Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco
Kerri Maniscalco is the New York Times and international bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. Her Kingdom of the Wicked romantasy trilogy soared to popularity on TikTok upon its release and is beloved by readers.
The Kingdom of the Wicked series, which follows the seven deadly sins as seductive and dark princes with secrets and questionable intentions, led to the release of a spinoff series, beginning with Throne of the Fallen. These spinoff novels follow the individual stories of each of the Princes of Sin.
We spoke with Kerri Maniscalco about her return to a world of deadly sin and sizzling romance in Throne of Secrets, the second standalone installment in her Prince of Sin series.
This time, readers follow the story of Gabriel Axton, the Prince of Gluttony, and the reporter Adriana Saint Lucent, set on a mission to prove the prince’s demonic ways. The two will have to team up to stop darkness from falling over their kingdom — but can they uncover the truth while holding tight to their own secrets? And what will they do with an equally troubling rumor: that they might not actually hate one another after all? The book promises to lure readers into the world of Wicked once more and to leave them satisfied.
Your books show off the power of gothic, romance and fantasy genres, each beautifully represented by the settings in the novels and the unreliable narrators. What inspired you to create these types of stories and characters?
Thank you so much! I love atmosphere in novels, especially if it’s a little dark. Whenever I think of sitting down to curl up with a book, it’s always Fall for some reason in my imagination. And there’s nothing I love more than a great spooky season read with a dash of romance and a hot mug of tea. Each of those genres really sweeps me up and away and gets me completely engrossed in the story, so it’s always something I’m hoping to capture for my readers too.
Let’s chat for a moment about the Kingdom of the Wicked series. It became a sensation on social media, especially on TikTok, where readers raved about it and its continuation — the Prince of Sin series. What inspired you to create the characters based on the deadly sins and was there one that was the hardest to write?
It was such an incredible surprise to see it take off online and I completely credit my readers for having such an amazing organic, word-of-mouth promotion for the series! Their passion and dedication to this universe are beyond my wildest dreams.
KOTW came out during the height of COVID in 2020, right before the election, and it seemed like it would get lost in all the headlines… then I received an email from my editor telling me it went viral, then it sold out EVERYWHERE. I was so excited and stressed because printers were backed up, there was a paper shortage from the supply chain issues, and readers kept messaging me begging for copies. Still so surreal to look back on!
Before Stalking Jack the Ripper sold in 2015, I’d actually written 40,000 words of what would eventually become Kingdom of the Wicked. I’d wanted to get lost in a supernatural world hidden in our own, but filled with secrets and lies and unreliable narrators and lots of mystery. Initially, it was going to be a witches vs. werewolves vs. vampires novel, but when my agent and I hopped on a call, she casually tossed out the idea of researching the seven deadly sins. That led me down the most interesting rabbit hole that included occult notes that claimed there were princes and dukes and kings of hell, which of course made my mind spin with historical romance vibes, and the concept of the Princes of Sin was born.
Your Prince of Sin series began with Throne of the Fallen and is followed by the soon-to-be-released Throne of Secrets. The series focuses on a different prince in each book. You started with Envy. What made you decide to tell his story first?
Envy was one of the characters introduced in the very first Kingdom of the Wicked book and I adored him. I sketched out an idea of his backstory before I even began writing that first series and hoped to one day give him a redemption arc and show us how he came to be, why he was so morally questionable, and (hopefully!) make readers fall in love with him as much as I do. He’s ruthless, driven, and will do whatever it takes to care for his court and people. There’s something about a reformed “bad boy” in fiction that I absolutely love!
What can readers expect from the second book, featuring the Prince of Gluttony, Gabriel?
We meet Adriana in Kingdom of the Cursed briefly when readers visit House Gluttony and then in Kingdom of the Feared Gluttony and Adriana have another brief encounter, and the hate/lust vibes continue very strongly in this story. Rivals to lovers, romantic tension, secrets and indulgence, a competition, ice dragons and lots of banter between our two main characters.
One of the things I love most about writing standalone fantasy romances is getting to write dual POV. We get to experience the full journey through both characters’ eyes and perspectives, and it’s been such a joy to create. Gluttony and Adriana have such a fun dynamic and their banter and escalating tension is one of my favorite aspects of Throne of Secrets. Gabriel/Gluttony is outwardly affable and easygoing and we find out there’s much more to him than meets the eye…
You describe the series as “Bridgerton in Hell”. Are you a fan of Bridgerton, and does this mean a lot of drama and steamy moments are to be expected in the upcoming books?
I usually find that’s easiest to give readers an immediate sense of what they can expect: historical setting, standalones set in the same universe that follow a new couple, and romance! (Except ours is a bit darker with the fantasy twist.)
Regency romance (and historical romance in general) is such a fantastic genre — it’s FILLED with all the tropes I love as a reader: hate to love, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, marriage of convenience, fake dating, friends to lovers — SO many tension-filled moments that make me kick my feet as I read. (And hopefully, give that same feeling to my readers when they pick up Throne of Secrets.)
What’s up next for you that you can share with us?
I’m working on the next Prince of Sin book and having a really great time with researching and plotting and drafting all the romantic tension! I can’t wait to share more details in the new year and will definitely be teasing readers with all the quotes and snippets to hold them over until publication.
Kerri Maniscalco is the #1 New York Times and international bestselling author of the Stalking Jack the Ripper series, the Kingdom of the Wicked series, and her adult fantasy romance Throne of the Fallen, the start of her Prince of Sin series with Throne of Secrets up next.
Kerri grew up in a semi-haunted house outside NYC, where her fascination with dark, atmospheric settings began. To date, her books have been translated into more than twenty languages and have been viewed on TikTok a few hundred million times.
