Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Kingdom of the Cursed by Kerri Maniscalco

8 reviews

darquedreamer's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

1.0

This one was NOTHING like book 1, and most definitely nothing like Kerri's debut series. There was hardly any plot buried beneath all of the unnecessary graphic sex. And, Emilia was so not a badass in this one at all. She kept repeating her "mission" but never had any follow through because of all of her "desires".  She was super annoying, and I'm not a prude by any means, and I'm all for females exploring their right to their desires, but for being an 18 year that's never really been introduced to anything sexual, other than trashy novels, she was way too interested and distracted by sex, and she had no real character development beyond it. 

The story hardly had any development, the characters were so one dimensional, and the "plot twists" were super predicable. There were only a few bits of actual story in between all of the smut that actually kept me going. But, the graphic sex was so much that I honestly don't know if I will be reading the third back, despite how badly I want to know how it all ends. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

chaptersofamylea's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious medium-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

3.5

3.5 ⭐️

‘There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who owns who she is and apologizes to no one.’

Mixed feelings about this one. I understand people’s woes about Emilia being like a different character in this book in comparison to KotW, but she’s in hell, she’s unfiltered, keeping personified sins as company and she’s been through a lot. So I kinda feel a bit defensive of her, I’m here for feminine rage. Do I feel it went from 0-100? Yes. I get that maybe Kerri wanted to go in a different direction, more NA than YA but maybe a little build up on that would’ve been better. I did guess the secret but the plot? Nooooooo bloody clue whats going on there pal.

But I finally what period this series is set in, HUZZAH. 

TWs: depictions of injury, sexism, sexual harassment, drugging, ? dubious consent  

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

stllyltc's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging 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

4.5

It was filled with many questions but still no answers, though it was quite predictable and seemed to pull for a confusing plot. It was no slow-burn romance; just cut-off moments. It was an all-consuming read that sought attention. The scenes are suggestive of certain tensions and emotionally conflicting. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

sunsetcity's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

urlocalhethey's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

Go to review page

After 119 pages I decided to dnf this read. I’m done with the “flirting” and the bad dialogue. The main character is badly written and the love interest is toxic. Because of my doubt I decided to read some of the high valued scenes and I’m disgusted. I’m okay with some spice but it should be with consent and chapter 17 just wasn’t it. Rape or Sexual assault should not be romanticized. It’s dangerous and fucking disrespectful. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

kat_3000's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

This is basically a spicy whatpad book. I was very disappointed as it is 99% Sex and like 10 pages of plot 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

foreverinastory's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

4.0

This was definitely better than the first. Loved how much darker this one was!

Kingdom of the Cursed brings Emilia to Hell. She has agreed to marry the Devil in order to find out what happened to her sister and protect her family. But the more Emilia learns about her heritage, the more she doubts the deal she made with Wrath.

This was a slower moving book, but I really enjoyed it. We see Emilia develop more agency for herself. She's beginning to trust her body and disregard the sexist and misogynistic human teachings of the church. I loved seeing Emilia embrace her inner darkness, her sensuality and her power. It was intoxicating to watch. And then there's the whole Wrath vs. Emilia dynamic. Oh god, I loved it so much in this book. I don't know what was different, but I was SO invested.

For a lot of the book, we're left wondering where things are going. And I'm still wondering after I finished. There's a lot of exploration of the witches history and their part in the bargain between the first witch and the Devil. While we do get an idea of what happened, I still want to know more. There were quite a few plot twists, some I did call (and was happy about) and a couple that surprised me.

Bottom line is this sequel surprised me and I'm excited for book 3!


Rep: white Sicilian-Italian female MC, white Sicilian-Italian side characters, BIPOC male side character (Indian coded), BIPOC female side character. 

CWs: Alcohol consumption, blood, death, gore, grief, murder, sexual content, violence. Moderate: injury/injury detail, cursing, drug use, alcoholism, sexual harassment, torture, confinement, religious bigotry, sexism, misogyny. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...