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A review by arttichokedipp
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
I rate books 1-star for two reasons
1) I wish I weren’t alive by the end of it or
2) I think the book is genuinely dangerous
To Kill A Kingdom, unfortunately, falls into the latter category. It’s a nice story, and I enjoyed it. Would have liked to see more diverse characters in terms of sexuality and disability, but it was overall a fun spin and I liked the distinction between sirens and merpeople and wished the classism was explored there more. But the way this book glorifies self-harm is dangerous. The protagonist is a masochist and the author does not let you forget it for a single chapter. When she is injured she enjoys it, but worse is that she self-harms in potentially fatal ways for stress relief and then gets that relief. That’s a dangerous message to send, and if I had to pick only one trigger warning for this book it would be that.
Tl;dr if you have any history of depression or self-harm, or if you’re under 16 or so, this book is dangerous for you. Don’t read it.
1) I wish I weren’t alive by the end of it or
2) I think the book is genuinely dangerous
To Kill A Kingdom, unfortunately, falls into the latter category. It’s a nice story, and I enjoyed it. Would have liked to see more diverse characters in terms of sexuality and disability, but it was overall a fun spin and I liked the distinction between sirens and merpeople and wished the classism was explored there more. But the way this book glorifies self-harm is dangerous. The protagonist is a masochist and the author does not let you forget it for a single chapter. When she is injured she enjoys it, but worse is that she self-harms in potentially fatal ways for stress relief and then gets that relief. That’s a dangerous message to send, and if I had to pick only one trigger warning for this book it would be that.
Tl;dr if you have any history of depression or self-harm, or if you’re under 16 or so, this book is dangerous for you. Don’t read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Torture, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy