A review by bonald
To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

adventurous tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

First off, I absolutely hated Lira’s mom. Almost dropped because of how poorly she treated her daughter. But I pushed on. And overall, it was alright.

I feel like the book should’ve have been longer. Christo spends so long setting up the world and the characters backstory, to then just rush through the rest of the book.
When it was revealed that the pearl was on the top of a mountain, I thought that most of the rest of the story would have been them climbing the mountain. It was described as being almost impossible to climb. The cast of characters spend less than a chapter actually climbing the thing. And most of that chapter was a romantic scene between Lira and Elian. Which I didn’t mind, it was pretty cute.

I also thought that Lira’s cousin would have been featured more. She was the main reason for Lira to question what it means to be a siren, but she was barely there. For someone who was so important for the development of one of the main characters, I expected her to be there more.


I enjoyed the relationship between Lira and Elian, it took work between both of them. Although, it did feel a little rushed.

Overall, a cute story that was rushed. If the author was able to make a longer book, maybe the pace would be better.
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