Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?
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To Kill a Kingdom
Alexandra Christo
To Kill a Kingdom is so good that I made a stranger I had known for one day buy it and get it signed by Alexandra Christo at YALC. I am not even kidding. I loved it so much. It’s a super dark retelling that has sirens, and mermaids and mermen. It has the sea queen who’s all tentacled up. Plus a prince pirate who’s just as bad-ass as the siren who’s story is being told.
The book instantly gripped me from the opening as it explains the differences between mermaids and sirens. Those beautiful creatures you think you know are actually sirens and are deadly. The mermaids on the other hand are ugly decaying things that are also quite deadly. This is a tale used to make you beware the waters.
Throughout the book we venture both above and below the waterline, and visit many kingdoms along the way. Each place has it’s own culture, personality and descriptions. All of which are wonderfully written and pull you straight into this universe. There is backstories and histories for each place, which are interwoven to the story perfectly. Plus there’s always a sense of wonder as you’re visiting these new places.
Literally the only negative I could possibly think of was that Lira was sometimes overdramatic and annoying. But because all of the characters are written so well it’s pulled off and was not off-putting at all. Each character has their very own distinct personality, plus a whole load of backstory. This includes the supporting characters and not just the main ones as well which is always a bonus.
POSITIVES
+ Wonderful opening
+ Great characters
+ World Building
NEGATIVES
– Overdramatic Lira
I received To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo from the publisher via Netgalley. This is an unbiased and honest review
