Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

29 reviews

leonormsousa's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Stalking, Blood, Torture, Violence, Gore, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Murder

sirkeili's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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 book took me a while to get through, but overall I found it quite intriguing. Watching Emilia comb through clues with her reluctant sidekick was quite amusing, even if her denial of fact was a tad frustrating. 

The plot really picks up towards the end, and some lore is actually given, albeit a tad predicatable if you are reading the context clues correctly.  

I mean, you're telling me that this-

“No one knows for certain, (...) Some believe it refers to the use of light and dark magic. Few think it means a prince will fall in love with a witch."

-isn't the plot of every enemies to lover's romance, I am supposed to remain oblivious???  I think the fuck not, and I honestly love and respect that it doesn't shy away from the trope, but rather embraces it wholeheartedly.

Overall, this book was a tad slow on the uptake, but it was quite a nice starting point for the series. Emelia's revenge has only just started, and I am eager to see the wrath (yes, I went there) she brings down upon the princes, and those who ultimately have caused Vittoria's death. I am also keen to see what Wrath's part to play will be, as he was little too quiet and unnaturally withdrawn at the end. I know he's strategizing, but how he plans to fulfill his plan is something look forward to watching. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Sexual content, Torture, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Stalking, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Confinement, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Kidnapping

bootsmom3's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Sexual content

queengaynor's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Violence, and Blood

xtinashad's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Without any spoilers. This book engrossed me from the frist chapter! Very mysterious, witch family who own a Italian restaurant. The twin girls who are coming into themselves but with very different personalities and take very different paths. Very dark, which made it all the more intriguing. A lot of twists and turns with a strong female lead. Great dark fantasy! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Torture

verk's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Al principio me costó un poco engancharme pero después era difícil de dejar Jajaj. 
De las hermanas me gusta más Vittoria peo bueno, el personaje principal es Emilia que no me cae mal pero a veces se porta de forma muy tonta. 
Me gusta que haya misterio y que no sepas a quien culpar de todo jaja, aunque sospechás quien podría ser (y  se confirma, o no, al final 😅).
Wrathe gusta mucho su personaje, está mejor desarrollado que el de Emilia. 
Me dejó con ganas de leer el 2do 😅.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Grief, Blood, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, and Torture

politewriter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A rather thrilling fantasy novel. The world building had some rather fantastic depths and color to it. It was really easy to see how the author incorporated their personal experience. I really liked how that meshed. Some elements of their story seemed to get muddled at times, and I found myself needing to go back to reread something in order to understand what was happening. Lots of characters, but the author does a good job of keeping them all straight— as well as their alliances and organizations. However, FL seemed to have very little development throughout the story. She made a lot of odd choices, and that really took away from the tension of the story. I liked the chemistry between the FL and the ML tremendously. I hope to see that further developed in the second volume. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Stalking

Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Torture

sunsetcity's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence

chattycali's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Minor: Torture