Q U I C K S T A T S
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐. 5
Setting: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Writing style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
T H E B O O K
// Content Warning: Alcohol / Blood / Death / Manipulation (using magic) / Rape / Sexual assault / Sexual content / Violence //
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Age rating: 17+
Genre(s): Fantasy
Pub date: 05/10/21
P R E M I S E
!!SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM OF THE WICKED!!
After selling her soul to become Queen of the Wicked, Emilia travels to the Seven Circles with the enigmatic Prince of Wrath, where she’s introduced to a seductive world of vice.
She vows to do whatever it takes to avenge her beloved sister, Vittoria... even if that means accepting the hand of the Prince of Pride, the king of demons.
The first rule in the court of the Wicked? Trust no one. With back-stabbing princes, luxurious palaces, mysterious party invitations, and conflicting clues about who really killed her twin, Emilia finds herself more alone than ever before. Can she even trust Wrath, her one-time ally in the mortal world... or is he keeping dangerous secrets about his true nature?
Emilia will be tested in every way as she seeks a series of magical objects that will unlock the clues of her past and the answers she craves...
One sister.
Two sinful princes.
Infinite deception with a side of revenge… Welcome to Hell.
M Y R E V I E W
!!SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM OF THE WICKED!!
↬ PRE-THOUGHTS
Kerri Maniscalco had me at 'an intro to Wrath's pets' and as you can see, I'm not in it for the spice; I'm in it for the pets.
↬ PLOT
Kingdom of the Cursed is the sequel of the well-known Kingdom of the Wicked and follows Emilia as she continues her journey to ??
Me trying to write a review without spoilers:
Okay, so if I did write anything at this point, it would be a spoiler. In other words, if you haven't read Kingdom of the Wicked, go read it now.
Was the plot all great? No. Why? Most of the so-called 'revelations' were stuff that were already revealed in the previous book. For example (HEAVY SPOILERS FOR KINGDOM OF THE WICKED), the part where Wrath bound them through this 'marriage bond' took place in the first book and I don't recall any time they ever broke it off (they might have, I just don't remember). Guess who's she's bound to? Wrath.
Honestly, no one is surprised there.
The other plot twists were however well done and my favourite part would be the solo mission she undertook to discover Wrath's true name (but unlike Cruel Beauty, she had an unlimited number of guesses and Wrath did not try to murder her if she made a wrong guess).
↬ WRITING AND SETTING
The language was lush and lucrative and I'm not going to lie; I was hooked. The atmosphere was dark (well, yes, the entire book was set in a realm of hell) but somehow during the descriptions, the only image I had in my head was Cardan's palace (character from The Cruel Prince).
Also, are the palace tiles cold or hot since the palace is in hell?
↬ CHARACTERS
Emilia was, in a review I read which took the words out of my mouth, "gaslighting gatekeeping and girlbossing"and truer words have never been spoken.
Wrath was... Questionable. Like I normally never gravitate toward the hunky chaffed up lad in books so I guess that's the reason I'm not all in love with him? I did enjoy his dialogues because this man's daily vocabulary is 99% sarcasm and 1% silence. And you know how much I LOVE sarcasm.
In terms of romance, eh. This book wasn't ALL that: tension is 100% acceptable but... a book which has only two things and they're violence and smut, I'm all in for the women with daggers stabbing misogynistic pricks. But smut?
No ❤️
This book had the word 'bed' like every 10 lines and I wish I was joking. Like okay, we get it, you're horny but guys you need to chill out.
(Me editing: That's why this book falls under NA you dumb bitch).
My favourite character wasn't even a prominent character in this book (hopefully the next one though) and that was none other than the crazy old lady who gave me major Edna Mode vibes and I love Edna Mode. Ma'am gave zero fucks about the hell princes and just did her little dancey dance with herbs and potions and magical jazz.
THIS JUST HIT ME RIGHT NOW BUT WHAT IF SHE TURNS OUT TO BE THEIR MUM?
I would have loved to see more of the brothers because I just know one of this is going to turn out to be the comic relief and I adore comic reliefs. Plus, its double the chaos and we're all really here for.
↬ CONCLUSION
Pros: Edna Mode lady
Cons: Plot seems repetitive
Overall rating: 4/5
T R O P E S
Arranged marriage (kind of)
Enemies to lovers
B O O K S M E N T I O N E D
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Cruel beauty by Rosamund Hodge
The Cruel prince by Holly Black
A D D I T I O N A L R E S O U R C E S
F I N D M E
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