After reading book one, The Diabolic, I had figured this would have been a stand alone series. However, when i saw there there was a second book, I jumped at the chance to read it. It was entertaining, some predictable plots, but over all a great YA read with the tropes we know and love.

4.5 stars

This is the second book in a series so in order to understand this world, where the main players stand politically and who Nemesis is and where she cam from, you will need to read the first book in this series The Diabolic (which is also a great read).

Tyrus has won the long game that he has played his entire life, so far, however his choice for Queen is being met with a lot if resistance as well as Tryus' view of the future. But having the power means nothing if you are not able to keep it and changes are not always welcome especially those who are tied to the old ways. There are several plots afoot to not only keep Tyrus in power but also to remove him from it. Nemesis will protect Tyrus at all cost but what if that jeopardizes their future as well as Tyrus' hold on the throne. The Question for everyone in the books becomes, what are willing to do to achieve the ultimate power and what are you willing to do to keep it?

Wow this book is absolutely crazy, you don’t know who Nemesis can trust and what an ending I did not see it coming at all. Kincaid really shines in this book as she keeps you guessing till the very end and throws in so many twist, turns and red herrings that you just hold on and enjoy the ride. This book is full of political intrigue and espionage with a lot less fighting and action scenes when compared to the first book. This book really highlights what people are willing to do in order to obtain power but also be the ones to control it as well. It shows that people will go to ant lengths for these two things and this includes Nemesis and Tyrus. If you did not enjoy all the politics of the first one then you will not like this one as it takes it up ten fold. I personally liked all the political games of the first book so I really enjoyed this one.

It was interesting see Nemesis develop more “human” emotions and not really sure whether to trust then or not, as many of them go against her programing but really Nemesis is in a position that no one even considered that a Diabolic would be in. Nemesis also has to learn to be more subvert in her actions and not just a mindless killing machine, so it was very interesting being inside her thoughts as she decided to kill or not to kill an individual who may threaten Tyrus' rule. It was interesting to see Nemesis and Tyrus relantionship develop not only as Tyrus attempts to seal his spot on the throne but also how the changes that Nemesis is experiencing shapes the decisions that she decides to make throughout the book; many of them are very again the Diabolic way and not something she would have even considered at the beginning of the first book. There are times when her new found humanness really gets in her way.

I really enjoyed where Kincaid took this book and where she is going with this series. I like that this book and series seems to be going more of the political route as who should rule and what kind of ruler they should be is in questioned. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

Enjoy!!!

I'm baffled as to why The Diabolic needed a sequel. Not everything has to be a series in YA, no matter how profitable it is to the publisher. The Diabolic would have been such a perfect, campy standalone that didn't take itself too seriously. I still think about that ending on a regular basis as one of the best I've ever read in terms of melodramatic campy ridiculousness. I didn't need a follow up to that because nothing else needed to change. Nothing else needed to be added. And there weren't any questions I had left unanswered. The Empress took all the fun campy danger and really smart commentary on the dumbing down of society by a government that fears scientific progress that The Diabolic was and made a mockery of it. I was bored, I was tired. I was frankly a little miffed at the things that happened in this novel. All the major decisions made to combat the conflict didn't make any sense. Like, why would Tyrus agree to take the drugs at all? Things like that made for a messy plot and sloppy character development. The double crossing of literally every character got tiring after a while, and because there was so much of it, it got to the point where I just didn't care anymore. It's like it was trying so hard to be shocking that it just wound up predictable somehow instead.

I didn't really want a Diabolic sequel, and I don't think I need a Diabolic sequel. So I'm gonna carry on imagining The Empress never happened so I can have my perfect, campy shoot-your-villain-into-the-sun ending. That's all I want in a sci-fi story. That's all I want and that's all I need. Sometimes less is more.

What the what did I just what? I don't think any of you can comprehend how disappointed I was by this book. This isn't simply second book syndrome, it's more like why-did-you-force-this-into-a-series-cause-it-is-such-an-absolute-let-down, with a side of what-did-I-just-read kind of syndrome.

I loved The Diabolic. I felt like the first book wrapped up a little too easily in some areas, but the character development was good, the plot was interesting, and the story as a whole was like crack - I was addicted. I burned through The Diabolic twice with ease, and that shows that it's not S.J. Kincaid, her writing, or her ability to write a good story.

The Empress though. Oof. The. Empress.

The best word to describe The Empress is political warfare. There's scheming, false promises, betrayals, murder, and a lot of stupid decisions. Which, if you think about it, is interesting. In the first book, everyone is so calculating and careful, with the characters managing to overcome the biggest plot twists. However, in this one, we see how vulnerable people become when they fall in love. We see how this can lead to misplaced trust, broken hearts, and revenge plots.

