ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

<i>‘Technically I’m a murderer, but I like to think that’s one of my better qualities…’</i>

 

 

<i>‘Truthfully, the idea of this not ending in death never crossed my mind. Of all the outcomes and possibilities I considered, peace wasn’t one.’</i>

 

 

<i>To Kill a Kingdom</i>  has been a sleeper success for me. I’d heard good things about the book but not really dug into it too much, partly to avoid spoilers but also because I’m just not a mermaid enthusiast. That said the little I did allow myself to hear had me really eager to read the book and it didn’t disappoint. In fact it would be fair to say it blew my expectations out of the water – no pun intended.

 

Lira is a siren, heir to the underwater kingdom in the Diavolos Sea and daughter of the Sea Queen who is a ruthless and cruel megolamaniac. She has learned from her earliest  memories how to be a killer of men, more specifically a killer of princes.

 

Elian is a prince, reluctant heir to the golden kingdom of Midas. But the sea and adventure calls to him and he spends most of his time on his ship with his crew of misfits living like a pirate, and hunting sirens.

 

The pair come into direct conflict as they both struggle to preserve their own kingdoms.

 

This has to be one of the best set ups I’ve seen in YA for a long time. Instead of ‘nice’ MCs we are presented with two antiheroes on a direct collision course with each other. There has been some whinging about insta-love but I really don’t see how much less like insta-love this could be. Lira and Elian start out not just hating each other but wanting and needing to kill each other! That doesn’t go out of the window once they lay eyes on each other either but is slowly eroded away over the course of the book as their respective goals throw them into constant conflict with each other. It’s absolutely beautiful and only enhanced by the natural spark and banter between them which really isn’t flirting for most of the book since it’s actually pretty nasty.

 

I love Lira as a character. I want to see more YA MCs like her – antiheroes that are intelligent, self-valuing, fierce, ruthless and driven, with plenty of agency and the potential to become more empathetic. Less simpering princesses please, fellow writers, and more queens-in-waiting like Lira. Above all let’s get away from the toxic idea that girls should always be ‘nice’.

 

The supporting cast were well rounded and diverse. It’s impossible not to love Elian’s crew who are a perfect ‘found-family’ in true ‘Six of Crows’ style.

 

And then for a fast paced of only moderate length, TKAK also boasts exquisite world building, compelling narrative and beautiful prose. You’d think there wasn’t much more that could be layered in after all that wouldn’t you? But the author has also explored several important themes; blind hatred; prejudice; redemption and atonement. And not forgetting abuse of power and indifference. Let’s unpack that last one a little because the Sea Queen is a truly terrifying villain lacking in even the remotest scrap of empathy. There is the way that Sirens are required to breed and produce young (it’s a female race – they are paired up by the queen with appropriate mermen. The differences between mermen, mermaids and sirens are fully explored.) This breeding order is incredibly disturbing in that the Sea Queen, holding all the power, does not care about her subjects or the fact that she is more or less ordering rape for procreation purposes. It really highlights how some women in positions of power become utterly deaf in all respects to those who don’t have power, perceiving weakness of whatever stripe as despicable and not worth protecting. Only the strong are worth protecting because they can be allies since they are strong enough to protect and aid themselves. It’s amazing how common this mindset is (The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pearce also looks at this phenomena) and the author has captured it perfectly even as a subtheme.

 

Most importantly TKAK is just sheer fun. It’s great to read, an enjoyable experience in and of itself. It takes aesthetic from several sources – fables, fairytales, Disney – and weaves something new with it in an unforgettable fantasy adventure. I highly recommend this bold, imaginative and slightly savage fantasy reimaging of The Little Mermaid.

Inventive, immersive fantasy with strong characters & witty banter, especially between the two leads. Great to have the action wrapped up in single volume. Ideal further reading for fans of Sarah J Maas et al.

I'd heard of "To Kill A Kingdom" in passing a few times on Instagram, a few online friends and other bloggers had received hard copies from the publisher etc but I hadn't paid it much mind, seeing the tentacles on the cover and assuming sea monster story. WRONG. It caught my eye again while browsing for a new read on Net Galley and after finally reading the synopsis for myself knew that I needed to get hold of this book. I like swimming, I like mermaids but I also like kick ass female characters and not too much silly romance (not all romance is silly but some can feel a little gag inducing). Mermaids weren't often the center of much ass kicking but sirens however...now we're talking! Reading this synopsis I imagine a much more blood soaked retelling of The Little mermaid and smoosh that request button so hard. Suffice to say the moment my request was approved I squeaked, did a little dance and shut myself in my room with my kindle and a packet of biscuits. 

