The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
Release Date - May 28, 2019
Publisher Website - Raincoast Books
Publisher Social Media - Twitter

Pages -  352 pages
My Rating - 5/5

**received from the publisher for an honest review**

Here is the 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(TM) 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 took Westworld, mixed it with a true crime podcast, and added in some Disney theme park elements you would get The Kingdom. A story about a place that has a darkness under the happily ever afters it promises. Jess Rothenberg has written a unique story that not only entertains but causes the reader to think and ask questions of themselves.

Ana's voice, for me, was so distinct it made her a really strong character. It felt like the author had a very clear sense of who this character was, her motivations, and it translated off the page easily. She is one of those characters who just resonates with you and lingers long after you've finished the book.

The romance it tentative, and sweet. Seeing Ana experience emotions for the first time and grapple with what it means was part of what made this story feel so unique. Ana is aware that she shouldn't be dreaming, or feeling what she is feeling, but her reaction to it happening felt so authentic. It made the romance feel a touch more believable for me in a lot of ways. Ana's joy, sorrow, and everything in between adds to her relationship with Owen. Their moments are subtle, but so important to Ana's journey.

The Kingdom is basically Disney World dialed up. It's bright, magical, and the place where dreams come true. We, however, quickly see that not everything is as it seems. There is a darkness, particularly what happens to Ana and her fellow 'Fantasists', that pulses under the surface. The nods to the abuse that they suffer under the hands of wealthy men may only be delicately woven into the story but it is more than enough to repulse and turn your stomach. The lavish parties, the leering looks, the crass comments, the unwanted touches.  They all serve to paint a terrible, rage inducing picture. The anger that coursed through me as I read this made me realize how well crafted this book is. I cared about Ana and the others almost from the beginning and it was quite evident as this part of the story came into sharper focus.

The sexual harassment and abuse Ana and her 'sisters' face is, obviously, quite timely. This book is a product of the #metoo movement. There is female anger here and commentary on the right to feel it. There are questions and exploration of rape culture and the effect it has on women. It isn't overt but that makes it all the more impressive how it was woven in along with a strong mystery. The Fantasists to many men are things to be used with zero thought of consequences and that feels extra relevant right now.

The murder of Owen is the central mystery to the story. It is told in flashes of different story telling techniques. You have regular prose mixed with transcripts, photos, articles, and interviews. This allows for the twists and reveals to be perfectly paced. The mystery is important to the story but it really feeds into the overall narrative of humanity and what it means to be human. The use of all these narration devices is part of what makes this story as strong as it is and it shows what a clever choices it was in the set up of the mystery. The premise rests on whether Ana could be convicted for murder if what she experienced was a technical glitch of a piece of artificial intelligence. Who would ultimately be responsible if that were the case. The idea of agency and self awareness is the heart of this story and it threads into all the other elements.

Feeling for Ana is the entire point of this story. It asks us to question what we consider human. It also asks us to consider what we would owe to a creation like Ana if we do consider her human. It is fascinating, smart, and well written. It's the type of book you'll want to discuss with your book club or friends. I highly recommend this one for those who want a little something extra with their mystery read. 

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Review: The Frenchman by Lesley Young

 

 

Title: The Frenchman 

Author: Lesley Young

Series: Jet-setters & Jeopardy 

Publisher: L.A.Y Books

Format: ebook

Genre: Romance | Contemporary 

Goodreads

 

 

Fleur Smithers rarely veers off the straight and (excruciatingly) narrow. So moving to the seaport town of Toulon to live with her newfound biological mother—an inspector with the French National Police—for one year is a pretty major detour.

Son of France’s crime royalty family and international rugby star, Louis Messette, is devoted to his sport, famille and nothing else. But the saucy American he meets one night changes everything. She sparks a desire in him like no other. Possession takes root. She will do as he commands.

Bit by bit Fleur slips into the Frenchman’s realm of wanton pleasure agreeing to his one condition: that she keep their affair secret. She serves up her heart without reservation in the hub of the glittering Côte d’Azur, and the along the soulful Seine in Paris, unaware of the danger she is in. For her new lover’s “family business” will pit her against her mother, the police woman sworn to bring down the Messettes. And by then, far more than Fleur’s heart will be on the line.

 

 

My thoughts:

I just had to get my hands on this after reading the summary. Sexy, french rugby player who just happens to be part of a family of crime-doers? And on top of that, the love interest's mother is an inspector. Cue intense friction of both the hot and awkward kind. Yes, please.

Unfortunately that's pretty much all the read did for me. Don't get me wrong, that side of the read was great and all but of course, a girl needs more than that right? It was missing a lot of substance I felt.

