“I have a heart for every year I’ve been alive. There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom.”

What an opening line!

I just need to get it out there from the very beginning - I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! (Sorry for the shouty capitals but I couldn’t help myself).

Ok now time for my actual review......

Lira is a siren and the daughter of the Sea Queen. She is known as the Princes’ Bane because of all the princes she has killed by taking their hearts (like literally ripping their hearts out of their bodies).

Elian is a prince and an adventurer. He is also a siren killer. With no interest in becoming king of his kingdom, he has made it his mission to protect the world from sirens, and in particular he wants to kill the Princes’ Bane.

After Lira makes a mistake, the Sea Queen decides she will punish her by making her human. To get her fins back, Lira will need to kill the siren-killer prince and bring back his heart.

Both Elian and Lira have murder on their minds but will they be able to go ahead with their plans to rid the world of their worst enemy!

To Kill a Kingdom is easily the best book I’ve read this year. I’d heard so much about this book, and it was easily one of my most anticipated reads, so I was a little apprehensive about whether it would live up to the high expectations I had.
I shouldn’t have worried, if anything it surpassed my expectations.

Beautifully written with stunning imagery, sassy dialogue, epic world-building, a superb plot and awesome characters, To Kill a Kingdom is a darkly, delicious YA fantasy!
If that wasn’t enough to convince you, you’ll also get: pirates, princes, sirens, a kick-ass assemble of supporting characters, a Little Mermaid retelling (with a twist) and some vicious fight scenes!

I cannot rate this book highly enough but I can recommend it to as many people as possible.

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy. I have now purchased my own copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

To Kill a Kingdom was one of the most hyped book, at least recently. I saw five stars all the way around and I must agree that it’s a really good read that the majority of you will love and appreciate.

And I did it to. I was really caught by the story, the premise (the beautiful bloody premise), the incipit that was incredibly crude (yes, I love the dark path that some young adult fantasy are taking) and raw. I was intrigued by the writing style. It’s one of those that really makes me think how much I wish to narrate something in a similar or such inspired way.

You turn the pages and you feel the fantasy. It’s right there.

All the rest was a yes and a no at the same time. So, let me break this: I didn’t really care for the romance, neither the trope from enemies to lovers. I think that the aromantic side in me that is talking without barriers, but I would also loved the concept of seeing those two future king and queen finding a common path for their people, working on a mutual trust between both of them. Did I feel the romance? Nope. Did I feel how much they were intrigued by each other? Yes. Which is not the same thing.

Honestly, I don’t know if I was going to get a different impression because while, yes this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, so falling in love was kinda expected adn plus it’s a young adult , I would also loved to do not see how much Lira and Elian were perfect together. Because it was in every post about this novel. It’s not like I was going to savor the romance. It has been shoved in my face multiple times.

Now, another things that I loved was the world. It’s big, every place with a clear echo of our world but also with a good twist of the author’s imagination. Everything was calling for a particular atmosphere and with just little scratch of descriptions I was able to create many images in my mind. But also, I felt like there was so much to see and I never got a chance. My mood was more like “let’s go to travel all around the world” instead of “we have a super important mission to do”.

While I loved Lira being another of what might be labeled as unlikable. That’s what I wanted. I wanted to see her as a siren and she was. Even when she acted less siren-ish, she still remained true to herself, sticking to her plan to make something out of her situations.

Elian… he wa okay, I guess. Or just another smug ship captain and royal in a mix of Carswell Throne and Sturmhund. For me he was nothing new. I didn’t dislike him but I wasn’t impressed.

I would have loved much more to read about Madrid, how she met the crew and many other things. Can you imagine seeing her and Lira bond? Female friendship? Yes, there’s a little talks there and there but I needed more.

