and wasn't like "yeah, you can cancel it because he's an ordinary dude", HA! of course not. We're talking about one of the Seven Princes of Hell; this is another deal.

I had other theories, but idk where are them since I wrote them down. If I find them, I'll get back and include them.

This book reminded me of ACOTAR and 🤢🤢🤢 (y'all know that I can't stand those books, except for Nesta) lemme explain why.

First of all, the matching tattoos🙄🙄🙄. The dark haired dude with supreme ruler vibes (since book 1 I imagined Wrath blond 😳🥺😳🥺 and I kept forgetting that he was not blond), the "choice" thing that HE brought up every 5 seconds, that I was getting tired of aND THAT HE BROKE UP! I was enjoying it until my brain said "bruh, this is like acotar" and decided to fall in a slump for two days, refusing it to move on, but eventually I forgot about it and moved on.

Also, chapter 17 was COMPLETELY unnecessary. I felt totally disgusted and found NO point in the book, including chapter 18. 🤢🤢🤢 that lowered my rant.

⚠️⚠️⚠️END OF SPOILERSSSSSS.⚠️⚠️⚠️

Finally, I have something else.

Idk if it's just me, but I feel like many authors make the male love interest more likeable and bearable than the female mc. Like, that's the intention at all? Making me simp over the dude?

I'd marry Wrath tbh, why would I lie about it? I like him 💀💀💀 So, yes, sir, I'd marry you right now if I could.

I felt kind of disappointed tbh. I expected more, but it wasn't that bad. I have to wait another fucking year to read the third book and 💀💀💀💀

Now, if y'all excuse me, I'm gonna summon a Prince of Hell (Pride, perhaps) and marry him, yas.

P.S: the fact that I wrote this entire review in English (without using a dictionary to help me with some words) make me proud of myself. Wait, is this a signal to summon and marry Pride? yes.


previous review:
Y'all don't know how much I'm screaming and drooling over Wrath 💀🤤

iT'S OUT, IT'S SO FUCKING OUT!!!!!!!!!!! HOLD MY WINE, I NEED THIS CONTENT RIGHT. FUCKING. NOW!

[SK (Back for good this time? We'll see) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sorry guys, tried to like it but the plot is off track, all over the pace. I don't think the author herself knows where the story is heading at this point. Some of the plot twists were good, but the rest was too predictable especially when it came to Wrath and Emilia.

The book starts off at a good stable pace- not too fast, not too slow. The middle drags and the ending is rushed. I preferred the first half of the book. Pride was hyped so much in the first book, when he was revealed in this one, it felt underwhelming.

The spice is good. I would've rated this book two stars had it not been for the spice. That certainly got so much better in this one compared to Kingdom of the Wicked.

Coming to the characters, are we really surprised with Wrath's big reveal? Not really.
Wrath's personality is hot. I get why he has so many fangirls.
Emilia knows how to test the reader's patience level. One moment she's all independent, badass and ready to avenge. The next moment, she's unsure, all talks and has nothing to show. It kinda frustrated me a bit. Also, there should be a drinking game- Drink every time Emilia says 'goddess above'.
Emilia and Wrath together tho? They make a good couple, that I accept.

I'm not sure how I liked the ending. I have conflicting thoughts on it. Will I read the next book? I probably will but with low expectations.

For my Christian perspective for the series- do find it on the review for KOTW.

[toointofiction · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I wanted to kiss him. Possibly break a bottle and stab him first. But then definitely kiss him.”


Spice: 🌶️🌶️


I love nothing more than reading the second book in the series and finding out that it is even better than the first one. Especially when the first one is already a masterpiece. It is crazy to think that someone can write something so amazing. I was fully absorbed in the story, I practically devoured the book. There's so much mystery still left to unravel, and the revelations that follow are mind-blowing. Sure, some plot twists are a little predictable, but it felt like something the reader should have guessed before the protagonist. However, there is one particular plot twist that had me so shooketh I couldn't form a single thought for several moments, and it's not even fully explained yet. You can imagine what my current state of mind is right now.

Moreover, I love Emilia and Wrath even more so than I already did. Emilia is slowly growing into her character, becoming stronger and more confident in herself and her abilities. She has been thrust into a whole new world, full of powerful demons who want to manipulate and kill her. Yet, she learns to deal with everything like a pro. Additionally, Wrath may not be a narrator, but as more of his backstory is revealed his character arc grows and he becomes all the more interesting.

