Title: A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty
Author: Stacia Stark
Publisher: Bingeable Books LLC
Publication Date: August 12, 2023
ISBN: 9781959293194
Synopsis:
They call him the Bloodthirsty Prince. His reign of terror has left a trail of blood across this continent. A trail that intertwines with my own past-not even my parents were spared from his merciless slaughter.
To save my brother’s life, I agreed to another bargain with the fae prince. Now, I’m forced to work with him. Forced to travel to the fae lands. Forced to spend my every waking moment with the man who betrayed me. All because King Sabium has woven a deadly tapestry of manipulation, using those we least suspect for his wicked schemes.
There are no lines I won’t cross to protect the people I love. So I’ll work with former enemies. I’ll manipulate, blackmail, and deceive potential allies. I’ll swallow my pride, bury my shattered heart, and cooperate with the fae to prepare for the coming war. Because there are creatures far more monstrous than the fae. And some of them masquerade as men.
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Book 2 in the Kingdom of Lies continues to keep me engaged, and I’ve already started the third book in the series (eyes out for a review to come!). Prisca’s world expands with this second book. I’ll say, audiobooks are the way to go and I’ve been leaning into the my local library through the Libby app.
This series has so much of what makes the romantasy genre great: political intrigue, fae and humans, a bit of spice. While Prisca isn’t the most likeable FMC out there, she works hard, she devoted to her people, and she’s willing to do whatever she needs to do to keep her people safe. She may not always succeed, but she feels every loss completely and she’s striving for a better world. I also appreciate that she’s not good at everything, and in fact kind of flops at most things. It makes her more interesting as a character and sets her up for more growth to come.
As this series progresses, there is much more character development, with more time spent on secondary characters who are becoming greater contributors to the overall plot. The Queen, for instance, has more of a voice and is set up to build what seems to be a very deceptive and conniving subplot – much intrigue. We also get to learn more about Lorian and his past, which is exciting to see as he’s such a character of mystery in book one. Their relationship will be an interesting one to watch unfold as they’re both such dominant and headstrong characters. While they have some decent chemistry, I wonder where it will go as Prisca comes into her own.
In any case, this book kept me engaged, it’s an easy listen as an audiobook, and the world itself is quite expansive and ever growing. Stark keeps the reader locked in with her magical world and a regular introduction of more mystery. I’m looking forward to seeing where she takes us next.
Happy reading!
Worn Pages and Ink 