I just made this book sound super interesting. I'm going to axe that right now and tell you that if you're not interested in politics, this will be an impossible book for you to get through. Yes, it's sci-fi, there's some science and physics that are explained, some space travel, but there's also internal dialogue that goes on for days, four months that just disappear from existence, and a lot of regular dialogue that just puts you right to sleep.

Now let's talk about characters. Of the things Nemesis waffles over, being as human as possible isn't really one of them. Despite what the synopsis says, she doesn't really dwell on her choices for very long. She know who she wants dead and who she doesn't and that's that. Unfortunately, the insecurity of how to navigate through the system, as well as the license-to-kill attitude that she had in the last book really isn't present in this one. That bothered me. She was almost a whole new person/character, and some of the things she didn't just wasn't consistent with what I thought she would do.

And Tyrus. Holy crumb cakes. I don't know whether I want to hug him, slap him, or kill him. Tyrus' character went in a direction I kind of didn't expect from him, but I also saw it coming part way through this book. I can't say I liked it.

Honestly, the most consistent character was Senator Pasus. Which depresses me a little.

This book had so much potential, but I honestly did not get what I wanted out of this book. The most infuriating thing is that the whole book bored me to death, in that it was slow moving, very political, dialogue heavy, and the characters made me want to rip my hair out, yet I want to read the next book. Know why? Cause the last chapter was everything, and I hate that it took the entire book for that last chapter to happen.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 1/5
Writing: 4/5
World Building: 4/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 2/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.88

eARC obtained via Simon and Schuster Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I thought The Diabolic was amazing, but I wasn't prepared for this! This book was such a thrill to read and such a wild ride. A must read for YA lovers!

The second instalment in the Diabolic series, the Empress takes off from where Diabolic leaves off. Tyrus has ascended to the throne and he and Diabolic have many more problems in there way. They need to get the Excess and the Grandiloquy on their side if they are to have even a hope of changing the galaxy and stopping malignant space. Through all of this, they have to fight to survive and guard their backs from traitors and back stabbers who would wish to dethrone them.
I liked the Empress, but it was a bit too dark for me to like. Unlike the gradual hopefulness you find in the previous novel, Diabolic, the Empress takes all that and shatters all your hope. Everything you dreamed up in the first book, nope say good-bye to those things. This books just slowly crushes all your dreams. I'm really hoping that the next instalment takes things back to a hopeful instalment, because presently my heart and head hurts from reading this instalment. That aside, the novel was engaging and really caught my attention. I'm not really sure what the message of the series is aiming to be, I guess I'll have to wait until the last instalment to figure that out. Ultimately, its not bad, and I for the most part enjoyed it. I give it the rating of FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!

This book blew my mind. I'll admit, it's a lot different than The Diabolic but I still really liked this book. S.J. Kincaid knows how to tear you apart, then makes you feel that your favourite characters are safe, to only rip your heart to shreds again. The Diabolic was about Nemesis learning about humanity but The Empress is about Nemesis and Tyrus fighting with the court. You get to learn more about the society in this galaxy, especially about their religion, and what these people are willing to do to maintain status quo in the face of Nemesis' rebellion.

I think my favourite part of this book was all the plot twists. Or maybe Nemesis and Tyrus' character development? It's really hard to pick. The only thing I didn't like was all the time travel that was randomly injected into the story. I didn't like that some of the characters left for some odd number of years and then had to return to utter chaos that they had to fix.

If you LOVED all the Hunger Games plot twists, I'd highly recommend you pick up The Diabolic.

This was such an exciting sequel to The Diabolic.

There was a lot more background given for this world, such as their origin and their religious beliefs. These humans had to leave Earth to escape the mechanized beings that humans on Earth had turned into. They would inject machines into their skin to do everything for them. This seems possible today, since we are so reliant on machines and computers. I’m sure that injectable computers are an invention for the near future.

The story also spoke heavily about drugs. Drugs are used recreationally and for controlling others, by making them dependent on them. These two uses were interesting to read about, especially in the way that different people reacted to them. The effects of withdrawal were also portrayed in the story.

I loved the time travel portions of the story. Time passes at different rates in different parts of the Galaxy. What takes 10 hours in one place could be 1 year in another. I liked the way time would jump like this, so we could see the effects of time lapsing in the Chrysanthemum very quickly.

Some parts were so heart wrenching. There was love and loss. I felt so emotionally invested with the characters. Nemesis’s first person narration made me feel like I really knew her.

I loved this story! This is a fabulous series!

The Empress by S.J. Kincaid is the second book in The Diabolic series about an artificial human turned Empress, Nemesis and her new Emperor, Tyrus. 

I cannot begin to tell you how frustrated I am with The Empress. I had such high hopes for this sequel since I absolutely loved The Diabolic and wanted more from that world. But sadly what I got was a mish-mash mess of a story. Sure there was more action and destruction, sure there were more Nemesis/Tyrus moments, but there was also parts of the story that was extremely annoying and boring.

