Kerri Maniscalco

Kingdom of the Cursed

Aimee :)

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."

I didn't think, I leapt aside and the skull exploded into glittering dust, leaving nothing but the chilling message ringing in my ears. I stood there, chest heaving as the impossible became real.

His pride in his appearance. The way he protected those under his care and chose justice over revenge. No wonder the mortal world confused the two princes so easily-Pride and Wrath certainly shared a lot of similarities.

"You are not his intended, Emilia." The world beneath me tilted. Wrath's gaze was steady enough to keep both ry knees and the realm from quaking. "You are mine."

And it was far better to be angry rather than turn into a ghost of my former self from sadness and grief.

I came for vengeance. I came to be Queen. 

“You are not his intended, Emilia.” The world beneath me tilted. Wrath’s gaze was steady enough to keep both my knees and the realm from quaking. “You are mine.”

“Impossible. All magic can be undone.”

“Imagine then, how long that bond lasts.”

The stars incline us; they do not bind us.

I knew Wrath would maneuver us so he’d hit the ground.

I briefly fantasized about shoving him over the railing into the snowbank below

If the Prince of Wrath’s anger was a glacier, mine was a raging inferno.

It had not been seduction or wanting that made me sign my soul away. It was vengeance. Fury.

It was as if he and I were the only two in the room, the whole realm.

A spark of understanding flared in his gaze.

“Then tell me you hate me, that I am your worst enemy. Better yet, tell me you don’t want to kiss me.”

“You look like a beautiful cataclysm.”

Its rage burned with an intensity that obliterated reason.

Why is it whenever a man throws a tantrum a woman is blamed for his poor behavior? 

I held the fabric to my face, breathed in Wrath’s lingering scent, then tossed it straight into the flames.

I glanced at the door and considered chasing him to wring his neck or kiss him senseless but shut those urges down.

If he desired an argument, I was more than happy to oblige.

“Take care of me. You said you wouldn’t…”

From somewhere far away, I could have sworn he whispered, “I lied.”

I must have said that last part out loud.

 better because the first one had me wanting to know what happened to Vittoria as soon as I could. This one didn’t make me feel that way. Rather, the plot line of what happened to Vittoria felt a bit redundant. Obviously, Emilia is going to try and figure out what happened to her sister because those answers were not found in the first book. However, the process Emilia went through to discover new information felt off. 

I think it would’ve been more powerful to have Emilia discover some of these things while reading through Wrath’s library rather than have another character tell her about something. 

I think Wrath and his storyline steal the show in this one. I was more interested in knowing Wrath’s real name than anything else. I can’t say that I was particularly surprised by his storyline, but I wouldn’t say I guess it right off the bat either.  

I love the banter between Wrath and Emilia. The tension between them was built up so well. I really like their relationship and can’t wait to see how it continues in the next book. 

Kendall Deranek

Overall, I thought Kingdom of the Cursed was a solid read. I do think I liked Kingdom of the Wicked better because the first one had me wanting to know what happened to Vittoria as soon as I could. This one didn’t make me feel that way. Rather, the plot line of what happened to Vittoria felt a bit redundant. Obviously, Emilia is going to try and figure out what happened to her sister because those answers were not found in the first book. However, the process Emilia went through to discover new information felt off. 

I think it would’ve been more powerful to have Emilia discover some of these things while reading through Wrath’s library rather than have another character tell her about something. 

I think Wrath and his storyline steal the show in this one. I was more interested in knowing Wrath’s real name than anything else. I can’t say that I was particularly surprised by his storyline, but I wouldn’t say I guess it right off the bat either.  

I love the banter between Wrath and Emilia. The tension between them was built up so well. I really like their relationship and can’t wait to see how it continues in the next book. 

I feel so harsh rating this only 3 stars when i did very much enjoy it. I got so enraptured and loved pretty much everything about it. I don’t know what else i can say, it had everything i wanted. However, part of me got bored quite early in. And honestly? once again i am just so confused. Some things are just not explained properly. 

 is Vittoria actually alive? Is Emilia actually the first witch? In the end was Wrath actually saying he loved her romantically? 

 and these things i’m confused on are so crucial to my thoughts and feelings while reading. So that’s why i can’t rate this any higher.