I really liked the settings of the story. Fleur is just getting to know the mother she's only just met who happens to be French, so there are some pretty nice descriptions of French people and places that I enjoyed. I would have loved to have read more about it actually, especially the authors take on the people.

As far as the plot went, sometimes it didn't make sense to me. Either that or I'm missing something. At times I felt like I'd missed a chapter or two because things would either move too fast or they came out of the blue and confused me. Especially the ending. I didn't really understand what Fleur meant by what she said and did, and what Louis' eventual response means to her. I don't know…I prefer things to be a lot more clear cut I guess.

Same goes for the characters. I just didn't connect with them and that kind of made me feel meh about pretty much everything. Fleur could be pretty annoying at times, especially at the beginning of the book. She did develop a lot throughout the read which I loved but overall, she didn't come across as the strongest character ever. I did, however, find Fleur and Louis' relationship to be the small aspect of the story that kept me reading. They worked well together.

Overall I just didn't get on well with this one. I took it for what it was and enjoyed what I could, but it just wasn't for me.

My rating: 4/10

About Lesley Young:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

 

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Review: King Tomb by Scarlett Dawn

Title: King Tomb

Author: Scarlett Dawn

Series: Forever Evermore #3

Publisher: Escape

Publication date: 10/2014

Format: Kindle | 229 pages

Genre: Fantasy 

Goodreads

Queen Shifter, Lily Ruckler, has found solace in brutal warfare. Her bloodied fists and bared fangs fill the holes left in her memory, the blank spaces that leave her soul aching and empty. Her only pleasure is in blood; her only salvation is the relationship she has with her infant child, the baby of unknown origins who brings her solace and stability. 

When Elder Harcourt summons Lily and her protector Antonio back to the United States, Lily thinks nothing unusual about the change of location. But a standard reconnaissance mission leaves her trapped inside King Zeller's private quarters, and at his mercy. Surprise attraction rapidly turns to a battle of wills and an intense power struggle that leaves no clear victor but plenty of resentment. 

They are not allowed to nurse their wounds. In order to win the war against the Commoners, the King Vampire and Queen Shifter must work together. It should be easy. The war is turning, the battle is deadly, and both Lily and Ezra love the cold cleanliness of combat. 

But their chance meeting has led to more than an unlikely alliance. Secrets have a way of surfacing, especially on a torn-up battlefield, and Lily and Ezra are about to re-learn all they cannot remember. If they can't control their emotions and responses, it will be to their own ruin and the destruction of everything around them.

My thoughts:

I don't even know what it is about these books but I just can't stop!

Compared to the first two books, King Tomb was actually a little bit of a disappointment. I know for sure, if this was the first book, I wouldn't have carried on reading. It was an incredibly rushed read that was completely focused on Ezra and Lily's relationship and payed little to no attention to the war that played a huge part to the story.

I love Ezra and Lily. I really do. But the way things were resolved in this book were too easy.  I mean I wanted them to sort things out relatively quickly, but when there's no real conflict or thoughts that might make me doubt it will actually happen, there's no real joy or excitement when it eventually does. The resulting feelings depend on the journey right? Nothing should be too easy. It was just so…meh. That happened. Yay…moving on.

 

They're just so flippin' sexy together. I still need more.

 

The plot was the most disappointing thing about this book though. It wasn't so much what happened but how. The book was so romance driven that the war didn't get the attention it deserved. The character that caused so many problems in the past books might as well have not existed. Actually, the whole war shouldn't have happened - the book would be better off for it. Even though the 'mysticals' are at war with the 'commoners', the war didn't even get a proper mention until over half way through the book where a solution was halfway mentioned in passing. I mean…priorities right?

 

There was also hardly anything resolved at the end of it all. Aside from plenty of characters from the first book dying off, there were so many questions that were left unanswered and new characters came into play in the last few chapters. I understand that the series will continue just not from Lily's perspective, but there has to be some resolution if not just because the book has ended. Keep a few things secret, but a little less than a reader just going into the series please.

 

Putting all that aside I still really enjoy these books. Especially in the first two books, there's a great balance between humour, romance and friendship that gives the characters some really endearing qualities. Aside from the terrible ending of this book, I still loved the characters enough to not want the book to end.

 

My rating: 6/10

 

Scarlett Dawn:

 

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Forever Evermore:

1. King Hall
2. King Cave
3. King Tomb
4. Chosen Thief

 

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Review: Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

 

Title: Bloodrose

Author: Andrea Cremer

Series: Nightshade #3

Publisher: Atom

Publication date: 05 Jul 2012

Format: Paperback | 416 pages

Genre: YA | Paranormal 

Goodreads

Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting.

There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping her brother safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha and ridding the world of the Keepers' magic once and for all.

And when the battle finally ends, there's deciding what to do and who to love. That is, if Calla can make it out alive.

My thoughts:

What just HAPPENED?!

 

Seriously, what the hell was that ending about? I had heard that the ending to this trilogy upset a lot of people but, come oooon!

 

I love this series. I really do. The only thing that stopped me from finishing was the reaction from a lot of readers on how it ended and I have to say I more than understand why. What I was anticipating with dread actually happened regardless of my hopes and pleas. The worst thing is, I understand where the author was coming from by doing it, but it wasn't done with taste…not at all. I'm so disappointed.

 

I don't even know what to say past the ending. It just seems as if the whole trilogy was completely ruined by that tragedy of an ending - I won't be able to see it the same way ever again. 

 

What makes me mad is that this book was still a great read. I mean, it was literally the last chapter or so that brought it all crashing down. I love the characters to bits - apart from a choice few - and I'm sad to see them go, especially in the way that they did.

 

I just…can't even.

 

My rating: 6/10 (I would love to give this book 1 out of bloody 10 but that would be my love for Ren talking)

 

Andrea Cremer:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter

Nightshade series:

1. Nightshade
2. Wolfsbane
3. Bloodrose

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Review: King Cave by Scarlett Dawn

Title: King Cave

Author: Scarlett Dawn

Series: Forever Evermore #2

Publisher: Escape

Publication date: 01 2014

Format: Kindle | 432 pages

Genre: Fantasy

Goodreads

The safe, comfortable world of Lily Ruckler and her fellow Mystical Kings and Queens is rocked to the core by the attacks at King Hall. Not only does Lily have to kill the Commoners attacking her people, she also has to assume the mantle of leadership, and bring the surviving Mysticals to King Cave. 

It should have been too much, but she is not alone. Ezra becomes her rock, her best friend, the one person who understands. As Pearl and Jack struggle with inconsolable loss, Ezra and Lily work to keep the Mys community safe in their new home, and plan a deadly retaliation. 

Their friendship saves them both...but it also draws attention. Whispers. Judgment. It's not normal for Shifters and Vampires to be friends, and when a horrifying truth is revealed, their relationship morphs from unusual to unspeakable. Lily is good at keeping secrets that could get her killed. Is she willing to risk Ezra's life as well?

 

 

My thoughts:

I really don't know what it is with this author and her books. So far in this series, I've come across things that I really hate in books but I just can't stop reading. Seriously, what is it?

I fell in love with the first book. I've read it quite a few times and I still can't get enough of it but I was afraid the writing would be the death of me with this one. I didn't want to be disappointed. There were still the same problems as the first book with the timings jumping around a lot and the rushed writing, but I still adored this book and I still, for the life of me, can't put my finger on why. To be honest, I don't really want to.

Lily and Ezra's chemistry is just off the charts and it was by far my favourite part of the book. Ever since finishing the first book, I've been wondering how they would get together and if it would be anticlimactic or if they would have to really work for it. Boy, it was something alright. It was so well worth the wait. 

I have to say, one thing I was definitely disappointed with was how much Pearl and Jack were featured in the book. As in, they weren't really. The four friends had a really endearing relationship that didn't seem forced and fit into the story really well, but with this read, they pretty much went missing for half the book to fit in Ezra and Lily's new developments.

I'm still in love with all of the characters. There's a great element of humour to these stories which makes these characters work really well together and that in turn, kept me reading.

All in all, I really enjoyed this read. It was by no means perfect, but it was a lot of fun so I don't really care.

My rating: 8/10

 

Scarlett Dawn:

 

Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter

Forever Evermore:

1. King Hall
2. King Cave
3. King Tomb
4. Chosen Thief

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Blog Tour and Giveaway | Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend

Title: Confessions of an Undercover Girlfriend

Author: Kay Marie

Series: Confessions #2

Format: Kindle 

Publication date: October 11th 2016

Genre: NA | Humour | Romance

Goodreads

Summary:

So, I'm no longer a virgin sex columnist—thank you, Ollie—but if I thought that was going to make my life easier, boy was I wrong! John is back in town determined to win my forgiveness. Blythe is more ready than ever to take me down. Bridget is totally onto the new twinkle in my eye. And, well, Ollie is just as distractingly delicious as usual.

So, naturally, I have a few more confessions to make.

Confession #1: I came up with what I thought would be the perfect plan to keep my relationship with Ollie a secret—pretend to get back together with John!

Confession #2: It backfired. A lot.

My thoughts:

If any of you have read my review of the first book in this series, Confessions of a Virgin Sex Columnist, you’ll know that I was really liking this series so far. I loved the protagonists quirky personality and the romance made for some hilarity that ended up being really cute. You can read my review for the first book here.