The start of this book is blood thirsty, dark and is certainly not pulling any punches, I love a good book that can get my adrenaline going from the start and reel me in. From the beginning the Siren's side of things is often blood soaked and raw, even the way they treat each other, these scenes are often so tense with the promise of savagery and violence that I devoured them up with reckless abandon, hungry for more.  We see this story from the Prince's point of view as well which provided a good insight and needed information as well as another interesting perspective and dynamic. That and he, his pirate crew and his ship "The Saad" are absolutely brilliant and just as important characters as Lira herself.  The Over all the plot is good, fun and mostly exciting, even if some of the excitement comes from intrigue instead of purely action (there is plenty of both though!). It did however feel a little short to me and that everything at the end happened so fast that I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. I think this might possibly  be because of the fact it's a standalone book which is sadly a rare commodity these days. That and I devoured the last half of this book in a day or so which made it felt like the end appeared rather quickly - this is purely my own fault though. 

The writing felt easy flowing and kept the pace going at the right moments and then beautiful and descriptive when needed. There's nothing I hate more then a tense or action filled scene caught up with too many words that aren't needed, thankfully that isn't the case here. I will say I found the POV changes a little jarring and they probably could have done with being labelled so I knew who I was reading as sometimes I would get a paragraph or so into a chapter before realising who's side of the story I'm reading. It wasn't the end of the world though and after a while I reasoned it was a good example of how similar Lira and Elain  really are if I can't tell at first glance who's narrative I'm reading.

I really enjoyed Lira's character progression, although it takes a fairly obvious route there's much more to it, the same could be said for Elain, although his is a little more standard both character arc's feel fairly natural as do the connections they make and conclusions they come to which is a breath of fresh air from some of the books I've been reading lately. It's not until after when I tried to list their characteristics that I truly realise how similar Lira and Elain mirror each other, they're both sassy as hell and this means that a lot of their banter is brilliant and quick witted. If nothing else had sold me on this book that alone would have kept me reading, it was done so well. 

"They're insane and wonderful." Elain himself finds the best way to describe his crew. Although the crew is fairly big we get a few main characters and personalities to focus on, I particularly loved the relationship between Kye and Madrid who are a couple and click so well while not being too much, they give me serious Zoe and Wash vibes (Firefly) and are total relationship goals. Each named character feels genuine and fleshed out, whether that be by description, dialogue or inferred from the environment. It makes them easy to read and imagine. 

There is a romance in this which like the character progression I feel is fairly obvious but in the same way is different from a lot of the standard romance troupes we see in YA at the moment. Lira never loses sight of the end game and her goals. I'm so pleased to see a heroine not completely lose her head (or fins) for a love interest. Not once does this fierce, passionate creature become overly simpery or compromised in an uncharacteristic way and I'm all about that. There is one little scene that felt a bit strange and out of nowhere which I wasn't keen on but it was fast rectified with a similar and much better connected moment later on so I can forgive it. 

Overall this book was super enjoyable and covered a lot of bases for me. It was fast paced, fantasy based, just the right amount of romance and some of my favorite types of characters. Also pirates...did I mention pirates? I couldn't put my finger on an exact rating for this, torn between 4 and 5 as I enjoyed the heck out of this book and will certainly be recommending it to everyone I can as well as buying the finished edition when it releases but the 5 rating is often reserved for feels destroyers which this wasn't quite for me but is nether the less a great book. Therefore I shall award my first 4/5 rating to "Kill a Kingdom," it was well earned. 

This review will go live on my blog (link below) on 28/02/18. A shorter version has been posted to Waterstones and Goodreads.

"I have a heart for every year I've been alive. There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom. Every so often, I claw through the shingle, just to check they're still there. Buried deep and bloody. I count each of them, so I can be sure none were stolen in the night. it's not such an odd fear to have. Hearts are power, and if there's one thing my kind craves more than the ocean, it's power."

I was sent a full cover copy of this book via Readers First and also a e-arc from NetGalley.

This book was absolutely amazing! I just loved it! Royalty and sirens? Yes please.

This book is done from two points of views, Princess Lira, the siren royalty and is known as the Princes' Bane, and is condemned to humanity by the Sea Queen, who I see as Ursula from The Little Mermaid. Now she must deliver the heart of Prince Elian, the siren killer or remain a human forever! And Prince Elian, the heir to Midas, the most powerful kingdom in the world however he is also a pirate and captain to a crew of siren hunters.

