A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty (Kingdom of Lies)

I’m not even going to beat around the bush, I’m just going to say it, this is my favorite read of the year. I have not loved a book or series like this since I read ACOTAR for the first time, and same goes for Stacia Stark’s Deals with Demons series too. The first book in this series took me by storm and was in the number one spot until this book, book 2 came into my life. Did I finish this audiobook ARC at 1:40 in the morning and IMMEDIATELY start it all over again because it was THAT good? Absolutely, I can’t stop thinking about everything we learned, all the new breadcrumbs and how our story and characters progressed in this book. It was a triumph in my books, so let’s spoiler free dive right into why I loved it! The plot picked up right where we left off and was flawlessly paced. I loved how Stacia gives just the right amount of time for our characters to level up in knowledge, power and in their relationships. There is never stagnancy and equally you never feel like you’re in an information dump, or like there’s constant unyielding peril. Everything has a fantastic flow to it and it makes all of the incredible world building easy to understand and remember, because you aren’t being flooded with too much too fast. This balance was also there for both plot and romantic progressions. Our main characters are oh so root-for-able, especially romantically, as are the side characters who have so much depth as well. I loved the furthering expanse of the world and creatures, and how much more we learned. Each new destination or situation our characters arrived upon felt so real with her stunning descriptions of landscapes and lore so it was all to easy to immerse myself in it. Creatures came alive and felt very unique even for well known mythical creatures. I could go on and on about how unputdownable this was because I quite simply didn’t want it to end, which is why I immediately started a reread once I finished! I won’t be surprised if I reread it all over again after! This book as a whole is a theory lovers dream and this a fantastic reread, especially for clues and annotating. I’m discovering more and more through the reread and know it will be one I go back to all the time. The stakes are so much higher in this book, and I expect will be even higher in book 3! Now let’s talk romance, because as promised this slow burn got spicier in book 2! The spice was flawlessly cranked up in this book and it had everything I was hoping for! There wasn’t a cringe moment in sight, and I loved the characters connecting deeper on so many levels. I really enjoyed seeing the balance of tenderness and wildness in their spicy scenes. I found myself rereading the spicy parts because they had me grinning like a grinch! Our MMC knows exactly what he’s doing, and y’all this is why we read romance written by women! If you love the following tropes, this series will steal your heart and all your sleep and leave you wanting more more more! Tropes: Enemies to lovers, found family, he falls first, intricate magic system, one bed, one horse, dual POV, touch her and perish, slow burn to spicy spice, forced proximity, morally grey MMC, and so much more! Audiobook: It’s pretty clear from above that I loved this audiobook seeing as I restarted it immediately. I loved that we got the same two narrators for our dual POV because I hate when narrators change mid series. The female narrator is still by far my favorite of the two, she has fantastic voices for all genders and very distinctive voices. The male narrator was also good but I am not a fan of his female voices sometimes. I’ve found this to be an issue with all the books I’ve heard him read because for me personally his female voices feel over exaggerated at times, which takes me out of the story or comes across as much younger than the character is. This might be a personal preference and I do love all of his other voices especially for our MMC. I will listen to this series on audiobook again and again and can’t recommend it enough! Thank you Dreamscape and Stacia Stark for books 1 & 2, my thoughts are my own.

A Kingdom this Cursed & Empty by Stacia Stark -Kingdom of Lies Book 2- 4/5⭐️ 3/3🌶️(spice) 1/3🦋(swoon) •My Thoughts• I was excited to make it back to this world especially after the cliffhanger of book 1! It took me a bit to get back into the story but I still enjoyed Prisca’s journey, self discovery and her relationship with Lorian. I think my biggest frustration was their miscommunication which made sense for their characters but also made me want to flick them until they pulled it together. I love the epic-ness of this series and how so much is still unknown with how they’re going to defeat the evil king! The spice took a bit of a jump in this one as well and I found myself wishing for more conversation and depth between our MCs. Still, loved learning more of Lorian’s backstory and enjoyed seeing how they brought out the best in each other. I might have also found another few characters to add to my throat punch on site list. Yay! 😆

The first book was great; I immediately bought the second when I finished. It did not disappoint except for the monumental cliffhanger! 😱 I can’t wait to get to the next book!

Book 2 does not disappoint. So many characters, new and old come together in a carefully crafted web designed to leave you completely dumbfounded. There is so much foreshadowing in books 1-2, and I STILL cannot believe how I missed some of the clues leading up to the cliffhanger. On to book 3!

Easily become one of my favorite series. Everything is done so well in these books! It’s sometimes hard for me to do series. I tend to stick with a lot of stand-aliens when I can. This one has me reaching for the next book so fast and not wanting this world to end!!

