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A review by lovelymisanthrope
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I have had a copy of this book on my bookshelf for years, and finally made the time to read it.
"To Kill a Kingdom" follows Princess Lira and Prince Elian. Lira is a siren, and one of the deadliest ones at that. As a punishment for perceived crimes her mother, the Sea Queen, transforms Lira into a human and tasks Lira with collecting Prince Elian's heart. If Lira does not succeed, she will be a human forever. Prince Elian has devoted his life to hunting, capturing, and killing sirens. During one of his trips, he rescues a drowning woman, Lira, and although he feels like there is something off about her, he cannot help but want to trust her, at least a little.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Sometimes when a book sits on your shelf for too long, it will not live up to the idea you had of it, but this book surpassed my expectations.
This story is very much a reimagining of "The Little Mermaid", but much darker and more sinister. Lira uses her siren's song to lure princes into the ocean, and then she steals their hearts. Elian is not so easily swayed by the enchanting lure of a mermaid's song. Because of this, "To Kill a Kingdom" felt like the perfect mix of classic story reimagined.
I HATED the Sea Queen. She was harsh, unforgiving, and just awful to read about.
Lira is a complicated character, which makes reading from her all the more interesting. Lira brutally and ruthlessly murders men, which can be difficult to read. However, I also felt so much empathy for her because her mother is absolutely awful to her. Lira is just trying to make her's and the other siren's lives better, but that is not easy with such a vindictive ruler.
Elian was not my favorite to read about. He is very standoffish and very much driven by selfish motives, in my opinion. Yes, he is noble for wanting to help the humans be safe from the mermaids once and for all, but he is still very rough around the edges, and he elects to treat Lira like a prisoner without much reason to think she has done anything wrong.
The plot was definitely engaging, and I really enjoyed exploring the sea with the characters. I was a little disappointed with how much of the story is above the water, but I suppose that was more authentic to the retelling.
Overall, this was enjoyable. I had a good time reading it and it is definitely a solid recommendation for anyone looking for a dark take on "The Little Mermaid".
"To Kill a Kingdom" follows Princess Lira and Prince Elian. Lira is a siren, and one of the deadliest ones at that. As a punishment for perceived crimes her mother, the Sea Queen, transforms Lira into a human and tasks Lira with collecting Prince Elian's heart. If Lira does not succeed, she will be a human forever. Prince Elian has devoted his life to hunting, capturing, and killing sirens. During one of his trips, he rescues a drowning woman, Lira, and although he feels like there is something off about her, he cannot help but want to trust her, at least a little.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. Sometimes when a book sits on your shelf for too long, it will not live up to the idea you had of it, but this book surpassed my expectations.
This story is very much a reimagining of "The Little Mermaid", but much darker and more sinister. Lira uses her siren's song to lure princes into the ocean, and then she steals their hearts. Elian is not so easily swayed by the enchanting lure of a mermaid's song. Because of this, "To Kill a Kingdom" felt like the perfect mix of classic story reimagined.
I HATED the Sea Queen. She was harsh, unforgiving, and just awful to read about.
Lira is a complicated character, which makes reading from her all the more interesting. Lira brutally and ruthlessly murders men, which can be difficult to read. However, I also felt so much empathy for her because her mother is absolutely awful to her. Lira is just trying to make her's and the other siren's lives better, but that is not easy with such a vindictive ruler.
Elian was not my favorite to read about. He is very standoffish and very much driven by selfish motives, in my opinion. Yes, he is noble for wanting to help the humans be safe from the mermaids once and for all, but he is still very rough around the edges, and he elects to treat Lira like a prisoner without much reason to think she has done anything wrong.
The plot was definitely engaging, and I really enjoyed exploring the sea with the characters. I was a little disappointed with how much of the story is above the water, but I suppose that was more authentic to the retelling.
Overall, this was enjoyable. I had a good time reading it and it is definitely a solid recommendation for anyone looking for a dark take on "The Little Mermaid".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Murder, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Death, Toxic relationship, and Violence