The Kingdom

DNF at 13%.

3,5

I really wanted to like this book, but it just did not provoke any emotions for me. I just wasn't invested. I did like the twists and turns, but I need to have some sort of connection to the characters. The main character told you that she was changing, but I honestly did not see her actions change that much, she always already seemed deviant and “different”.

I received this book as a digital arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this thinking that I was really going to love this book. It is told in pieces of mixed media (courtroom documents, video surveillance footage, a YouTube video, etc.) The concept seemed really cool and murder mystery-esque. And, let's not kid ourselves, the cover is great (the UK cover is GORGEOUS). But, I just.. didn't. I am glad that I read it and I don't think that it was a bad book, there were just parts that I was not about and did not feel like needed to be in the book (not giving away particulars but fair trigger warnings for self-harm, suicide, and rape). I also felt like it took too long to get to the climax of the story. I was 50-60% through with the e-book and still had no idea what was going on and just wanted to get to it already. It wasn't until I was about 70-80% through with the book that it really started to get moving and things started to make sense and fall into place. The ending was nice, but if you want to know what kept it from being a 4-star book for me, see below (beware of spoilers).

spoilers below; do not read below these lines if you do not want to see them

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There were many parts throughout the book that implied sexual assault on the girls, particularly Kaia. After said sexual assault, the girls' memories would be erased. It seemed like some of the other Fantasists knew what was going on, and even our main character eventually figured it out, but of course they couldn't say anything because who would believe them (much like present-day rape culture and how most victims are afraid to report because they feel no one will believe them or say that it is their fault). I can handle difficult topics in my books, generally, but what really bothered me was that there didn't seem to be one decent human staff member of The Kingdom aside from Owen. Investors were seeking the ‘company' of the girls at night, even just regular crew members would harass the girls or take them away to presumably have sex with them.

While I can understand why this was an element in the story (to highlight how people didn't view the Fantasists as beings but rather playthings that they could use however they saw fit, to show the depravity of the people who were supposed to be “greater than” because they are human, not machine, etc.), it was referenced SO much throughout the book with zero repercussions for the guilty. The only one who is implied to get in trouble is Mr. Casey but none of the other men were ever punished for what they did or even implied to be so. For me, that is what really soured this book for me (that and it taking way too long to climax and then resolve), especially since the author could have taken that out of the book entirely and based on the other interactions with staff, we still would have gotten the same message. The implied sexual assault was not necessary in this book whatsoever.

⚠ TW: suicide attempt, implied sexual assault, animal abuse

For a good while, this book led me to believe it's dystopian. It's not. It fooled me as much as it fooled poor Ana. This is a darker, sci-fi version of Disneyland, complete with all the disturbing things such as abuse towards the animals and even the Disney Princesses. The story jumps back and forth between a trial for murder and the events leading to it, but it never gets confusing because the trial and interview chapters are presented in the format of a transcript. The mystery of what actually happened is also kept a secret all the way until the end.

My only complaint is that the ending feels unfinished, and that the book never really fleshed out all the other Fantasists. Even Nia and Eve who played pretty important roles in the story. The ending leaves plenty of room for a sequel though, so it'd be nice to see this world revisited to tie up all the remaining loose ends.

I liked the multimedia parts of the book. I liked the princess and animal hybrids. The author did a great job making us feel like we were in the head of a programmed ‘person'. We got to see so many different parts of the Kingdom and I liked that too. I was so shocked to see how it all worked out. That option was not on my radar. I do think that some of the side characters that were in the ending had not been developed well enough for me to truly care about what they did in the end. I am also unsure if this is the only one or if there is another coming in this setting. I would definitely read it!

*2.5 stars