About half way through this book, I had to check Goodreads because I wasn't sure whether this was the first book in a series or not, and sadly it's not. It's a standalone. However it does wrap up beautifully and I think everything fits perfectly without it feeling rushed at all. 

This book has small parts of a retelling from The Little Mermaid but aside from siren becoming human and Ursula I think that's the closest it gets to? I could be wrong and there might be more similarities to it. But this book was SO GOOD! There aren't enough mermaid/siren books around so this was so nice to read.

I was instantly drawn into this book, the first sentence pulled me in straight away and I knew I'd fall in love with it: 'I have a heart for every year I've been alive.' I love the characters and their development, the plot and world building in this book, I'm so sad that this is a standalone but nonetheless Alexandra Christo is an author to look out for, I look forwards to her next book, it's not got a name yet but the summary on Goodreads is 'Gangster Fantasy' and I'm already intrigued for it.. 

If you haven't yet preordered this book, you should.

A vicious siren with a magical voice who collects the hearts of princes and a pirate prince in an adventurous quest to take down the Sea Queen? I don’t think I’ve enough words to explain how brilliant is To Kill a Kingdom. I had really high expectations and you know what? It lived up to them!

Writing: Alexandra Christo’s storytelling is magnificently enticing. I was just so captivated by the fast-paced plot and characters that I couldn’t put the book down. The writing is beautiful and fluid, there is attention to every little detail and the characters are very well-developed. I just can’t believe this is her debut novel! To Kill a Kingdom is brutal and lyrical, and I found myself highlighting so many quotes. Yep, I’m officially in love with Christo’s writing skills.

Characters: Lira, the Prince’s Bane, she collects the hearts of princes. Yes, she rips the beating hearts from their chests and then buries them on sand. She’s the perfect anti-heroine. Vicious and cunning, struggling with the humanity she has found in a human body. And, yes, Lira is changed into a human after she disobeys the Sea Queen, who happens to be her mother. Nevertheless, Elian is her match. A pirate prince that doesn’t want to be king and a siren killer who wants to keep the seas and his kingdom safe even if it means giving up his freedom and live the rest of his days miserable. All for the greater good. What is not to love about Elian?

These two were a match made in heaven... or in hell, it really depends on the perspective. They are always with something up their sleeves, always outsmarting each other. The romance between these two flows naturally - a hate-to-we-do-not-trust-each-other-to-we-are-alike-to-love relationship (hate-to-love relationships of my favourite tropes ever) – and it doesn’t overshadow the main plot.

I’d also like to mention Elian’s crew. Torik, Kye and Madrid were all kinds of awesomeness. I enjoyed the friendship between Elian and Kye so much. Kye would always be there to protect his back. I was especially fond of Madrid, the only woman in the Saad. Her background story just stole my heart pun intended.

World building: This is a ruthless and poetic, twisted and bloody tale of The Little Mermaid with unique spins and twists. With all its myths (there’s even a mention to Midas) and folk tales (there are sirens, mermaids and even mermen which are even crueler than sirens), the world woven by Christo is alluring. The settings are simply gorgeous. One hundred and kingdoms to meet, each one of them with their peculiarities, and the secret sea of Diávolos where the siren kingdom of Keto ruled by the iron fist of the Sea Queen can be found. Everything is magical!

My request on Netgalley was approved by the publisher, so thank you Hot Key Books!

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

My rating: 4.75 🌟 / 5

I cannot even begin to express the feelings I have for this book because it was SO GOOD!

The plot of the story is a very unique take on the original fairytale that is "The Little Mermaid". Alexandra definitely has thought about this story through and through with the end result being absolutely brilliant.

The characters. Oh my gosh. I love each and every one of them! Both on land and in the sea. Each of the characters was well-developed and also had great chemistry with one another.

The world-building in the book was incredible! The visuals and atmosphere of each place we travel to was vivid and clear in my mind. Each place has a significant surrounding that was always different from the other and yet all of them still manages to be just as captivating.

The writing in this book was the kind of writing that I absolutely love, which I call straightforward writing. At the same time, the writing felt magical to me, since it really felt like it was telling me a fairytale which I found the writing absolutely fitting for the story and maybe even added more to what the story already is.

The book wasn't a 5 🌟 read for me since there were a few scenes that I just think fell flat and a bit dull.

Overall, this book is absolutely amazing and everyone should definitely read it because it was SO GOOD that I honestly can't find any other words to explain how good it is.

Also, applause to Alexandra for writing such a truly unforgettable debut novel!

Fun fact about the book from the author:
- To Kill A Kingdom is a reimagining of the classic story, with nods to both the Disney version and the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale.