The plot picks up right after the first book. Tyrus is to be crowned the new Emperor and he wants Nemesis to be his new Empress. Unfortunately, the galactic kingdom doesn't see Nemesis as human and will not grant her succession to the throne. What started out pretty promising turned to fizzle out leading me to anger, frustration, and boredom.

My biggest complaint would be with Tyrus' character development. His love for Nemesis is so strong but halfway through the book while he is under some sort of narcotic, he becomes this blubbering two-faced idiot that can't seem to make up his mind. He was jumping sides so often that my eyes couldn't stop rolling.

Another thing that frustrated me was how much Nemesis still had to prove herself. Like, come on. She spent all of book one trying to do that, and now she's at it again. I was so bored with her character.

Now I don't want this whole review to be negative, so I want to talk about the few positives. Because The Empress falls under second book syndrome, it also lays the groundwork for what could be an explosive ending to the trilogy. Here's to hoping that happens. And because the characters frustrated me so much in this one, they couldn't possibly get any worse in the next one, right? I pray to the book gods it can only get better!

I deeply enjoyed The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid. It was entertaining and well written and I really liked the story, it’s stuck with me well after I finished the book which doesn’t often happen. I liked it so much that I wanted all that enjoyment to be self contained into one standalone book for fear of it being even the slightest bit tarnished. But the sequel, The Empress, wasn’t long to follow and I very cautiously dipped back into this world to see what would happen next.

I always have a hard time with the second book in a series, I find a lot of the time they exist just to fill the gap between the beginning and the climactic end and often it seems to drag or nothing vital happens except for maybe one thing. I’m afraid this falls into that category. This is super heavy on the intergalactic politics, which was a primary focus in the first book, but the first book was written as a standalone book so there were also a lot of other things happening to balance out the story and keep things moving.
I found this very slow paced and I don’t know if I just don’t remember the first book, but the feel of this book seemed a lot different too. I wasn’t as drawn to Nemesis this time around, and I think that could be because in the first book, she was driven by protecting Sadonia and they shared such a unique friendship and kind of a love, and that same feeling doesn’t translate as well to the romantic relationship that takes the place of that in the second book.

I was very surprised with how hard it was for me to get into this and to push through it. I expected to enjoy this a lot more and that just didn’t happen. It never really seemed to pick up for me and while I thought it as interesting to see how Nemesis planned to take out the enemies threatening Tyrus and there were enough life-threatening obstacles and surprises to keep me on edge, it became very repetitive after a while and just wasn’t enough to hold my interest.
I also got really tired of Tyrus and Nemesis trying to trust each other. It’s a huge obstacle they have to overcome, but they spend so much time asking each other to just trust their judgement and plans instead of explaining them or working together. I also didn’t really believe the depths of this love they supposedly shared with each other, which I found really frustrating. They weren’t a team, I couldn’t root for them, they were working independently, both wrestling for the upper hand and hoping the other would just trust them and go along with things.

I try hard to find some good in books even when I’m not enjoying them and this was written well and it wasn’t necessarily a bad book, I did really enjoy the ending actually, but I think I was so in love with the first one and really had my heart set on it being a standalone book, that in all honesty, this might not have had much of a chance to win me over from the start. I haven’t totally written then the third book off, I’m still a little hopeful maybe things will come together in the end, and as things were left, my interest has been reignited, but I will approach it with some hesitance and caution.

I had a few small issues with this book but the ending changed everything and brought this to a solid 5 star read. As other reviews have noted it starts out slow and involves a lot of talking. The focus is mainly on world building and it gets pretty complex with explanations of the political system and all the families and their shifting alliances. There’s also a ton of detail about their religion. It’s all a bit tedious and not very exciting. I think it was taken a few steps too far and in the process was less compelling than it could have been with a faster pace. This information all becomes quite important later on though so by the end I understood why so much detail was included.

There were a lot of lovey-dovey scenes between Tyrus and Nemesis so if romance is your thing you should be pleased. Romance is not my thing and I mentally rolled my eyes and hoped their happiness would soon pass. There has to be drama after all to keep us reading! I was rewarded in spades and holy crow if you are a shipper of this couple buckle up buttercup because it’s going to be a bumpy ride. I was shocked at where the story took their relationship and where the story went in general. There were so many unexpected twists and things get seriously dark.

This book ends on a big cliff-hanger and I’ve seen others plea for the author to fix what she broke in this one in the next book in the series. I might be in the minority but I want everything more broken. I want more destruction, more heartache and no forgiveness. That’s right, NO FORGIVENESS. The things that were done in this book were unforgivable and I think the final book should be a guns-a-blazing battle to the death. I will be quite disappointed if there’s a redemption arc for the “bad guy.” No forgiveness, no redemption, no mercy. I sound positively Diabolic.

