The Empress

By S. J. Kincaid

Get ready for the breath-taking sequel to The Diabolic - the novel that got everyone talking!

‘Nemesis is my kind of strong female character – she fights ruthlessly, she loves to the max and she even dances brilliantly. But is she human?’ Sally Green, author of Half Bad
‘A thrilling, pacy, addictive YA read’ Amy Alward, author of The Potion Diaries
‘Epic and electrifying’ Maximum Pop
‘With an adventurous, high-concept plot and emotionally complex characters, The Diabolic is definitely one of the best YA books of the year’ Culturefly

It’s a new day in the Empire. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward – one where they don’t have to hide or scheme or kill. 

But having power isn’t the same thing as keeping it, and change isn’t always welcome. The ruling class has held control over planets and systems for centuries and they are not going to give up their power willingly, especially not to a teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who they consider nothing more than a creature and certainly not worthy of being Empress.

Nemesis knows she will protect Tyrus at any cost; he is the love of her life and they are partners in this new beginning. But she also knows she can't protect him by being the killing machine she once was. Instead she will have to prove the humanity that she’s found inside herself to the whole Empire – or she and Tyrus may lose more than just the throne... they might lose their lives. 

Perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Victoria Aveyard and George R.R. Martin, The Empress will take you on a thrilling ride, not letting go until the very last page.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Nov 2, 2017
• ISBN: 9781471169151

S. J. Kincaid

S.J. Kincaid is the New York Times bestselling author of The Diabolic trilogy. She originally wanted to be an astronaut, but a dearth of mathematical skills made her turn her interest to science fiction instead. Her debut novel, Insignia, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Its sequels, Vortex and Catalyst, have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and Booklist. She’s chronically restless and has lived in California, Alabama, New Hampshire, Oregon, Illinois, and Scotland with no signs of staying in one place anytime soon. Find out more at SJKincaid.com.

Reviews for The Empress

[mrnattania · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book took off like a wild eagle in flight. From chapter two, the action, the death, the deception is in full force. If you liked the Diabolic, you’ll love Nemesis in The Empress.

[veeshee-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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.

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[nevong_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

No he didn't! Book #3 better be on it's way out cause you can sooo not leave a reader hanging on that. I couldn't believe it. Oh man, I can't wait to see what happens. I think Nemesis, is going to find herself between a rock and a hard place. She loves him. She feels loyal to her only friend. Though why exactly does the friend want the Emperor killed is beyond me. When Nemesis' anger cools and she confronts him what will happen. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

[yonitdm · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The twists and turns in this book had me yelling and screaming at the characters. Super exciting and frustrating at the same time! I appreciate that each book in the series wraps up nicely yet leaves open opportunities to explore in the next book.

[fionaanne · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Compared to the first book, this was a torturously bad read. I am left feeling like this was an analogy for losing a loved one to addiction and the author was processing some stuff.

[jennybeast · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I liked the first book in this series, because getting in touch with female rage and power is a good thing in my book.

I found this one disappointing, because while Nemesis is constantly saying things like: "It's up to me to fix it", she never does -- in fact she's a passive participant for most of the plot, aside from occasional acts of violence that always backfire. All of her planning goes awry, everything she thinks she can pull off fails. I can see where this is a middle book that leads to learning and success? But honestly, the work is dark, the people are unreasonably and unendingly cruel, and I'm just not in the mood for this particular heroine's journey.

advanced reader's copy provided by Edelweiss.

[mrnattania72 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book took off like a wild eagle in flight. From chapter two, the action, the death, the deception is in full force. If you liked the Diabolic, you’ll love Nemesis in The Empress.

[tottman_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Empress by S.J. Kincaid continues the story begun in Diabolic and picks up right where events left off in the first book. Nemesis and Tyrus have seized control of the Empire, but will they be able to hold onto it?Tyrus is intent on gaining full control of his powers in the face of enemies with strong ties to the old way of doing things and much to lose if he succeeds. What Tyrus is proposing is truly heretical and while popular with the lower classes or “excess” poses a threat to the Grandiloquy. Nemesis is intent on protecting Tyrus and is willing to be far more ruthless than he would contemplate. When Nemesis and Tyrus are outmaneuvered, they set off for the Sacred City to either find the Interdict who’s edicts have kept the empire on a path away from science and towards mysticism, or to disprove his existence. What they find is unexpected and will have shocking repercussions both for them and the empire.Kincaid’s universe with it’s anti-science fanaticism ironically built on highly advanced science that is no longer understood continues here. Nemesis continues to struggle with her own humanity while Tyrus struggles to effect change without losing his humanity. The Sacred City and the Interdict hold an important key to how the empire has been set on this course and why it has persisted as long as it has. Unfortunately, Kincaid spends far too little time here exploring what could otherwise have been a fascinating component of this universe and its history.Kincaid doesn’t shy away from truly heinous action and putting her characters through devastating emotional arcs. At times it pushes you further away from the characters rather than bringing you closer to them.The Empress is a solid entry in The Diabolic series. It doesn’t cover a lot of new ground but it sets up for a strong finish in the next book. The book is narrated by Candace Thaxton who does another great job here. The characters go through strong emotional swings in this book and Thaxton’s narration captures the highs and lows of these swings. She has a good sense of pace and keeps the story moving swifty. I was fortunate to receive a copy of this audiobook from the publisher.

