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A review by _ckarys
Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
There’s no way to sugar coat this. I was massively disappointed by this book. After the huge success of Kingdom of the Cursed, I really thought the direction the series was going would make it a favorite. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
My issues with KINGDOM OF THE FEARED are primarily two: plot and characters. On the former, I might be the problem—at least, to an extent. The book picks up exactly where its predecessor ends, and I was enjoying it immensely!. However, there was soon a plot twist regarding Emilia—and her relationship with Wrath—that really destabilized me. Personally, I felt like it was coming out of the blue, and I couldn’t remember any grounding information from the previous books that led up to it. Maybe the hints were there and I just couldn’t remember them. Maybe someone who will read the entire trilogy back to back will have a different perception. Either way, it shouldn’t be a given that readers will be binging, rereading, or remembering details after a great length of time, and I don’t feel like some of these elements were reintroduced in a way that would trigger the reader’s memory. For the majority of the book I felt like I had started reading a series midway without catching up with the previous installments first, so off course was the focus of the plot. Were the plotlines resolved? Most of them were, but in a very rushed way that didn’t feel cohesive with the rest of the trilogy.
As for the characters, unfortunately I felt like this book was a return to the dullness of Kingdom of the Wicked. Emilia was back to being insufferable, and Wrath was once again a pale ghost of the demon—the Devil—he was meant to be. What hurts me the most is that Kingdom of the Feared lacked what has always been the strength of this series: Wrath and Emilia, together. Where was the banter? Where was the chemistry? I found it was greatly affected by the main plot twist and the space given to Vittoria’s character. It was a gamble, but unfortunately one that didn’t pay off. Vittoria was extremely inconsistent—ruthless, cold, manipulative one moment and meek and loving the next. I couldn’t get a measure of her, which also made it difficult for me to feel any sort of interest in her bond with Emilia, her motives, or the hinted relationship between her and two of the other demon princes. I think I would tolerate Vittoria as a protagonist even less than Emilia, and don’t think I’d be interested in reading a spinoff about her—if there ever were one.
In short, I am not happy with this final installment. The Kingdom of the Wicked series had great potential and the characters to pull it off, but ultimately it feels like the author ended up wanting to do too much at once. However, this is Kerri Maniscalco’s first time writing fantasy, and I believe she has the creativity and skill to improve in future projects. I’m still very curious to read her future works within the fantasy genre.
My issues with KINGDOM OF THE FEARED are primarily two: plot and characters. On the former, I might be the problem—at least, to an extent. The book picks up exactly where its predecessor ends, and I was enjoying it immensely!. However, there was soon a plot twist regarding Emilia—and her relationship with Wrath—that really destabilized me. Personally, I felt like it was coming out of the blue, and I couldn’t remember any grounding information from the previous books that led up to it. Maybe the hints were there and I just couldn’t remember them. Maybe someone who will read the entire trilogy back to back will have a different perception. Either way, it shouldn’t be a given that readers will be binging, rereading, or remembering details after a great length of time, and I don’t feel like some of these elements were reintroduced in a way that would trigger the reader’s memory. For the majority of the book I felt like I had started reading a series midway without catching up with the previous installments first, so off course was the focus of the plot. Were the plotlines resolved? Most of them were, but in a very rushed way that didn’t feel cohesive with the rest of the trilogy.
As for the characters, unfortunately I felt like this book was a return to the dullness of Kingdom of the Wicked. Emilia was back to being insufferable, and Wrath was once again a pale ghost of the demon—the Devil—he was meant to be. What hurts me the most is that Kingdom of the Feared lacked what has always been the strength of this series: Wrath and Emilia, together. Where was the banter? Where was the chemistry? I found it was greatly affected by the main plot twist and the space given to Vittoria’s character. It was a gamble, but unfortunately one that didn’t pay off. Vittoria was extremely inconsistent—ruthless, cold, manipulative one moment and meek and loving the next. I couldn’t get a measure of her, which also made it difficult for me to feel any sort of interest in her bond with Emilia, her motives, or the hinted relationship between her and two of the other demon princes. I think I would tolerate Vittoria as a protagonist even less than Emilia, and don’t think I’d be interested in reading a spinoff about her—if there ever were one.
In short, I am not happy with this final installment. The Kingdom of the Wicked series had great potential and the characters to pull it off, but ultimately it feels like the author ended up wanting to do too much at once. However, this is Kerri Maniscalco’s first time writing fantasy, and I believe she has the creativity and skill to improve in future projects. I’m still very curious to read her future works within the fantasy genre.