Furthermore, if you thought that the bathtub scene in Kingdom of the Wicked was hot, then you cannot possibly imagine how much hotter things get in this one. The tension is off the charts, the smut is barely there just to torture, and the things Wrath and Emilia say to each other, romantic or sexual, made my heart skip a beat. Those two are desperate for some sex and it needs to happen as soon as possible. On that note, I will be taking legal action against that cliffhanger. Kerri Maniscalco is a mean tease and needs to answer for her wrongdoings.

Lastly, all the secondary characters are awesome. Literally, all the Princes of Hell are amazing. It's clear that there's a lot more than meets the eye when it comes to their backstories, and I can't wait to learn more about them. One thing's for sure, though, they are all insanely attractive and make me dizzy. Besides the Princes, Fauna and Anir are two of my favorite characters in the book. Both of them are such likable characters and I love their friendships with Emilia.



Bonus Content: First Draft from Wrath's POV


I love the way Kingdom of the Wicked turned out to be, but Kerri Maniscalco's first draft is equally amazing. So many of the theories I had while reading book one come true in this version of the story. What I loved even more, however, is that it is from Wrath's point of view and that his backstory is significantly different from what it turned out to be. Besides, part of his character is different as well. Nevertheless, my favorite part of this bonus draft is obviously anything that has to do with Wrath and Emilia. There are several incidents that haven't been revealed in the actual book since Wrath doesn't narrate in it, which make me like their relationship even more. I really hope they are canon, though, because they are so precious.

[zyth ༄ ‧₊˚ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“tell me i am your favorite sin”
LIVES WERE CHANGED. THE UNIVERSE SHOOK. BACKS WERE ARCHED. 😩😩

[Cait Jacobs (Caitsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kerri Maniscalco was not joking when she said this was gonna be more NA than Kingdom of the Wicked. This book does not wait to show you that.

Kingdom of the Cursed was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I won't lie, I'm not built for mystery books. I get too impatient, and I'm not smart enough to understand what's going on, but Kerri Maniscalco still makes them so fun for me. And I might be a little proud that I predicted one of the twists in this book. (by "a little", I mean I refused to shut up about it to everyone around me)

The romance in this book is what truly had me hooked. I am in love with Wrath. Every time he and Emilia interacted, I was glued to the page. And the steam. This book isn't super spicy, but the tension is impeccable.

Also, can I just mention that ending? That was cruel. I need book 3 now

5 stars

[Hannah]

I swear I’m team Wrath, I swear I’m team Wrath, I swear I’m team Wrath. Unless he pulls a Tamlin, I will be team Wrath until the end.

[Lorelei · Rating 1 out of 5]

~~~0.5 Stars~~~

I'm confused. Like completely and totally confuzzled. What the hell did I just read?

*I will not be marking spoilers because I don't feel like filtering what I'm saying atm so read this at your own risk?*

The Characters:
Emilia:
Just no. Absofuckinglutely not. Please go die in a hole. Please kill me now. I suffered so much while reading this because Emilia is fucking insufferable. She is the epitome of the "I'm not like other girls" trope. She goes from lusting after Wrath to being this "strong" & "independent" young woman to being the poor unsuspecting victim. Honestly, give me a break. All Emilia does is whine and fumble around because when it comes down to it she knows ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. NOTHING. I can't stand her. She reminds me a lot of Scarlett from Caraval. Actually, a lot of things about this book remind me of Caraval and not in a good way (read my review of that book if you need more context lol) Emilia is like an off-brand America Singer. She is so far into the "I'm not like other girls" category that I don't think anyone could pull her out. She thinks she's so "speshul" and "conniving" and "clever" when she probably couldn't spell her own name or walk in a straight line. *pain*

Authors cannot for the life of them seem to write decent female protagonists anymore. Where are the Aelin's (until EoS) and the Jo Kuan's and the Inej Ghafa's? Where are the women who empower young girls to not let much older men physically and sexually assault and abuse them? Why aren't more authors writing characters like that? And what pains me even more is that it's fellow female authors writing these characters. Are these the types of women you want as role models for all young people? I can't with authors these days. I just need to move on before I explode. Oh wait. Wrath is next. *jumps off imaginary ship*

Wrath:
Oh no. OH HELL NO. We do not need another golden-eyed prince who turns out to be a king. Oh wow, so original. Wrath is *completely forgets all words because Wrath makes Lorelei so furious that she can't think properly*

Yep. Good enough for this character.

Wrath is like Hawke (FBAA) but he talks more? Less? I haven't read FBAA I'm just going off of what others have said. Anyways, there were just too many secrets between W & E and there was always something that was supposed to be arousing/romantic/heart-stopping happening but it was kind of creepy. And plain old weird. Wrath knows that he's keeping all of these things from Emilia and he's just kind of chill with it? And then he gets mad that she's mad over him not telling her any of it and goes to have a huge temper tantrum because demon princes need to have a good rant sometimes. God forbid a woman actually decides to say something you don't like. That can't be happening. No, NEVER.

I actually turned this into a sociology project I was so mad. I spoke to my entire class on why this is such a horrible trope and why it needs to be turned around and fixed because it has gotten too out of hand. When you start having romances between 800+-year-old men and 18-21-year-old women you know you've gone too far. Booksellers need to stop promoting this trope and authors need to stop fucking writing it. Honestly, it hurts me every time someone wants their relationship to look exactly like Rhys & Feyre's or Hawke & Poppy's. What the hell is wrong with you people?

The Plot/Writing
As I said earlier, what the fuck did I just read? There was no plot at all. And if there was, the writing was so bad and confusing that I completely lost it. There were so many 'subplots(?)' that I think I was supposed to be following but I gave up on them because everything was happening all at once for the entire book and nothing was going anywhere. Anyways, the writing was horrible. I mean, some of the worst writing I have ever read. It felt as though I was supposed to be understanding something that had never occurred and there were so many loose threads that never got tied up. Maniscalco acted as if they had, leading me to believe they won't be in the third(?) book which is just wonderful. I also felt as though everything was forced. The plot was forced, the characters, the chemistry, my interest; which remains non-existent. ALSO. I felt as though whole chapters were missing and I really wanted the dual-pov that she mentioned in the extras of the B&N special edition. That would've made this book 100 times better.

Final Thoughts

Ok, so definitely not Monday, but how about like 3 weeks later? See, I can have a schedule I just choose not to :)

Final thoughts, for real this time.

I hated this book. I think it promoted what we've seen in a bunch of enemies-to-lovers books which is a relationship that borders on pedophilia and sexual assault because let us be real, Emilia DID NOT willingly consent to half of what occurred. I already hated Kerri Maniscalco's books and this one is only reaffirming my belief that she cannot write a decent novel to save her life. Or at least one that isn't problematic in all ways. Kind of like SJM and Stephanie Garber :)

Best,
A very frustrated Lorelei who can't seem to find a good book

[naz · Rating 5 out of 5]

WE FINALLY KNOW HIS NAME, THE WAY I GASPED omg!!!!
this was perfect from start to finish, i'd really risk it all for wrath
and the sexual tension between wrath and emilia was simply ✨electric✨ how do i wait for book 3 after that😭



