Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

36 reviews

leahfoko's review against another edition

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

4.0

I decided by the end of the book that this reminded me a little bit of the Folk of The Air series. Which is genuinely one of my favorite series’ so this is high praise. While I wouldn’t say it is as good as that series so far, I felt the dynamic between Wrath and Emilia kind of reminded me of Jude and Cardan, and the unraveling of the mystery full of demonic political intrigue and such just felt very much like the political machinations of Elfhame. Sometimes the way the chapters flowed felt a little clunky because they would kind of just end all of the sudden and then the next chapter would take place in a completely different point without a whole lot of transition which was a little weird but you get used to it. Sometimes Emilia got on my nerves but in the same way that Jude did at times and yet I still love those books so it didn’t bother me too much overall. I felt like the book took a bit to get started but once Emilia and Wrath started working together it got much more interesting to me and the second book feels like it’ll be like the Wicked King where now that the players have been introduced and the main character has come into her power, all of the political scheming and mystery will begin and I cannot wait. Looking forward to reading the next one!
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mirandahedvik's review against another edition

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dark inspiring mysterious tense fast-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

4.25

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clairew97's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.25

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traceyanderson's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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purplehulk713's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Not that I didn’t enjoy Kingdom of the Wicked, but I had higher hopes for it from reading its preview. Maniscalco’s writing was sometimes confusing—too ambiguous to be understood upon a first or second reading of the section. It was frustrating. But the magic was bewitching, especially the culture of the streghe and their myths (some true, others false) about the Malvagi (the Wicked) and La Prima Strega (the First Witch). The romance was pretty good, I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope, but I hate how Emilia (like many other YA protagonists) judged Wrath so simply every time she saw a new side of him, and didn’t realize that just because he is one of the Wicked, that does not mean he is heartless or totally evil or whatever. Kerri Maniscalco did do a good job of leaving me wanting more, despite if it was for reasons of ambiguous writing on her part. I’m still confused about the details of the devil’s curse. Envy as a character also seemed rather predictable. Basically, as much as I enjoyed Kingdom of the Wicked, it didn’t wholly satisfy me as a reader.
Beware the Malvagi, fellow streghe…
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saoreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

It was adventurous for most and gave plenty of thrills, as each journey by Emilia seemed to call for danger. She was weakened and forced to a pivotal point of making decisions for herself and for her loved ones. Gone are the peaceful days and pleasant memories; vengeance was the theme, and her emitting wrath joined in on those who've harmed the human world (no pun intended). It was definitely all-consuming. 
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nrogers_1030's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I love the story, but find the main protagonist Emilia a bit hard to take (i.e. annoying as hell). Will continue to read what happens next.
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leonormsousa's review against another edition

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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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arialuna's review against another edition

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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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bootsmom3's review against another edition

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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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