A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty cover

Romantasy

A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty

Stacia Stark · Kingdom of Lies #2 · 2023

To save her brother, the spy strikes another bargain with the ruthless fae prince — and crossing into his lands means learning whose blood already stains his hands.

Score
78.5
Spice
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️Mild
POV
first
Ending
HEA / HFN

Tropes

Content warnings

ViolenceDeathWar

Curated signals, not an exhaustive guarantee.

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What readers think

Readers consistently praise the addictive plot momentum, the layered political intrigue, and the smoldering slow-burn tension between Prisca and the grumpy, ruthless Lorian — many say book two is where the series hooks them. The expanded worldbuilding and the morally grey prince are repeat highlights. The most common criticism is that it is heavily plot- and action-driven rather than romance-forward: the burn is very slow and on-page spice is light, so readers wanting fast payoff or steam can find the romance underfed. A few note pacing dips in the middle, but the cliffhanger-y momentum and 4.07-star average across ~77k ratings keep most readers moving straight to book three.

Read it if

  • · Slow-burn enemies-to-lovers fans who want the tension drawn out
  • · Readers who love plot-driven fae fantasy with heavy political intrigue
  • · Fans of From Blood and Ash and ACOTAR-style fae courts

Skip it if

  • · You want high spice or a fast romance payoff
  • · You dislike very slow burns or plot-over-romance pacing

If you liked this

  • · For fans of From Blood and Ash, but a slower, lower-heat burn
  • · Like A Court of Thorns and Roses with more political maneuvering
  • · Enemies-to-lovers fae romance in the vein of Jennifer L. Armentrout

In this series

Part of Kingdom of Lies — read in order:

  1. 1A Court This Cruel and Lovely
  2. 2A Kingdom This Cursed and Emptyyou’re here
Full series profile & spice/trope breakdown →

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