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A review by literarypenguin
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Let me tell all of you, this book has to be one of my favorite loosely based retellings I have ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. The cover alone was enough to entice me to pick this up. The astonishing imagery, the A+ witty banter, and one of the most well developed, strongest female protagonist's I have ever read.
This book focused on two very different people, both ruling over different kingdoms and wearing crowns neither of them want upon their heads.
Lira, aka The Prince's Bane- The ruthless, cunning, daughter of the Sea Queen who wants nothing more then to please her mother and take over when she inherits the throne. Not satisfied with the hearts of ordinary sailors, she prefers the hearts of royalty and hunts them down with the skills of a trained predator. Though deep down, Lira doesn't like the reputation she has made for herself and deeply resents her mother for how she treats her and her young cousin. She soon discovers more to herself and the world beyond the sea.
Elian aka The Prince Of The Golden City- The young ruler of the kingdom of Midas, Elian would much rather sail the seas then sit on the throne. Adventurous, Charming, and Loyal Elian hates being a prince and would rather just live his life as a normal young man. It doesn't stop him from using his princely status to get things and bargain his way out of sticky situations. His loyalty to his motley crew and his family is something you do not want to mess with.
In this world, sirens on the eve of their birth's must find and hunt down a sailor and rip their hearts out of their chest. How many hearts one siren has determines how long that siren has lived. When a siren hunts, they use their enchanting, hypnotic voices to lull people to sleep and lure unsuspecting others to their demise. The Sea Queen rules the sirens with a cold, calculating hand. She can hear and see everything that goes on in the ocean depths and is always one step ahead of someone. If one siren disobeys her, she dispenses a cruel and horrendous dose of punishment that they have no choice but to receive.
I love the banter in this book, especially the banter between Lira and Elian. Lira has to be one of the most interesting and complex protagonist I have ever read about. At the beginning she was cruel and ruthless, stopping at nothing to accomplish her goal but over time she grew to love and care about these people who saved her. She realised how awful her mother truly was and learned that she had to be in control of who she wanted to be not anyone else. Elian taught Lira all these things and more and in return he learned from her that he couldn't keep running from things that he was afraid of anymore. My only wish was I wish that we would have got just a little bit more scenes with Lira and Elian just to further develop their relationship.
The imagery and world building was just phenomenal, I mean not kidding I could see this book being turned into a movie it was that in depth. The attention to detail and the different kingdoms and how they worked was amazing. The action sequences were intense and nail biting, my favorite was the last one near the end. That scene was so so good.
This book doesn't shy away from talking about tough topics, like parental/child abuse, gaslighting, manipulation. It really shows that in certain circumstances the people that are suppose to love and care about you just don't. They only care about themselves and what they can get from you. It is a sad but awfully true fact in our world.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book or at least give this a try. For lovers of pirates, sea creatures, retellings or those who are new to it. Give this book a try for yourselves and take a trip into the vast depths of the deep blue.
This book focused on two very different people, both ruling over different kingdoms and wearing crowns neither of them want upon their heads.
Lira, aka The Prince's Bane- The ruthless, cunning, daughter of the Sea Queen who wants nothing more then to please her mother and take over when she inherits the throne. Not satisfied with the hearts of ordinary sailors, she prefers the hearts of royalty and hunts them down with the skills of a trained predator. Though deep down, Lira doesn't like the reputation she has made for herself and deeply resents her mother for how she treats her and her young cousin. She soon discovers more to herself and the world beyond the sea.
Elian aka The Prince Of The Golden City- The young ruler of the kingdom of Midas, Elian would much rather sail the seas then sit on the throne. Adventurous, Charming, and Loyal Elian hates being a prince and would rather just live his life as a normal young man. It doesn't stop him from using his princely status to get things and bargain his way out of sticky situations. His loyalty to his motley crew and his family is something you do not want to mess with.
In this world, sirens on the eve of their birth's must find and hunt down a sailor and rip their hearts out of their chest. How many hearts one siren has determines how long that siren has lived. When a siren hunts, they use their enchanting, hypnotic voices to lull people to sleep and lure unsuspecting others to their demise. The Sea Queen rules the sirens with a cold, calculating hand. She can hear and see everything that goes on in the ocean depths and is always one step ahead of someone. If one siren disobeys her, she dispenses a cruel and horrendous dose of punishment that they have no choice but to receive.
I love the banter in this book, especially the banter between Lira and Elian. Lira has to be one of the most interesting and complex protagonist I have ever read about. At the beginning she was cruel and ruthless, stopping at nothing to accomplish her goal but over time she grew to love and care about these people who saved her. She realised how awful her mother truly was and learned that she had to be in control of who she wanted to be not anyone else. Elian taught Lira all these things and more and in return he learned from her that he couldn't keep running from things that he was afraid of anymore. My only wish was I wish that we would have got just a little bit more scenes with Lira and Elian just to further develop their relationship.
The imagery and world building was just phenomenal, I mean not kidding I could see this book being turned into a movie it was that in depth. The attention to detail and the different kingdoms and how they worked was amazing. The action sequences were intense and nail biting, my favorite was the last one near the end. That scene was so so good.
This book doesn't shy away from talking about tough topics, like parental/child abuse, gaslighting, manipulation. It really shows that in certain circumstances the people that are suppose to love and care about you just don't. They only care about themselves and what they can get from you. It is a sad but awfully true fact in our world.
Overall I would definitely recommend this book or at least give this a try. For lovers of pirates, sea creatures, retellings or those who are new to it. Give this book a try for yourselves and take a trip into the vast depths of the deep blue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Blood
Minor: Slavery