To Kill A Kingdom is a retelling in a way and definitely filled me with Little Mermaid vibes but I really really enjoyed this book! This story is full of action and humour and often had me laughing out loud, I have highlighted so many of Elian's comebacks, I just love him!
In Alexandra Christo's book you follow Lira, the siren (our little mermaid/ursula character) and Elian (the prince) and his band of sailors/pirates. I feel like the characters in this story are the best element of it, they are smart and witty and have so many sides to them that they felt truly believable and I would happily get to know them more!
The setting was really well thought out in my opinion and the conclusion and end fighting scene was fantastic. I hate when you've followed a story with detail and care for the characters for the ending to be over in a couple of pages. This was not the case here and I am so grateful for it.
I didn't think I was one for stories about pirates but I am so here for it thanks to Christo. I have absolutely no doubt I will pick up anything she puts out in future. Reading this was very easy and flowed so well that I couldn't believe how quickly I finished it. Loved, loved, loved this.

This book was a 4.5/5 stars for me.. The only issue I feel I had with this book was pacing in places but other wise, LOVED IT!

I was really looking forward to reading this novel purely from reading the blurb.

I'm a big fan of the fantasy genre, it's one of the best for a good bit of escapism. And Alexandra Christo has done a fantastic job of creating a world that you can fully get lost in.

Sirens and mermaids, pirates and mermen. There are an abundance of characters full of wonder and magic and each with their own unique story to tell.

Strong protagonists, both male and female, with plenty of wit and sass, the dialogue I think was key to how it all played out!

With a touch of romance added in (I'm a sucker for this sort of thing!), I think any reader would find it hard to resist the charm of this novel.

I was pleasantly surprised at the angle in which this book went in and I'm more than hoping for more of these books to come, perhaps getting more detail from secondary characters.

This genre of books are new to me, I have never really read about stories that take us underwater, I have wanted to read more about Mermaids etc, so jumped at the chance to read this, so thank you Netgalley!
This being my first venture underwater, I have no others to guide myself. This is taoted as a LITTLE MERMAID retelling, and I can see the resemblance, but I wanted to read this with fresh eyes and not go into it with the shadow of another story hanging over me.
However, I have always been a reviewer that talks about THE BOOK and not what the reader might want it to be, so went in blind as it were and I do say myself that it was a like a spalsh in the face with some refreshing sea water, I liked it!
Whilst reading it, I was " I can figure out what is going to happen" and then "oh, didn't expect that" so it did keep me on my reader toes.
I loved Lira, she was sassy and vicious, a heart collecting Siren, who had a perchant for princes.
Talking of Princes, Prince Elain comes along, he is not an ordinary prince ... oh no!... he is a pirate Prince who likes to spend his time on the high seas catching sirens.. well I'll be damned!:P
Without leaking too much and spoiling the whole plot, I can say that there are alot of adventures, great world building and descriptive text, there is sass and a smidgen of romance, no typical YA insta love crap which is a breath of fresh air, or should I say a breath of fresh sea water?!
The writing style is crisp and clean and easily read, it was pulled into the water as soon as I started to read, sometimes I have to get to at least page 100 to get invested, but it was practically after the few couple of pages, I knew that I was in a for a good read.
I had vowed that I was cutting down my YA reading for this year to try and get back to my grass roots of reading, but I am glad that I made space for this little gem.
My advice is just to read it, do not try to second guess the plot, sit back and enjoyed the great charecters and witty banter, that takes place on the princes ship the SAAD
Will look forward to seeing what this author has to offer next.
I will be buying this to adorn my shelves and will re read at some future date. If an audiobook comes out, then I shall try this format too!

Where to start, where to start. I have literally just finished To Kill A Kingdom and I cannot help but write this review right now, because that is how much I loved it. I have a recently developed soft spot for sirens and I love sassy characters (both Lira and Elian are so incredibly snarky to each other, it's brilliant). so I knew from the beginning I was going to adore this book.

All of the characters are so well developed, it's really easy to love (or hate) them. Initially I found myself drawn to Elian first I found his internal struggle of duty vs desire really compelling. But by a quarter of my way though the book I was in love with both of the main characters. Lira is written incredibly well, and we follow her transition from siren to human as with it we become more and more drawn to her. She becomes less her mother's daughter and more herself.

The book is written from the viewpoints of the two main characters, Lira, the Princes' Bane, Siren Princess and Elian, Prince, Pirate and Siren Hunter. I loved that the two main characters were given space of their own, not only to introduce themselves to the reader, but so that we could really explore their individual characters before they 'meet' in the book. In some books it can be a bit tricky when the point of view shifts with no name at the top of the chapter, but this was not the case at all with To Kill A Kingdom. I knew exactly who was talking straight away and I believe that this was because we were given the chance to get to know the characters early on in the book, we weren't just thrown in to the story. 

As well as the two main characters, there were a host of other characters who were just so interesting to read about, I loved the crew of the Saad, (Madrid in particular - I would to hear more of her story) and I loved to hate The Sea Queen and a certain other human princess, (who I won't name here for fear of spoilers). Elian's family and his crew on the Saad are so well written, unique yet familiar. I just love what Christo created with the 100 Kingdoms and how she managed to make them feel new and yet familiar, building on implications and myth that we all have some awareness of to really construct a world that was so vivid it felt real. 

The human world is split in to 100 Kingdoms, and whilst we only get to visit a few of them, the moment a new kingdom is mentioned you immediately have an idea about it, like Elian's kingdom, Midas (gold, pyramids and more gold) the same is true for the other kingdoms we are lucky enough to visit or hear about too. I really loved the fact that myths were used to add a richness to the book, it made everything so much more vivid. 

This is a book aimed at Young Adults, so as I am a little *cough* outside the target market for this book I can imagine that it would read in a different way to younger readers. I could see the pain that both Lira and Elian were dealing with, in terms of parental expectations, the whole - what should I do vs what do I want to do but it is a little removed for me, or maybe I should think of myself on the other side of that dilemma being a parent myself. Though this is still an issue I deal with (I still hate disappointing my mum), and yet it's something which is a lot more acute for a teenage/early twenties audience. I think that Christo writes really well on the issue and we are definitely given a deep understanding of what motivate both Elain and Lira, and the turmoil this struggle causes in them both.  

I would liken To Kill a Kingdom loosely to a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid (though in this story the princess is a siren and mermaids are present in the story but something completely different to sirens). And yet, whilst it had pieces of that story, red hair, lost voice/ability to sing, and the Sea Queen reminded me so much of Ursula, To Kill A Kingdom has a plot very much of its own, it is very much a story of it's own. I think that although there are some fairy tale elements present in it, To Kill A Kingdom has an intensity, which is more like a dream that has turned in to a nightmare. It definitely harks back to the early, dark fairy tales rather than the more saccharine tales we might be used too. 

I thoroughly reading To Kill A Kingdom and I am so happy I got the chance to read it early as I really couldn't wait to read it. I think it has a really broad appeal and it's a book I will definitely be recommending. The world building is incredible, the characters are well developed and the writing is dark and clever. The pace is perfect through out the book and once I hit the second half of the book I really didn't want to put it down.

This review will be posted on my blog, Foxes and Fairy Tales on Sunday 18 Feb 2018.
https://foxesfairytale.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/review-to-kill-a-kingdom

Guh! I loved this book so much it's taken me days to come up with a review, -- and it'll probably still be incoherent -- but here goes. I was looking forward to this book based on the synopsis and OH MY GOD, IT DID NOT LET ME DOWN.

To Kill a Kingdom is exactly the book I've always wanted but never been able to find when people talk about morally grey characters and books with a villain as a protagonist.

There's no doubt (at the beginning) that Lira is 'the bad guy'. She's a vicious, ruthless killer, and she doesn't seem to have any qualms about it, but Christo pulls you in so that you can't help but be invested in her story. Elian is a little more standardly heroic, but even that's not your usual black-and-white outlook. I loved this! I'm always disappointed by 'villain books' because it always seems to turn out that they're just misunderstood little dumplings, who never really did anything wrong. To Kill a Kingdom doesn't shy away from creating potentially unlikeable characters just so that they'll be easier to redeem, it really goes for it. Seeing the extremes of Lira's journey just made me love her all the more.

The other crucial standout point for me was the romance -- which actually isn't a massive plot point. I'm not usually a big shipper in books, even when it's an important part of the story (or I fall for a completely non-canon pairing). Even less so a straight m/f couple. Nothing wrong with it, but they're usually a tad too predictable or overly twee. I shipped Lira and Elian so freaking hard! They're both complicated and accomplished characters in their own rights, and completely on a level with each other, even though they have different strengths and weaknesses. I loved watching their relationship unfold. It seemed completely natural to me, full of bickering and insults-as-compliments.

To Kill a Kingdom has got to be one of my favourite books this year, and one of my favourite retellings. You can still make out the bare bones of The Little Mermaid, but there's so much else going on and so much plot, character and world-building development, that it's a complete badass and unique story all on its own. All the stars.

I adored this book so much! Definitely need a hardcover copy as soon as I can get my hands on one!

The whole story is very reminiscent of a Little Mermaid retelling, but one which is darker and most definitely will be attractive to fans of Sarah J. Maas stories. There is deceit, romance, sassiness, and amazing fantasy throughout, and the ending is one of the most tear jerking ones I have ever read - I honestly didn't want it to end! It was adorable though and perfect and really did wrap up things very well (although I would not object to a sequel or prequel still). Tying together everything in such a dramatic way also.

Full review available on my website (link attached)

For me this was essentially if you took Disney's adaptation of The Little Mermaid and put it in a milder version of the Upside-Down. It was quite dark and even eerie at times - I never thought a mermaid could creep me out so much.

Lira is fierce and ruthless and I loved that about her, so when I hit the halfway point of the novel and I knew this was going to follow the typical YA fantasy formula I was bummed out. I didn't want it to go in that direction and my enjoyment was lost for a little while - at this point I really wanted a different ending. However, I still enjoyed how it ended (although, I do feel it was pretty rushed and there were some things that just happened suddenly that I'd have liked some additional plot for) and how Lira grew as a person. Her and Elias' back-and-forth was fun, but I was hoping there wasn't going to be a romance for a change.

It's refreshing that this is a standalone, but I do think it could have done with a little extra fleshing out. All in all though it was a fun read and I liked the darker take on The Little Mermaid.

I'm not a big fan of the mythology of mermaids, but I only saw positive reviews around this book and that's what motivated me to ask it on NetGalley.

What I like the most about this novel is it universe. We are clearly in a fantasy world with kingdoms (see map) and different royalties, and even if the story focuses mainly on the sea, we feel that there is a real history and reflexion in the construction of it. In addition, I liked that the myth of the sirens is revisited, we find some key elements such as their hypnotic singing, the beauty, but sirena are primarily people with their own way of life and discovering it was rather pleasant and original.

I still think that the strong point of this book remains the characters. Lira and Elian both have the same motivations to go in search of the heart of Keto, it power to stop the ongoing war between humans and sirens. They are courageous, willing to make sacrifices and they quickly understand the stakes of victory and the genocide that could result if another solution is not found. I found these two characters particularly mature and the problems they encounter are particularly hard and dark. It is a book that has a fairly adult tone and is a real crossover between ya and adult book on this point.

So I really liked reading, the mermaids stereotypes are almost absent, the ton of the book is dark and much more creepy than I expect. The universe and it construction are really excellent and I loved immersing myself in this story. This book is a must read and it manage to surprise me on many points

The first thing to note about this book is the fact it is a stand alone fantasy book which seems to be as rare as a mythical creature these days. It was so satisfying to read this knowing there would be a conclusion to the story and not having to mentally commit myself to waiting for further books in the series.

The second thing to note is that it's very likely you'll be hooked on this story from the very first sentence. This book is dark and bloody and romantic in an odd, eccentric way.

Lightly borrowing from 'The Little Mermaid' and 'Romeo and Juliet', 'To Kill a Kingdom' follows Lira, a siren princess who is punished by her mother, the sea queen, and turned into a human. Prince Elian is the heir to the golden kingdom of Midas but spends his days at sea as a notorious pirate and siren hunter. He finds Lira floating in the sea and, not realising her true identity, rescues her. Lira bargains her way onto the crew and they set off on an adventure to locate the key to destroying the sea queen once and for all.

'To Kill a Kingdom' is almost 400 pages long but I barely noticed the pages speeding by. The story is perfectly mapped out and so compelling I didn't want it to end. I loved the descriptions of Lira and the other sirens and the distinctions made between sirens and mermaids. The under water world they lived in came to life in my imagination, as did the vivid kingdoms on land. It was all so unique and delicately described.

I found the romance between Lira and Elian a little hard to believe at times, but then thought if i'm able to emotionally invest myself in a story about sirens and pirates I can't really complain that a romance between two characters is "unbelievable". Once I allowed myself to get swept up in it all, I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the book and willed them to end up together.

I thought I would enjoy this book, but I didn't know I would fall in love with the characters and the world as much as I did.

I absolutely loved this! I expected it to be okay, maybe a 3 star read but I was so wrong.

You can see slight references to The Little Mermaid and that it is slightly based off the disney fairytail but to me, it didn’t feel like a retelling. This book had such a unique and compelling plot which made me need to read more and more which resulted in me not being able to put this book down and wanting to read it continuously. I read this in two sittings - as i started this in the evening - but I do believe I could’ve read this in one day.

