This is a wrench your heart out of your still bleeding and empty chest type book. I was actually really happy with The Diabolic being a standalone so I was nervous of reading this, and utterly unable not dive into it at the same time. I still love Nemesis as a character - she is so dynamic and believable. The Empress examines important themes in the same way as The Diabolic, but with even more hard hitting action, drama and gore. I know, I would not have believed it possible. What really makes these books is Kincaid's excellent writing style and voice. The nasty stuff never reaches the level of cartoonish unbelievability because of how well she writes. Add to that, she always delivers a thumping good story. I am so anxious for the next book.

I really enjoyed the first book, and was really looking forward to the next, however i wasn't that impressed, it was still enjoyable but it lacked the 'knock your teeth and sucker punch' the first did. I will still read the last but I not as excited as i was with the first

A nail-biting follow up to The Diabolic, full of twists and turns that left me slack jawed at times. The world created within the pages is complex but vivid, and I can't wait to see what happens next.

For me, the first book in this series was okay, I found it quite an odd world and storyline, and wasn't sure whether I'd continue with the series, but I found myself requesting this book to give it a try, and I'm quite glad I did.
Although I found it just as strange as the first book, I did find it more enjoyable than the first book, however I'm not sure i'll be reading anymore books that come out in this series.

Book Review
Title: The Empress
Author: S. J. Kincaid
Genre: YA/Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Rating: ****
Review: After reading the Diabolic and loving it back in July I was so excited to get a review copy of the Empress from NetGalley, the opening to Empress was brilliant, it opens with a letter from the Vicar Primus to another Senator detailing how Emperor Tyrus von Domitrian intends to wed the Diabolic; Nemesis dan Impryean who is considered subhuman and an abomination by most. It also details the beginning of a plot to kill the new Emperor to prevent him marrying a diabolic and changing everything they have come to value, but it does speak about a weakness of his position but knowing Nemesis as we do there is no way she will allow anything to happen to someone she cares about as was the case with Sidonia. We re-join Nemesis and Tyrus as they prepare to wed learning of the several assassination attempts on Nemesis’ life but she dispatches her enemies quickly. During their coronation there is another attempt which Nemesis uses her Diabolic abilities to help them escape from but not before she tries to kill off Tyrus’ last remaining enemy in his mental deranged cousin. After the attempt hundreds are left dead Tyrus tells Nemesis of the problem they now face. The Imperial Specter which marks Tyrus as Emperor is the only way to control the machines holding their stronghold together and works on for the person whose blood it has taken. For some reason, it doesn’t work at all for Tyrus meaning that his enemies will make this the time to make a direct attack on him with their leader being Senator von Pasus and he gets in contact only minutes after the attack, Nemesis also learn her attempt on Tyrus’ cousin also failed another is dead in her place. Even though there have been months between me reading the Diabolic and picking up Empress it has been so easy to fall back into this world once more.
Nemesis learns that only the one who has the Specter and the blessing of the faithful can rule, Tyrus has one but not the other. She gains Fustian’s blessing but there are many others than need convincing before Tyrus can rule without accidents like that at the Coronation happening again. Armed with this new knowledge it sets Nemesis’ goal for the novel. When Nemesis attempts to kill Devinee again she is greeted with the sight of two diabolics she thought dead; Hazard and Anguish. Anguish manages to snap Nemesis’ neck but it does kill her, eventually Tyrus come to her rescue and the pair escape without further injury but only because Tyrus knows of a way to subdue a diabolic, one that is built into every diabolic from birth including Nemesis. It isn’t long before Senator Pasus starts bidding for Devinee’s hand in the hopes of killing Tyrus and allowing his cousin to take his place, however, Tyrus has no intention of letting this happen but he does have to appear to be playing ball. Again, Nemesis pleads the case of killing her but Tyrus seems to have found away to stop Devinee being a threat to them without killing her and for now Nemesis can do nothing but trust him despite what her diabolic nature is screaming at her.
Meeting with Pasus, Tyrus conducts negotiations for Devinee’s hand although he is not without a plan and he plans to poison his cousin to the brink of death to force Pasus’ compliance and should he turn against Tyrus, he will execute his cousin and destroy Pasus’ only chance of getting into the royal line. However, Nemesis isn’t content to sit on the side-lines and his spying on anyone and everyone who could produce any information on what is going on in the bigger picture. As the pair anticipated Pasus does move on Tyrus but far quicker than they expected, but he also makes a grab for Devinee at the same time but where she has already been poisoned they let her go and barely escape alive themselves. As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, Pasus has captured Devinee and instead of going to retrieve her Tyrus wants to head to the Sacred City to see for himself whether the rumours of the Interdict are real, while this seems a little heartless he knows how much time Devinee has before she succumbs to the poison coursing through her and there are so many larger plots are work that one person is expendable at this time, surprisingly it is Nemesis who shows mercy despite the fact many people she isn’t actually capable of feeling such things because she is a diabolic.
