Kingdom of the Cursed (Kingdom of the Wicked, 2)

The way I could not put this book down at the end!!So many secrets. I just wanted to shake the book until they all came out!!I’m throughly enjoying this series. The tension between Emilia and Wrath is to die for. And y’all know I LIVE good tension. Specifically enemies to lovers tension 😏I really feel like the plot has picked up in the series and I’m dying to see what happens next. I’m so glad I waited until all of the books were out so I could binge the series. But I also don’t want it to be over 🙊Anyways I love Wrath. He’s moody and angry but a secret cinnamon roll aka all my favorite things.Also this cover is one of my favorite book covers now. I’m obsessed with it and I can’t stop staring at it 😍😍😍

This book was everything a sequel should be! In this installment we find Emilia in hell and engaged to the Devil. And this version of hell is lush and atmospheric. Each brother has luxurious palaces and their own agendas. Emilia is still trying to find out what happened to Vittoria but she's also learning new things about herself. We find out there's more to Wrath than meets the eye. I am team Wrath all the way! He really treats Emilia like a queen and gives her the tools she needs to survive in this new world. I loved that even though she constantly pushes him away he is there for her and always has her back. Emilia has grown a lot in this book and is ready to find out the truth of her lineage. Emilia and Wrath's chemistry is so thick you can cut it with a knife. I just know when they finally come together it's going to be magical! I couldn't put this book down I had to know what happened next and the last few chapters of the book blew my mind! I'm so ready to see what happens next!"Love and hate are both rooted in passion.""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 manners of sin in it's name.""Make no mistake Emilia when I go to my knees before you, it will be to conquer not surrender.""You look like a beautiful cataclysm.""Your pride didn't appear in that bone circle that night you spilled blood and summoned me. It was your wrath. Your fury."

“Acta non verba”Actions, not words.Emilia has entered Hell in order to seek out the Devil to continue her path of vengeance regarding her sister’s death. First, she must travel through the Sin Corridor to get to her new home with Wrath guiding her. Once Emilia reaches the House of Wrath and gets settled she is greeted with two speaking skulls in Vittoria’s voice resulting in more mysteries surrounding her death. As Emilia starts to dig into her past along with Vittoria’s death she finds more questions than answers and learns she was left in the dark about a lot of things concerning her family, her twin, and herself. She also must unravel her feelings towards Wrath and decide if she wants to accept the bond she unknowingly created. While trying to figure all of this out Emilia must also concentrate on training with Anir and Wrath regarding the Festival of the Wolf, where she is to be the guest of honor resulting in sharing her biggest fear.Throughout this book Emilia’s journey involves staying the night at House of Envy, stealing back the first book of spells, getting cursed, Wrath saving her at the Festival of the Wolf, learning secrets kept from her, finding an answer regarding her twin, and making an important choice giving in to her desires.I finished this book Valentine’s Day morning before heading to work and was screaming! This book was fantastic and I devoured it! This is the sequel to Kingdom of the Wicked and it also earned 5/5 stars. There was a lot more spice to this, but I found it to be mild for my preference. I would give it a 3/5 spicy rating.

Wow!! This book wasn’t what I expected! One thing I’ve loved about this series so far is that it keeps me guessing. There were a couple of times when I would get frustrated because I felt like another thing to add to her list or another pull in a different direction was annoying, but then something would happen, and it would all start making more sense. The author did an amazing job of putting all the pieces together. Wrath and Emilia’s relationship continued to have great development. I also loved the supporting characters and how they played a role in the character development of Emilia. Book three is going to be wild, and I can’t wait to read it!

I just finished reading Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalo and I don’t don’t what to do with myself! I’m absolutely wrecked.It’s a decadent and pulse raising read filled with sizzling romance, deception and intrigue and I never wanted it to end. Like Kingdom of the Wicked, it’s beautifully written with such exceptional world building and descriptions that I felt I was travelling alongside Emilia as she experienced the Seven Circles.The book starts immediately after book 1, Kingdom of the Wicked, as Emilia travels to the Seven Circles to become Queen of the Wicked after selling her soul in an attempt to solve her sister’s murder.We see much more of Wrath (wink wink) in this novel and see his real, multi-faceted personality. All I can say is that Wrath is EVERYTHING and has made it into my tight knit harem of book boyfriends alongside Casteel, Rhys and Roth. Yes, there’s a dark haired bad boy with a heart thing going on there. Despite being a Prince of Hell, he treats Emilia like a Queen, encouraging and empowering her and always has her back, even when she’s pushing him away.Emilia’s character really develops during this book as she takes charge of her destiny, embraces her wrath and doesn’t let anything get in the way of avenging her sister. Not even her sizzling chemistry with Wrath.Kerri Maniscalo is the real Queen of the Wicked to leave us with THAT ending. I need book 3 NOW! All fantasy/romance lovers need this series in their lives!

Kingdom of the WickedCursed:First of all, I paid more than £8 for the Kindle version and the layout was horrendous! Paragraphs were misaligned all the time or in a different font and size… Nobody proof-read that? Moving on to the actual review.It was… not for me. I’m leaving this review because I feel like I need to explain why I didn’t like it. Also bear in mind that I’m not a native speaker 🙏🏻It was way too long for me, in the sense that it was so very slow. Nothing happens for most of the books, apart from little snipets of action that last a few pages and then we’re back to Emilia’s inner dialogue.She came to House Wrath to discover who’s behind her sister’s murder, yet nothing is really done to solve this mystery. All we get is more confusing lore and myths and potential clues that Emilia thinks over ad nauseam, without any real sign of explanation. The stakes feel very low because of that (but maybe it was never meant to be a high stake story).The whole world building is still a bit confusing to me. I get lost between the curses and goddesses and demons. But maybe it’s just me that’s slow ;) but I feel like the author was scrambling to make it a complex world and got lost and me with her in the process. Because, in the need, all the information we’re given doesn’t seem that important, there will be another plot twist that’ll make everything you thought you knew irrelevant. (Reminds me a bit of From Blood and Ash in that sense :/). We don’t know at what time it takes place. I assume pre-modern world because there’s no mention of technology but the way they talk and the way people travelled indicates it’s not so ancient. Emilia knows how well-bred English ladies wear their hair, French and English families came to live in Sicilia etc. The Kingdom of Italy is mentioned but it only existed for a century and was abolished after WW2… So nothing is for certain.SPOILERS belowSo Wrath is the devil. He has duties, responsibilities. But what are they?!? What they do down there? How do they live, what occupies their day, I want to know!! It’s so complex and so shallow at the same time!It’s all based on Christian religion, the 7 deadly sins, the seven circles of Hell etc, but we do not know how it actually ties in with Chrisitian’s beliefs and stories. If Wrath is Samael, how did he become part of the story behind an entire religion?I got confused with the Blood Tree and the Crone. She supposed to be part of the Goddess Triad or something. But plot twist! She’s also part of the Seven Sisters. Who are believed to be ruthless and frightening but were incredibly easy to find and be dealt with by Emilia. Seriously, in a few pages, just like that, POOF, gone! WTH?!Also, I do love a slow burn but this one is so slow that it gets boring. Every time there’s a bit of spicy action, you find yourself wondering what excuse will the author find to make sure nothing final happens. Extremely frustrating. I don’t believe in their love I’m sorry. I could if there was a « fated mate » trope but it doesn’t seem to be the case as of yet. It doesn’t feel forced but apart from Emilia very rationally deciding that lust and attraction set aside, she wanted to spend her life with him, very little made her actually fall in love with me. I mean yes he gives her choice and consent and protection. But in a very bland way. It’s just all very lukewarm to me.So yeah, it just wasn’t the book for me. Maybe I’ll read book 3, after all I invested hours of reading (it took me forever to finish this one, when I usually just inhale my books), so might as well read the last one to find out the big secret, but i’ll wait for Kindle prices to go down before I do.

Ok, hang on..That ending? I mean I guessed one part but the other part? 😳In this instalment we’re in hell, literally. Emilia signed her soul away to Pride and Wrath took her straight home, his home.Here is where she will await her husband to be to call for her.But will he?We follow Emilia on her hell discoveries and of course get to meet the other prince’s. Hell isn’t as she thought it would be and in fact she’s surprised to find a little beauty in it.Her ‘enemyship’ with Wrath takes some interesting turns and some of the revelations from him about their ‘connection’ are satisfying for the reader.Emilia faces all of hell with her head held high and as before she never backs down from a challenge. She grows with her power and in confidence and it was a delight to read.Wrath, as annoyingly cryptic as ever, is a sweetheart when it comes to protecting Emilia. He’s one fierce demon prince and he will not tolerate anyone disrespecting hell’s new queen to be. But are his motives rooted in something more than just loyalty to his brother?Does he just protect her simply because she will become queen?We find out!I loved this book, the story just ticked all the right boxes for me and I cannot wait for the next instalment.And that cover though 😍Stunning!

KoTC picks up right after that cliffhanger ending from Kingdom of the Wicked.This installment was more action packed than the first so I felt the pace was better. There was a constant tension throughout making it a fun page turner.The sexual tension between Emilia and Wrath also upped a notch, the will they won’t they aspect goes back and forth so much – but the chemistry between them is always enough that you stay invested! This will be a hit for those that enjoy a romance heavy fantasy with a little spice. The author announced this is a New Adult series, which explains the content in this book (I thought it was YA based on the first).I didn’t care for the constant descriptions of Emilia’s dresses and I’ll admit I skimmed those parts. However, I could picture certain fan arts when reading, so I didn’t feel like I missed out on anything crucial. I actually skim outfit descriptions a lot in books, so this isn’t a reflection on the writing at all – my brain just won’t take in the outfit.The food descriptions are back too and everything sounds delicious!The plot took a turn I didn’t expect and that’s when I couldn’t put the book down. This feels like the foundations for book three so I can appreciate all the little details that have been scattered throughout.Nothing is as it seems and just as you think you’ll piece things together… the conclusion bites you in the butt!Overall this was a great read. I couldn’t put the book down and I’ve pre ordered book three as soon as I finished this one!

Emilia sold her soul to the devil in order to avenge her sisters death. Now she must become Queen of the Wicked. With Emilia now exposed to all of the Seven Sins of Hell she must find her own way of fighting back and getting the information she needs - as long as her own sins don't catch up to her first.After Kingdom of the Wicked I simply couldn't wait to read it's sequel - and I read it in a day. This was just as good as its predecessor, maybe better in some areas. Emilia is becoming a strong heroine and I'm enjoying her development and Wrath is simply irresistible - scary, dominant and irrestistible! My only gripe is are these two ever going to have a conversation!? With Wrath being the Prince of War you'd think he'd stick out an argument but no, they always run away from it and it did get a little bit infuriating!Definitely loving the Dante's Seven Circles of Hell element to this series as a lot of series see Hell as one place and one dominion but Kerri Maniscalco has gripped me with doing things differently.I can't believe I need to wait months for the Kingdom of the Feared! I'm in love with these characters and I'm in love with Hell (there's a sentence I never thought I would say!). I highly recommend picking up this series if you are a YA fantasy fan as these books definitely live up to the hype.