There wasn’t one moment in which I was bored or wanted it to be over. I could’ve read more and more. Even though I am glad it’s a stand alone, I kind of want a sequel just to read more from this world.

The characters were amazing, I loved every single one of them and they developed very well. I especially loved how the author gave us a back story for almost every character which helped us see how they got to where they are today. I kind of love Elian a lot….like a lot.

The romance was perfect. I loved how it didn’t take over the main plot of this book. There was just enough for me and it didn’t feel forced to be there as a plot point.

The only thing I didn’t like was something so little. Most of the time when I was reading the chapters, I got confused which POV it was. Sometimes, Elian would have two chapters one after the other but sometimes it would be alternate between him and Lira. There was a few times in which I had to read the start of the chapter and go back to reread once I had realised whether it was in Elian or Lira’s POV. I wish it told us at the top which POV it was in for that chapter. This could be just me though and it wasn’t big enough to knock even .5 off as I enjoyed it too much.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book to everyone! It completely exceeded my expectations.

First of all, let me just inform you that this book is a standalone (confirmed by the author on goodreads) let that sink in, a standalone fantasy novel. How many standalone fantasy novels have you read? In my case, none come to mind right now, so I’m instantly appreciative of this rare gem of a book. This stunning fairytale story is unexpectedly wrapped up within 400 pages, and it doesn’t feel rushed or cut off too soon at all, it feels like the perfect ending.

This book contains sirens, royalty (including a siren killer pirate prince), mermaids and a vicious sea Queen, everything you need for a daring sea adventure. There’s a slow and steady romance that builds up throughout the novel for all the romantics out three. There’s also an action packed bloody battle for the war loving readers.

I know what you’re thinking now is, so why 4 stars? Well there are a few little critiques for this book, as an action loving girl I found the second quarter of the book (specific I know) to be rather slow. The plot didn’t seem to be going anywhere fast and the book was easily ‘putdownable’ (not a real word, I know) but what I mean by that is that is the book at that stage wasn’t a page turner, later on I definitely couldn’t put the book down! Secondly, it’s difficult to determine straight away which character is the narrative of the story, a name above the chapter heading would have been an immense help. However once you came across a few names within the chapter you could determine the narrator. And lastly I have a huge distaste for the character ‘Flesh eater’ I don’t think he contributed anything substantial to the novel and so could have easily been left out altogether. The Sea Queen is enough of a villain without any horrendous hench men.

Overall, this book is a fun and feisty retelling of the story of The Little Mermaid, it varies greatly from the original story which To Kill a Kingdom a unique novel in its own right. It’s a glorious new book for your YA fantasy shelf that will sure to be a hit amongst readers this March. It is a well-written book with humourous banter throughout, the supporting characters have just enough personality and dialogue to keep them interesting as well as adding to the success of the book. The main characters, mainly, Lira and Elian have now been added to my OTP list, I adore this couple. They’re trust in each other is overwhelming and I crave for that in my own relationships.

If you’re contemplating buying or preordering this book, I wholeheartedly urge you to do so promptly. Anyone who does not read this novel will surely miss out on a fantastic fictional sea adventure.

I wish I hadn’t been wearing my ‘I’m really a mermaid’ tshirt when I started this book.
Opening with the reasons why its better to be a siren,than a mermaid and the downfalls of mer people I debated changing my top!

After following the siren princess on a hunt we jump straight onto the boat of a prince, Elias, who is acting more pirate captain than the next King of Midas. Elias and his crew on the Saad hunt sirens, making the world a safer place for the other kingdoms.

Lira is known as the Princes Bane, every year on her birthday she steals the heart of a prince, but after upsetting her mother aka the Sea Queen she is punished by being made human, with the one goal of taking Elias’ heart. She’s lost her power, and understanding what its like to be human while trying to fool the crew of the Saad into thinking she’s an innocent girl.

I enjoyed this story, the love interest angle is discreet but works well as a backstory that you cant miss out, the supporting characters are all likeable for their honour, history and valour; Lira and Elias are characters that seems to surprise themselves which makes the twists interesting.

As for the Sea Queen, she’s the only character I could picture easily – in my head I say her as Ursula, and I think I ve learnt that if I ever see a Merman I should swim the other way – fast!

I received a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I’m not going to win any kind of popularity contest by saying this book was a pretty big disappointment for me. There was actually more things in it that I enjoyed than otherwise but the good things were small compared to the disappointing ones so if I purely rated this book by my enjoyment level then it wouldn’t have got even 3 stars. This is not a bad story it just wasn’t for me.

