Reviews with content warning for Death - Kingdom of the Feared

Nothing is what Emilia thought it was. So when a member of Greed's court is murdered, Emilia has to deal with the fact that all signs point to her sister as the one behind it. Wrath and Emilia have to work with the Wicked to solve the murder, and the more answers they find, the more Emilia realizes that nothing has ever been as it seems. But within all of the lies she once believed, she learns a truth that will change everything about her past and her future.

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I was recommended this book by a friend after finishing ACOTAR and this series DID NOT DISSAPOINT.
If you are looking for a finished series that feels like ACOTAR, this one checks a lot of those boxes and I cannot recommend it enough!!

This book is the perfect ending to an amazing series that does not get the hype it deserves! I saw reviews for this book before reading it that said the plot twists went too far, but I disagree. This book has the perfect balance of twists and depth. Maniscalco doesn't sacrifice character development for the shock factor of the twists that she throws in this book! It is the perfect ending to this series and I CANNOT WAIT for Maniscalco to write more books within the Kingdom of the Wicked world!

I could go on and on about all the parts of this book that I love. But I will shorten my list for the sake of the review!
1. The politics of the Seven Circles.
In the midst of trying to find out who committed the murder of Greed's second in command, we get to see into the very messy politics that take place in Hell. Not only do you realize how much the seven princes hide from each other, but you also begin to see certain princes take sides. Envy plays a huge part in Vittoria's return to hell, and there are plenty of times that his side in the situation seems very clear, but as the story continues on, you begin to see moments where Envy is very clearly working for the better of both Emilia and Wrath.
But in the same way that you see the good slowly creep out in Envy, you also see the lengths to which Greed will go to try and get back his second in command as soon as her death is in question. Greed doesn't take sides, but until the end of the book, he still seems to be protecting his own court over the good of the Seven Circles. In the end he does seem to realize that he is simply a prince of Hell and not the Devil himself, so we do get to see him calm down, but it takes a long time to see that.
2. All of the secrets.
Book two started to leave Emilia with the idea that something was off about her life. And in this book we really start to see the things Emilia once believe unravel before her eyes. The life that she thought she lived on the beautiful island she called home quickly turned out to be a hell that was created just to keep her and Vittoria away from the very place she has decided she wants to be. While she may be the goddess Fury, and her and her sister make up the eighth circle of Hell, Vengeance, the process of grief that Emilia goes through is real and vulnerable, but at the same time, the empowerment that comes from Emilia trusting in herself adds a depth to her that we wouldn't have found without that twist.
ALSO CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WRATH LOVED HER AND SHE WAS HIDDEN FROM HIM TO PUNISH HIM AND HE COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECUASE OF THE CURSE?? AND THEN THEY FELL IN LOVE ANYWAY!! I CANNOT.
3. The frickin Devil.
Of all the plot twists in this book, the one that I didn't see coming was Wrath being the Devil. And the fact that Emilia knew who he was, even though she had been in denial of it for so long. AND THE FACT THAT WHEN SHE GOES TO BREAK THE MAGIC LEAF FROM THE TREE WRATH GRABS HER LIKE HE COULD SAVE HER IF SHE HAPPEND TO WRITE DOWN THE WRONG NAME. OH MY GOSH. For the Devil, he sure is a softy when it comes to Emilia.
I do think the fact that the 7 princes were written so well that she was able to hide the Devil from us through three whole books was a genius move. I didn't ever question Pride being the Devil for 2.5 books, so when Emilia finally realizes who Wrath is, my jaw hit the floor.
Looking back on it, it makes sense. One of the princes describes him as "pure justice" and the balance of the 7 circles, so him being the Devil makes the most sense. Also Wrath ending up with Fury is SUCH AN AMAZING PAIRING.
AND THE WINGS. THE FACT THAT HE ALMOST GAVE UP HIS WINGS FOR HER RIGHT AFTER HE GOT THEM BACK. I cried too soon on that one and when I realized that he didn't really give them up I felt really dumb, but I loved it either way!!

Content Warnings

julierambaeck's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was fine... I think the author should have continued the series as YA - because this felt too adult. The first book's atmosphere was amazing, and the Italian setting was perfect, but this just did not deliver on that part. I also think the characters were a little too stupid and annoying and thought that not talking about their problems and thoughts were a great idea - they just slept together instead. But it was a fun read nontheless.

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victoriousbookworm's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.5

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kshertz's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Oh my god finally. We went from YA to NA. I started the book very angry because I’ve gone 2 books with no steam. Then there was not immediate steam. However, this author somehow made me fall in love with all these evil demons, and her shitty sister, and everything. Love is a risk yall. The high rating though honestly is because there is a very very high amount of smut which I greatly appreciated.

Content Warnings

taryn_g's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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billykmaguiree's review

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dark fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The third book in Kerri Maniscalco's Kingdom of the Wicked follows Emilia's quest for truth as she falls in love with one of the seven princes of Hell. Kingdom of the Feared is no exception to the spiciness of the new adult genre.

All I can say is I was disappointed with this final instalment in a series I'd devoured. Gone were the time I'd flip page after page desperate to find out what was going on. Instead <i>Kingdom of the Feared</i> was bland with sex scenes overtaking the central plot, to the point that I was skipping them. I can imagine that Kerri wanted to write smut with this series (considering, she didn't in Stalking Jack the Ripper) but when it takes away from the plot, I'm not a fan.

Whilst this tied up lots of loose ends, I can see that with the expansion of the other princes of Hell's stories, there will be a spin-off, which I won't be picking up. The character development was confusing with Emilia giving whiplash surrounding Vittoria's betrayal, and I'm just honestly confused.

With all of that being said, I'm giving this book 3 stars. It didn't captivate me in the way that previous installments did but was still fast-paced enough that I could find myself enjoying it, despite the flaws.

[ Read between January 1 2023 and January 2 2023 ]

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