14/01/21
THESE TEASERS MIGHT FUCKING END ME OMG I AM IN LOVE

"I know you won't tell me your true name." I trailed my hands down his chest. His intense gaze tracked each of my movements. "But it feels a little odd, murmuring 'Wrath' at a time like this."

9/11/20
i can't wait for the scene when wrath finally reveals his true name to emilia, can you imagine how soft that moment will be???? pls give me all the angst and yearning, ALL OF IT

[Ally · Rating 1 out of 5]

some things should stay on wattpad

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay but imagine for just one minute how amazing it would be to be loved by wrath.

Review to come when I figure out how the fuck to put my thoughts from this amazing book into words

[aly ☆彡 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lodging the police report because WHERE IS THE PLOT. It literally went missing and so painful to read in the beginning, (tho it does get better, I guess???). Still, it's more of a disappointment than anything. Emilia and Wrath remind me of Poppy and Casteel & I didn't mean it in a good way. Love how the book ends though.

I wanted to love this but I'll decide on my rating better when I compose my thoughts about the book.

RTC.

[Paige ♠ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to read this for some reason but I still enjoyed it. Thank god Kerri Maniscalco and "second book syndrome" are not a thing 😆

✅ SEXUAL TENSION galore in this sequel!! Even from the first couple of chapters, there was so much tension between these two and a constant push and pull. I felt like we didn't get enough of this in the first book but Kerri definitely stepped it up a notch with this sequel!

✅ THE ROMANCE OVERALL was also taken up a notch and I was in love with all things Emilia and Wrath ❤️❤️ Sooo happy this was way steamier than the typical YA fantasy/romance. I felt like the romantic scenes were placed well throughout the entire book so we didn't have to wait too long for things to get a little spicy!!

🆗 THINGS WERE A LITTLE sub-par outside of the romance. There was a lot going on and the world expanded significantly, but I just wasn't as interested in this part. We were being bombarded with so many clues and new questions and it felt a little overwhelming for me. I'm better with one or two major things to focus on haha

❌ LOSS OF POWER is probably one of my least favorite "tropes" ever. Why give a character newfound power that might help her fight back against all these bad-ass demons only to take it away immediately because reasons 😑

✅ THE ENDING was so great! A lot happened in the last 30% and we definitely got some questions answered. I felt like everything wrapped up a tab abruptly though, but at least now I'm just super excited to read book #3

Overall, I really liked this sequel and it's definitely still a favorite series of mine this year. I was a little bored at points, which I think is why it took me so long to finish, but everything else made up for that fact!

Steam Scale: 🔥🔥🔥/5
Swoon Scale: ❤️❤️❤️❤️/5

Also, book #3 better start off exactly where this book ended!! [⚠️SPOILER TAG] We had so much tension and build-up to Emilia and Wrath being together, and then the book cuts off right when we're about to get an actual sex scene wtff Kerri lol 😭

[myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ * · Rating 3 out of 5]

honestly i have a lot to say not even sure when to start at this point. firstly i’ll say that historical romance is not Kerri Maniscalco’s genre like the writing is atrocious and i think the romance is good but i just think she should like write adult romance or something? the plot took so long to kick in that by the time it did kick in i realized i didn’t care for the characters or the plot and i was only there for the romance. this book made me realize i also hate the trope where the girl only hates the guy because she thinks he hates her and he actually just shows obvious signs of being in love with her? Emilia is really fucking annoying in this book and also a bore? like she isn’t giving bad bitch at all, i was rooting for her to shut the hell up

[Bryce Rocks My Socks · Rating 5 out of 5]

makes sense this book is set in hell bc omg is it getting hot in here?!? 🔥🔥🥵🔥🥵🔥

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, still waiting on my special edition of the book from Fairyloot so I read it from the library. Anyway, I love Wrath.. not that he’s the devil, just his sex appeal and stuff but I can’t even express how I feel. Ok, I can tell you that at this point, I could give two shits about her sister as I got tired of it in the book.



I’m going to listen to this again later on audio as I love the narrator and I hope my thoughts change!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[astarion's bhaal babe (wingspan matters) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Astra inclinant, sed non obligant; The stars incline us, they do not bind us.”

My my my, Kerri Maniscalco. Keep this up and you'll ruin me for any other book.

(a quick warning before you proceed with the review; the rating for this book is the conclusive rating I decided to give KotC and it's 70% earned, 30% dictated by feelings. which means, don't stop at the ratings if you're looking for more objective and reliable thoughts on the book)


Sentimentally, this book deserves 100 stars.