Anyway first the things that I liked. The first sentence is something brilliant, it is bloody and unusually but it instantly pulled me under its magic. That was one of the best first sentences I ever read.
I really loved the idea to show the whole mermaid, siren world in an entirely new light. The possibility to see the brutal and aggression of these usually cutie fairytale creatures were really promising. The execution of it is another question because we get a taste of it in the beginning but later in the story it becomes more of a legend spreading between people and not something that actually shown in the book.
I also loved the back and forth going on between Lira and Elian, it’ not the usual playful banter you encounter in fantasy but rather a crass, blunt, temperamental and spicy rapport going on between them. They are not hiding who they are and what they think about each other and this brutal honesty transforms into something akin to love in the end.
I also found the crew members of Elian’s ship interesting and they create a certain atmosphere that I enjoy in my fantasy. There were also a lot of great ideas regarding how to spin a fairytale into a new light and show the events from a completely different aspect.

Now the things that I didn’t like. First and foremost, the writing style especially in the beginning for me felt really theatrical end even a bit artificial that created a tight and high-strung atmosphere that I really didn’t enjoy at all. As the story progresses it loosens up a bit but when you pretty much lose interest in the book because if the beginning it doesn’t help a lot.
I think that the world building is quite superficial. I mean there are a lot of different kingdoms mentioned but none of them really introduced to detail. I think if the author planned a smaller world and introduced it in more detail then she would have benefited from it.
My third and final negative thought was about the plot. I just didn’t like it that much. In my opinion it was unbalanced and slow. It was almost over 70% when things really started to happen and that was quite strange in my opinion. Also this was the first Little mermaid retelling where the Disney movie actually came to mind quite a bit, I found a lot of similarities and considering that the story was supposed to be a more brutal and aggressive version of it I found it funny. This didn’t really impact my opinion either way I just thought it would be a fun thing to mention.

Over all it’s mostly a case of not getting what I expected and a mix of other little quirks of mine. Probably a lot of people if going to love this book unfortunately I’m not one of those.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Well, color me surprised. This was pretty dang good. It's been a while since I read a fantasy standalone that kept me as captivated as To Kill a Kingdom.

The Plot
To Kill a Kingdom has a strong opening, exactly what I'm looking for in a good fantasy book. It opens with Lira (also known as the Prince's Bane), a siren and the daughter of the Sea Queen. Like any true siren, she steals the hearts of men - princes', to be exact. When she angers her mother (who is Ursula from Arielle, just ten times more vicious and brutal and fascinating) she is punished in the worst way possible - turned into a human being, and tasked to steal Prince Elian's heart without her siren song.
Prince Elian, who incidentally, is on a mission to kill all sirens in existence - once and for all. Intriguing, right?
I do admit that the chapters before Elian and Lira meet were a bit slow at times and I felt the end was rushed after so much build-up, but all in all, the plot was strong and didn't let up once it was evident where it would all end - in an all-out battle.

The Characters

I have said it time and again, but what I need to stay invested in a story are great characters - thankfully, To Kill a Kingdom delivered. Lira isn't just a black or white protagonist. She is morally complex - a ruthless killer as a siren, vicious and brutal, but she is also compassionate. She empathizes, she does not want her mother's legacy of fear and cowering to live on; she dreams of a better world - in which humans and sirens do not have to be enemies, where she does not have to be a killer. What I loved most was Lira's development throughout the story. She doesn't just switch allegiances and is done with it, no - she struggles with who to trust, with who she is becoming, with who she could be. She does not lose her fire nor her ferocity, when she is turned into a human. If anything, she grows fiercer.
Prince Elian also surprised me. He is not just a spoiled prince, nor is he entirely a pirate at heart. He loves his family, but cannot be what they want him to be - a ruler. Instead, his ship is his home, his crew his true family. Elian is caught in between what he needs to be and what he wants to be - and it was a lot of fun watching him trying to juggle both.
The secondary characters - Sakura, the crew and some of the sirens weren't really fleshed out, which is understandable since this is a standalone, but they weren't mere caricatures, either. Instead, they were funny (Elian's crew is constantly bickering), stubborn (Sakura has her own goals), and dreamers (Lira's cousin deserves her own trilogy).

All in all, this is a deliciously dark retelling of The Little Mermaid with many twists and turns, fearsome sirens, a sarcastic prince, an anti-heroine you can't help but want to be best friends with and a whole lot of scrappy (cue the "young,scrappy and hungry" earworm) pirates will make for an immersive and fun reading experience.