But what I really didn’t buy was the end. I mean, not the end itself, even if I’ve many thoughts on it but I will do a spoiler with them, but what happened that led to it. Again, I cannot say much because of spoilers, but Lira’s change of views where really profound. And all of this happened in really little times. I don’t say that is impossible, but I cannot help to think how much, in real life, people require even years to work on themself. And Lira, went trough a big trauma, and inside her was planted the idea of killing and strip humans of their still beating heart like a pride. Something she must show off to prove her rank and bein the Siren Queen’s daughter. Is hella different from having prejudice towards humans and actually killing and despise human, seeing them as prey, as some kind of required teach to be a siren. To change takes time, but yet I know that this is a standalone book and pages are kinda restricted.

In the end, To Kill a Kingdom is still a book that I enjoyed. I know that it might look at the contrary, since I higlighted more what didn’t really suited me, but still I’d fun and I was intrigued to see how everything was gonna evolve. I will really read next Alexandra Christo’s novel, maybe hoping to read a series, because I really think that with a little more space to expand the story we readers might get something really amazing.

If you ever dreamed of a Little Mermaid who was unapologetically ambitious, savvy, and witty then this book needs to be in your hands. The world building is lush fascinating, the characters leap off the page, and the plot was fast-paced and denied me hours of sleep. I cannot wait to see what Alexandra Christo does next!

4 Stars
There were a lot of things I really enjoyed in this book. To list a few:
- It was a really interesting take on the fairytale, a great mix of the original tale and the Disney take.
- An interesting and well-built world
- There was an vicious killer character who actually killed people, unlike certain "assassin" characters of recent YA
- A character who considered themselves a manipulative genius who was always getting out-played
- A kingdom with two queens, hell yeah!

This was a book I was really interested in, but I wasn't all that attached to the characters. They were all very well written and fascinating in their own right, but I just didn't have that emotional connection that really makes a book. At the same time, the ending didn't really do much for me, there was something lacking about the final showdown.

Overall, it was a compelling read and definitely a retelling worth reading.

To Kill a Kingdom started in the beautiful depths of the dark, dark sea, but ended on a cliché. It's a standalone novel and a romance so perhaps it should have been expected, but with the level of genre defying books and the shocking twists that exists today in a book lover's world, one can't help, but hope that the story doesn't end in a way you're anticipating.

What was disappointing about this novel was how diminished the characters became as time went on. They were ruthless and beautiful in the beginning. Separate, but echoing one another until they collided. The intrigue and deception that ensued wasn't satisfying and the great 'emotional' character outlook upheaval left much to be desired.

It just wasn't believable that our siren and our prince who drive this novel fall in love. Not at all.

Prince Elian is heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Midas. Except, he’s not interested in becoming King. He’d much rather continue as captain of the Saad, sailing the oceans with his pirate crew and hunting down the sirens who relentlessly take human lives.

Lira is the Sea Queen’s daughter, heir to the Kingdom of Keto, hidden in the Diavolos Sea. Her mother’s kingdom of sirens is at war with humans and the Sea Queen urges her subjects to hunt sailers, using their magical songs to enrapture them before ripping out their hearts.

But for Lira, only the hearts of princes will suffice – she takes one every year at her birthday, earning her the notorious title of Prince’s Bane.

When Lira disappoints her mother, her mother punishes her by turning her into a human. She may only return to the kingdom beneath the waves when she steals the heart of a Prince, without using her siren strengths.

So it is that Elian and Lira’s paths cross as he undertakes a mission to destroy the Sea Queen. Only, he has no idea who the girl is that has just walked into his life.

I loved this book so much! Told through chapters from both Elian and Lira’s perspectives, this book is a real page-turner. I loved the banter between Elian and his crew, as well as the back and forth with sassy Lira. The dialogue as a whole in this book is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much.

I also really enjoyed the way the author has drawn upon myth and legend, weaving it throughout the novel.

Also, I just have to mention the cover. It’s stunning, and once you dive into this novel it’ll mean all the more.

This is actually a stand-alone novel, which makes such a nice change from the fantasy series I tend to read. It was nice to have a conclusion, a whole fantastical tale in 300-something pages. That said, I’d love to read more of these characters someday – maybe an Elian prequel?

All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read that I definitely recommend.

I received with thanks an ARC copy of To Kill A Kingdom from Hot Key Books UK & Netgalley.

This is my true and honest review of To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo. This was published in March 2018
3.5 Star. This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2018.

I really wanted to love this book as The Little Mermaid was one of my all time favourite Disney films. I also love pirates and pirate books. The world building was excellent, and the characters were likeable. For me it was that the book did not hold my attention and that I had to almost force myself to continue. The twist that the main character Princess Lira was an unlikeable siren and not a perfect mermaid made things interesting. Also, Prince Elian being more pirate than prince was a nice change.

The kingdoms in this book are rich and truly amazing and that I hope that I will pick this up again in the future and will like this more.

Great book for fantasy lovers and who enjoy tales about mermaids and pirates.

Guys! This book was so amazing I can’t even! It was brilliant. I haven’t read many fantasy books (in fact I haven’t read many books, lol) but this was like straight from a movie. If you have watched and loved Pirates of Carribean, then it’s for sure that you would love this book. It has Pirates, sirens, mermaids, mermen, kings & queens, kingdoms. What else do you need for a perfect story? 😀

Lira is a deadly siren princess who has a ruthless mother known as the Sea Queen. Lira is known as Princes’ Bane. Her mother teaches her to gain the power of kingdoms by stealing the heart of princes of those kingdoms. Lira is seventeen and she has seventeen hearts buried in her possession. When she kills the eighteenth prince one month before her actual birthday, the Sea Queen was enraged and punished her by transforming her into a human and giving him an impossible task of bringing the heart of Prince Elian.

Prince Elian is the heir to the throne of Midas , the gold city, but he didn’t enjoy living that life. Instead, he lives like a pirate and is a siren killer. When he saves Lira from drowning in the middle of the sea, he didn’t suspect that she is a siren. Elian agreed to let Lira live on his ship because she confirmed that she has a crucial information about the Crystal of Keto, which is the only thing that can kill the Sea Queen. But can Elian really trust a siren? What will happen when he and his crew would find out the real identity of Lira?

The world-building was amazing. From the first page itself, the story would keep you hooked and it flows so smoothly that you would find yourself totally immersed in it. The story unfolds naturally. And Alexandra Christo's writing is so strong and wonderful that you won’t feel anything lacking. She has perfectly described all the kingdoms mentioned in the story and all the fight scenes perfectly. The descriptions are in a way that it doesn’t feel over the top. It is in the exact amount needed for the story and thus, in turn, makes it more enjoyable.

The story has dual POVs. It switches between Lira and Elian which makes the overall premise more interesting as it helps us to understand both the characters in a better way. While the story progresses, it was enjoyable to see how slowly their opinions of each other changed with the time.

Lira and Elian definitely have become one of my favourite OTP. Their romance was SLOW-BURN. Now, who doesn’t like a slow-burn romance? They are just perfect. Lira and Elian started as enemies who hated each other in the beginning and never trusted each other. Even Elian’s crew hated Lira. I enjoyed whenever Lira was threatening Elian (as Elian didn’t know her real identity) as those scenes were hilarious. When they were bickering each other, they were even more adorable.

This book was full of side characters. You would love each of them. Elian’s crew is wonderful. Kye is like Elian’s bodyguard. He is always protective towards Elian. My favourite was, however, Madrid. You’ll definitely love her. She is a strong representation of #GirlPower. She was welcoming of Lira from the beginning. She wanted more girls in her squad, so when Lira appears, she was friendly and supportive to her in spite of Kye hating Lira. The Sea Queen was truly dangerous. She had tentacles and a powerful trident. She treated her daughter like mere nothing. She had no love for her daughter and she confirmed this when she transformed her daughter to a human. She just wanted more power regardless of who and who brings it to her.

This story has the perfect ending. The fight scenes, in the end, were perfect and I was feeling as if I was watching a movie throughout. I had a few questions throughout the story but I loved how all of it was nicely packed towards the end. There were no questions unanswered, yet it left me wanting to read a sequel because it was so AMAZING!

Overall, this book was amazing and it left me for wanting a sequel. Everything about the story was incredible. Alexandra Christo has created a wonderful and powerful world great storyline and lovely characters. Lira and Elian are definitely my new OTP. If you love a good fantasy book, then definitely read this.

