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gwalt118's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.5
I absolutely LOVED this book. Envy and Camilla stole my heart. They are one of the best couples I've encountered in quite some time, both as individuals and together.
The plot of this novel is so well done. All of it is magnificent: the game as a throughline, the puzzles and riddles, the intricate web of characters involved. It kept me hooked and guessing, up until the very end of the game.
Maniscalco's world-building is incredible. There are fae, demons, vampires, and humans. Although this novel is an adult spinoff of a YA series, you don't need to be familiar with the Kingdom of the Wicked to dive into this novel.
In addition to all of the above, this slow burn romance is a spicy one. I truly felt like this book had everything: mystery, intrigue, escapism, strong characters, and romance with some serious fireworks. And all of it was well-written and well-plotted.
This book is not for everyone, but if the above sounds like your jam, don't sleep on this series. If you need to escape the human world for a few hundred pages or so - and honestly, who doesn't? - this might be the one to help you do just that.
I am headed directly to the second book in the series, Throne of Secrets, which just came out a few weeks ago and I definitely impulse purchased before I finished reading this one. No regrets.
The plot of this novel is so well done. All of it is magnificent: the game as a throughline, the puzzles and riddles, the intricate web of characters involved. It kept me hooked and guessing, up until the very end of the game.
Maniscalco's world-building is incredible. There are fae, demons, vampires, and humans. Although this novel is an adult spinoff of a YA series, you don't need to be familiar with the Kingdom of the Wicked to dive into this novel.
In addition to all of the above, this slow burn romance is a spicy one. I truly felt like this book had everything: mystery, intrigue, escapism, strong characters, and romance with some serious fireworks. And all of it was well-written and well-plotted.
This book is not for everyone, but if the above sounds like your jam, don't sleep on this series. If you need to escape the human world for a few hundred pages or so - and honestly, who doesn't? - this might be the one to help you do just that.
I am headed directly to the second book in the series, Throne of Secrets, which just came out a few weeks ago and I definitely impulse purchased before I finished reading this one. No regrets.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
kaseybereading's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Torture, Cannibalism, and Murder
jkmh's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infidelity
spatterson7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
beckyremillard's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
tuckertl's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Murder
jessicakauffman15's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction, Excrement, Pregnancy, and Classism
ashlyncherie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.75
It was better than her other series, but it still was missing something as far as plot! But the romance was great, just more spicy than I prefer. That being said, the spice wasn’t bad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
bluz19's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
I want to note that this book is ADULT and SMUTTY. I first entered this world with the Kingdom of the Wicked series which is definitely more YA. I loved that story and that world so much that I was beyond excited when I saw this book was coming out. I didn’t however plan for the amount of sexual content that came with this book. I am a fantasy reader, not really one for romance and definitely not one for smut. The underlying story and character is what kept me reading even though the sexual parts were quite cringe. I loved the connections that were built, loved the reconnecting presence of the princes of hell, as well as the supernatural aspects of werewolves, vampires, and fae. I think I would’ve liked it more without the smut just because that’s not my cup of tea. I loved the general back story, loved the view we get of hell. I even loved the connection we get to see between the town that Camilla is from and how it is influenced by the introduction to the princes of hell, their sins, and the things that move in the dark. I think that the storyline held true to what we expect when it comes to these women being in close contact with sin. Camilla was a strong female lead and definitely held her own against Envy.
The game they were playing throughout the book kept the book flowing. The secrets that both Envy and Camilla kept from each other, helped to give them layers and he me falling in love with their characters the further we reached into their lives. At times both of them definitely got on my nerves, but why strong willed person doesn’t. You get insight into both Camilla and Envy’s mind as they try to save Envy’s realm.
After finishing the Kingdom of the Wicked series, all I wanted was more insight into the world that was built and the sinful princes of hell. This book definitely delivered on that and I’m excited to see what story we get next about these brothers.
The previous series isn’t MANDATORY to read but to get full understanding and comprehension I definitely recommend it.
If you enjoy the dark things of the supernatural, powers, sin, with some dark twists and turns then I think this will be a good book for you. If you enjoy smut this will be more up your alley but even if not and you enjoy all other parts, maybe still give this a try or check out the previous series. I will definitely continue to follow the princes throughout their individual stories and can’t wait to see what darkness they bring in next.
The game they were playing throughout the book kept the book flowing. The secrets that both Envy and Camilla kept from each other, helped to give them layers and he me falling in love with their characters the further we reached into their lives. At times both of them definitely got on my nerves, but why strong willed person doesn’t. You get insight into both Camilla and Envy’s mind as they try to save Envy’s realm.
After finishing the Kingdom of the Wicked series, all I wanted was more insight into the world that was built and the sinful princes of hell. This book definitely delivered on that and I’m excited to see what story we get next about these brothers.
The previous series isn’t MANDATORY to read but to get full understanding and comprehension I definitely recommend it.
If you enjoy the dark things of the supernatural, powers, sin, with some dark twists and turns then I think this will be a good book for you. If you enjoy smut this will be more up your alley but even if not and you enjoy all other parts, maybe still give this a try or check out the previous series. I will definitely continue to follow the princes throughout their individual stories and can’t wait to see what darkness they bring in next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault and Torture
emilyreadwhat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
4⭐️/5🌶️
This is definitely a SPICY book, not just a book with some spice mmmkay 🫣 I love a slow burn and enemies to lovers, so the slow tension and the pov swaps were well done and the tension lasted long enough to make the spice feel un-forced (although there are also some spicy scenes described that are not between the main characters, so fair warning those snuck up on me unexpectedly). I haven’t read the previous books by this author but after finishing this one, I definitely want to! I want to read a book for every one of the seven brothers so I’m hoping she does quite a few of them at least because this was such an interesting read! I found the character development entertaining, the bad guys were truly awful and the enemies to lovers had great banter and tension. Really enjoyable read! My only complaints would be that I saw a few of the major plot twists kind of coming, so while I was excited about them I wasn’t SHOCKED, and it was a tad spicier than I’m usually comfortable with with the background scenes that were described (vampire dinner party I’m looking at you). I’ll definitely read the sequel though!
This is definitely a SPICY book, not just a book with some spice mmmkay 🫣 I love a slow burn and enemies to lovers, so the slow tension and the pov swaps were well done and the tension lasted long enough to make the spice feel un-forced (although there are also some spicy scenes described that are not between the main characters, so fair warning those snuck up on me unexpectedly). I haven’t read the previous books by this author but after finishing this one, I definitely want to! I want to read a book for every one of the seven brothers so I’m hoping she does quite a few of them at least because this was such an interesting read! I found the character development entertaining, the bad guys were truly awful and the enemies to lovers had great banter and tension. Really enjoyable read! My only complaints would be that I saw a few of the major plot twists kind of coming, so while I was excited about them I wasn’t SHOCKED, and it was a tad spicier than I’m usually comfortable with with the background scenes that were described (vampire dinner party I’m looking at you). I’ll definitely read the sequel though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment