The Kingdom's Daughter

by Daniel J.P. Harris

She doesn't believe it. She can't see a hero. But she'll sure fight like one.

After the Third World War, Africa became the governing global power, naming itself the Kingdom. Now, with the resistance growing stronger, the Kingdom must produce an army of super soldiers if they’re to solidify their reign, but that will require the perfect genetic makeup. To obtain this, the Kingdom Trials are a series of lethal challenges designed to eliminate all but a single female whose DNA will be crossed with the Kingdom's elite. This girl shall be known as the Kingdom's Daughter, its precious only child who will realize its dream for dominion.

Aletheia Mirabel is just one of thousands who is enslaved for this purpose, but when she reaches the Kingdom, she soon discovers something she lost, and refuses to lose again. It doesn’t matter how. She has to pass the Trials.

Perfect for enjoyers of 'The Hunger Games' and 'Divergent,' 'The Kingdom's Daughter' delivers fast-paced action and a gripping romance.

Hardcover

Published October 10, 2022

About the author

Daniel JP Harris is the author of ‘The Kingdom’s Daughter,’ a project that was eight years in the making. Around the time of writing, he left his home in the UK to pursue his dreams as an actor and writer in Hollywood, striving to achieve what he was told was impossible so others would do it too.

Reviews

[Megan Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

In The Kingdom’s Daughter, young Aletheia Mirabel is torn from her small village and the safety of her parents by the Kingdom. Along with countless other adolescent girls, she is enslaved, marched across a scorching desert, beaten and dehumanized for one purpose: the Kingdom Trials. Aiming to build an elite army to fight back against a growing resistance movement that has been brewing since the Third World War, the governing elite’s solution is to engineer these girls to be gladiators. They will not just be fighting for glory, however, but for their very survival. In the end, the winner of the Kingdom Trials will be chosen as the single girl to produce the next generation of super soldiers. By winning, Aletheia will be proving that she has the perfect genetic makeup for the job. First, she just has to survive in one piece.

The Kingdom’s Daughter was both exhilarating and terrible at the same time, because the main concept of the book is something that seems so fantastical now, but should a third World War actually come to pass, who knows what our actual futures could bring. The book shows a constant battle for power, whether it’s Aletheia battling for control over her life and situation; the governing Kingdom over the resistance of those growing reticent of so many years of oppression; or merely the battle of survival over death.

The Kingdom’s Daughter brings home a theme, and question, that we must constantly ask ourselves: what world are we building of our children and grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren, and so on? Will there be a point in the future where we make innocent children fight for the death for the sake of engineering new generations from a so-called “pure” genetic line? Fiction is a space where we can generate discourse surrounding the direction and state of our world, regardless of whether the story takes place in the past, the present day, or in some distant, dystopian future. The Kingdom’s Daughter is a powerful book for its spellbinding story, captivating characters and graphic imagery, and, perhaps most importantly, for how it will resonate with its audience.

Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and The Maze Runner, The Kingdom’s Daughter is a thrill-packed book that tells the story of one strong, resilient girl, but which is a reflection of all of us. What lengths will we go to survive when all the odds are stacked against us? And how will we ensure that we maintain our identities, dignity and beliefs along the way?

[Molly Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely surpassed my expectations, and was definitely unique in the story line! Set in a future dystopian society, where a place called The Kingdom is the law. After watching people close to her die, losing her best friend, and fight to not starve by catching fish Alethia gets kidnapped by Kingdom soldiers. She is forced to travel with a bunch of other girls to an unknown location, and then forced to walk in chains to another unknown location. This is when she and the other prisoners find out they are going to be trained and will have to battle each other and others from around the world to become the last one standing. They find out the Kingdom is trying to create an army of super soldiers. After years of training and doing things she never wanted to, plus an unexpected encounter with someone, she is one of the last girls standing. This book definitely ends in a cliff hanger and I am very excited to see what happens next in the series!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Mrs LIR Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clean story of teens surviving ina Dystopian society where they are trained /made to fight each other till the death or be torn apart by wild animals.

This is the first novel in what is to be a series.

The main protagonist is a young girl whose name promises of rebellions to come.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Dan Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully Staged

I'm not usually a reader of YA, but I found the pacing of this book to really fly, but still provide a textured universe through solid characters and effortlessly descriptive world building. There are many things I wasn't expecting, but that would be telling. I'm looking forward to the next one!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling story with a Hunger Games vibe. Designed to be the first in a series I have so many questions at the end waiting to be answered.