I love mythology, and grew up with a love of mermaids and the sea. One of my favourite Greek myths is about the sirens who lured men to their deaths with their beautiful voices, so I was extremely intrigued by this book and what it had to offer other than as a retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Lira is a siren who specialises in taking the hearts of princes, known as the Prince's Bane. Her mother, the siren queen, is the epitome of evil. Basking in cruelty and power, she has complete dominance other all sirens and enjoys making them suffer. Lira, as her daughter, often bares the brunt of this torture. As a result she's a deeply complex and ambiguous main character. She's conflicted, a known murderer of men and sirens, with a tortured past and a hatred of everything except her cousin Kahlia. Never knowing love, she only wants to please her mother by becoming as cruel and heartless as her. She must be cruel to survive in a world that takes no prisoners and has no sympathy for anything or anyone. When she meets Elian she gets a glimpse into a world that includes kindness and friendship, and she begins to question whether men are really as awful as her mother has led her to believe.

Elian is a prince of the kingdom of Midas, and a siren hunter. Charismatic, loves the sea, hates being a prince and the responsibility that comes with it. More than anything he wants to be free. Unlike Lira he follows more of a moral code. He kills sirens, but he doesn't enjoy it. He sees it more as a task that he alone must endure in order to keep peace throughout the kingdoms. He's also a loyal friend and captain, trusting his life in the specially selected crew he holds on board his precious ship.

I really enjoyed the dynamic relationship that Lira and Elian had. They're very similar in a lot of ways, and bounce off each other well. I also though the progression from hostile adversaries to friendship and beyond was built on gradually and never felt forced or unrealistic. I enjoyed the scenes where they simply talked to each other, and I would have liked more of this to deepen their relationship.

I loved the world building here. The world itself is made up of different island kingdoms all built around different myths. There's an island dedicated to love and romance, a warrior island and of course, the island of Midas which is filled with gold. I thought this was so unique and well thought out, as we travel with Elian to these various islands and explore them with him gradually. It's a subtle way to introduce a complex world to readers, and meant I was never overloaded with information all at once. If anything, I wish we could have explored more of these islands and seen more of the various myths associated with them.

There is a running theme throughout the story that family is determined by who we have around us, rather than blood. We make our own family, and our own futures. This is portrayed best in terms of Elian and his pirate crew, who are made up of a jumble of the kingdoms most talented and bloodthirsty. Elian's relationships with Madrid and Kye in particular is another great dynamic addition to the story, and they often provide the more lighthearted elements.

However, this wasn't a perfect novel for me. I wasn't overly keen on the writing style. This is told in first person narrative between Lira and Elian, which doesn't really float my boat, and sometimes it felt a little stilted. Its also difficult to distinguish who is 'talking' in each chapter as both voices are so similar, meaning I sometimes struggled at first trying to work out if it was Lira or Elian. I'm hoping this is just an ARC problem however, as I presume the finished copy will have named chapter headings.

The plot itself is also a bit of a slow burner, with not much action at first as we follow Lira and Elian in their respective homes, and see their extended families. There isn't much threat or tension, as the siren queen feels more like a far away threat. I did like the fact that we got to see the comparisons in home life between the two however, and how this has helped shape how each of them behave. Elian is from a loving, if overprotective, family who expect great things from their future heir. This creates a lot of pressure on Elian to always do the right thing by his kingdom. Lira in comparison is from an extremely abusive background, constantly berated and put down by her mother, to the extent that she's suppressed all aspects of her humanity to the point where she no longer feels anything but hatred and anger. I just wish there could have been more of a build up of tension at the start.

The introduction of Rycroft half way through the novel had the potential to add another layer of antagonism that I desperately thought the story needed at that point. However this was short lived, as his character disappears towards the later stages of the novel. This was a shame as he had the potential to provide a worthy antagonist to Elian to compete with Lira and her mother. In fact, I thought quite a few of these secondary characters seemed to act as filler, such as Yokiko and her brothers. For such a feisty female warrior we never really see her in action and she only appears in a few scenes, more as a plot device than as a fully formed character.

