Written by Jacqueline Leech
To Kill A Kingdom is Alexandra Christo’s debut novel and it is a book all fantasy fans will need to read! This novel is a tale of sirens mixed with intrigue, a little romance and brilliant character growth, resulting in this book having it all!
I was super excited for this book as sirens and mermaids are some of my favourite mythical creatures, so I was sold from the get-go. After hearing this referred to as ‘The Little Mermaid retelling with a twist’, I was a little dubious. There were so many ways this could go wrong, however, I couldn’t wait to see what Alexandra Christo would do with it.
This book appears to be everywhere at the moment, as other book lovers appear to be just as excited to finally start reading books featuring such an underused mythology. In my personal opinion, there has been a major lack of such in the Young Adult and Fantasy markets.
Firstly, this cover of this book is beautiful with its colour scheme, blues and bronzes, work so well with the font and tentacles that adorn the cover. This is certainly one of those covers that tries to catch your eye ‘just right’ by not trying too hard, but not being too bland at the same time.
Naturally the plot sounded great with a siren being banished unless she steals the heart of the prince. This prince, who is more at home in the sea and also a known siren hunter, is after one particular siren known as ‘The Prince’s Bane’. Just this alone would have made any YA or fantasy fan want to buy this book, but To Kill A Kingdom is so much more than that.
As a young adult fantasy book, there is just a kind of ‘flow’ to it that makes it read like so many other books I’ve devoured and loved out there. Yet, Alexandra Christo has a wonderful prose that pushes you to want to the next couples of chapters. It is easy to read and allows you to fly through it in no time. As a standalone book, it wraps up really well by answering most, if not all questions, but also leaves you wanting to know more about the world.
Some parts of this book were a little slow, but they made for a nice break between the chunks of action. This also helped the story to move along and allow you to breathe whilst taking in everything that happened.
The characters are well put together and fleshed out. There is so much history to each and every character that I’d love to see novellas telling us more. Lira and Elian are two sides of the same coin as they are royally born and out on quests, so it’s no wonder that they’re drawn together. Lyra is fierce and knows what she wants, and while Elian is the same, he knows how to get it even if it means making sacrifices on the way. The slow-burn romance in this book was enjoyable with each of the characters and their choices coming across as believable and it was fun being able to guess what they might do next. If you’re anything like myself, when you are reading, you will feel as if you are part of Elian’s crew.
Overall, this book was so much fun and I have loved being on this journey and watching the characters grow as much as they did!
If you enjoy this book, try Deep Blue by Jennifer Donnelly and Of Poseidon by Anna Banks!
Will you be picking up To Kill A Kingdom? Have you read it already? Tell us in the comments below!
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?
Im thinking of reading this book and I think your review helped me decide and I will finally read it now. I just have one concern, I need to know if Lira and Elian both are alive at the end of the book. I know it’s kind of sad I need to know this, but some books have just destroyed me because of this particular problem. If you could tell me I would appreciate it. Thanks 🙂