I think this is definitely a case of “it’s me, not you” because I couldn’t get into The Kingdom at all. I loved the sound of it, and it started off great, but I just couldn’t connect with it. The writing is good, the premise is everything I would look for, but for some reason I just didn’t get in with it at all. Rating it high because it’s me that’s the problem, not the book!

I loved this book and read it in nearly one sitting.

The theme park made for a beautifully dystopian setting and I enjoyed the main character getting to grips with her self awareness and the realisation that there was more to life than being submissive and subservient.

The plot has a good mix of horror and thriller and provides a reason to care about the characters.

Yes it is simillar to the Stepford Wives and Westworld but this makes it easier to be absorbed by the setting and the author has given it a YA spin. Most of us are brought up to be good girls, to be seen and not heard and the teeange years are perfect for testing these ideas and ripping them to shreds.

Imagine a park where dreams come true; extinct animals are brought back to life; where reality blurs. This is the Kingdom where hybrids live and work, where secrets are kept and, ultimately, evolution is expected.

Although not a new concept this is an interesting take on where scientists could design robots and the ultimate fantasy park for pleasure.

A chilling reminder of man’s desire for knowledge

The Kingdom - a theme park in the future, where, thanks to technology and virtual reality, extinct animals roam, where you can soar into space or dive into the oceans, swim with mermaids or take part in battles. Ruling over it are seven princesses, or fantasists, human/robot hybrids, made to make dreams come true.
Of course, the theme park underbelly is as dark as the dream is glittery gold. The hybrid creatures are diseased, the fantasists sleep in a lab, not a castle, the animals feel pain, and there's definitely something sordid going with the older model of princess at the parties only they attend...
The book opens with a murder and dives straight into the trial of Ana, our fantasist narrator. She's almost definitely killed someone, the question is whether she's responsible or, as a programmed hybrid, whether those programming her are to blame. After all, she's not the first fantasist to go rogue. The court scenes are told in conjunction with flashbacks, from Ana's POV, detailing the last two years, the strange behaviour of her closest friend Nia and her first encounter with park technician Owen.
The Kingdom has a great concept, but one that just doesn't really deliver. Ana isn't interesting enough as a narrator (and, yet again, another YA book in first person present. This fad cannot end soon enough to suit me, too often it feels like a breathless list of 'then I did this and then I felt that' and this was very much the case here), the plot not compelling enough (and the twist too predictable) to really hold my attention. Meanwhile the really interesting story here, the moral complexity of creating hybrids, of the humanity in the fantasists, the issues that raises, goes untold.

I downloaded this on a whim after an email from NetGalley highlighted it. Android princesses! Twisted Disney-land-esque kingdom which clearly hides something much more sinister! Murder! Pink sparkly castle on the cover! I was so on board with this. It felt like it would be The Selection crossed with The Diabolic, and I was so here for that.
Once I got into the book, I was a little... underwhelmed. It did have android princesses. It had a twisted Disney-world-esque kingdom with sinister undertones and a main character who was being controlled so much more than she realised. And actually it had lots of great visuals and flashes of excellence in understanding diversity and what it means to be human. There is a point where the main character, Ana, muses on how your appearance relates to your identity. The seven Fantasists, android princesses who live in the Kingdom, are designed to appeal to a range of fans, covering all beauty ideals, but their appearances don't carry the weight of a life lived as a POC. There's some great background and incidental scenes of people's reactions to Ana, and their disgust at the thought of her. There's also a big thread running through the book of whether Ana is capable of murder, of shrugging off her programming to the extent that she starts to feel, and whether hybrids - natural-technological creations - are capable of evolution. All of this stuff was great.
Sadly, however, it was obscured by a lacklustre plotline with a main character who was introspective but lacked any insight, a love interest who was bewilderingly bland, and a central conflict that never really played out in any sort of satisfying payoff.
Ana is on trial for murder - the book's narrative actually doesn't tell us who's been murdered for a good chunk of the action, but the blurb kind of throws away this careful plotting by telling us immediately that it's Owen - and the tale of how this happened is told through court testimony, a post-trial interrogation with Ana's creator, and largely through flashbacks from Ana's point of view. It was an interesting structure, which I don't think actually worked all that well because of how I was reading it. I think because I was reading an eARC, the formatting wasn't as crisp as it will be in the finished product, and the delineation will be clearer in a fully typeset version. Although it wasn't the greatest experience for me, I fully expect it to be great once the finished book is available.
The marketing material for this book pegs it as being Westworld-esque. Not having seen Westworld, I don't know what that means, so it was totally lost on me. Perhaps I need to become more culturally aware...
In any case. This was a good book, with flashes of brilliance, but hidden under a rather dull and clunky at times storyline that detracted from the twisted brilliance at the heart of the story and the really interesting theoretical perspectives that could have been given more time to shine.

Amazing sci fantasy mash up, with a Theme Park Of The Future featuring extinct animals and advanced robot Princesses. The story follows Ana, one of the Princesses, as she slowly starts to realise that something is rotten in the Kingdom and begins a fight for her freedom. Interspersed through the story are excerpts and transcripts from a court case where Ana is on trial for murder. The lead up to the murder is extremely tense and features a very clever twist I didn't see coming. An excellent read.

(I did notice a couple of errors in the story, but hopefully they'll be corrected in the finished copy.)

A brilliant read: I encourage everyone to read and enjoy.

THIS BOOK IS BLOOMIN' INCREDIBLE.

It's so fun, with such a fascinating world and concept that has been built, hybrid animals, animals being restored where they were previously extinct, robot princesses to interact with guests, a whole theme park so intricately designed and controlled.
But instead, we get to explore the darker side.

There's a lot of social comments that can be found within the book whether it be on; beauty as a commodity, what makes someone human, male power, animal abuse - even climate change. There's so many various ways to look deeper into this story and I can't wait to buy a physical copy to unpack it all even more.

There's two time frames at the same time which make it even more gripping and trying to solve the mystery in your head. There's the court case, and then there is the memories that Ana has of everything leading up to the murder. Was I satisfied with the outcome of the mystery? Yes.

Although this is supposedly a standalone, I really hope there is going to be a spin off or maybe some novellas set in this world because holy fudge it was so unique and amazing. I need some more evil disney but with robots in my reading pile.

*4.5 Stars

This is going to be one of those books that I'm thinking about for weeks after I've finished it. The entire premise of this book was incredibly intriguing. The story is about Ana, a human-robot hybrid 'princess' created as part of a fantasy experience within a futuristic theme park. We're talking Disney Land but with mermaids, polar bear robots and creepy investors.

The narrative weaves back and forth between Ana's memories of her time in the park and her attempts to solve a mystery (no spoilers!) surrounding her and her 'sisters', with trial transcripts and interviews that shed light onto a murder that Ana has been accused of. I loved the way the story was told, we get small glimpses of the events that had taken place leading up to the trial but it's always vague enough that you can't fit all the pieces together yet. There were so many unpredictable twists. I never expected what was about to happen or where the story was going to go next.

Ana fascinated me. She struggles alot with her loyalty to her sisters and with the programme that created her but there's an inner desire to just simply be human and to experience the emotions and risks that come with it. She was a great character study into what makes us human and just how evolved technology could one day be. It was a little scary thinking about how technology evolves every day and that one day the events in the book could one day be a reality. Ana and Owen were a sweet romance but I was definitely more focused on Ana's character and her conflicts and choices more then anything else.

The setting was one of my favourite parts of the book. The way Jess Rothenberg describes 'The Kingdom' had me wishing I could go back to Disney World (I went six months ago and loved every minute of it) due just to how magical she made it feel. I loved all the little descriptions of the different areas and the names of each section. It had me wishing there was a real theme park with a star deck observatory and a mermaid lagoon.

I raced through this book in order to reach the ending and see how everything would piece together and whilst I wasn't disappointed with the ending, I was expecting it to be a little darker then it was. It could have gone in a very different direction with the choices that Ana made. The actual ending is still fulfilling though and is a great end to a great book.

I was fascinated by the premise of this book as I had watched Westworld on television and it seemed like a similar idea. As good as the story was I started to feel as if what I was reading was becoming a clone of the tv show at times.

The story jumps between a court case against one of the Fantasists, Ana, and flashbacks of her life as she starts to question things around the park. Certain parts of the story felt a little boring to me at times, I found myself speed reading through them. But as the court case picks up pace I found myself desperate to know why Ana did what she was accused of. And if she didn’t do it then who had.

I was pleasantly surprised with the ending of the story, and I felt it redeemed the whole thing for me.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

I’ve got to be honest, I absolutely loved this and read it in one sitting. The story of the make believe Disneyland (it’s just a more updated version of that) with hybrid animals and hybrid fantasists was enthralling. Think seven Disney Princesses that aren’t quite real and something goes wrong with.
Loved Ana’s story, as a hybrid who was kept in a ‘safe’ world and didn’t get told the truth about things. Loved her curious mind and the dark undercurrent in this book which let your imagination go to unpleasant places. Her discovery at the end isn’t far off the premise of the TV show Humans and fitted really well.

The Kingdom is an interesting book. I liked the concept of the disturbing side of fantasists; it is Stanley Kubrick for teenagers. I thought that the underlying current of darkness was good but under explored in some ways. The writing is well thought out with interspersed transcripts. I felt that the ending was tagged on and the plot a little predictable. Teenagers will like this, especially girls.

Inspired by the splendour of everyone's favourite magical kingdom and spliced with the sinister whims of humanity, The Kingdom is the book I didn't know I'd been waiting for.
The fanciful world of the Fantasists is one of dreams, happiness, wishes, routine, rules. But when reality begins to seep through the well-kept cracks of The Kingdom, the illusion slowly begins to unravel. With loveable characters, incredible pacing and a world brimming with imagination, The Kingdom will fulfil all your expectations and more, because Happily Ever After isn't just a promise...it's a rule.

The Kingdom is cross between Louise O’Neill’s Only Ever Yours and Westworld with a YA twist and a complete delight to read, I absolutely tore through this book. The story is full of some great twists and chapters are broken up between our our protagonist Ana’s memories and the trial /interrogation she is part of – as with most of my reviews I am hesitant to share any more as I believe the reader should learn bit by bit as Rothenberg intended.

Similarly to everyone else I was drawn in by the cover and then the blurb but the book was certainly darker than I was expecting and provided exactly what I required for this YA – that being said I am not sure how young I would class this as some of the topics are implied heavily and would be hard to ignore/miss. As an adult that did not hinder my experience but something to be aware of.

I’d definitely recommend picking this one up, you won’t regret it!

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an early copy of The Kingdom.

TW: Self harm, suicide and sexual assault (rape implications).

I have to start with the cover. It is gorgeous and it is what drew me to the book in the first place. The Kingdom is a haunting tale and it was darker than I expected, although I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting. It is set in a theme park which I loved and the atmosphere was great. It opens with a murder scene and then jumps into the post-trial interview.

The chapters are split. You have some set in the past approximately 2 years before the murder and others set in the present which is post-murder trial. This took me some time to get used to but I did like it. It is also told through different media for example court documents and video survallance footage.

The Kingdom is a theme part that uses fantasists which are advanced robots created to look pretty, serve and fulfill fantasies which is as creepy as it sounds. There are uncomfortable scenes for example it alludes to sexual assault which is covered up by a memory wipe. The fantasists are not meant to feel anything. Our main character Ana is a fantasist and she begins to feel things and then questions things.

Overall it is a darkly haunting yet good read that makes you question what it is to be human.

Trigger warnings - self harm, suicide and rape.

>A Sci-Fi thriller both beautiful and sinister, this book is so compelling and gripping I flew through it in a matter of hours. Set in a futuristic Disneylandesque theme park, The Kingdom follows Anna, one of 7 AI Hybrids created to play princesses who exist to make your Happily ever afters come true. Equal parts Westworld and murder mystery, the story flicks between the past and the present, weaving both together to make for an intriguing mystery. I can see this book being a big hitter once released.

Anna is a really intriguing and likeable character. Her naivety is both charming and alarming. We follow her as she discovers she is more than just her programming and that the 'human emotions' she was told were beyond her, were actually within her grasp.

This book focuses on some really hard hitting talking points. What is humanity? Can AI's feel the way humans do, can they fall in love, get enjoyment from social interactions, make friends and make decisions for themselves. A really interesting way this was shown was through the trial. Can Anna really be tried for Murder if she was programmed to do no harm. Is it Anna's fault or that of the programmers for making her 'faulty'.

It also focuses heavily on the objectivity of women. There are hints at abuse and rape throughout the book, with hints that the AI's minds are wiped after such events. Is it morally acceptable because the AI isn't 'human', because they can remove the event from their memory. The author asks some heavy hitting question in regards to our treatment of beings we deem lesser than us, things that we create to give us pleasure - whether that is from a smile and a song or something slightly more sinister.

The third topic the author focuses on is the treatment of animals. The book is set after global warming has done a number on our planet. Many species that we see today have become extinct, and because of this The Kingdom runs an animal hybrid programme, not simply zebras and lions, but Unicorns and horses with wings, animals that we have only dreamed could exist. Is it acceptable to create animals simply for our pleasure, knowing that certain defects can mean hundreds of them dying days after being created. Is it morally acceptable creating a Zebra for the sole purpose of being eaten by a Lion. I loved how the author pulled no punches when focusing on these hard hitting topics, and told through the innocent eyes of Anna it made the scenes even more Ominous.

Because the book flitted between Anna's trial and her past I found myself reading for hours at a time without really realising it. It manages to keep you gripped because you are unsure of the outcome of the event - did Anna actually murder someone, and if she did, was it due to faulty programming alone. I found myself really sympathising with her as a character and became highly invested in her outcome. This is an easy 5/5 for me, I loved the questions the author asks us as readers even if they weren't always the easiest to answer, and I know some of the topics covered in this will stay with me for a while.

When I picked the book on NetGalley, I was first drawn to the fantastic cover. I didn’t expect the storyline to get so dark and intense, but it was a very original read. A futuristic, escapist tale if you enjoy sci-fi and crime novels mixed into one.

When I started reading, I took me a while to understand where the author would take me. It’s not my typical read, but I kept on reading and eventually enjoyed it, especially because of the structure, a mix of court testimony, interrogation records and fragmented flashbacks. The ending was well thought-out.

In The Kingdom, happily ever after is a promise. The most advanced theme park in a decaying world, they use mechanics and bio-engineering to bring extinct species back to life. The crowning glory of the Kingdom is the seven* Fantasists, part mechanical, part human princesses who roam the park to help make the visitor's wishes come true. They are docile, pure, obedient. They have no desires beyond helping their guests. Ana has lived all her life in The Kingdom, walking the paths, shaking hands and signing autographs. Until she kills a worker, and the spotlight of the world falls upon them.


Set in a nebulous future, the world doesn't seem to be doing too well. There's mention of riots, garbage filled oceans, rising sea levels and more. But none of that matters in The Kingdom, a magical place people save for years to be able to visit. Ana and her sisters are the perfect park ambassadors, always demure and polite, always glad to talk to their guests. Always on camera. Always tracked. Always watched.

The creeping sense of *wrong* starts early and never really lets up in this fantastic read. Ana is a good guide to this world, starting out leaning heavily on her programming and ending up transcending it to become something more, something new. Her love interest has little personality of his own, but he's harmless enough.

This has been compared to Westworld and Dollhouse a lot. I haven't seen Westworld, but I agree with the Dollhouse comparisons, to a certain point. It's very immersive, you won't want to put it down once you've started it.


Receiving an ARC did not affect my review in any way.

This was a good, interesting thriller told in the present and in the past. The concept is like Michael Crichton's Westworld, but set in a fake Disneyland where advanced robots play the role of princesses, who start to evolve and grow more and more human. Gripping, clever, binge-worthy.

Content warning: self-harm, heavily implied rape (more on this later)

The Kingdom is set out as a series of court transcripts, documents and so such, with the brunt of the prose coming in ‘flashbacks’ to events set around 14 months prior to the trial of Ana, our main character, who is accused of murdering someone. What’s interesting is that Ana is an AI, a hybrid who’s job it is to wander the park like a princess would in Disney Land (it’s so clearly a Disneyland analogy – I don’t think we need to elaborate on that). Anyone who enjoys a ‘what does it mean to be human?’ ‘can AI’s fall in love?’ kind of book will surely fall head over heels for this story.

I’ve had a bit of time to process this book – some much needed time. Don’t be fooled by the (albeit gorgeous) cover (I’m looking at the UK) this book deals with some really difficult themes. If any book needs content warnings on the back cover it’s this one, and I’ll be looking to the publisher to advertise these themes more clearly. This story draws on the idea of autonomy, particularly female autonomy, with Ana and her sisters strapped into bed every night, given the illusion of freedom and having their memories tampered with when things go wrong. There is heavily implied rape on multiple occasions, though it never happens on the page. I think it’s important that we discuss these issues and it felt relevant to the story, it wasn’t for the sake of it – but it should be signposted more for readers and for booksellers.

Partly for that reason, I found myself comparing this book to the infamous Damsel, a YA book released within the last year that dealt with the idea of feminine autonomy in a more fantasy setting. I think this book is stronger simply because where Damsel felt like it was purely a story of ‘women have no agency isn’t that awful’ this felt like Ana took control of her story. Yes, there is a man and yes there is a romance but the nature of the book, looking back on events, really shows you how far Ana comes from her naivety in the earlier stages of the book (because of the lies and the gaslighting of the Kingdom) to the more developed character we see in the ‘present’. The character shift is at times a little unsettling (deliberately so) but it makes the whole story seem more triumphant, more impactful. I liked that you get that full arc right from the get-go.

It’s an interesting plot, but the setting was what really captivated me. The kind of façade of a theme park, that sense of ‘behind the scenes’ and ‘veneer’ really hit home in this book. It makes the book simultaneously even more of a fantasy and also almost a psychological horror (albeit a tame one).

This book manages to be very complete while still leaving things open for a sequel – I can’t see any listed on Goodreads but there is definitely the scope. All I can say is that I’ll definitely be reading it if there is.

Overall, this book is a dark, but fascinating read. I honestly wasn’t expecting it to cut as deep as it did and I hope that it can have a positive impact, starting important conversations beyond the usual questions about AI that science fiction can prompt. I look forward to reading more.

My rating: 4/5 stars

I received a free digital advanced review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

The Kingdom is available July 11th

This did not grip me so I did not read all of this, but skimmed enough of it to get the gist. It is quite a good example of a YA dystopian novel, interestingly plotted with the trial transcripts alternating between past and present chapters. Of the parts that I read there was no explanation of how and why this fantasy kingdom came into being. It was OK but not my type of novel.