The Kingdom book review [ARC]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
Published by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) on May 28, 2019
Pages: 352
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads

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.

If you know anything about me at all you know I am a HUGE Disney fan, we went for our honeymoon and we’re going back in October. So when I saw The Kingdom, a book about a theme park which has many similarities to Disney World I knew it was for me. I loved it, there were so many different layers to this book and the moral grey areas throughout all of it. We follow Ana and her evolving as she tries to figure out her place in the world as a Fantasist that’s expected to be so human you can’t tell. I think this book is a great example of a story that covers all the bases when it comes to robots and the implications of that. It’s safe to say this was one of my favourite books of the year.

The Kingdom had really interesting characters in the sense that they weren’t technically human and that changed the dynamic completely when the main character, Ana, was interacting with the others. I loved watching her filing away memories and keeping them for future conversations and interactions. The way that her relationship grows with Owen is fascinating and I loved watching them both figuring everything out. There was nothing I wanted more than to watch them and see how everything would work out. I was rooting for them all the way through!

I think watching the characters interact all the way through The Kingdom was one of the best bits of this book. But also the way the technology worked throughout the park and the loopholes that the princesses end up finding to work around the system. I also thought the hybrid animals and the problems they had around the evolution is something really fascinating I loved hearing about all the issues and the morals that go along with all the breeding programs and the animals involved. I think the best bit was watching how everything changed and evolved throughout the entire storyline.

This is a short list but I guessed what was going to happen at the end and I wished that it had been more of a surprise with a little bit more development. BUT I STILL LOVED THE WHOLE THING.

I would recommend The Kingdom in a heartbeat. I adored the characters, the world building and everything about this book! I definitely think it is one of my favourite books of the year.

Is The Kingdom on your list? Are you a Disney fan? Let me know in the comments!