Kingdom of the Cursed
Kingdom of the Wicked • Book 2
by Kerri Maniscalco
Why You'll Love This
Hell has never looked so glamorous — or so dangerous — as when Emilia walks into the Seven Circles looking for answers and finds herself surrounded by monsters who want her dead.
- Great if you want: dark romantasy with demon courts, intrigue, and slow-burn tension
- The experience: lush and atmospheric — more mood and tension than breakneck plot
- The writing: Maniscalco layers gothic sensory detail thickly; every scene drips with atmosphere
- Skip if: middle-book pacing frustrates you — answers are deliberately withheld
About This Book
Emilia has already paid the steepest price imaginable — her soul — and now she must navigate a demon court where every glittering surface conceals a blade and every prince has his own agenda. The search for her sister's killer leads deeper into a world of seduction, betrayal, and dangerous alliances, where the line between enemy and protector refuses to stay fixed. The emotional stakes here are intimate and raw: grief driving a young woman into a kingdom designed to devour her, with the only person she might trust also being the one she has the most reason to doubt.
Maniscalco writes the Seven Circles with genuine atmospheric richness — the decadence feels earned rather than decorative, and the tension between Emilia and Wrath crackles with the kind of slow-burn specificity that makes readers flip pages faster than they intended. The prose leans gothic and lush without losing its momentum, and the mystery threading through the romance gives the book a layered quality that rewards close reading. This is the rare second installment that deepens rather than dilutes what made the first compelling.