My first comment is it's a good story line with endearing characters all around. The story flows and gets you invested. That said, the investment is challenging at times with the names. Marth, Lorian...there's so many bad ones that make you pause every time you read the names. Also, the main character almost had me putting it down. She is so angsty I forget she's an adult and not a teen. I get trauma needs expressed but it doesn't ever totally jive with me so I struggle with connecting with her and her name. Some spicy scenes and some character development that's well done. I hope you get to see the Hybrid Queen just be a little bit more confident in this third book. Lose the believes in the fates, doesn't, does, letting that and all these other people being who she's looking for authority from when she needs to first be her own. It's entertaining and I appreciate all the imagination and strategy that had to go into a story this size.

This book was just as good as the first one. I love the found family, the FMC's refusal to stay down despite what is thrown her way or the lose she experiences👨‍👩‍👧‍👦, the ever growing love and devotion between the MMC & FMC🥰⚡️, the political intrigue👑, and the never ending twists and turns of the journey to defeat the evil rulers⚔️ will keep you engaged and not wanting to put it down. This will easily become one of my top tier series🤩 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a good second book. It lays the ground for hopefully an exciting first book. It was a little slower paced but it feels like it is building to more.

Love love love!! I didn't know what to expect and all my expectations were lame to this book! O. M. G. I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one of the series!

This is book 2 of 4 in The Kingdom of Lies series by Stacia Stark. If you haven't read A Court this cruel and lovely, go and read it first and then come back to this one! ......................................................................... This book picks right up where the last one left us with the bombshell of Prisca finding out Lorian is the Fae Prince and entering a bargain to leave with him in exchange for him saving her brother's life. The story gives four different perspectives - Prisca, Lorian, a few chapters titled Boy which transpire to be Lorian's early childhood and The human Queen. This works well and a lot more of this book is given to character development which does give it a slower plot but it was still entertaining. You get a real insight into who Lorian is and his history and the Queen gives you insight into how her life has tragically unfolded at the king's hands. The romance is just great and although Lorian is a big possessive, overprotective brute he loves Prisca deeply and gives her space to learn how to fight for herself and to make the big decisions for the right reasons. The main characters are all loyal and loveable and I can't wait to see more of them in books 3 and 4! This book is a Romantasy that ticks every box and for that reason I highly recommend it 🙌 Oh and the ending made my jaw drop 😭

This book picks up right where the first book ended, with Prisca and the hybrids on the run. Prisca just discovered Lorian’s true identity, and while she would love to be able to hate him and never talk to him again, she knows that the hybrids need the help of the faes to survive, and she also can’t see herself being away from Lorian, even if a part of her hates him for what he did and the lies he told. While it has a different vibe, this sequel was just as entertaining and engaging as the first book. The pace was good, but some parts of the book felt longer. Even though what Prisca and her group are doing is very important for the survival of the hybrid and eventually defeating the King, it also felt like the stakes were lower than in the first book. Still, a lot was going on in A Kingdom This Cursed & Empty as Prisca needed to find allies, lie and manipulate at times, keep the hybrids safe, and also locate the infamous hourglass that was gifted to the hybrids by the gods that would allow her to be much more powerful. I love that Prisca spent more time with Lorian’s group, and we got more of the “found family” vibe that was building in the first book. I would still love more of them in the next book. Found family is a trope I adore, and this group of strong mercenaries that are big softies deep down is so easy to love! I am also very curious to see more of Madinia, especially after what happened in one of the Queen’s chapters. I am also curious about the Queen’s plan because she is definitely more aware of what the king is planning than it appeared in the first book, and I think she can and probably will surprise us before the end of this series. Thankfully, the third book was released on the day I finished this amazing audiobook because it ends with a cruel cliffhanger and I can’t wait to see what will happen to Prisca and her group!

“𝑂ℎ, 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑐𝑎𝑡. 𝐷𝑜𝑛’𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤 𝑏𝑦 𝑛𝑜𝑤? 𝐼 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢. 𝑁𝑜 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑠, 𝐼 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑙𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ How is it possible that the story keeps getting better ? I swallowed it in one day .. and I’m so happy the 3rd book is already out … and it’s not even because of the cliffhanger, it’s just because I don’t want to leave this world ! I loved it , the story , the plot , the writing , the romance, plot twists and character growth arc .. everything.. no fillers, it’s a real page turner. Lorian, I love him, plain and simple and I love Prisca , she is becoming this Queen we knew she would be .. this couple is strong and a force at being together and fighting together.. their romance is 🤌🤌🤌 Stacia is writing a compelling and amazing romance fantasy that deserves to be known. Please , give me more.

Que livro lindo, emocionante, envolvente e de dar nó na barriga de desespero. A Prisca cresceu muito nesse livro, as decisões difíceis que precisa tomar pelo seu povo. E Lorian também aprende a se priorizar, ele aceita que ama a Priska e é lindo de ver. Aguardo ansiosa o último livro porque esse final me deixou com a barriga em nós!