The Empress (The Diabolic #2) by S.J. Kincaid

The Empress by S.J. Kincaid
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Empress by S.J. Kincaid is the second book in the young adult science fiction/fantasy series, The Diabolic. The first book in the series introduced readers to Nemesis who is a Diabolic. Diabolics are engineered to be human like but extremely strong and powerful and meant to bond to one person and protect them at all costs. Nemesis had been bonded to a young girl, Sidonia, who had been summoned to appear before the emperor. It was thought that Sidonia might be walking into a trap so Nemesis had taken her place to protect her. During that time Nemesis bonded with Tyrus who was in line to take the throne.

Now Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side but there are many that oppose a Diabolic becoming the next Empress. Tyrus and Nemesis must deal with many who wish to control the young Emperor as he fights to bring technology and knowledge back to the masses. The ruling class, the Grandiloquy, however do not wish Tyrus to continue to rule and will do anything to see that his reign is ended to keep their control of the empire.

When picking up The Diabolic, the first book in this series, I was quite under the impression that the book was meant to be a standalone at the time it was published. I think though there were many that asked for the story to continue since it was a really good one that left a lot of room for continuation so now it seems that this is due to become a trilogy and I was quite excited to continue on reading of Nemesis’ world.

The Empress sort of reads as if the middle book of a trilogy in the fact that it spent a lot of time building up conflict and connecting the story which gave it a slower pace. I was beginning to wonder if we were in for the shocks and surprises that the first book held or simply a lot of world building. At the end of this book the intensity really picked up yet again leaving the reader at a huge cliffhanger to lead into the next book. So while this one seemed a slower pace I still ended up really excited to continue on and would definitely recommend checking out this series, it’s definitely one that needs to be enjoyed from the beginning though and not out of order.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.