Format: 360 pages, Kindle Edition
Release Date: August 5, 2025
Publisher: Montlake
Source: Amazon
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
From New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter comes a fusion of modern and fantastical worlds, where a young woman must navigate a secret society, uncover a shocking enemy…and resist an undeniable attraction.
Twenty-year-old Arden Roosa knows only Ourland. Two worlds split and stitched together, with broken pieces from each, statues of fallen gods, and heavenly artifacts that are worshipped…or feared.
But nothing is more fearsome than the night.
A strange madness haunts the darkest hours, turning innocents into gleeful killers. Arden does her best to stay safe, until she reads a book written about her life―The Book of Arden―and everything changes.
Forced to join Fort Bala Royal Academy, Arden is paired with the ruthless High Prince Cyrus Dolion. But while he trains her for combat against a mystical adversary, she can’t deny the sparks burning between them.
If her panic attacks and war games aren’t enough, Arden is also tapped to join the Tome Society, rumored guardians of an invisible library with books that foretell the future. But the more she learns about the society, the less she understands about Ourland, the gods…and the person she’s destined to be.
Twenty-year-old Arden Roosa knows only Ourland. Two worlds split and stitched together, with broken pieces from each, statues of fallen gods, and heavenly artifacts that are worshipped…or feared.
But nothing is more fearsome than the night.
A strange madness haunts the darkest hours, turning innocents into gleeful killers. Arden does her best to stay safe, until she reads a book written about her life―The Book of Arden―and everything changes.
Forced to join Fort Bala Royal Academy, Arden is paired with the ruthless High Prince Cyrus Dolion. But while he trains her for combat against a mystical adversary, she can’t deny the sparks burning between them.
If her panic attacks and war games aren’t enough, Arden is also tapped to join the Tome Society, rumored guardians of an invisible library with books that foretell the future. But the more she learns about the society, the less she understands about Ourland, the gods…and the person she’s destined to be.
Kingdom of Tomorrow is the first installment in author Gena Showalter's Book of Arden series. At its core, Kingdom of Tomorrow is a tale of worlds divided and desires ignited. The premise is that the world as we know it has been "ripped" in several places, not just to reveal but to haphazardly mingle with a parallel universe. Among other things, this has led to an epidemic that turns people into mindless, violent killers, and has created a food crisis and other scarcities because nothing can grow in the mixed soils from the two worlds.
However, "Theirland" has also brought advances in pharmaceuticals, armaments, and nutrition science, which enable the resulting dictatorship to keep the population subdued in the name of safety through a combination of martial law and fear-induction psychology. Twenty-year-old Arden Roosa hails from Ourland, a seemingly ordinary slice of modern life where the nights are haunted by "the Madness"—a creeping insanity that claims victims without mercy.
But Ourland is only half the story; it's stitched to Otherland, a fantastical mirror realm of ancient prophecies, secret societies, and hidden libraries that vanish like smoke. Arden's life upends when her mother's crippling debts force her to enroll in an elite military academy in Otherland, trading her quiet existence for combat trials and cryptic oaths. What begins as a reluctant quest for survival spirals into a labyrinth of revelations. Arden uncovers that the academy isn't just training soldiers—it's a gateway to a clandestine order that guards prophetic books foretelling the fate of both worlds.
As she grapples with her emerging abilities (think subtle magic tied to intuition and shadows), she stumbles upon a shocking enemy: a force threatening to sever the stitch between realms forever, unleashing chaos on a global scale. Along the way, Showalter weaves in high-stakes intrigue, from invisible archives brimming with forbidden lore to ritualistic combats that test not just body, but soul. Mid-book, the action explodes with visceral fight scenes—swords clashing under enchanted moons, alliances fracturing like glass.
Her relationship with High Prince Shiloh evolves from enemies to something more, which will likely be explored further. Arden isn’t fearless. She’s anxious. She overthinks. She often lets her emotions override logic. But that’s also what makes her real. She struggles to trust the people who care about her. She doubts herself. But every time she gets knocked down, there’s a moment of bravery that reminds you: she’s getting there. Arden is pulled by two different sides: One that she is supposed to be helping to protect, and one that has put a target on her back because of a library of books that tells the past and the future.
By the finale, the twists hit like a storm: betrayals that reframe everything, cliffhangers that claw at your heart, and a prophecy reveal that promises epic fallout in book two, Kingdom of Today. It's not flawless—some plot threads, like the origins of the Madness, feel teasingly underdeveloped, leaving a few lingering holes that might frustrate detail-oriented readers.
Ooh nice! I picked this one up awhile ago. I have enjoyed the author in the past and still have a few of her books on my tbr pile. Glad to hear that this one was entertaining for the most part. Nice review!
ReplyDelete