As usual, reading the second book of the series was a little nerve wracking - would it live up to my expectations? It did, it really did. But not in the way I was expecting.

The first book, to me at least, was just funny. It was a lot more than that of course, but I liked it because it let me have a little giggle and forget about my problems for a bit. This one however, felt more real somehow. Skylar really grew up throughout this read and it was more about her figuring herself out than the actual romance.

This book stood out. Cute romance novels like these always follow the same steps in the plot - the guy messes up ( that’s covered in the first book ), the girl gets upset and then the guy wins her back. It’s not the case here - Skylar is a mess. She does things in this book that almost has me banging my head against a wall, but she figures stuff out and she is the one that has to make up for her mistakes. There’s not a lot of books out there that feature a female protagonist being the cause of fights and breakups but this book is all about that and I appreciate it.

Also, I really liked the introduction of the new side of Blythe. It was nice getting to know the real her and she turns out to be a pretty great character. Of course all of the past characters play a big part in this book and it made for a great read. I really like this set of characters. Plus…Ollie is yummy.

All in all I enjoyed this read. It wasn’t as funny as the first book but it offered something different that made it stand out to me. I love Skylar because she isn’t perfect, far from it actually, and that made me relate to this book that much more. 

My rating: 8/10

Kay Marie:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

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Review: Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting

Title: Dead Silence 

Author: Kimberly Derting

Series: The Body Finder #4

Publisher: Headline

Publication date: 25 Apr 2013

Format: Paperback | 400 pages

Genre: YA | Paranormal

Goodreads

HER GIFT MADE HER DIFFERENT

A murder leaves a mark. It imprints an echo on victim and killer, detectable by only a few. For a long time, Violet Ambrose saw this ability as a curse but her work as part of a special investigative team helped her see its benefits. Until, that is, she was the victim of a horrific kidnapping and acquired an imprint of her own. Now she is desperate to put the past behind her, to ignore the echoes of the dead and lead a normal life with her boyfriend Jay.

NOW SHE'S ONE OF THEM

But when she senses a murder victim's echo, she stumbles upon a terrifying scene unlike anything she's ever witnessed. Frenzied and twisted, the killer left a disturbing calling card for all to see - a cross sketched in blood on the wall. Haunted by the crime, Violet finds herself pulled into a deadly hunt for a vicious madman. A hunt that will endanger everything she holds dear. She has survived dangerous situations before, but keeping her loved ones safe is far more difficult than protecting herself…

THE STAKES HAVE NEVER BEEN HIGHER

My thoughts:

I really wasn't looking forward to reading this one. It wasn't even down to me hating the series or anything, I've really enjoyed reading the past books. The last book though, left me thinking something was going to happen that I didn't want to, and so, I was putting off reading this. Funny thing is, what I was worried was going to happen, didn't, so all is good.

Now that nonsense is out of the way, I really liked this read. I still can't say it's as good as the first - none of the books in this series were as good as the first in my opinion. There was just something about Jay and Violet exploring their new feelings and getting to know what Violet was capable of, that gave the book a different edge to the ones later on. I enjoyed this last book more than the ones in the middle of the series though for quite a few reasons.

What I noticed first about this read was that it took a new level of creepiness. The crimes involved were pretty grotesque and it left me with shivers going down my spine. The person responsible was even worse. When the time came for me to read more into him and his back story I was thoroughly creeped out. Not that that's a bad thing. It was great. I seriously couldn't wait for him to be brought to justice. •shudders•

 

I was also really, really please that what I was dreading happening didn't actually happen. I'm still so relieved a week after finishing this. I'm not going to say what it was I was so worried about, but safe to say, after all the new characters being introduced it becomes pretty obvious…I love Jay.

 

The only major problem I had with this read - and it's why I wouldn't give it a full 10 - is the ending. It felt way to rushed and I felt that the characters deserved way more after all they'd been through to sort of have a slow ending where everything's resolved in stages. There were a lot of things that didn't feel finished. Especially where the 'team' is concerned - I got the impression that the crime solving aspect of the plot would go a lot further in terms of finding out who's running things. That was really interesting so it was disappointing not to see it go any further - or even be ended in some way which it isn't. It's just…left.

 

Aside from the ending I really liked this read. I loved Jay and Violet's relationship and while I thought it was way cuter in the first book I still love the two of them together. I would definitely recommend this read as a change to the usual paranormal YA - the body finding ability is a nice twist to things so I say give it a go.

 

My rating: 7/10

 

Kimberly Derting:

Goodreads | Website | Facebook | Twitter

The Body Finder:

1. The Body Finder
2. Desires of the Dead
3. The Last Echo
4. Dead Silence

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