As they travel to the Sacred City it is Nemesis’ sharp mind that saves them from death and their ship is towed in by something or someone when Tyrus states that he is going to go above the head of the vicars and appeal to the Interdict directly for his right and power to rule over the people. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the religious aspects of this book as Tyrus and Nemesis don’t really believe in it but they are trying to find the Interdict which is a huge part of the Helionic religion in these books. However, when they meet the Interdict and ask him to grant Nemesis personhood, so he can marry her freely and control the machines that maintain his empire, the Interdict doesn’t refuse but he will only grant it when Tyrus as experience of ruling and tells him to return in twenty years. Nemesis, being Nemesis doesn’t take no for an answer, so they kidnap the holiest man in the universe to show him the state of the galaxy and hope to convince him to grant Tyrus’ request. As we get close to the halfway mark in the novel, Tyrus wants to convince the Interdict to help him and he does just that by showing the Interdict the arrogance that the humans possess, and he charges Tyrus with restoring the sciences which have been banned for centuries. While he doesn’t grant Nemesis personhood he does give her his holy approval meaning that none of the vicars should be able to stand against them. As time passes differently in the Sacred City to the rest of space, Nemesis and Tyrus have been gone for over 11 months, while Neveni knows where they went so many didn’t, Tyrus also comes to peace with the fact that Devinee is most likely dead and someone else has taken over in his absence but they plan to use the element of surprise in their return. Armed with the Interdict’s decree and Nemesis’ blessing they plan to change the world as everyone knows it.
Minutes after their arrival Nemesis is attacked after Neveni betrayed her and a disguised Pasus takes her place and while she wills Tyrus to figure it out she is dragged away before he can. It was a shocking twist but one Tyrus had seen coming earlier when he said their arrival seemed too easy to be true. As we cross into the second half of the novel Pasus means to turn Tyrus into an addict on an obscure drug to gain secondary control of the whole empire while leaving both the Emperor and his bride alive, however, Tyrus is used to building up a resistance to drugs and tells Nemesis to bear with it until they can find an opportunity to strike back which they can’t do while Nemesis’ abilities are being supressed. However, she soon learns from Gladdic that Neveni didn’t know about the attack that killed billions of her people and she herself has been sentenced to death and then Nemesis realises Neveni has slipped clues into her letter, clues she had missed. Determined to rescue both her fiancée and her friend she hopes to find an ally in Gladdic and asks him to help her in the attempt to save her friend.
While Pasus has Tyrus drugged he is completely open to suggestion and has even signed away everything he has except his title. In one of the brief reprieves Nemesis tells Tyrus they have no option but to return to the Interdict, but they only have a short amount of time to do so otherwise the gate will be impossible to cross for three years. Tyrus having realised he might have overestimated his abilities agrees to go along with it but also knows all the planning and decision making would be left to Nemesis. As per Pasus’ request Tyrus and Nemesis are to wed in four days meaning she would lose possession of the Hera the only ship that can get them safely back to the Interdict, so she enlists Neveni to help her get Tyrus out before it is too late. Pasus also seems to have a plan for heir by replacing Nemesis’ non-human DNA with his own permanently tying himself to the royal line as she once wished to do before his daughter was killed. While Neveni and Nemesis’ first plan fails they do have a second plan in place, after the wedding when they are supposed to be consummating their union they will escape and free themselves from Pasus’ control until they can strike back and end him once and for all. As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, as their plan is put into motion Tyrus leaves Nemesis no choice but to leave him behind and head for the Interdict with Neveni, but she has the trump card. As we enter the final section of the novel we are treated to another shocking twist that leaves everything in ruins; Tyrus trapped, Nemesis stranded at the Sacred City for three years and all those who wish to see them ended or broken are free to do so and I honestly had no idea how Nemesis was going to get out of this jam without dying or killing everyone around her especially those who had wronged her and destroyed the last hope she and Tyrus had.
In true Nemesis fashion she manages to find a way back on to uncover a very changed Tyrus. One thing that is very confusing is working out how much time has passed, Nemesis speaks in days, but we know that time passes differently in different areas of space although it is confusing for Nemesis to one day be trapped in the Sacred City and then days later return to a much-changed world. Filled with hate and fury though she heads back with a plan to end this once and for all and she uses the only weapon she has the Specter. While Neveni run away with the casing, Nemesis has the important part although only she and the Interdict knew this, and she plans to take advantage of this knowledge to the fullest. When they finally get their wedding Nemesis she believes that she might have to cast Tyrus aside if he can’t be reached but it turns out all along he had a plan of his own pretending to follow Pasus’ command and playing along until Nemesis returned to him as he always believed she would.
In the final 50 pages of the novel I found myself a little bored with the routine of Tyrus changing sides, one minute he is under Pasus’ control then he isn’t and to be honest, I just didn’t enjoy it, especially since he hurts Nemesis and terrifies her in the process. However, the Specter now responds to him and when he uses for the first time he manages to create malignant space, something all space dwellers fear. In the carnage Tyrus creates Nemesis finally sees that Tyrus, the man she loves, has become the one things he despises; a tyrant and she is the only one with the power to stop him now. At this point, I found all my hopes of a happy ending slipping away. And with one final blow Kincaid destroyed them.
The final scenes of The Empress were utterly heart-breaking and just I find myself very excited for the next instalment as there is a perfect ending for another book. I can honestly say that the Empress was action-packed and never once lost pace but the political intrigue and threat of discovery in the first book was slightly more ending. I highly recommend this series to anyone who wants a different take on the human vs non-human power struggle and also for fans of sci-fi and fantasy.

So, my main point about The Diabolic was that it was predictable. This book is not at all predictable. In fact, if you had asked me to write down what I thought this book was going to be, I would have been catastrophically wrong. 

This book took my dreams for what would happen to the characters with whom I fell in love, crushed them, sprinkled the powdered dreams onto a plate of foods I am allergic to and then made me eat them. My poor heart is broken into thousands of miniscule pieces!

Put simply: it's great.

This book felt so much more sci-fi than book one did. There's a lot more space travel and tech-y business, so if that's something you enjoy you won't be disappointed. That being said, it also has many of the powerful character moments that made the first book so likeable. 

As I say, nothing happens as it 'ought to' in this book. All of my expectations were subverted, it was exactly what this story needed. I was especially confused since something in me thought this was a duology, so I couldn't for the life of me work out how this was going to get wrapped up. To my delight there is another book coming in 'fall 2018' so I have another book to look forward to!

My rating: 4/5 stars

By the way, I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher via netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is the second book in the trilogy and having enjoyed the first, I was eager to see what would happen in The Empress. I was NOT PREPARED for where SJ Kincaid went with it. Quite a political aspect in this one, in terms of ruling empires and so on, but I was interested to see where it would go. Packed with action, secrets and twists, I really enjoyed it. Wasn’t expecting that ending, and I’m eager for book 3 now!

Three things:
1. This is good, stressful but very good. 2. I was majorly anticipating this and I wasn't disappointed. And finally, 3. Go into this book as blind as possible.
I read the Diabolic a couple of months ago and became addicted to the world and the characters and although this book doesn't live up to its predecessor it comes pretty damn close. I cannot remember a book making me this angry since reading that Bella kissed Jacob in Twilight... Anyway putting aside 13-year-old me’s angst and focusing on the matter in hand.
The book was filled with world-building and politics, that keep the sci-fi/fantasy genre interesting but it can sometimes be lacking. I was mildly disappointed, but that's normal for me as with second books it’s usually the filler – the difficult second album, as it were. However, I'm sure the finale of this is going to be epic and I cannot wait.
The end quarter of this book had me yelling. This series is definitely one of my new favourites. It was so good it made me angry, it was thrilling and I was on the edge of my seat. My little romantic heart wasn't quite satisfied but given a few days to stew I'm happy with the outcome. Maybe it’s just me and my hatred for love triangles but this unique approach to the characters and their development (together and apart) was really refreshing and very well done. It killed me, but I was happy about it.
If you're looking for the next big YA fantasy series, this is it. I cannot recommend this series enough. Just ignore the last 70 pages... they’re going to rip you apart.
Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.

I was a huge big fan of The Diabolic (it was one of my favourite reads of 2016) but have to admit I thought it was a standalone. I wasn't too sure what to think when I heard we were getting a sequel. I liked the ending to The Diabolic but I was quite excited at the prospect of finding out what's next for one of my favorite characters.

The story picks up almost immediately after book one with Tyrus on the throne and Nemesis by his side but while it seems they've gotten everything they want they're in a very precarious position. The other senators are not happy with Tyrus's radical ideas and aren't overly keen on the idea of Nemesis becoming Empress. Add to that there's something uneasy about the relationship between Tyrus and Nemesis. Neither fully trusts the other and they are so very different it's difficult to see how their relationship can survive.

