[Review] The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Rating: 4 stars

Published: May 28th 2019

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to the Kingdom... where 'Happily Ever After' isn't just a promise, but a rule.
Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species--formerly extinct--roam free.
Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful "princesses" engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time... love.
But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews, and Ana's memories of Owen, emerges a tale of love, lies, and cruelty--and what it truly means to be human.

I feel like people have been sleeping on The Kingdom but they honestly shouldn't. Going to plug my ShelfLove Crate subscription here and say I got this from July's box.


It's Disneyworld where everyone is forced to have a happy ending. And initially, Ana is satisfied with her life in The Kingdom, as a Fantasist, one of seven android-hybrid princess-esque beings that bring joy and happiness to everyone who enters. However, this perception is changed when she meets Owen, one of the park employees who introduces her to a life outside this ideal fantasy, and when her fellow sisters start to challenge and try to escape the bubble that they've been contained in for so long.

It's told in alternating past and present viewpoints, with transcribed logs and emails used during Ana's trial in the present, as Ana is accused of murdering Owen. So this story is being built up to that fatal night.

I like that this story doesn't shy away from questioning the idea of a happy ending, and does occasionally go down that dark path as Ana slowly unravels the secrets of The Kingdom. The sci-fi aspect of this is similar to Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicle series, as Ana wonders if she can be human or be in love even with her android half. There's clear indication over time that Ana lets her humanity seep in more and more, as she makes choices that are beneficial to her over beneficial to The Kingdom.

The best parts definitely had to be with Nadia and Eve, Ana's sister Fantasists, because that was where all the action took place concerning the morality of The Kingdom. Especially Ana and Eve's relationship development... At first, Eve appears to be the perfect, quintessential princess of the group, but Ana learns that she more than just her dresses.

I mean the one thing that bothered me was that Ana automatically defaulted to being in love with Owen even though he was the first guy that really got to know her and I was thinking that it was a little too soon for those sort of sentiments, but okay book.

Other than that, it was a wonderfully paced standalone!