Title: Throne of the Fallen
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Publication Date: October 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780316557290
Synopsis:
The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives, signaling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win and save his falling demon court. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way, though none of his meticulous plans prepare him for her, the frustrating artist who ignites his sin like no other…
The trouble with scoundrels and blackguards is that they haven’t a modicum of honor, a fact Miss Camilla Antonius learns after one desperate mistake allows Waverly Green’s most notorious rake to blackmail her. To avoid a ruinous scandal, Camilla is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy, little expecting his game will awaken her true nature . . .
Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the Underworld—from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm and beyond—while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.
I am brand new to Maniscalco as an author, and I listened to Throne of the Fallen as an audio book, so perhaps my experience with this story is a bit skewed. While I moderately enjoyed the story as a whole, it’s definitely not as sweeping as some of the other romantasy books out there in the market right now. It’s a nice addition to the Goodreads list, but not ranking up with my favourites. I liked it, but it’s not a love.
What’s interesting about this book is the major plot twists that happen. First, we see mortal high society, which is not so far removed from what we’d expect of the Victorian Era, but with a bit of magic. As we dive into a dark and unnatural game, there’s more elements of magic and mystery that rise. Then finally, the book fully commits to the fantasy realm, dropping all pretense of the mortal realm and fully emerging the reader into a dark fantasy world with every paranormal creature imaginable. There’s a lot to unpack in this world. I tend to prefer the books that hone in on one particular aspect of the paranormal or fantasy realms, so I found the number of different fictive species to be a bit daunting in this book.
Spice level is a little high for this one, and a bit gratuitous IMO. I don’t know if it’s always necessary to the plot. I find the romantic connection a bit difficult to believe and I didn’t find myself rooting for the couple along the way, which could by why I didn’t think the spice level was necessary. There’s a lot of show, not tell, going on with their relationship and it was difficult to get on board. It left me feeling disconnected from the overall story line and I didn’t feel motivated to rush through. It made for a very slow couple of weeks of listening.
I went into this thinking it was a standalone book, but quickly realized there is so much more to this universe than I thought. While I’m not lacking in new series to get into, it’s always nice to discover a new world. I’ll be looking into Kingdom of the Wicked now, and watching for the next book in the Princes of Sin series, but I’m not in any rush.
This is one I could take or leave. I think there are better romantasy books out there, but if you’re in need of something, it’s not a bad one to pick up.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 