Whew! This was an absolutely wonderful continuation of this story. Lorian is a perfectly swoon worthy MMC! Stacia also like to make me scream “excuse me what?!?!” At the end of a book. It was spectacular

Thank you to NetGalley for the audio ARC of A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty by Stacia Stark.

Book two was a great follow up to book one, and it picks up right where we left off.

I enjoyed the narrators, and always love multiple POV's.

Big cliffhanger- I need book 3!

Audiobook production thoughts: Once again, I enjoyed both narrators and was pleased with the quality of the audio.

Part 2 of this fantasy romance picked up where it left off and didn't hold back. I loved the Dual POV, plus the extra couple POVs we got in this book.

But that cliffhanger! So abrupt...I need to know what happens!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Um what. Like what. Ugh, cliffhangers get me every time. Okay, this isn't really a standalone book, I came to this book without reading the first book, which wasn't terrible, but I think it definitely affected some of my understanding. I definitely plan to read the first book and then reread this one. It's a great book, great characters, love interests, and betrayals. I was entertained the entire time. The ending definitely has you asking what. I can't wait to read the next book. I'm wrapped in this series now and have to know what happens.

I will be reviewing both the audiobook and the book itself spoiler free.

The book:

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 Media, NetGalley and Stacia Stark for the audiobook ARC for books 1 & 2, my thoughts are my own.

The tension. The spice. The intrigue. So. Good.

This is book 2 in the series, and it moves both the action and the romantic relationship between the two main characters along nicely.

And there’s a cliffhanger, my friends.

There are multiple points-of-view in this one, and Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige do a fantastic job of bringing them to life in the audiobook. As with the first book, this audiobook is highly consumable and is an excellent way to be transported into this fantasy world. I’m eagerly awaiting the next audiobook in the series.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Dreamscape Media and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

A Kingdom This Cursed and Empty by Stacia Stark
Book 2 - **Kingdom of Lies**
༘Spoiler free ༘
🎙️⭐️5/5 *audiobook rating
📖⭐️ 4/5 *book rating
🌟 4.5/5 *combined rating
🌶️🌶️🌶️ there’s a lot of spice (i prefer closed-door levels of spice)
New Adult, Fantasy, Romantasy

Dual Narration
🎙️ Tim Paige 5⭐️
🎙️ Meg Sylvan 5⭐️

➳ 💘 Star Crossed Lovers
➳ ⛈️Grumpy (lethal) Mentor
➳ 🪄Forbidden Magic
➳ 🧚🏼Fae
➳ 💕Found Family
➳ ⚔️Rebellion
➳ 🗡️ Touch Her You d!3
➳ 🎭Secret Identity
➳ 🪢Forced Proximity

✨ “I’ve gone my whole life feeling like I’m holding my breath. Like my lungs are burning. Like I’m desperately fighting for each gasp of air. But when you’re around, I can…breathe. And I’m furious at you, because when that ends…when we’re forced apart, I don’t know how I’ll take a full breath without you.“ ✨
Dreamscape has done it again with a beautiful audiobook, and provided us with the second book in the kingdom of lies series. Again, I preferred listening to this book over reading it.

🎧Narration Review🎧

“A Court This Cruel and Lovely” by Stacia Stark has been made into and audiobook and Dreamscape nailed the casting with Meg Sylvan as Prisca, and Tim Paige as Lorian. Both Meg Sylvan and Tim Paige do an excellent job creating voices that allow you to differentiate between characters, which is a place many narrators struggle.

Their reading style could best be described as smooth melodic and natural, which makes for a pleasant listen regardless of the speed you listen to the audiobook at. Sometimes, when listening to audiobooks at increased speeds the narrator’s voice can become grating, but Meg & Tim’s voices remained lovely.

The pacing of their narration was perfect, they didn’t speak too slowly when listening at normal speed, and they remained clear even at 2x speed.

Tim & Meg brought Prisca and Lorian to life. This audiobook felt as if you had two friends sitting beside you telling you a story and leaving you on the edge of your seat for more.

Dreamscape didn’t utilise any unique sound effects, or music when making this audiobook, but that didn’t detract from the quality. Instead, this choice allowed you to be fully immersed in the story, to feel truly a part of the character's inner dialogue and their journey.

📚📚📚

Much steamier for book #2. Prisca and Lorien are back, still fighting for hybrids and fae. In order to save her brother's life, Prisca bargains with Lorien to save him. At the end of book 1, he does so and then whisks Prisca off to the fae lands by order of his brother, Conrith. Prisca must learn to trust Lorien again and the more time she spends with him, the closer they become. And again, thank goodness this is a series because these crazy cliffhanger endings are killing me!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio e-arc.*

“I’ll never be safe, Prisca”…..

The second book in the Kingdom of Lies series, A Kingdom this Cursed and Empty continues the saga of Lorian and Prisca as they search for answers to the past, and how to move forward.

I loved the first book, yet the first half of this one was a bit slower for me. It definitely picked up in the second half with lots of action, and of course a cliffhanger as we anxiously await book 3!

Looking forward to continue the journey of Lorian and Prisca.

Overall this is a great fantasy series. World building, romance, and thrills.

Narration as always was amazing.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape media for this ARC for my honest opinion.

Pub date: 14 Nov 2023

I got the first book on audio from NetGalley and thought, "Eh, okay another romantic fantasy."
This series is NOT just another romantic fantasy.

This series has everything!
Fantasy? Check!
Romance? Check!
World building? Check!
Character growth? Check!
An engaging plot? Check!

To say I'm a little obsessed would be accurate.

The first book I gave four stars but the 2nd books gets five! I am really enjoying how this story is progressing and I can't wait for the 3rd book.

This series is very bingeable and hard to put down. The 2nd book ends with a major cliffhanger so you might as well get the 3rd once it's available (11/17/23)!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the audiobooks in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

I enjoyed this book but it felt so much slower than book 1. I will say that I love Lorian our MMC is everything so for him and probably him alone- I pushed through this book.

The switching of the POVs from FMC, to MMC , to 'The Boy' and then 'The Queen' threw me off. Not because it was too much but because they were boring and my mind would start to wander.

Overall this was a very standard fantasy, they're on a quest for magical objects, lots of political intrigue. I just wasn't as captivated as I was in book 1.



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Squeee- I'm so excited!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Stacia Stark for the audio ARC in exchange for an honest review. 💖