Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalo Book Review

Ratings

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Content Warnings: Gore, Sexual Content

Introduction

Kingdom of the Feared is the third book in the Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy. This was a much anticipated release of 2022, but it didn’t hold true.

I’d like to preface this entire review by saying I loved the first book and enjoyed the second book. I was so excited to get the conclusion to this mystery, fantasy, romance I was reading. But I was sorely disappointed.

Firstly, this book (along with it’s predecessors) is marketed as YA (young adult), but let me tell you, it is not for teens or anyone under 18. This should be a NA series instead.

Secondly, don’t expect much. You’ll have your questions answered, but that’s really all the substance you get.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Plot

I am confused beyond all belief as to what happened in this book. What was even the point of it all? I didn’t care about Vesta’s “murder” or any of the stuff outside of Vittoria. But none of it made sense.

Pride and Envy’s plan to test Emilia? For what? Why?

Why was a murder even introduced in this book? It provided zero substance.

The love triangle mess with Claudia, Pride, and Vittoria? Definitely a set up for a spin-off series (that I won’t read).

Yes, we got answers to all out questions and things made more sense from the first 2 books, but this book didn’t do anything for me. It was bland and boring, and I literally had to force myself to read it.

I’d also like to point out that at the very beginning of the book, we don’t get a recap of what’s happened or anything. We’re literally thrown into the series again and right into an almost-sex scene. I had to look up the plot of the previous books just to get the mindset and remember what happened. (It didn’t help.)

I’m just so unsatisfied and disappointed with the plot of this book. Yeah, there were twists and turns–and I loved it!– but it was stated so matter-of-factly instead of building up the revelations. Like the Crone is their mother. That was stated and we moved on, like it was nothing new.

I wanted a high-stakes book with major payoff and a fiery romance that didn’t involve so much smut. Is that too hard to ask for at the end of the series?

Characters

Emilia

Wrath

Vittoria

Vittoria carried this book on her own damn back. She was complex, manipulative, but kind and loyal. She drove the plot and everything that happened.

I wish we could have seen her before all this happened so we had something to compare to, but she was still badass. I loved all the scenes she was in.

But she didn’t get enough screen time. For the second book leaving us on a cliff hanger that Vittoria was still alive, this book sure doesn’t portray that its a major concern or urgency.

Side Characters

Princes of Hell

In the previous books, these princes came off as threatening and deadly, but in this book the princes just seemed like normal guys with attitudes and entitlement issues.

Writing

The writing for this book was all off– the vibes, the characters, the plot, all of it. The entire book left me very confused as to what I just read.

The pace was very inconsistent. We skipped over scenes of importance– like who the Crone really was, and focused on scenes that didn’t add to the story– smut, I’m looking at you.

On top of that, the writing was confusing and unclear, with choppy transitions. Nothing was smooth about this book. It all felt thrown together as if Maniscalco was ready to start on another project (spin-off series).

There was also a lot of info dumping on the scenes we rushed past. There wasn’t any build up to the answers of our questions, but instead it was just dumped at our feel nonchalantly as if that was good enough.

Then, a lot of time (we’re talking about pages) were spent on sex scenes. Like we get it, your characters were reduced to horny bastards with no real sense of urgency. But good grief, I had to skim over half of those sections. Once you read a few in a book, they all feel the same.

With this, I’d like to point out that sex does not equal romance. Yes, it is an element to a romance, but it isn’t the only thing. I wanted the soft romance that these two shared earlier in the series. But it was as if Maniscalco decided to ramp up the smut, for who knows why, and then still label it as YA. 🙄

To finish off the writing section, can we also talk about the message this book has? Give up your own power for a man, or someone else. Like, really? What’s what you want teen girls (because again its marketed as YA) to take away from this book?

Give me a break. Its so cliche and demeaning for Emilia’s character. Yes, she technically got “her” magic back at the end, but it was given to her by Wrath, so it’s not truly hers.

Its just infuriating to read such independent female characters be reduced down to a wife without her own strength/magic.

Final Thoughts

Although we finally got our answers, I feel as if this book should not exist. It was a rough ride and a rudimentary way of ending such a complex and gory series.

I expected more. I expected a huge climax and reveal to all our answers, but we weren’t even permitted that. Its so disappointing to see a favorite series of mine be downgraded like this.

If Maniscalco has a spin-off series with Claudia/Lucia, Vittoria, and Pride, I probably won’t read it, even if it sounds really good. My spirits were broken after this book.

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What did you think of the book? Did you like it or could you have done without it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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