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This Kingdom Drops Hints

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I have some fun news for you. So many of you used salty language when it comes to This Kingdom – apparently you posted things like w*it and p*tience, and really such swearing is just atrocious – that Tor decided to have a preview of This Kingdom.

There will be two different ways to read some of This Kingdom ahead of time. And when I say some, I mean like 120 manuscript pages, or close to 30,000 words. It’s a novella-sized preview. It is extremely generous.

I can tell you that one way will be by downloading a sneak peek. This extended excerpt of the book will be FREE. It will have an awesome magenta sticker on it, so you don’t confuse it with the actual book.

The “preorders” for this should start popping up the beginning of January and the actual release will be in the end of January. All dates are tentative. I know the sneak peek will be in KU. I will discuss availability at other retailers – more to come on that. To see how it will work, here is a free extended preview example of THE RED WINTER by Cameron Sullivan.

When Tor first let us know, my first reaction was, “OMG, awesome!” and my second, “BDH will think it’s pirated.” It is very telling that when I informed Mod R about it, her first reaction was, “They will think it’s pirated.” Hehe. So book not pirated, magenta sticker means sneak peek, and we will let you know when it goes live and link it up and down. And then I will hide, because they are cutting it off at a fun moment, and Mod R will have to hold up a shield while you throw tomatoes at us.

I cannot talk about the second preview yet, but as soon as they give us the green light, I will absolutely let you know.

This Kingdom Receives Praise

Library Journal very generously gave This Kingdom a starred review.

VERDICT Andrews (Ruby Fever) launches a series that is a love letter to fantasy, exploring both the world of Rellas and characters’ backstories in a fully immersive story. Fans of isekai fantasy, doorstopper reads, or authors Samantha Shannon, Danielle L. Jensen, and V. E. Schwab will love this.

Library Journal

Starred Review

Yes, I did mention starred review three times. Let me live.

This Kingdom Offers a Tiny Bribe

I give you Dame Pressida, whom you will meet in the sequel to This Kingdom.

Two women stood in the courtyard. One of them was 5’10 and wearing a black gambeson, black pants, and tall boots. A large shield hung off her back, wrapped in cloth, and two swords, one larger and the other almost dagger length, rode on her hips in leather and wooden core scabbards. The gambeson fit her like a glove, widening her broad shoulders and slimming down at her waist. Even with the quilted padding, she looked athletic, fit and strong, like she could run an obstacle course and then lop your head off with either of her blades without breaking a sweat.

Her dark brown skin had a golden undertone, and her face, with full lips and round brown eyes, put her close to my age. Her curly brown hair was parted on the side, slicked against her scalp, and pulled into a tight complex braid. Her expression said she knew her worth and her strength, and if anybody had any doubts, she would demonstrate. The pack at her feet bulged, and it looked like it had armor in it.

The knight tilted her chin up. “I am Dame Pressida vi Lattivet, knight in the service of REDACTED.”

…

“I’m not a good rider,” I said.

“I’m an excellent rider,” Pressida assured me. “I will guide you.”

Why did that sound like a threat?

“I’m also well educated in etiquette, navigation, mathematics, astronomy, history, and flower arrangement. If you need assistance in any of these fields, I will aid you.”

As expected. She was a noble woman and the daughter of a hero.

“Is there anything you’re bad at?” Shana asked.

“Poetry.” Pressida made a face. “Do not care for it.”

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. I somewhat feel the same way about poetry, particularly modern poetry. So excited for the full book, I’m not really a big preview person, I’d rather wait, even though it’s the devil!

    • Me, too!

      Or should it be, “Me, as well!”

      Or maybe I should say, “I agree as well!”

      It’s tough trying to be “politically correct” and “grammatically correct” all the time.

      Arrgh!

      Well… Cheers anyway!

  4. GASP! I bet it’s pirated. I shall message mod-r right away so you are aware.

    I find this terribly exciting and I appreciate the warning that it ends in an awful spot (though they do that on purpose)

    • I also appreciate the head’s up! About where it cuts off, not the piracy. Some things should not sail the seven seas, nor the interwebs.

      Cutting it off at a key moment is to be expected, but somehow I never expect it and then feel all the feelings. Sometimes twice.

      I’m so ridiculously excited for this book! And if that fluffy illustrated lil creature up there has a plushy? I want like three. Maybe six. A tiny horde of them.

  5. Flower arrangement! Such a nice touch! Do her people also have parties where they view the gardens by moonlight while they write poetry?

  6. I’m waiting for the full book. I have plans to curl up with snacks and a nice beverage and the poodle beast curled up in my lap.

      • Until said poodle beast jumps on your chest at 1am and licks your nose, then gets back into her heated bed. Yeah,not sure what that’s about, but she totally woke me up.

      • my poodle lap beast is a 1 year old Doberman (80lbs). She tries to knock my Ipad or Kindle out of my lap to make way

    • If it’s available on Kindle Unlimited I’ll read the preview
      That way I get a teaser and Amazon pays the authors some money

      Then I buy the full book and they get more money
      I support authors getting money
      (although I have at times gone overboard in how much of my money I have sent to various authors from book purchases)

  8. So I looked up those other authors to whom you were compared. It turns out I’ve read a novel by one of them and enjoyed it. I’ll check the library for one of the other two. This has happened to me several times: a writer I like gets compared to, or has a blurb from, someone with whom I’m not familiar. Sometimes it led me to other things I enjoyed, and sometimes it left me thinking “I don’t see the connection here”. Anyhow, I’m still patiently waiting for Maggie. Thanks for the snippet from book 2!

  9. OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG
    deep breath….
    Okay, so I finally looked up Isekai and find that it’s a fantasy where the protagonist gets thrown into another world. Clicked on a linked article (NY Public Library) and all the examples are either Manga or Anime. Some were even vaguely familiar.
    But why no historical examples? Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of OZ and Gulliver’s Travels come immediately to mind. Child’s literature is full of it. Are these not considered Isekai?

    • Isekai is considered either the Japanese-equivalent term for the Western “portal fantasy”, or a subgenre of the wider “portal fantasy” umbrella.

      One of the main differences mentioned sometimes are that in isekai the character has to go into another world, with different rules and elements – not through a portal in our Earth’s past for example, like in Outlander.

      Yes, all of the stories you mention are isekai even by this narrower definition, but the trend at the moment is the Asian canon of manga, manhwa, webtoons and anime, not the Western classics. You will have to ask the author of the article what the reason was for not including them 🙂

      • Im going to put in my guess as to why they aren’t included (completely unofficial and my own opinion!). In most Isekai I’ve seen, the protagonist is super familiar with the world they’re thrown into. Not the case with Alice in Wonderland like stories.

  10. That’s an intriguing snippet. Sounds like someone is getting a course in being a noblewoman.

    Glad it’s not me. As much as I expect I’ll enjoy reading about it, the only thing I probably would enjoy learning would be poetry ( and history ).

  11. I don’t use kindle, but it’s still exciting!!

    Catch me singing this kingdom’s praises on r/otomeisekai as soon as I can (almost) get my hands on it lmao.

  12. Love the comment on poetry 😉 It reminds me of the article about writing a poem for a friend yesterday.

  13. I love the tiny bribe! Thank you. Congratulations on the Library Journal starred review! Well deserved and a 30,000 excerpt before release?! Wow. You are both so exceptional at your craft. Thank you for the many hours of pleasure I receive from reading and re-reading your books 🙂

  14. oh I don’t want a preview, I have been ignoring titbits. I’m going full suprise!
    Hope the very generous preview helps create new horde members though!

  15. I am absolutely thrilled by this news. To be honest, I am thrilled by all news from House Andrew’s. Thank you for making the world a better more interesting place!

  16. Oh, not sure I will read the preview… it’s so hard to have to stop and wait for the rest of it. But I do enjoy the stories that are posted weekly so I could probably do it! LOL

  17. Thanks! I clicked on the red winter but apparently Amazon won’t deliver it to me in NZ. Because electronic mail obviously costs too much to the antipodes 😔
    I sure hope that’s not going to be the case when TKWKM is available!!! No p*tience for that 😡

    • So that’s a Kate mental image… “Can’t w*it. Can’t w*it. Gotta have it now!”

      Hm. I like!

      Cheers!

  20. I hope you are over the worst of your cold – you sound better!
    Wow, this new series gets better & better! 2026 and release of book 1 is getting closer!

  23. Wow! Re: everything….. Thank you!
    Meet Dame Pressida. She will destroy you with great skill and create a beautiful flower arrangement in memorial. Can’t wait to find out more.
    Thank you for all the wonderful goodies lately! We truly appreciate you for both your mad creative skills and your big heart!
    Sending peace, health and safety to all!

  24. Who is this REDACTED?! I would like to challenge them to a dual!!

    Ah, a beauty of a snippet🥰. I can now stay fluffy. So glad Tor decided on a preview, and I may stop with those pesky swear words.

    Congratulations on the review from the Library Journal!

    It’s getting closer, my precious…

  27. Thanks for the snippet. Math and history…hmm. 🤔 Dame Pressida and I would have lots to talk about.

    Thanks for the warning about the cutoff in the tease reading. **Ducking the tomato that just flew over the head.** 🤣🤣🤣🤣

  28. I guess 120 pages out of a doorstopper does count as a snippet. And I’m here for it! Also for the sequel and Dame Pressida.