I kind of wish I'd re read The Diabolic before I picked this up as it took me a little while to get back up to speed on the world, it's characters, the governance system and just who killed who. This is definitely not a book you can just pick up without reading the previous book and even then there's a lot to remember. The author does a pretty good job of bringing you up to speed without info dumping though so it wasn't long before I was fully immersed in this world of political maneuvering, deceit and violence.

Rather than going over old ground however the focus of this story is in moving things forward and questioning all that we seemingly know. She builds on the structure already in place adding so much more depth and detail but also bringing in so much new information on their religion and history. There are a few surprises in store for both the readers and the characters.

With this increasing focus on the religion the author asks some very powerful questions such as what does it actually mean to be human. Can someone who was created in a lab from various bits of DNA really be considered human and do they have a soul? It also raises issues around if and where a line should be drawn on genetic engineering and technological advances and is controlling technology and knowledge a way to control the masses. All things which I find fascinating.

Based on what I've said so far you're probably thinking oh god this sounds so boring but it's anything but. From almost the very first page you're straight into action and it never lets up. It's violent, horrifying and often heartbreaking and it's completely unpredictable. Every time you think you know where it's going some huge great spanner gets tossed in.

It's safe to say there's a lot of death and destruction, the scale of it is immense and it's often sudden and shocking. What can you expect I suppose when your main character was grown in a lab with one purpose, protect a certain person at any cost.

I really, really love Nemesis. She's such a wonderfully unique character. Due to her upbringing she has absolutely no empathy and no conscience. She's very stab first, ask questions later when it comes to protecting those she loves. There's no questioning her actions or indecisiveness which is incredibly refreshing.

What I love though is how she's developing over the course of the series and in this book in particular. She's becoming more human and learning what that really means. The contrast between her and Tyrus is fascinating to watch. He's much more of a thinker than a doer so they balance each other out in a lot of ways but also often end up at odds when she wants to act and he doesn't. I do love them together though. They get a really rough ride in this but the moments when it's just the two of them are some of my favorites.

The differences between her and some of the other characters are also interesting. She's considered a monster but she's actually very naive in a lot of ways and sees the world in very simple terms. Those around her plotting and scheming and committing terrible acts could be considered far more monstrous than she ever is.

The pacing of the story is pretty much spot on and it's definitely a very readable book. I more or less read the whole thing in a few hours. It's so unpredictable and so packed full of twists it's difficult to put down and the conclusion when it came was truly epic. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. As always all views are my own.

Well that definitely didn't go where I was expecting! It twisted around so many times I still couldn't guess where it was going at 98%. It started out slowly but picked up speed very quickly.
And now I have to wait again for the next one...No fair! I'll definitely be handselling this one as much as possible. I could read twenty more books set in this universe.
Thanks for the chance to read it.

Sorry, I loved The Diabolic but found after 25% I wasn’t in the mood for more of the same. Style of writing and plot measured up to the first, I still love Nemesis and Tyrus and I know a YA audience will do the same.

The follow up to The Diabolic is shocking. I wanted so much for Nemesis and Tyrus to have their happy ending after all the events in the first book. On paper it should be fine, Tyrus is now Emperor and just needs to consolidate his power whilst convincing those following the religious teachings that his ideas of a future embracing technology for all is a fair one. By his side is Nemesis, reviled by many for her less than completely human genes and if he wants to claim her as his wife and Empress Tyrus needs the blessing of the Vicars within the Living Cosmos. Oh but wait the powerful senators that form the ruling Grandiloquy might just have other ideas and it just so happens that one amongst them has plans to become a puppet master!
What leads this second book is the deep abiding love shared by this couple. Yes they are young but two people have never been more in tune with each other so to read of their trials and the depths that they plummet to is actually a painful experience. When it comes to YA stories we are used to strong smart heroines and yes Nemesis is physically strong but it's Tyrus that is the brains of their partnership. Tyrus stays numerous steps ahead of his enemies and yet he has a weakness that can be exploited and it's Nemesis!
I won't divulge the plot but it's truly gripping and at times quite harrowing. It made me question if religion is worth killing for and then it brought home that the humanity portrayed here are really fighting for greed, position and power. It's not enlightenment or peace thats desired but status and heaven help any who bring change and yet we readers know that change like death and taxes is inevitable.
I read this with hope in my heart but was devastated by the events that transpired. This isn't a feel good read and yet it's an important one. Yes it took me away on a fantastic journey in space but it brings home that life is important and our choices can affect so many others. I'm not a teenager no, far from it but I truly can't wait to discover what happens next and thoroughly recommend this book and indeed this trilogy
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair