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

Kerri Maniscalco

Start date: November 30, 2021

Finish date: November 30, 2021

Discussion: Book of the Month

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What Members Thought

Nov 12, 2021 Vanessa Gayle ⚔️ Fangirl Faction rated it it was amazing

Shelves: all-the-feels, young-adult, side-characters-giving-me-life, cover-love, forbidden-taboo-romance, romance, reviewed, fantasy, feeeeels, young-adult-read

This book was fantastic! I am so obsessed with this series and these characters that have worked their way into my heart.

There is so much information laid at our feet in this book. I honestly found the overload of information quite confusing but I was intrigued nonetheless. There were so many clues dropped on our heads but we still don't know how to interpret many of them. The plot of this book is clever and exciting. There are so many characters with secrets and the main character can't truly This book was fantastic! I am so obsessed with this series and these characters that have worked their way into my heart.

There is so much information laid at our feet in this book. I honestly found the overload of information quite confusing but I was intrigued nonetheless. There were so many clues dropped on our heads but we still don't know how to interpret many of them. The plot of this book is clever and exciting. There are so many characters with secrets and the main character can't truly trust anyone and it makes for some interesting and compelling reading. The storytelling is lovely and full of wit and charm. The story flows beautifully and it will capture your attention effortlessly. I adore Maniscalco's writing style. The world-building is detailed and consuming.

These characters will draw you in and keep you enraptured. Emilia is a strong lead character with dedication and drive. She is fueled by the love for her sister and finds herself in situations that she never could have dreamed of in the pursuit of vengeance on her sister's behalf. I love that Emilia is unapologetically herself. I love how she stands up to demon princes and faces anything that comes at her with bravery and poise. Wrath is a mysterious character but he is so magnetic. He has a gravity about him that draws the reader right to him. While he has secrets that he keeps close to his chest, he is also kind and just. I really liked the character development for both Emilia and Wrath in this book. We learn so much more about them. I am also loving all of the secondary characters in this series. I like the depth that they add to the story and all the possibilities that they bring into the story. The reader never quite knows what to expect and it's exhilarating.

The romance in this book definitely gets knocked up a notch. The chemistry between Emilia and Wrath is like wildfire. It's consuming and intense and oh so magical. I really liked the progression of their romance. Wrath's actions toward Emilia really show the depth of his feelings. He treats her with kindness, respects her and her wishes, helps her to protect herself and does little things that don't seem like much but deep down are considerate and caring. It's true that they are keeping secrets from each other but the core of what they feel is ever-present.

Overall, this book shocked me and delighted me in equal measure. So many unexpected things happened and so many questions were raised. I can't wait to find out the truth and see where the story takes us in the third book. If you are a fan of stories with a unique premise, complex characters, and a plot that will keep you on your toes then this series should be your next read.

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26 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2021 Jenn rated it really liked it

Shelves: 4-star-reads, do-you-believe-in-magic, romance, read-in-2021, swoonworthy-boys, read-in-2022, books-i-own, cover-love, fantasy, paranormal-supernatural

4.5 Stars

Ok so this was everything I wanted the first book to be. It had emotion, plot, growth, intrigue, sexy times, danger, secrets... you name it, this book had it. And I was here for everything!

I think because the first book focused so heavily on just the set up that I wasn't able to fully connect to the story or the characters. That was all gone this time. We just jump right in where book 1 left off and never stopped. We now knew the plot so we could really focus on everything else. Even t ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Nov 27, 2021 Dr. Andy rated it really liked it

Shelves: asian-rep, unspecified-bipoc-rep, read-2021

This was definitely better than the first. Loved how much darker this one was!

Kingdom of the Cursed brings Emilia to Hell. She has agreed to marry the Devil in order to find out what happened to her sister and protect her family. But the more Emilia learns about her heritage, the more she doubts the deal she made with Wrath.

This was a slower moving book, but I really enjoyed it. We see Emilia develop more agency for herself. She's beginning to trust her body and disregard the sexist and misogyn ...more

8 likes · Like · see review

Jul 05, 2022 Susan rated it really liked it

REREAD 9/30/2025

I still enjoyed the book but the FMC started to get on my last nerve. If I had previously given this 5 stars I was going to take a star away. I think it's a solid 4 star book. I can't wait to see what happens next

I really enjoyed this book and the book before this one. I was really not into this book at first but I think it was through no fault of the book. I was having some issues and my mind was not truly into the book. I would have to back up pages. MANY pages because I had n ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Oct 15, 2022 Kayleigh {K-Books} rated it it was ok

Shelves: fairyloot, fantasy

Kingdom of the Cursed Review on K-Books

“Instead of being ruled by fear, I could become fearless.”

I read Kingdom of the Wicked not long after it first released a couple of years ago, and while I really enjoyed it, I didn’t love it quite as much as a lot of my friends seemed to. I still really liked it and felt like it had the potential to be amazing, and so I couldn’t wait to give the second book a go. I had such high hopes that this would make me fall head over heels in love with the series… Kingdom of the Cursed Review on K-Books

“Instead of being ruled by fear, I could become fearless.”

I read Kingdom of the Wicked not long after it first released a couple of years ago, and while I really enjoyed it, I didn’t love it quite as much as a lot of my friends seemed to. I still really liked it and felt like it had the potential to be amazing, and so I couldn’t wait to give the second book a go. I had such high hopes that this would make me fall head over heels in love with the series… Unfortunately, this one left me really disappointed.

I have such mixed feelings about this book! First we’ll go for the good… I love the concept, the writing is so easy to fall into and forget about the world for a few hours. I really enjoy Kerri’s writing style and I will definitely be picking up more of her series in the future. I loved the characters and the whole setting being in the demon world. I just adore books about demons and the devil and this was just perfect for me … however there was just a lack of character development and world building for me. I felt like this one just felt a little bit ‘off’.

I went into this one super excited to see where the plot was going to go… and I felt like there was a significant lack of plot in this one. It was replaced with a whole load of spicy scenes that did not feel natural for me. Book 1 in this series is very much in the realm of upper YA, with no spice… and I feel like we went from PG-13 to straight out porn in this one with no rhyme or reason for it. Some series do the switch from YA to spicy NA well, with the development of the character slowly getting more mature and it feels right. In this one it felt, to me at least, like there was no character development or world building behind this sudden switch. We went from one extreme to the other with no development in between, and it actually just made me super sad. I am not bothered by spicy books… but this just didn’t feel right. It felt weird and rushed and the plot significantly suffered for it. There was a million times that I just rolled my eyes and was like ‘here we go again.’

Kingdom of the Cursed, and the whole series, has such a great potential with this plot but for me it was completely overshadowed by the romance and the spice. I was just left feeling really… ‘meh’ about it and I am no longer excited to dive into book 3. Especially since I hear it’s even more spicy than this one. I am so disappointed and just feel really deflated after this one. There was such potential for more great plot and character development, and it just wasn’t there for me. I will read the third book at some point, to see how it ends, but right now I am so disappointed and wish I hadn’t bothered picking up this series in the first place.

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