Since I had read The Diabolic, I knew to expect the novel to be more centered around romance than science fiction. I think that's why I enjoyed this novel more than its predecessor; I no longer felt tricked because I knew what I was getting into. That being said, this novel had a lot of political intrigue and romance angles to it. I still preferred the political conflicts over the romantic ones. I also thought that the author brought in some interesting points on what it means to be human and to have empathy; it was quite philosophical and I enjoyed seeing the author bring these issues up in a teen novel. There wasn't as much action or gore and I wish Nemesis had been a bit more of a badass killing machine. My overall verdict is that this novel is better than its predecessor but only because I knew what to expect and it had good political intrigue and philosophical questions. My rating is 2.5/5 stars, rounded to 3.

The writing in The Empress is simply addicting. There wasn't even a minute while reading The Empress that I thought to myself "I should probably go to bed now." I fell so easily in into this new part of Nemesis' story! 
I enjoyed reading the rollercoaster that is The Empress, and give it 4.5 stars.

Reading this book, it almost felt like it would be the death of me. So much happened, and gah, the feels! Wow, they are doing so well! Oh, no, that's going to have horrible consequences! Oh, what are they going to do now! Oh, how could that happen! There was just so much, and it was so great to read!

This book totally tore my heart out! Wow, the ups and downs! It was like getting punched-hard-in the throat, being in a big warm hug of love, and then having your stomach drop out of your body. Very, very intense! But so freaking great!

I wasn't sure if I wanted this to be a series. The ending of The Diabolic was good, it could've been a stand alone. But I'm so glad that we got more time with this world, because there's so much to learn! They were daring, and that got them great opportunities-and cost them dearly.

Nemesis had a lot to prove, that she was going to be, well, the Empress. And she faced a lot because she was a Diabolic. But she proved herself, because I knew she wasn't soulless, and I'm glad that it was confirmed by their highest religious figure!

We learned so much about this world-like why they were in the galaxy they were, why they left Earth. And why science was banned. Which was so urgh! It could've gone in a totally different direction, and that was just hard to deal with!

There were so many moments where things were going wrong. They faced so many challenges, some that seemed unbeatable. And that they shouldn't be happening, but they were. Which made the almost ending so great, they won! But then...

Oh, wow, that ending! I kinda read it before I finished the first chapter, so I knew it was coming, but wow, that could not really prepare me! Everything that happened in this book, made the ending so much more poignant and heartbreaking! I need the final book now!

Yeah, I loved reading this book so, so, so much! The wait for the 3rd book is going to be evil!

Um...there is no possible way that there are enough words to express how unbelievably fantastic this was! I can't remember the last time a book made me feel so much. Half of it I was overly indignant for both Nemesis and Tyrus, and the rest was just a whirlwind of emotion that changed with each chapter read. The twists and turns and deceptions Kincaid writes of are so delicious and intriguing that I couldn't put it down. One more chapter always, ALWAYS turned into five more. I never thought I would enjoy a tale with such devious political machinations as the focus, but hot damn, this was too good to say no to at any point. Admittedly the beginning was a little rough but that very quickly changed. I quite literally can't say enough good things about this book and I quite literally cannot wait to get my hands on the last one.

Its so rare lately for me to find a book that I have this level of excitement for. It reminds me of those days when I was fangirling over Twilight and the Hunger Games. The days when I first discovered YA and everything was new and exciting. I loved the space setting, all the fascinating technology and the politics. The desperate situations, the ruthlessness and the setting reminds me of the Red Rising trilogy. Even though I saw the betrayals coming this was an emotional roller coaster ride.

This book evoked such strong emotions of betrayal and heartbreak, I hated it but I loved it. If that makes any sense. The treacherous scenes upset me but I wasnt angry at the main character Nemesis because I didnt feel like it was her fault for putting herself in that situation. Some of the characters developpement didnt go in the direction I wanted, but it made the story that much more intense. I cant be too disapointed because I loved how the thrilling plot kept me on the edge of my seat.

I loved that we got some history about earth. This was a quick entertaining read with compelling characters but I felt like the friendship element was lacking in this book and thats one of the things I really enjoyed about the first book. Neveni wasnt as likeable in this book. For good reason, but I still missed the old Neveni. I really wanted the romance to go in a different direction, but its course worked for the story. I love Tyrus and Im so sad with how things ended. I thought the author did a fantastic job with the antagonist.

You have to go into this knowing it will not be all unicorns and rainbows. It will rip your heart out and then proceed to stomp on it. Things will not work out the way you want them to. That being said, I really enjoyed it. In a way Im glad things didnt turn out perfect because that can get quite boring. When I first read Diabolic I thought it was a standalone and Im so happy we're getting a series in this world. I cant wait for the next book. After reading this Im more motivated to start Kincaids other book Insignia.