Prince of Sin

The Prince of Sin series by Kerri Maniscalco is a steamy adult dark fantasy romance set in the Kingdom of the Wicked universe, following mortal women drawn into dangerous bargains with the demon Princes of Sin.

The Prince of Sin series is Kerri Maniscalco's adult dark fantasy romance universe, expanding the mythology she introduced in her beloved Kingdom of the Wicked trilogy into a richer, more sensual, and more dangerous world. Each standalone novel in the series spotlights one of the seven Princes of Sin - the demon rulers who embody the deadly sins - and the formidable mortal or supernatural woman who enters their world, challenges their power, and refuses to leave unchanged. While every book can be read independently as a complete romance, the series rewards reading in order: the infernal politics deepen, the lore accumulates, and the princes you've come to know from earlier books return in satisfying supporting roles.

The world Maniscalco has built is as intoxicating as it is perilous. The Seven Circles of the Underworld are courts of extraordinary beauty and hidden brutality, each shaped by the sin its prince embodies. When the mortal realm bleeds into this supernatural one - through dangerous bargains, ancient curses, and encounters that shouldn't be possible - something combustible always follows. Maniscalco writes forbidden romance with a sure hand, and the deal with the devil dynamic that runs through each book gives every relationship an edge of genuine danger. Her princes are devastatingly magnetic and emotionally guarded, and watching them unravel under the influence of a woman who refuses to be impressed is what makes the series so compulsively readable.

Though firmly rooted in the world of Kingdom of the Wicked, the Prince of Sin novels take the mythology in a notably more mature direction. The sensuality is explicit, the stakes are higher, and the heroines are every bit as formidable as the demons they're up against. Morally grey characters abound on both sides - Maniscalco is never interested in simple heroes or straightforward villains - and the push-and-pull of trust, desire, and self-preservation gives each romance a texture that goes well beyond the surface.

The tone across the series shifts subtly with each prince, reflecting the particular nature of their sin. One book simmers with cool, cerebral intrigue; another with warm, chaotic indulgence; a third with something quieter and more bookishly tender. It's a testament to Maniscalco's range that each instalment feels distinctly its own whilst remaining unmistakably part of the same world.

Books in the Prince of Sin series

Throne of the Fallen (2023) is the first book in the Prince of Sin series and marks Kerri Maniscalco's debut into adult fiction. The novel centres on the Prince of Envy - ruthless, calculating, and entirely uninterested in playing by anyone's rules - who finds himself drawn into a treacherous anonymous game that threatens the very survival of his demon court. To have any chance of winning, he must enlist the help of Camilla Antonius, a gifted mortal artist caught up in a dangerous blackmail scheme of her own. Their alliance is uneasy, their chemistry undeniable, and the secrets each is hiding could destroy everything. Set against a Regency-inspired mortal backdrop laced with dark magic and demon politics, Throne of the Fallen establishes the series' signature blend of enemies-to-lovers tension, slow burn romance, and lushly atmospheric world-building. It introduced readers to the full sweep of the Seven Circles and firmly established the Prince of Sin series as something altogether more intoxicating than its predecessor.

Throne of Secrets (2024) is the second book in the Prince of Sin series, shifting focus to Gabriel Axton - the Prince of Gluttony - a self-described rake of rakes who has always preferred pleasure to politics. When a hunt he organises turns deadly and something threatens the stability of his court, he has no choice but to seek the help of the last person he wants: Adriana Saint Lucent, an ambitious journalist who has spent years trying to expose him. What begins as a rivals forced into reluctant cooperation quickly escalates into something far more complicated. Described as a twisted fairy tale with the heat of a romance and the plotting of a mystery, Throne of Secrets delivers the same rivals to lovers chemistry that defined the first book, adding a Cinderella-esque narrative flair and an expanded look at the princes working together in moments of genuine threat. The slow burn romance here is long and deliberately paced - rewarding readers who love to watch two stubborn, brilliant people resist the inevitable for as long as possible.

Throne of Nightmares (2026) is the third book in the Prince of Sin series and focuses on the Prince of Sloth - a demon who would rather spend eternity in his enchanted library than involve himself in Underworld politics. When a forgotten deity threatens to tear apart the very fabric of the Underworld, he is thrust into a race against time to find the Book of Nightmares, an ancient and devastating artefact, before catastrophe is unleashed. His unlikely companion in this quest is Lore Brimstone, a mortal librarian who stumbles into his world through a magical travelling caravan and discovers that her favourite novels have become a deadly labyrinth they must survive together. Throne of Nightmares leans into the joy of storytelling itself - a love letter to readers and books wrapped in dark fantasy and demon-court intrigue - and the dynamic between the cold, sharp prince and the bright, tenacious librarian is Maniscalco at her most warmly playful without sacrificing any of the series' characteristic heat.

Across all three books, the Prince of Sin series demonstrates something increasingly rare in fantasy romance: a world that grows richer with each instalment, and a consistent authorial voice that knows exactly what it is. The dark romance is never gratuitous; it is always in service of characters who are genuinely complex, in situations with genuine stakes. Maniscalco balances decadence and danger with elegant confidence, and the result is a series that rewards both new readers discovering the Kingdom of the Wicked universe for the first time and devoted fans who have followed these wicked princes from the very beginning.