I think I wanted more from this. I wanted more sea adventures, more of Lira's life as a siren, more time with Elian and Lira getting to know each other, and more explanations about things that are never developed. Where did Elian get his knife? Why is it special? How did his father get his compass? The final scenes are great, and lead to an epic showdown, but I was left feeling a little letdown by it. I wanted more answers, and that final 'reveal' that's built up throughout the story didn't really live up to moment. I wanted more drama from it.

Don't get me wrong, this was a great read. It flows well, it's wonderfully written and full of adventure and imagination. It's just not perfect.

This book was a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, with more murder and a pirate prince. I loved the overall plot - sirens and princes? YES PLEASE. The writing was gorgeous, and skillfully made the world feel both lush and dangerous at the same time.

I really liked both of the main characters, Lila and Elian, and their burgeoning relationship felt natural and not-forced. The banter they had was A+ ! I felt Lila's voice and plotline was the stronger of the two, while Elian's was slightly weaker - more of a normal, "I don't want to be prince I want to see the world" sort of thing. The secondary characters also seemed slightly weak; although I liked them I didn't feel like I really KNEW any of them. I really wanted to connect with them, but just...didn't. Their past lives were hinted at, and then the story moved on. I would've loved more about them, because who doesn't love a motley crew of pirates? (EVERYONE DOES.)

While the first half of the book was a tiny bit meandering for my taste, the plot really picked up in the second half and by the end I was turning pages like crazy to see what would happen. The ending was very satisfying, so although the book didn't 100% grab me, I still found it very enjoyable!

“In my heart, I’m as wild as the ocean that raised me.”

Princess Lira- a siren and the next in line for the crown has been raised as a warrior and a killer. She has been taught to be merciless and brutal. Each year on her birthday she takes a human prince’s heart and presents it to her mother- The Siren Queen, hence proving her dedication and zeal towards the siren kind. But her mother is shrewd and vicious and nothing makes her happy. He mother takes a special kind of delight in hurting Lira and the Kahlia- her cousin, who Lira loves more than herself. But fate had other plans for her. When Lira kills a mermaid, The Sea Queen turns her into a human and she can only turn back into a siren if she brings the heart of a sailor.

“It’s the princes who hold the allure. In their youth. In the allegiance of their people. In the promise of the leader they could one day become. They are the next generation of rules, and by killing them, I kill the future. Just as my mother taught me.”

Enter Elian: a hot prince cum pirate, the kind of man we all desire- strong, ruggedly handsome, witty and has a sense of humor. Yeah, a deadly combination.

“He has eyes like vast pools and a jaw made from shipwrecks and broken coral. Every movement he makes is as quick and fluid as a tidal wave. He belongs to the ocean. He is made from it, as much as I am.”

As Lira and Elian meet, Lira finds out that Elian seeks the Eye of Keto- a powerful and magical thing that can destroy all sirens. Lira agrees to help him find it but keeps planning ways to take both- the eye and Elian’s heart. I mean that literally.

As they get to know each other, Lira and Elian are drawn close to each other. I loved everything about this story. It’s full of purpose and no time had been wasted on things that don’t serve the purpose. There’s no lengthy heart to heart or romance scene, but the longing they have for each other, the trust and the betrayal keeps lingering as a shadow. Hence, very powerful writing. The climax was action packed and it took it’s own time, to prove points and tie each thread up carefully and precisely.

With an extremely innovative plot and fresh writing, Alexandra Christo has left me craving for more.

This book gave me contradictory feelings. It had a great idea, but the way it was carried out did it no favours. While in the long run I enjoyed the story, I can't give it more than 3 stars really because I didn't enjoy how this was written and I was even very tempted to Did Not Finish (DNF) it.
I didn't partially because I wanted to know how it was going to end and partly because the last book I tried to read from Netgalley was a DNF.

