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A review by catalbano
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Not for you if you hate the trope of “yes, he forced her to kiss him and coerced her into sex, but they’re so into each other and her main objection was her religion anyway, and besides after a few kisses she comes around to being an active participant”. But if you like a little pretend non-con, you’ll enjoy this book.
Unfortunately, I hate that trope and Royce’s constant disregard for Jenny’s expressed wishes made me hope that he would be beaten to a pulp at some point in the book, but I kept hoping that would be the lesson he learned. He does have the decency to say that hates when she’s frightened, and to tell her that defeating her against her will makes him feel like a “beggar”. He also says in the narrative after one such instance that he feels like an “animal”. Also, yes, she’s seventeen. I was willing to accept that this was the age of adulthood in that era, but he did refer to her as a child a few times despite considering her an adult. 🤺 get back you creep!
The only other downside to this book is the constant exposition dumps. It was also a tiny bit spicier than I like, but not terribly. The POV changes without even line breaks, but that actually didn’t bother me.
POSITIVES:
There was a lot to like about this book! At first, I liked Royce, I found him patient and lenient while still staying alpha-cool. I would’ve continued to like him if not for the aforementioned lack of consent. I liked Jenny too. Biting your captor twice is iconic. And the barriers that kept them apart felt realistic — when things fell apart at the midpoint, I was actually cringing for Royce. And I didn’t know how they’d make up at the end, but the way it was done was somewhat believable. Even if I wished Royce had groveled just a tiny bit more.
Unfortunately, I hate that trope and Royce’s constant disregard for Jenny’s expressed wishes made me hope that he would be beaten to a pulp at some point in the book, but I kept hoping that would be the lesson he learned. He does have the decency to say that hates when she’s frightened, and to tell her that defeating her against her will makes him feel like a “beggar”. He also says in the narrative after one such instance that he feels like an “animal”. Also, yes, she’s seventeen. I was willing to accept that this was the age of adulthood in that era, but he did refer to her as a child a few times despite considering her an adult. 🤺 get back you creep!
The only other downside to this book is the constant exposition dumps. It was also a tiny bit spicier than I like, but not terribly. The POV changes without even line breaks, but that actually didn’t bother me.
POSITIVES:
There was a lot to like about this book! At first, I liked Royce, I found him patient and lenient while still staying alpha-cool. I would’ve continued to like him if not for the aforementioned lack of consent. I liked Jenny too. Biting your captor twice is iconic. And the barriers that kept them apart felt realistic — when things fell apart at the midpoint, I was actually cringing for Royce. And I didn’t know how they’d make up at the end, but the way it was done was somewhat believable. Even if I wished Royce had groveled just a tiny bit more.
Content Warnings
Constant non-con kissing and some coercive sex from the love interest, of the “she said no repeatedly but then he kisses/touches her anyway and he’s just so good at it that she abandons her virtuous refusal and becomes an enthusiastic participant” variety. While he never rapes the main character, he states that he would have sex with her even if she was unwilling multiple times.