  29. “I can tell you that one way will be by downloading a sneak peek. This extended excerpt of the book will be FREE“… wooot!!! I was going to ask oh so fluffily for a peak Into Roman’s family Koliada party…. But this works too haha!

  30. Excellent… I await the preview most chalantly, with bated breath. What an excellent birthday present!

  31. I’m sure my fellow BDH will be all over this preview. As for me, I’ve just started a reread of the Edge Series on my Kindle Fire, and a reread of Sanctuary on my IPhone. I’m good for now.

  32. Ohhh… I must try to resist lure of the free preview… especially ending at a fun moment… must resist…
    Nope! No self control what so ever here! I’ll be grabbing it as soon as it’s up! 😂
    Thank you for the tiny snippet as well as the upcoming preview!!

  33. I am so very, very excited.
    And I love all the new vocabulary you give me (gambeson).
    I am not a military person, so I’ve had lots of ‘better look that up so I can visualize it” with your books. And I love it.

    • I too looked up gambeson. Always something new to learn. And always something funny, like the juxtaposition of flower arrangement with the other abilities.

  34. A preview! Yay!
    A cliffhanger preview! Aaaargh!
    Oh man, a cliffhanger is going to drive me crazy, and I just know I am going to read it anyway.

  35. Although I am currently using my small mini greenhouse to grow produce, I promise not to throw it at anyone for stopping at pivital plot points.

    although now I do want some merch with a warning sign and pivotal plot point ahead on it. 😅😅

  36. Will it be available internationally? As Australia still doesn’t even have a pre-order link available for the book yet. I’ve checked all my usual online bookstores 🙁

    • The preorder availability in Australia is due to the local publishers. Preorders will only appear 3 months before release date, which is 31st of March – so expected at the end of December. Ilona clarified it on the blog several times, here for more detail 🙂 https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/wednesday-updates-and-skipping-inheritance-on-friday/

      Australia is under the British publisher, Tor UK, so we’ll have to wait on news on the other retailers and international availability – this early preview is an endeavour from the US publisher 🙂

  37. This is a bright spot in my day. Sadly we had to say goodbye to our Daisy today.
    Thanks for giving me something to look forward to on this heart wrenching day.

  38. Ahhhhhh! Despite knowing the first look will end on a cliffhanger, I know myself well enough to know I will absolutely read it 😂

    I both can’t wait and dread it!

    • I’m thinking maybe I could just read the excerpt reeeaaalll slow so it would last…yeah, no, that’s not going to happen. I’ll gobble it down in a hurry.

  39. Throwing of tomatoes is only allowed if the following is also thrown.
    Bacon
    Lettuce
    A nice sourdough

    It should be assembled and wrapped in parchment paper and sealed with a sticker or tape.
    You may then throw. Underhand only.

    I don’t make the rules, I just explain them.

    • Ha, ha, ha, ha!

      Definitely bacon. Tomatoes and lettuce would be good as well.

      However, only Truckee Sourdough (sliced) is permitted in my toaster. (There’s nothing else like it in the world!)

      Cheers

  40. Omg omg omg I’m so stoked! The sneak preview will be so darn amazing! How do we tell Tor thank you from the bottom of our greedy little hearts?!

    I did have to laugh about “they will think it’s pirated”. So true, you would have been immediately inundated with emails. And I laughed even more about the tomato shield.

    Can’t wait to meet Dame Pressida hehehehe

  43. I agree with Pressida — “Poetry. Not a fan.”

    This snippet made me laugh! I love laughing, and snorting a laugh, and giggling, and smiling until my cheeks hurt — so, thanks so very much!

    I am so looking forward to the next book — Future House Andrews Book Sales = in the bag! (Check!)

    I know I should like poetry, but, frankly, I’m better with prose.

    And I just love a little “Poetic License.”

    Except for some beloved Dr. Seuss rhyming books, The Jabberwocky and Clement C. Moore’s Christmas poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43171/a-visit-from-st-nicholas), I usually don’t “get” poetry.

    Honestly, I love Shakespeare’s plays, but the poetry and style (blank verse and iambic pentameter) are sometimes tough to translate in my brain. I don’t care for his sonnets.

    Music is a completely different beast for me. In music, the poetry of the words just makes sense! (I guess, if you set poetry to music, then I’d probably “get it.”)

    Anyway, thanks so much for the news and the snippet!

    Cheers!

  44. I’ve already read This Kingdom 4x(!) since I received the ARC, and I am absolutely *bursting* for all of BDH to get their hands on even this preview! Y’all are going to love it SO much❤️

    …and I adore the sequel snippet. I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel after *that* ending.