I feel so harsh rating this only 3 stars when i did very much enjoy it. I got so enraptured and loved pretty much everything about it. I don’t know what else i can say, it had everything i wanted. However, part of me got bored quite early in. And honestly? once again i am just so confused. Some things are just not explained properly. spoilers is Vittoria actually alive? Is Emilia actually the first witch? In the end was Wrath actually saying he loved her romantically? no spoilers and these things i’m confused on are so crucial to my thoughts and feelings while reading. So that’s why i can’t rate this any higher.

Linara K.S

um... wtf i'm so confused I need more answers

I won’t lie to you, I had to finish the third book to know what I would want to really rate this one. I’ve ultimately came to the conclusion that this series isn’t for me. I feel like I never am truly honest when I don’t enjoy a book and I need to just come to terms that I can’t be lenient all of the time. This books I had no idea what it tried to accomplish. I was so confused the whole time. Everything I thought I knew from the first book was blown up in this one and I was okay with it to an extent because I don’t know what it was trying to set up going into the third one.

Priscilla Stanfield

2.75/5⭐️ • 2.5/5🌶️

I won’t lie to you, I had to finish the third book to know what I would want to really rate this one. I’ve ultimately came to the conclusion that this series isn’t for me. I feel like I never am truly honest when I don’t enjoy a book and I need to just come to terms that I can’t be lenient all of the time. This books I had no idea what it tried to accomplish. I was so confused the whole time. Everything I thought I knew from the first book was blown up in this one and I was okay with it to an extent because I don’t know what it was trying to set up going into the third one.

arwen

Hanna Rybchynska

Okay, let's talk about 'Kingdom of the Cursed' by Kerri Maniscalco. Overall, I gotta say, it was a bit different from the first book, but not in a bad way, just a little slow in parts. It felt like it was dragging its feet for the first half, but hey, it had some interesting twists and turns along the way, and finally, I got some much-needed answers!

Now, I have to mention the romance between Wrath and Emilia. It was like a rollercoaster, you know? One moment they were super close, and then bam! They're miles apart. Sometimes it felt like it was just there to fill up space and didn't really add much to the plot.

One thing I really loved was the descriptions of hell and the sin houses. It was like stepping into a world of Dante Alegheri! And don't even get me started on the angels, demons, and the whole hell vs. paradise theme—so cool! I love it!

Overall, 'Kingdom of the Cursed' was a fun ride, even if it had its ups and downs. If you're into intriguing mysteries, steamy romances, and religious world-building, this one's definitely worth a read!

Selin Igten

Sidney Schaffner

Better than the first. Still not that great



Btw- I was right. Wrath is the devil.

mirin

what the fuck i love this book and i love emilia and wrath

chloe rae

3.5*

So much better than the first - still all over the place but I had fun regardless! The romance is the only captivating part of this story and I’m not mad about it. Excited to read the final installment.

sophie

Julie Failde

Sooo good, I already can’t wait for the third book! I love Wrath and Emilia so much. My only complaint is that I definitely needed like 3 more pages just to see what happens directly after the closing scene 👀 fingers crossed the next book picks up directly where this one left off.

the plot of this book is most comparable to the plot of a poorly made adult film. it was trying so hard to be sexy that it failed to be anything else (and also when you’re hit with THAT much attempted sexiness it just becomes repetitive and unconvincing)

there was so much exposition with so little action and was also confusing on top of it all. i read it because i wanted to finish the series but it was a Slog.

Daphne Li-Chen

the plot of this book is most comparable to the plot of a poorly made adult film. it was trying so hard to be sexy that it failed to be anything else (and also when you’re hit with THAT much attempted sexiness it just becomes repetitive and unconvincing)

there was so much exposition with so little action and was also confusing on top of it all. i read it because i wanted to finish the series but it was a Slog.

