An Intoxicating Romance with the Prince of Wrath

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Started: November 28, 2021

Finished: December 2, 2021

Rate: ★★★★★

Synopsis

• We pick up from the last book where Emilia enters the Seven Circles of Hell after signing a deal to marry Prince of Pride, also known as the Devil

  • Emilia decides to marry him because she wants to figure out who murdered her sister and believes the answers reside in Hell

• The first rule of Hell is to trust no one and Emilia has a hard time finding answers and still questions whether to trust Wrath

• The storyline leads up to the Feast of the Wolf

  • Won’t explain it too much because I don’t want to spoil it, but it is basically this huge, extravagant party. Ok, that’s all I’ll say.

Review

Plot

I just finished Kingdom of the Cursed and WHAT THE HELL MAN. THIS BOOK. THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING AND SO SO SO SO SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK. The first book does not even compare to this beauty. The new setting and the character growth were extremely refreshing and fun to read and it made me realize how much I loved fantasy books.

In contrast to the first book, the plot of the second book felt like it actually was going somewhere and there was something to look forward to! The first book felt a little repetitive and there wasn’t any excitement. But this book’s purpose and end goal of the Feast of the Wolf was just something to look forward to and have little adventures along the way.

The new setting of the Seven Circles of Hell was also so fun to read; I wasn’t a huge fan of the Italy setting in the last book, but this world had me begging for more after every page. I absoltuelty love royal settings and extravagance and castles and I was not expecting Hell to be like that at all---it definitely took me by surprise. The way it was described with this refined taste in imagery of each prince’s circle/castle was a joy to read; it made me feel as if I was immersed in Hell. And don’t even get me started on the snowing...everything just felt so out of place but in the BEST way possible. And the fact that the chapters were long enough for me to enjoy without being rudely interrupted but short enough for me to take in everything happening without being overwhelmed was simply icing on the cake. The ending also didn’t feel as rushed in comparison to the first book. There was enough plot and time for me to absorb everything happening.

Characters

Emilia. OH EMILIA, what amazing character development you had. The Emilia in the first book does not compare to the emilia in this book. She just had this great strength and newly invigorated fire within her that just made me want to root for her the whole time. She had these amazing discoveries about herself and her true power and the amount of control she has and wants in her life. She was no longer the timid girl from the first book and I was here for all of it. She had plenty “I don’t give a damn. I am my own person and the one in control. No one else” moments and it was remarkable to see her grow into this ruthless powerful main character. Her determination in finding her sister’s murderer intensified in this book and I was rooting for her the whole book.

Wrath was just...I...I loved him. And might I say, he also had some character development. He went from “REVENGE REVENGE” to “REVENGE but I swear if you even look at her without an ounce of respect I will kill you”. In the first book, I really only saw him as this cruel vengeful dude that kinda barely displayed his feelings for Emilia. But in this book, he makes it very clear that he will literally burn the whole Seven Circles of Hell for her if it means she will be safe. But he also had moments to balance out his protection for her, where he let his guard down and showed that he had these soft spots for Emilia. I screamed at my book every time he did something remotely cute that made me go “awww he really does love her. NOW SAY IT DAMN IT”. His protection for Emilia was so cute yet so hot. And the way he constantly reminds Emilia that she has free will and control over her life just makes him a little more perfect.

I just want to put it out there that this book is classified new adult and I knew the reasons why it was new adult. And so the chemistry between Wrath and Emilia was amazing. The lack of sexual tension in the first book definitely was made up in the second book because damn, you could cut it with a sharp knife. But it wasn’t even the sexual tension that made me swoon over the couple. It was also the cutsie little moments they had together that was balanced with it. The snide remarks they made at each other and the fact that Emilia (thank god with her new sense of courage) spoke up to Wrath with no apprehension. They treated each other like equals and I loved it.

Like just read this excerpt when Emilia is drunk and cannot feed herself blueberries because she is inebriated.

"Wrath's deep exhale tickled my bare shoulder as he reached arounf and took the fork from me. He stabbed a chocolate-covered berry and swirled it into the whipped cream. He paused with the fork to my mouth "If you so much as breathe one word of this, I vow revenge, my lady"

Last Thoughts, Parting Words

Do I regret finishing this book tonight when I know I'm supposed to make this book last longer since I can't start a new one because I have finals coming up? Yes. (I lasted four days). But am I sad about the ending of this book? ABSOLUTELY NOT. I loved this book so much. I wish the third book came out tomorrow and I could read this. @kerrimaniscalco please give me the third book I am begging you. I need to know what happens and I don’t know if I can take it any longer.

BONUS: GAME (Taylor's Version)

"Dress" because of Emilia's extravagant dresses and the fact that there was so much sexual tension between the two of them.

"The Way I Loved You" because of Emilia's questioning her future relationship with Pride and their agreement. But the way she loved Wrath's intoxicating relationship with her makes her question where her true feelings lie.