    • The rest of the Horde will try not to throw tomatoes at you either. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🍅🍅🍅🍅

      Glad to know it is a very good book to get our hands on.

  45. I know the word “showstopper” but “doorstopper” no, especially since it implies paper or hardcover book so lousy you shove it at a gap along bottom of door to keep it closed or from rattling in wind.

    Must’ve looked up gambeson previously, because understood clothing application.😅

    Meaning and origin, anyone, on _doorstopper_?

    • A doorstopper (or doorstop) is simply a book that is big enough to hold open a door! In other words, longer than the average fantasy book on the shelves.

      It’s a colloquial use of doorstop, defined by Merriam-Webster as
      “(…) 2 : a device (such as a wedge or weight) for holding a door open”

      For example:
      “In the nineteen-eighties and nineties, the number of doorstop biographies of American Presidents skyrocketed.
      —Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2025”

      “His students haven’t had to lug home those doorstops in years.
      — Jay Mathews, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2019”

      It’s also applied, pejoratively, to other bulky items such as fruitcakes (American usage, UK readers please avert your eyes!), computers that have stopped working, and more:

      “In your standard Christmas story, there is a family fruitcake that makes the rounds every year and doubles as a doorstop until it is mailed to the next victim.
      — Murr Brewster, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Dec. 2020”

      (examples copied from Merriam-Webster website)

  46. Oh I love this little bit, and hopes for more. You are too kind.

    Thank you for letting us know it is not pirated.

  47. * preemptively throws tomatoes before shields engage* So…. Now we have to impatiently wait to be even more impatient. 🤣

  50. I have concerns. I do not like any of the authors the review compares This Kingdom too. I will have to trust. But it is hard.

    • Luckily there is a long preview to give us a taste 🙂.

      I would generally say comp authors or books are set by publishers and reviewers as very wide shorthand for genre and tropes – it doesn’t mean the books or style are the necessarily incredibly similar.

      But everyone’s mileage varies and that’s ok 🙂

      • Also many authors’ first books don’t measure up to their following ones, and some authors switch styles enough between series to make some series appeal more to certain individuals than others. There’s a bestselling author whose most recent series I absolutely love. In previous books by the same author, also bestsellers, I never got past the first few pages. This is why sneak previews can be so helpful, beyond their entertainment value.

  55. Love this. And love Tor fully embracing the Horde and (dare I say) indulging us? As ever, Mod R’s prescience makes me giggle. Looking forward to the non-pirated free preview in the new year!

  57. Wait…did you just tell the BDH, a 40,000+ group of people that harassment of a publisher gets us nice things? Huh..

    • No harassment involved! This Horde does not harasses people – please don’t!

      Just fluffy excitement that gets snippets to devour 🙂

  59. While I love small snippets, I typically don’t do extended previews — even of star-reviewed books because I have NO p@tience. None. Zip. Oddly enough I’m fine w@iting once it’s in my possession, but read a part and have it stop at a fun place? No chill.

    So, I will be over here looking at that preorder icon (for the book with the starred review) on my e-reader while the rest of you giddily read extended (but not pirated) previews of the star-reviewed book.

    For those of you who have the emotional maturity to read an excerpt and w@it, I salute you!

  63. I love your stuff so much that I always finish reading too quickly. (Doesn’t matter how long the book, novella or snippet is, I’m sad when it’s over so it’s not you, it’s a me problem). Novella sized “sample” you say? What percent of the book is it? This is sounding more and more exciting!

  65. One of the things I like most about reading online is to being able to do a quick search on “gambeson” and confirm that it is the garment I was picturing without significantly interrupting the flow of my reading.

  66. “knight in the service of redacted”
    right. that’s always the way of it – slogging thru ice and slush in stupid Redacted’s service, underpaid, overwork’d while old Redacted [only the acolytes call her “red”] lolls around eatin’ bonbonbons.
    it’s a living. it’s a living.

  68. Oh man, I have to wait to meet her? Sigh. This is a hard wait. Thanks for the multicultural of it all. Glad you all survived the cold. Wipe those door knobs, refrigerator handles often. Man I am so fortunate I get to read your work.

  69. Wait… second preview to the same book, or second preview for another book? Either are awesome! And yay!

  70. The sample is so generous! I am kinda scared to read it though bc the way until release day will feel unbearable. Tough decisions ahead…

  72. I’m assuming there will b a way for those of us who don’t KU to get the long preview. Thanks and nice work to whoever the BDH undercover ppl at Tor might b. Also to HA and Mod. R who have NO idea what I’m talking about.

    W*iting p*tiently for further instructions… sigh

  73. I think I like Dame Pressida already.

    I’m not touching the preview. They’re definitely gonna leave us hanging off a cliff and I already preordered. I’ll w*it, much as I hate the practice.