Redwineandbookplease

This book slapped me with her awesomeness

marta 

Lucia Oehmichen 

Kingdom of the cursed felt like it was all over the place. The plot was a mess, with unnecessary scenes and an ending that ruined it. Emilia's inner monologue was exhausting to read and after four hundred pages I was tired of the back and forth between Emilia and Wrath. The ending ruined this series for me because I didn't understand a single thing that happened

June

Jessica Hamnett

EGREGIOUS ACOMAF plagiarism but I’ll take it

Anna Oeltjenbruns

I think I only pick up these books to know what happens next. I don't particularly like the writing style and the pacing is a bit off but damn is it an interesting story

Kira Del Caro

Quydasha Allen 

Kingdom of the cursed felt like it was all over the place. The plot was a mess, with unnecessary scenes and an ending that ruined it. Emilia's inner monologue was exhausting to read and after four hundred pages I was tired of the back and forth between Emilia and Wrath. There were too many spicy scenes in this book that were all for nothing because they didn't even fuck. The ending ruined this series for me because I didn't understand a single thing that happened

Sjors lantermann

"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."

I heard this series got better in the second book but unfortunately I found myself slightly disappointed. That's not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoyed reading Kingdom of the Cursed, because I absolutely did. Yet again Kerri Maniscalco awed me with her beautiful descriptions and quotable lines, the mystery and tension were still there from the first book, the tension if not amplified tenfold, and the basic story line was enjoyable and intriguing but the plot itself plus the pace, flow and cadence were all just a bit of a mess. I felt tossed and thrown all over the place, and extremely frustrated.

In this sequel, Emilia has signed away her soul to be the bride of Pride, the devil and King of the Wicked, and Wrath is fulfilling his duty to Pride by bringing her to the Wicked Kingdom so that she may wed his brother. After a harrowing journey through the Sin Corridor and the entrance to the underworld Emilia settles into her new life at the House of Wrath, preparing for the Feast of the Wolf where she is most likely to be the guest of honor and expected to give up her greatest fear to feed the seven princes of Hell. Meanwhile, she plots and schemes to figure out which house and which prince ordered Antonio to kill her sister, Vittoria.

First things first, the relationship between Wrath and Emilia is absolutely exquisite, I think without their longing, desire and moments of passion this book would've really fell flat. This book is like one long tease, will they, won't they. Emilia uncovers many of Wrath's secrets throughout this novel and while most of these are pretty predictable they're still thrilling and add to the overall tension. Maniscalco really tried to play up the fact that they're only attracted to each other superficially and don't actually like each other but I don't think she quite got there, yes they had their arguments and disagreements but I think every single reader could discern they were absolutely falling for each other and never really were enemies as such. The cliffhanger of this book really topped it off the cherry on the cake, leaving us hanging after toying us along for so long about whether they would admit to what they both wanted all along.

"The stars incline us; they do not bind us."

Unfortunately, aside from this exhilarating roller coaster of a relationship the rest of the story just wasn't really there. This was absolutely character driven and if you took that part away the bones would be extremely brittle, and that might be due to middle book syndrome but I really think there was clear opportunity for the plot to be much stronger in this book. One of the biggest disappointments was the The Feast of the Wolf, it was portrayed as this big, foreboding event all throughout the book and then all we got was lackluster masquerade ball where the princes walk around the dance floor for a minute in wolf masks, for seemingly no reason, we are subjected to almost three pages of descriptions about the dinner menu and then the big bang moments: finally meeting Pride and having her biggest fear or secret of her heart wrenched from her as the sacrifice are just brushed over or discarded in favor of yet another semi spicy scene between Wrath and Emilia.

In fact, every single time this book gets slightly interested it is overlooked for a semi spicy scene between those two - it kind of ruined the experience in the end, even though those scenes were a lot of fun. The uncovering of who Wrath was, who Emilia was in the scheme of things and what happened to Vittoria were all interesting but ultimately ended up drowning underneath the romance in this book - it really became a romance first, fantasy second kind of book. The way they flick quickly from anger and annoyance to passionate -almost- love making to Emilia flouncing off on some adventure a second later almost gave me whiplash. Not to mention the fact that she, yet again, seemed absolutely oblivious to things that were so incredibly obvious to the reader just made her seem kind of slow...

