Shelf Life Chronicles

Title: Kingdom of the Cursed
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Series: (Kingdom of the Wicked #2)
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Genre: Upper YA, Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis

One sister. 
Two sinful princes.
Infinite deception with a side of revenge…Welcome to Hell.

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 crave

Review

Kerri Maniscalco why have you done us so dirty?! That cliffhanger was just plain mean in the best way. I loved Kingdom of the Wicked and somehow Kingdom of the Cursed managed to leave it in the dust. It was the perfect mix of mystery, intrigue and steam that left me begging for more.

Emilia became something fierce in this book. She attempts to shed her mortal ways of thinking and embrace the ways of Hell. Everything goes in Hell and no sin is off limits. It was interesting to see her step into herself, to take pride in who she is and the power she can wield which takes many forms beyond her magic. I liked seeing her outside of the kitchen and taking charge or her life.

What I wouldn’t give for these books to be a dual POV. Wrath was such an enigma that at times it drove not only me but Emilia to rage. Luckily she has gotten better at reading him so we get a bit more insight in this book. We also get to see him ruling as Prince of Wrath in Hell which was interesting. He was neither cruel nor wicked as the Malvagi were made out to be in the first book. He still has his secrets though and finding them out around the curse was like pulling teeth.

Oh what’s that you want some steam? Some hot as heck scenes between Wrath and Emilia that were only teased in Kingdom of the Wicked? You won’t be disappointed. All I can say is Hell brings out the lust in everyone apparently. Emilia definitely takes charge of her sexuality with Wrath being the king of consent. It was incredibly hot without being overwhelming or taking over the plot. It’s actually a huge part of this story and Maniscalco did an amazing job writing those sexy scenes.

At the end of the first book I had so many questions and quite a few theories. While we definitely get answers in this book, we also get more questions. Things aren’t quite as simple as they first appeared to be and this mystery was deftly wove with deceit in mind. The cliffhanger was unbearable but perfect and I can’t wait for everything to finally be explained in the final book.