[jessika.c · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

All I’d been driven by since losing Donia was the terror of feeling that pain again. It had blinded me to the reality that Tyrus had survived years before I had arrived, and he had killed in his own defense. I didn’t need to be his blade and I did not wish to be his diabolic. Instead, I would be an empress.In this installment of the Diabolic series, Nemesis is engaged to marry Tyrus and has learned that she is capable of choosing to love a person. She follows Tyrus on his campaign to win the empire’s trust and loyalty despite the efforts of Senator Von Pasus to steal the throne from him. Both lovers have to make choices that will test their love and loyalty to one another and Nemesis teeters dangerously between her newly found human characteristics and those she had as a Diabolic. But Tyrus believes in her and goes as far as wanting her to be granted personhood. One thing that I really love about Kincaid is how she doesn’t make it easy for her characters. Nothing feels conveniently placed and encounters don’t feel inorganic. Although I did feel like this book was all over the place in the sense that there were a little too many obstacles it was still a thrill to read all about it. Nemesis is met with resistance at every turn and Tyrus was a bit naive to think that his charming smile would win the people over. You would think that being side by side facing every difficulty that came their way would bond them 4evr right? That’s what made me hold on tight to the book because that bond was tested by firestorm after firestorm. They were getting beaten and broken down so much even I felt pained. In the first book, I was in love with Tyrus because of how he wasn’t a one-dimensional eye candy love interest. He fought for his survival and helped Nemesis do the same once he learned her secret. In this one, he does the same but it frustrated me how he seemed to regress in growth because he just seemed so wimpy when this big problem came up. I don’t want to say too much but I was disappointed with his choice and while I still admired the confidence he had when making that choice it still annoyed me because clearly, he hadn’t learned from the other times he couldn’t win with only his own strength. Something similar happens with Nemesis. She learned a few good human qualities in the first book that won me over in the end but in this one, she became a flawed YA heroine with the whole naive thing going for her. I guess it’s what happens when she traipses with a naive teenage Emperor for half the book. But it’s okay because she still grows significantly more than Tyrus in other ways. This book also expanded on the religious extremism that was deeply embedded in this world. I thought it was going to be something like what we all know about deities but Kincaid managed to make it something more to do with science. I also don’t want to dabble too much into this because it was quite fascinating when I got to that chapter. But it did feel like a waste of time after the climax. One last thought before I go: NEVENI HOW COULD YOU????? JK still love u…kinda.

[thegenreminx · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was beyond excited to get The Empress as an advanced read. I loved, loved, LOVED the series starter, The Diabolic, and couldn’t wait to read its sequel. Not mention that both covers are just downright gorgeous, #coverlove! I will admit I was a bit nervous to read The Empress because in some cases the sequel to an amazing book is not nearly as good. I should not have even worried; The Empress was AMAZING in its own way! Oh, the feels from start to end! I did not know what to expect when I started this book but it was nothing that I could have ever expected. So.In.Love!The Empress picks up directly after the ending of the previous story. Tyrus has ascended the throne and has Nemesis by his side. He knew ushering in a new age where he could have a diabolic by his side would be challenging but he never truly realized just how difficult. He was so in love with Nemesis and he was so sure that he could make everything work. There were obstacles in his way that he had not accounted for and with Nemesis by his side they set out to find a way to solve their dilemmas.Both Tyrus and Nemesis felt that they had discovered a way to get what they both desired and be able to once and for all secure Tyrus as the new Emperor with Nemesis as his Empress, but they had no idea just how far the Grandiloquy would go to prevent such a union from happening. Faced with impossible odds and circumstances outside of their control both Nemesis and Tyrus were forced to accept horrors that were beyond imagining. This acceptance also created irrevocable changes that altered who they were and the world as they had known it. For.The.Love is all I have to say!I loved everything about the world that has been developed in this book. Living in space, traveling between planets, black holes, malignant space, robots, class struggles, such attention to details. Everything a fan of science fiction adores. I am normally not a fan of any type of politics in a story but the way The Empress uses intergalactic politics to bring about plot twists is spectacular. It also put my heart through the grinder.I did not love how the story played out, it was just heart crushing at times. I will be honest about that, but it was amazingly written and damn if I am not waiting on the next book in this series. It does not even have a title yet but I will be clamoring for it when it is released. The Empress is a masterpiece filled with emotional rollercoasters and heart cringing moments that you just did not see coming. I highly recommend The Empress and its prequel, The Diabolic. They are both epic reads!This review is based on a complimentary book I received from Edelweiss+. It is an honest and voluntary review. The complimentary receipt of it in no way affected my review or rating.