>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.

The Kingdom was an amazing read. The formatting for this book was so unique and made me feel like I was viewing the investigation myself. Switching back and forth from the interviews to the flashbacks was really interesting and unlike any other YA novel I have read so far. Great read and would 100% recommend for someone who enjoys tech/fantacy and is willing to jump into a world of mystery as well as excitement. Thank you for Netgally and Pan Macmillan for providing me an ARC of The Kingdom in return of an honest review.
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Samira H

Welcome to The Kingdom.
This book was extremely gripping and clever. At the beginning I thought I had it all figured out, thought it would be a nice romance story... a fairytale. But then the overlapping timelines, the interwoven narratives all came in and suddenly I didn’t know what to think. My perspectives kept changing and I couldn’t put the book down. I needed to know what really happened ..the twists and turns pulling me in deeper and deeper.
I loved Ana as a character she was so well written and likeable and I liked that I couldn’t get a proper read on her. She was different and unique and I liked following the sorry through her eyes.

Wow, what can I say? This book totally blew me away. I was intrigued by the concept (a near-future Disneyworld-esque theme park populated by highly advanced human/android hybrids) and that stunning cover definitely caught my eye, but YA fiction can often stick to too many tropes for me and it takes something with an extra edge to really catch my attention. ‘The Kingdom’ delivered and then some. With hints of everything from Asimov’s ‘I, Robot’ to Atwood’s ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by way of ‘Westworld’ and ‘Dollhouse’, the novel features fascinating characters, ingenious world-building, and a truly intriguing mythology that I just could not stop reading. I flew through the story, so eager to find out what would happen to protagonist Ana and her Fantasist ‘sisters’.
The way the story is told through present-day court and interview transcripts, interspersed with first-person narrative leading up to the events in the present was a really novel format and made the story even more tense and foreboding. I also enjoyed the way the author builds the mystery, giving the reader enough pieces of the puzzle to almost figure it out, but holding back the few vital pieces to ensure the twists are unexpected.
Whilst positioned in the YA bracket, I feel the book is a very mature and grown-up story, tackling some very dark and complex themes. Amongst the themes I picked up on are issues of consent, choice and what it means to be human in relation to artificial intelligence, however these are all very subtly woven through the story and are not hammered home to the reader in a preachy way, often only alluded to however still having impact. The lead character is a fantastically complex and compelling conduit through which to explore these issues and the author does a brilliant job of portraying the world as seen through her eyes, a world which I’d love to revisit. With that in mind, I would be very eager to see a sequel to continue the story forward and up the scale somewhat. The ending definitely leaves it open for one and I suspect the author may intend this to be a series, an idea which I am entirely supportive of. If this isn’t the case however and no follow-up is planned, the conclusion is still satisfying, although I’d have liked perhaps an epilogue to add more sense of finality. Here’s hoping there is another as this is one of the best books I’ve read so far this year, and the world and mythology which Jess Rothenberg has created is one with endlessly rich possibility.

I got a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for a fair and honest review.
Wow! What a great book! Imagine Westworld meets Jurassic Park meets Disneyland and you're somewhere close.
The Fantasists are essentially Disney Princesses in the future - AI beings whose sole purpose is to make the guests at the park happy. This books had it all - danger, romance, a twist that you might see coming but is still fun - while also raising questions about AI and genetics (just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD!) and big corrupt corporations. I'm not gonna name names but it's pretty obvious which ones the author draws inspiration from!
If you're a fan of YA/dystopia/sci fi/ Disney Princesses or just a good story then you're going to love this!

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book. It is a departure from the books I usually read but I am so glad I read it. It is beautifully written and the characters were brilliant, thoroughly recommend.

*I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Westworld meets Disney and creates a fantastic dystopian YA novel that, if you’re new to the genre settings of androids and questioning our understanding of what it is to be ‘real’ or ‘human’. I think that’s why I personally didn’t love this as much as I hoped I would: the story didn’t really do anything ‘new’ to what I’ve seen from Westworld and similar entities before. That said, I still really enjoyed it and having the story play out over court transcripts throughout the story was fun and it’s easy to binge on this read and be completely absorbed in it. For this, I’ll say… 3.5 stars.