Overall, I still rated this book four stars because it was incredibly enjoyable and I was hanging onto every word, turning the pages needing to find out what happened. So it is still undeniably a fun book but there were quite a few holes and issues, and I would argue the first book was far more structured and therefore slightly better. I am a little apprehensive about starting the third book because I've heard it spirals even more but I am also rearing to see where it leads.

Genevieve 

"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."

4 ⭐s

I heard this series got better in the second book but unfortunately I found myself slightly disappointed. That's not to say I didn't thoroughly enjoyed reading Kingdom of the Cursed, because I absolutely did. Yet again Kerri Maniscalco awed me with her beautiful descriptions and quotable lines, the mystery and tension were still there from the first book, the tension if not amplified tenfold, and the basic story line was enjoyable and intriguing but the plot itself plus the pace, flow and cadence were all just a bit of a mess. I felt tossed and thrown all over the place, and extremely frustrated.

In this sequel, Emilia has signed away her soul to be the bride of Pride, the devil and King of the Wicked, and Wrath is fulfilling his duty to Pride by bringing her to the Wicked Kingdom so that she may wed his brother. After a harrowing journey through the Sin Corridor and the entrance to the underworld Emilia settles into her new life at the House of Wrath, preparing for the Feast of the Wolf where she is most likely to be the guest of honor and expected to give up her greatest fear to feed the seven princes of Hell. Meanwhile, she plots and schemes to figure out which house and which prince ordered Antonio to kill her sister, Vittoria.

First things first, the relationship between Wrath and Emilia is absolutely exquisite, I think without their longing, desire and moments of passion this book would've really fell flat. This book is like one long tease, will they, won't they. Emilia uncovers many of Wrath's secrets throughout this novel and while most of these are pretty predictable they're still thrilling and add to the overall tension. Maniscalco really tried to play up the fact that they're only attracted to each other superficially and don't actually like each other but I don't think she quite got there, yes they had their arguments and disagreements but I think every single reader could discern they were absolutely falling for each other and never really were enemies as such. The cliffhanger of this book really topped it off the cherry on the cake, leaving us hanging after toying us along for so long about whether they would admit to what they both wanted all along.

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

Unfortunately, aside from this exhilarating roller coaster of a relationship the rest of the story just wasn't really there. This was absolutely character driven and if you took that part away the bones would be extremely brittle, and that might be due to middle book syndrome but I really think there was clear opportunity for the plot to be much stronger in this book. One of the biggest disappointments was the The Feast of the Wolf, it was portrayed as this big, foreboding event all throughout the book and then all we got was lackluster masquerade ball where the princes walk around the dance floor for a minute in wolf masks, for seemingly no reason, we are subjected to almost three pages of descriptions about the dinner menu and then the big bang moments: finally meeting Pride and having her biggest fear or secret of her heart wrenched from her as the sacrifice are just brushed over or discarded in favor of yet another semi spicy scene between Wrath and Emilia.

In fact, every single time this book gets slightly interested it is overlooked for a semi spicy scene between those two - it kind of ruined the experience in the end, even though those scenes were a lot of fun. The uncovering of who Wrath was, who Emilia was in the scheme of things and what happened to Vittoria were all interesting but ultimately ended up drowning underneath the romance in this book - it really became a romance first, fantasy second kind of book. The way they flick quickly from anger and annoyance to passionate -almost- love making to Emilia flouncing off on some adventure a second later almost gave me whiplash. Not to mention the fact that she, yet again, seemed absolutely oblivious to things that were so incredibly obvious to the reader just made her seem kind of slow...

Overall, I still rated this book four stars because it was incredibly enjoyable and I was hanging onto every word, turning the pages needing to find out what happened. So it is still undeniably a fun book but there were quite a few holes and issues, and I would argue the first book was far more structured and therefore slightly better. I am a little apprehensive about starting the third book because I've heard it spirals even more but I am also rearing to see where it leads.

Kingdom of the Cursed

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