Throne of Nightmares: A Novel

Annie

Lore is us. We are Lore.

"Throne of Nightmares was spectacular—I loved every single minute of it. This book truly feels like it was written for fantasy lovers who immerse themselves in stories and want nothing more than to open a book and jump right in. Kerri wrote something unlike anything I have read before, something I think all readers have dreamt of but were never quite able to put into words. This story follows Lore as she is whisked away from her ordinary life of reading books and spending time with family into a dream world where she becomes the main character in her favorite fantasy novels. It’s clever, unique, and completely immersive. One thing I absolutely loved about Lore was how relatable she felt. She’s sassy and deeply human, yet always ready for whatever comes her way. I loved how she uses her knowledge and love of books as a survival skill—anticipating plot twists, adapting quickly, and never looking back. I was initially worried it might feel similar to the other interconnected standalones, but Prince Sloth is nothing like his brothers. He’s not morally gray—he’s wise, kind, intelligent, and deeply considerate. He always puts Lore’s safety and feelings first, even when it comes at a cost to himself. Their banter is light, funny, and incredibly natural. I found myself smiling, even kicking my feet, eager to see which story they’d be dropped into next. The ending is filled with twists, and I loved the uncertainty of not knowing what was real and what was a test. Since this is a standalone, I can appreciate it as a slow burn. There is a gentle trickling of attraction that gradually develops throughout the story. There was one trope I’m not typically a fan of, but it was minor and didn’t take away from what is, for me, a five-star read. I won't mention it because it would be a big spoiler. If you didn’t love Prince Gluttony’s story and are hesitant to continue, I’m genuinely urging you to still pick this one up. It’s short, magical, beautifully written, and the audiobook is phenomenal—you won’t regret it. ["

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March 18, 2026 Verified Purchase

Margaret Minoff

Throne of Nightmares - Must Read!

"This is the third installment in a spinoff series from the Kingdom of the Wicked world. Each book follows the story of a different Prince of Sin, Sloth being the center character in this novel. All the installments in the Prince of Sin series can be read as standalones, but I would highly suggest at least starting with the first in the series – Throne of the Fallen. Extra points if you’ve read The Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy, as all princes made an appearance. This series delivers consistent tropes that checks off multiple boxes for a romantasy reader – enemies to lovers, quests and adventures, yearning, spice, and a happily ever after ending. These are quick reads that you can go into expecting to walk away feeling fulfilled if you enjoy the above tropes. Throne of Nightmares follows the story of the Prince of Sloth and a small-town librarian, Lore. The two are thrust into a journey to stop the Goddess of Night and Book of Nightmares from unleashing their terrible and dark power over the world. Sloth, a man who values books before people, and reason and logic before his heart must work with Lore, a woman who is sunshine captured in a bottle and an avid romance reader with an exceptional imagination. Things become complicated when the two are faced with a deadly set of trials, each level a different novel that Lore has read and favorited. While it might seem like a reader’s fantasy, the Book of Nightmares has warped each story to include a dark and dangerous twist. Sloth and Lore must work together to overcome each story and advance to the next trial before an ancient evil is set loose and the world that they know ceases to exist. Throne of Nightmares takes a lighter approach towards the main conflict than previous novels. This can be attributed to our book-loving FMC. Lore’s internal monologue and her obsession with morally grey characters make her a loveable main protagonist in our story. Kerri does a wonderful job building Lore’s personality into someone that a romantasy book lover can root for. I found myself laughing out loud and agreeing wholeheartedly with most of Lore’s thoughts and actions, simply because I saw myself in her. Another slam dunk in the series – I’m excited to see which Prince of Sin is selected next, only three left! ["

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April 29, 2026 Verified Purchase

Theresa Schneider

Sentient library, deadly trials, and shadow queen energy. Say less.

"⭐️ 4.5/5 “If someone cracked me open, they’d find ink in my veins and stories in my soul.” This book was written for the woman who wants to fall into her favorite fantasy romance but realistically knows she would not survive it. The immersive storytelling is phenomenal and the dialogue is what truly hooked me. Sharp, layered, sassy without trying too hard. A sentient library. A master of knowledge prince. A sassy librarian who loves spicy romance. I was completely sucked in. Lore feels like every romance reader who defends the misunderstood villain and knows she might have questionable taste in fictional men. The humor worked so well, and the world building in the dream realm and trials felt cinematic without losing emotional depth. And the feminine rage was spot on! She was a shadow queen. Knowledge as power, stories shaping identity, and the tension was woven in effortlessly. Readers who love dark fantasy romance with banter, high stakes trials, and self aware humor will eat this up. The ending felt slightly drawn out which is why I docked half a star, but this author is officially a must read for me. I will always buy her books the month they are published. "No one wants to read about normal, well-adjusted people. They want the misunderstood villain with the sassy pet dragon." ["

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February 27, 2026 Verified Purchase

Karwyn

Not my cup of tea.

"3.5 Stars I feel bad writing this review, but this book had me bored out of my mind. The premise is that a librarian named Lore is thrust into Prince Sloth, one of the deadly brothers of the realms, quest to find a enchanted book; a book to keep an evil goddess from re entering the realms. What realms, you may wonder, good question? If I had not read the other books in the series I would have been completely lost, as the author assumes her readers have read the prior books in this complex series. This is a pitfall that most series authors fall into. So this book can’t be read as a standalone. The premise could have been cute, if the dialogue wasn’t redundant. If I heard main character energy once I heard it 20 times. The author instead thrust us into stories within a story, which some authors have done beautifully, but unfortunately this author couldn’t pull it off. As I didn’t care what story they were in because instead of being a plot device to bring the main characters together it just kept their story disjointed. At no point in this book did I feel Lore and Sloth connect. Yes the two declare their love for each other but they were just words, no heart behind them. I have been a readers of Ms. Maniscalco for several years unfortunately this book wasn’t my cup of tea. Another of my two cents is this isn’t on the shoulders of the author alone, as she is a solid writer, it’s on the shoulders of her editing team, who should have helped to craft a better book. Both the narrators were outstanding and their performances were five stars. ["

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February 18, 2026 Verified Purchase