Also heads up for some of the following content in the book: self-harm/sexual abuse/implied rape

P.S The hardbook cover that can be seen on Goodreads is SO PRETTY.

I had no idea what to expect from this book - I expected more about actual fairy tale characters.

This was far beyond - it told of expectation vs reality, fantasy vs actuality.

The twists of the trial and what happened laterally had me gripped, I could not put this book down

This is not a book I would have normally picked up however the blurb intrigued me so I decided to give it a go and I’m so glad I did. It was one of those books you pick up thinking you will read just one chapter and before you know it you’ve read it in a single sitting.
Ana is one of seven Fantasists who are sort of a hybrid AI/ human Disney princess. They live in a kingdom which is in fact a theme park and are designed to be perfect and always do and say the right thing to make people happy. Only then there is a murder and disappearances and everything does not seem to be such a perfect fairy story after all.
This will be a really good read for anyone who likes fantasy and Sci Fi or traditional story retellings. Also the potential for a series here.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this book, very much like Humans and Westworld with a futuristist storyline. I liked the characters & didn’t figure out the twist until right near the end.
It took me a couple chapters to get used to the to & fro timeline but I did enjoy that about the book, it all came together at the end.
It made me want to visit the kingdom & then made me hate the kingdom!
Great read, certainly my kind of thing!

Very interesting story, it's a sci-fi, murder mystery thriller with a dash of romance, set in a mashup of Disney/Westworld/Animal Kingdom! The story touches on a number of challenging themes , among them are: what it is to be 'human', AI and bionics, sexual assault, animal welfare and conservation.
I enjoyed the book, but would have liked to spend more time with the trial and also exploring the consequences of the events that took place in The Kingdom.
I can definitely see this appealing to a lot of our readers - the cover alone (it's gorgeous) will entice them to pick it up.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this book, it sounded so interesting and I was so sure I was going to love it but I just didn’t love it like I thought I would.

I felt it dragged a lot at the beginning and it made me lose interest in the story. The world itself is really interesting and there are lots of interesting discussions that are dealt with in the book. I just think the book wasn’t for me but I’m sure many others will really enjoy it.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of this. Having completed it, I can say it was definitely one that got my attention and I’m grateful to NetGalley for allowing me access to this prior to publication.
Ana is a Fantasist. Essentially a machine, she is programmed to bring happiness to those she interacts with. She lives, along with her sisters, in the Disney-style theme park known as The Kingdom and she is programmed to behave within a strict set of parameters.
Early on, we are given details of a transcript of a trial. Through this we learn that Ana has been accused of the murder of a park worker. She maintains she didn’t do anything, and that she cannot lie.
I was fascinated by the concept, though more detail about the Kingdom would have been good. I also found myself wanting to dig deeper into the park and its set-up. Frustrating, perhaps, but there was plenty here to get the reader’s attention.

I loved this, I am not in the intended age range,far from it but I don't think age is a barrier to enjoying this well written and thought provoking book.There was more to it than I expected.The central character was very likable the setting was interesting and imaginative and this was an original and enjoyable book to read.Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for an ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan MacMillan and Jess Rothenberg for my Arc of The Kingdom in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: The Kingdom is the place where happily ever after really does come true. Thanks to Ana and her sisters, the princesses who meet and greet and make your every dream come true. Ana like all the princesses and even the animals in the park, is a hybrid. Part human, part robot, her life revolves around pleasing the Kingdom's guests, but when some of the other girls start changing their behaviour and breaking the rules, Ana starts to investigate with the help of maintenance worker Owen Chen. Over time Ana begins to fall in love, but everything falls apart when Ana is accused of murdering Owen.

This was a great read. Written in the form of trial transcripts, interviews and Ana's own memory this is definitely one for fans of books like Only Human and shows like Westworld. In fact other than Westworld I haven't seen anything else that explores the idea of theme parks with hybrids.

The story is fast paced as it reads like a murder mystery but with a fantastic sci-fi / fantasy blended twist. I loved how it explored not just Ana's consciousness but her ability to feel and think and to explore what it really means to be human and to love.