Technically, I wish I could say it's perfect, but I'd be lying.

I know...it's a kinda contradictory statement, considering also the rounded-up 5 stars you see up there, but let me elaborate and it'll all be clear soon.
Kingdom of the Cursed is a wonderful sequel; what it lacked in plot, it made up for in sexual tension.
Wrath and Emilia's enemies-to-lovers journey is so thick with passion it's better than a shot of serotonin directly to the heart.
Not gonna lie, I didn't like Emilia as much as I did in the first book; her mood swings and rushed decisions frustrated me to no end, and at some point it became hard to recognize the passionate, brave and strong girl I came to love in Kingdom of the Wicked, as she was crafty bricked up behind a wall made of irrational actions.
One of the things I liked the most about her is that she's not described as the classic badass character in KotW, but she manages to pass as one, anyway.
In this book...her badassery edged on pure arrogance and I wasn't a fan.
I also thought the whole keeping secrets thing was getting a bit old and I thankfully could predict the plot twist from afar so I had a bone to chew on while I waited for Emilia to become a little less annoying and for the plot to un-mess itself.
Thankfully, both the plot and Emilia's behavior got better in the last 20% of the book, and even though I could sense the twist coming and was about to throw a fit over that insanely mean cliffhanger of an ending, I think the book served its purpose, in the end, as it left me craving for more.

I'm not saying the entire book was disappointing, of course. Just a tiny part (a loud one, that is) and it wasn't all that bad.
I could say it just lost a bit of its magic (which: ironic, considering it's a book about witches and demon princes) and lacked a bit of substance in terms of character development.

In fact, I ended up gaving it the highest ratings, anyway, didn't I?
And here's why.

Wrath, for one -despite being the worst for revealing basically a crumb of information every 100 pages- is possibly one of my favorite male characters. I know it'll never happen, but I keep hoping we'll get his pov in the next book, even if it's a short one.
And I know I said I had some trouble relating to Emilia, this time around, but she's still a great character and especially one that I can't wait to see at its full potential.

Second, I can't not mention the evidently prominent ACOMAF vibes. I swear, at some point, it really felt like I was reading that part in ACOMAF where Rhys and Feyre are reluctant friends and she goes back and forth between the Night and Spring Court.
I loved that a part of this book has the same atmosphere as one of the world's most beloved romantasy sequels.

Third, I was so glad when Emilia finally started cooking again. I thought all her passion was gone for good and buried under a mountain of fury and vengeance; still, as someone who is a stress cooker/baker, I thought she'd take out her frustration in the kitchen more frequently. I was probably projecting, tho, but I appreciated that she wasn't too ooc to make bruschette.

Cooking relaxed me. When I was in a kitchen my problems faded away. There was only me and a dish, the scents and sounds and satisfaction of creating something nurturing and delicious overtaking all else. There were no murders. No lost loved ones. No liars or secret keepers. I knew nothing of assassination attempts or marriages brought about by a spell gone wrong. I felt joy, peace.

I adored this paragraph because I feel the exact same way.

Four, the sexual content of this book was chef's kiss. I usually don't mind explicit smut, but let's say it's not my favorite kind unless I'm reading erotica. Maniscalco is a pro at writing non-explicit sex scenes that are hotter than anything I've ever read in my life.
I think I might have combusted once or twice while reading this. And to think we didn't even get the whole thing. *kicks wall* let them fuck, you monster!
The romance aspect of this novel is sadly a little toned out by the 'hate', the secrets the characters keep from each other and infinite list of morals and obligations, but you can tell there is something more than just desire between them.
Still, no one's used the L-word so far, which makes a slow burn out of this.
Another slow burn in this economy? More likely than you thought, it seems.

I also appreciated that despite being surrounded by sexy demon men who are sin incarnate, Emilia will always pick Wrath, romantically speaking.
Speaking of Wrath...my poor mortal mind will never be able to fancast the perfection that is Mr Evil Cannoli.
Send suggestions if you have any!

Last but not least, the story is interesting af.
I wish some of the mysteries from book one were resolved in this installment, but I was left with more questions than answers and I also feel like if I don't read the third book now, I might cry.
Or stress eat my weight in lasagna.

So, yes, this book was far from perfect, but for my moody reader ass this was, at the same time, a temptation it's impossible to resist and everything I needed from the sequel of a book I consider one of the best works of fiction of the last 10 years.

If I don't get all my answers in book 3, tho...

ACTUAL RATINGS 4,5/5

[POEKURA · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021?!!!!! I'M NOT EVEN DONE WITH BOOK 1 BUT I KNOW I WON'T SURVIVE UNTIL 2021 *snif snif*

Update:

A bit disappointed. The beginning was great though.

[Nneoma · Rating 1 out of 5]

You all lied about this book. This was a complete and utter dissapointment.

Kerri seriously lost the plot with this one. The setup and pacing of the first book was SO good and this is really what she followed it up with? Since when was this some explicit romance novel?? She had the opportunity to introduce a whole new setting with new dangers, obstacles and characters but where was literally ANY of that. The writing was try hard and repetitive, the tone of it was inconsistent, the plot was barely there, and she turned Emilia into one of the most annoying female protagonists I have ever had the displeasure of reading about. Enough about Wrath and this overdone enemies to lovers which really just went from actual enemies to two people who are just horny all the time. To everyone who said this reads like a Wattpad novel, you are 100% correct and I apologize for doubting you. If I wanted to read a Sarah J Mass book, I would.

The fact that I was so excited for this book and wanted to DNF by page 50 is ridiculous. Yeah the spice is cool and all but everything else was so painfully mediocre. I struggled, I mean really struggled, to get through this. This book was a flop and basically a fan service for all the horny readers who just read this for Wrath. And really with the weak plot twists that barely made sense?? By the time I hit page 400 and the plot somewhat began to move, I was already skimming through it to just be done with the book. I don’t even understand what I read, nor do I care to. I had high hopes for this series and boy were they absolutely crushed. The main thing I thought while reading it was how badly I wanted to reread The Cruel Prince series to remind myself what good fantasy is. What a waste of time.

[Lucie V. · Rating 2 out of 5]

✅ New setting
✅🆗 Demons / Princes of Hell
🆗 Wrath
🆗 Pace
🆗❌ Romance
🆗❌ Plot
❌ Emilia

Maybe 2.5 stars? I was just so bored and so annoyed with Emilia at the same time... 😖

This book picks up right after the end of Kingdom of the Wicked, as Emilia travels to Hell with Wrath to marry Pride. Emilia is convinced that this is the best way to infiltrate Pride’s court and figure out who was killing his potential brides. The more Emilia snoops around though, the more she realizes that this is much more complicated than she thought, and there are a lot of secrets left to be uncovered. It slowly becomes apparent she might never be able to go back to her normal life after all.

There is a new setting in this book as Emilia and Wrath travel to Hell, and that was interesting, but besides that, I don’t have much positive to say about this book. Not much happened plot-wise, it was mostly about Emilia dealing with her feelings, her quest for revenge, and some weak romantic development between her and Wrath. The important revelations and action happen in the last 25% of the book and that’s it (but sadly by then I was too bored to care). It just felt sooooo long for what it was. The plot does not move forward at all until the last stretch, and even then, it’s only more revelations and questions to try to get us to read the last book.

“Of course. There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who owns who she is and apologizes to no one.”

Except that in her case, it didn’t feel dangerous, just petulant and entitled. Emilia annoyed me SO MUCH in this book. She was a good main character in the first book, not the best, but not bad either, but here she was just petty, entitled, naïve, and dumb. And did I say annoying? Because she was freaking annoying! The fact that I couldn’t relate to her at all didn’t help. Emilia is hell-bent on her quest for revenge, and not being a very vengeful person myself, I struggled to understand her decision to leave everything and everyone behind in hopes to get revenge for her sister who is already dead anyways. What happens when she gets her revenge? She will still be stuck alone in hell… Because of that, I had no interest in Emilia or her quest, making it hard for me to get invested in this book.

“Vengeance is a poison, a slow death of self. Seek justice. Seek truth. But if you choose revenge over all else, you will lose more than your soul.”

Emilia keeps saying how she must maintain the ruse so the Princes of Hell will not discover that she is there solely to get her revenge for her twin’s murder, but really why else would she have accepted to leave her life and family behind and marry the devil? It seems pretty obvious to me that she suddenly accepted only because she was hoping to gain something from the alliance, not because she had the urge to visit hell and build a vacation home there! It’s simple logic.

I liked Wrath in the first book, but in this sequel, he fell flat, to be honest. He was just there in the background to add some sexual tension or to confuse Emilia’s feeling some more, but he was not useful to the plot. He is described as this fierce, strong, dangerous prince of hell with an aura and a presence like no other, but he felt like any other romantic interest from any other NA/fantasy book I’ve read. He did not feel super dangerous or otherworldly. I was disappointed by him.

The other princes of Hell were also pretty tame when they interacted with Emilia. I was ready for some cold, cruel, vicious, and ruthless Princes, but besides a few veiled threats and some innuendos, they were on their best behavior. Emilia spends pages being anxious about the Feast of the Wolf, this celebration where she is the guest of honor and where the Princes will learn of her greatest fear or a secret of her heart, and we can feel the fear and anxiety she feels when she thinks about it, there is pressure and it’s building towards that moment…. And then a “twist” happens and we don’t even know what happened with the “extracting your greatest fear” part of the evening. It just makes no sense to me that they wouldn’t prey on her and be extra cruel since they’ve been described as highly dangerous and wicked since the beginning of book 1.

When he walked into that training room, he had a plan and executed it flawlessly. And I'd been at his mercy. That. That was the core of my anger.

There is also the issue of Emilia and Wrath’s “training sessions”… What was the purpose of those sessions? To teach Emilia how to protect herself from the magical influence of the big bad princes? But they were all kind and (mostly) gentlemanly with her, so the “lessons” were entirely pointless. Their true purpose was to force some proximity time between Emilia and Wrath and to add some smut to the book. I kept thinking about those lessons after I finished the book, and it made me roll my eyes. Those chapters could have been removed from the book and it would have had no effect on the plotline. At all.

“Tell me,” he whispered, his voice sliding like silk over my flushed skin.
“What?” My own voice came out breathless.
“I am your favorite sin.”

The romance is supposed to be a hate-to-love, but it was not very clear, to be honest. Emilia hates Wrath at first because she’s an annoying whiny character who hates everyone, but at the same time, she can’t stop thinking about him or keep her hands off him. It was more a hate/love mixed dynamic than a true hate-to-love, and I have to say that the relationship development was weak and shallow. Actually, there was no real relationship development or meaningful key moment for them. It was just this hate/love, and then Emilia spent 80% of the book trying to figure out her feelings and organize her thoughts until she decided to stop resisting and admit her attraction and lust for Wrath. The end. I felt the sexual tension between them for sure, but I did not feel genuine concern or love, except that one time Wrath was willing to sacrifice something for Emilia.

On a completely unrelated side note, I was shocked when Emilia admitted that she had no idea what oral sex was because she’s the one who kept on saying how she enjoyed reading smutty books back at home. They were not that smutty if she had no idea at all what her friend was talking about when she asked if Emilia gave Wrath pleasure with her mouth… But I digress…


1. Kingdom of the Wicked ⭐⭐⭐.5

[Avery · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Tell me,” he whispered, his voice sliding like silk over my flushed skin. “What?” My own voice came out breathless. “I am your favorite sin.”

oh boy

so after really enjoying Kingdom of the Wicked, I was excited going into this book because I'd heard it was more NA, which I think fit the story better, and no matter what other people told me, I was pretty sure I was going to like it!

And right I was! Kerri Maniscalco was SERVING those plot twists and I was all for it, gaping down at the book in shock as the words tried to comprehend in my head.

The Plot

The plot in this book could be confusing at times (or maybe that's just me and because I get distracted and confused way too easily) with all the names and people and information but I think I managed to grasp most of it just by picking up on the hints and all that.

As I said above, the plot twists in this were SO GOOD. Like I expected none of them. I'd made predictions but unsurprisingly I was completely wrong (I'd be the worst detective) and had those "oh my gosh HUH??" moments all throughout the plot twists. I got spoiled for a certain thing (my dumbass accidentally glimpsed part of the synopsis for Kingdom of the Feared before even reading the first book 🤦‍♀️) but I was still shocked.

Wrath being THE DEVIL??? Never guessed that. Wrath being Emilia's betrothed?? Never expected that.

and let's talk about that cliffhanger- I was CACKLING when I read it. I am so glad I had the next book on hand and immediately read through the first chapter (and imagine my disappointment when I read it. I WAS ROBBED) I can't imagine all the poor souls obsessed with Emilia and Wrath who had to wait for the third book to come out for that part.

“The stars incline us; they do not bind us.”

The Characters

Now, I still love the characters in this series (Wrath) but I feel like I have certain feelings towards another character (Emilia)

Emilia

Ok, so, Emilia's complicated. Like I really liked her character in the first book with her witty mouth and banter with Wrath, but I began to hate her in this book. She was so badass in the first book which was one of the things I loved about her, but that attitude in this book quickly settled into conceitedness and arrogance, like she believed she was more important than anyone just because she had a connection with Wrath. Some of the things she said made me want to throttle her for being so arrogant. She does get slightly better, but I'm just hoping that she gets better in the next book.

Wrath

Ah, back to my lovely little demon prince who I shouldn't love since he's a demon, but here I stand. I love him so much, like even though he never admits it (maybe he does and I didn't notice, which may be the case) he obviously cares for Emilia past just those passionate moments those two have (whew, those passionate moments are something) and I cannot WAIT until one of them says their "I love you"s because you bet I will be SCREAMING when it happens. But anyways, Wrath is my love and I want him to dig his way up and ditch Emilia and find ME, but alas. That isn't possible. I shouldn't be falling in love with a demon, I already said that but oh well.

I also really liked Fauna and Anir, like they're both great side characters with really good personalities, and I really hope they appear more in the next book. Also, I really hope these two end up together.

“Love and hate are both rooted in passion.”

The Romance

And here we are. The thing that has been hanging over this review, just waiting for me to talk about.

Now, I could sense the NA vibes from the literal prologue. And as I kept reading on, it just went up and up. The tension between Wrath and Emilia was just 🤌🤌 *chef's kiss* like the tension wasn't even smutty but it was so hot.

But when it DID become spicy...well, Kerri Maniscalco is really good at writing those scenes. Like that lagoon scene? I was dying over here. The scene in the royal chambers at the House of Gluttony? I hate Emilia for giving him that sleeping drug- imagine where that scene could've gone

They better get their happy ending together or I SWEAR I'm going to riot. I think they will. Yeah, they will. They have to.

I have high hopes for the romance Kingdom of the Feared now.

“One thing I can promise,” his voice was deep and sensual in the dark, “is you won’t ever doubt it’s real when I touch you.”

Wrath 🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️

Anyways, this was a great book and right after I finished it I immediately grabbed the next one (I swear it's not just because of the cliffhanger. Ok, it was mainly the cliffhanger, BUT I'm also interested in what's gonna happen next). Hopefully the finale meets my high expectations!

4 stars

“A phoenix rises from the ashes for a reason. Your world must be destroyed for you to rise anew. And rise you shall. Just as they feared you would.”

<><><><><><>
i can't believe it ended like that. but this was pretty good, better than the first one i think, and DEFINITELY NA. Emilia got on my nerves a lot though but Wrath is still one of the loves of my life

rtc

[vicky ꨄ︎ (s.ia) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅ 3★ ⋅˚₊‧ ୨୧ ‧₊˚ ⋅


"I am not a hero, Emilia. Nor I am a villain. You ought to know that by now."

I did enjoy it initially, but the plot is all over the place. It's like the author couldn't stick with one plot. Some of the plot twists were quite good but some were so predictable, especially the whole Wrath plot. The middle of the book dragged on and the ending was too rushed. The book's setting is honestly so beautiful, I loved the description of each of the wicked powers and houses.


: ̗̀➛Emilia
This girl really thought that she was a gaslight, girlbossing every single person around her but the truth is that she was the one who was being gaslighted and girlbossed. I can't tell if she's really just so dumb or that she can't see the signs in front of her.


: ̗̀➛Wrath
Wrath has to be one of my favourite characters!! The way I knew from the start who he was. The way this man has so much patience with Emilia, so jealous of him for that. This man is such a gentleman given who he is. He literally carried this whole book.




➺ "My home is your home, Emilia. You do not need an invitation. When you decide to return, I will send an escort."

➺ "Tell me," he whispered, his voice sliding like silk over my flushed skin. "What?" My own voice came out breathless. "I am your favourite sin."

➺ We might be in Hell, but he felt like Heaven.

➺ He said when he touched me, not if.





























✦•┈๑⋅⋯ ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
⋆.˚🦋༘⋆ preread

I waited long enough, I have to read this right now!

[tori ☼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 ★

imo this was a major letdown compared to book #1. emilia really thought she was gaslight, gatekeep, girlbossing every person around her when she was actually the only person in the book missing out and being gaslighted, gatekeeped, girlbossed. god this book was fucking ANNOYING to read. i like want to give this a one star but i can't. personally, the way that wrath acted throughout the entire book because of the "curse" (BIG WHOOP BUDDY) and especially the way he acted in chapter 17 and 23, treating emilia like that.... 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

i'm not sure if emilia is the biggest dumbass around or what but this book was really frustrating to the point that the steamy scenes almost weren't worth it. once again the writing wasn't bad, BUT emilia went from 19 in book #1 to literally like 15 years old in book #2. her and wrath act like ~love~ is so important yet they equate the marriage bond and "love" to sex. it's god awful. this book doesn't deserve 3 stars.

alas... because i know i will read the third book i have to give it a medium rating. i'm running away from this book now. BYE.

--

pre-read review:

if emilia and wrath don't get spicy i'm suing. i'm not waiting until october for no smut, sorry.