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addieisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
We’re the same, he and I. Just as looking into my cousin’s eyes feels like looking into a memory of my own childhood, being around Elian feels like being around an alternate version of myself. Reflections of each other in a different kingdom and a different life. Broken pieces from the same mirror. There are worlds between us, but that seems more like semantics than tangible evidence of how dissimilar we are.
I’m in love with this story! The plot is intriguing and every detail just fits so well into the original little mermaid tale that I’m impressed with the author’s creativity! The main characters are lovely and their development is just fine but I feel like the book stuck into exactly this: just fine. It could be amazing but it was just enough. I wish it had more to read not because I feel curious about the rest only, but because I have the impression that the details shown weren’t shown ENOUGH.
Still, I’d recommend it for someone who just wants to have a good time with a dark little mermaid retelling without being too critical about that. It’s worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
secondhandstargazing's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“How strange that instead of taking his heart, I’m hoping he takes mine”
⚔️ To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo ⚔️
To Kill A Kingdom was a highly enjoyable stand-alone fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid. While I really liked it, I’m glad there’s not like 7 more giant TOMES to read in order to get to the end. Stand-alone fantasies are hard to do, so I commend Alexandra Christo for writing one with decent and unique world building, a balanced dual narration, and a satisfying conclusion.
I especially like how well done one of my favourite tropes, the enemies-to-lovers trope, was done. It is probably the best execution of the trope I’ve seen so far. Lira and Elian have ACTUAL reasons to be enemies, which is what a lot of enemies to lovers tropes in books seem to miss; and it is a nice slooooow burn romance. And once they start to connect, they find meaningful things they have in common, as opposed to just chemistry, which is what a lot of other books rely too heavily on.
One criticism I have is that there are too many villains. The Sea Queen is good as a villain because she has a narrative purpose in the story, power, and an established connection with Lira. The other secondary, side character villains were just unnecessary. They don’t contribute to any character development of the main characters, don’t have any development or convincing motivations of their own, and are very flat. All of this combined makes them extraneous, and this is probably the weakest part of the book.
I’d recommend this book for anyone who likes the following: sirens, sliiightly murderous MCs, witty banter, ocean adventures, royalty, stories about people defying parental expectations, and stories about people learning who they are outside of toxic/abusive familial relationships.
⚔️ To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo ⚔️
To Kill A Kingdom was a highly enjoyable stand-alone fantasy retelling of The Little Mermaid. While I really liked it, I’m glad there’s not like 7 more giant TOMES to read in order to get to the end. Stand-alone fantasies are hard to do, so I commend Alexandra Christo for writing one with decent and unique world building, a balanced dual narration, and a satisfying conclusion.
I especially like how well done one of my favourite tropes, the enemies-to-lovers trope, was done. It is probably the best execution of the trope I’ve seen so far. Lira and Elian have ACTUAL reasons to be enemies, which is what a lot of enemies to lovers tropes in books seem to miss; and it is a nice slooooow burn romance. And once they start to connect, they find meaningful things they have in common, as opposed to just chemistry, which is what a lot of other books rely too heavily on.
One criticism I have is that there are too many villains. The Sea Queen is good as a villain because she has a narrative purpose in the story, power, and an established connection with Lira. The other secondary, side character villains were just unnecessary. They don’t contribute to any character development of the main characters, don’t have any development or convincing motivations of their own, and are very flat. All of this combined makes them extraneous, and this is probably the weakest part of the book.
I’d recommend this book for anyone who likes the following: sirens, sliiightly murderous MCs, witty banter, ocean adventures, royalty, stories about people defying parental expectations, and stories about people learning who they are outside of toxic/abusive familial relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
Minor: Confinement
Specific TW: Emotional abuse and manipulation from a parent, physical abuse from a parent, sexual harassment and non-consensual touching (not from the love interest and is in no way glorified or seen as ok by the protagonists)
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