I mean, I can be a fan of flowery and flowy writing but mostly this was rambley.
Yes, there's a difference.
To me flowery writing raises anticipation, especially on a re-read. You know what's coming and you enjoy getting there.
Rambley just drags things out and has added descriptors which clog us the story. I think this book could have lost 40 pages without suffering impact to the plot.

What saved this books is the scene early on that reminded me this was a little mermaid retelling. The intent behind the scene was totally different, but the imagery was the same enough that I had a flash of Ariel and Eric on the beach and then I just HAD to keep reading. The thought that these characters were another form of those characters was exciting.
Just a note - the sirens in this book are what we'd call mermaids rather than the sirens of myth - they are part woman part fish, no bird pieces anywhere.

I liked Lira and Elian well enough. The book switches between their points of view (POV) but this edition didn't give warning to whose POV you were in. It wasn't one chapter each either so I got a little confused. I'd also have liked to have known more about them. Their rambley thoughts on describing things were quite distracting and I skipped whole paragraphs looking for the storyline.
It was interesting to see this take on the story. It gave both the prince and the sea maiden far more personality and gave them far more interesting worlds to come from.
I also liked how the story she told him was fulfilled. I saw it coming but it was cute and I liked it.

I do have to mention that there was a discrepancy that was never called into question. The same legend was told differently by both sides and I fully expected them to call each other out on the differences, I was even expecting it to be a plot point but no one noticed so I'm pretty sure it was just for our information.
I really liked this world. Not the Sea Queen of course - we're not meant to - but the wealth of back story you could feel but never saw. I mean, I assume we never saw it...I guess it could have been in the bits I skimmed.
These countries and families and peaces and wars.Each country had a focus, each royal family a secret and the details of the war were always so vague.

I might be willing to read more books in this world - especially if the ramble is put to better use!

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever.

The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavoury hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her?

This is an impressive YA debut from an even more impressive young London copywriter (is it bad that I like her more because I know she's English?).

I love anything to do with mermaids, magic and other mystical sea monsters and while these were all tropes included in this novel, along with a few others, such as a prince falling in love with a princess and a sacred relic everyone had to go on a mission to find, but..........it works! I really enjoyed it!

Lira is a complete and utter arsehole the whole way through the book, but has a heart where it counts, and Prince Elian is a bit of a d*ck as well. It's so refreshing to read a book where the main characters are generally more bad than good and revel in it. Of course, they do save the world in the end but not without a few casualties along the way.

There were obvious nods to "The Little Mermaid" but it didn't make the novel any less enjoyable. It definitely did not have a predictable ending! I was thinking that Christo would end up "Little Mermaid-esque" but she does something better.

Overall, this didn't blow my mind, but for any fantasy loving YA fans this will definitely hit the spot.

This was so much fun to read. I have been struggling with YA for a while now, but I pretty much thoroughly enjoyed this. This was exciting and glorious and just overall a great surprise.

This Little Mermaid retelling is charming but also surprisingly evil. Lira is believable as a bloodthirsty siren while at the same time being a sympathetic main character. But even more so, I enjoyed spending time in Elian's head. It is rare that I find the male protagonist in a YA novel not only bearable but rootable and completely fleshed-out. The conflict between the two sides of the age-old war between sirens and humans was believable and as such a great foundation to the shifting characterizations.

The language is mostly good, sometimes maybe a little bit clumsy in its descriptions. As such it was neither distracting nor enhancing the story. Which is fine for a plot driven novel like this one. I found the dialogue snarky and honest and often funny. The relationship between the two protagonists was believable and fun to follow - and I say that as somebody who if often bored by romance in fictional narratives.

I am also glad this was a standalone - as much as I enjoyed series of various lengths it is also nice to have a satisfying ending after one book. Although I would love to see more of this world - because the glimpses of the hundred kingdoms Christo offers are just marvelous.

“I’ve made a mistake. It started with a prince, as most stories do. Once I felt the thrum of his heart beneath my fingers, I couldn’t forget it.”

A dark retelling of The Little Mermaid, this book pulls no punches. It's full of adventure, humor, drama, suspense and amazing character building. A story about two kingdoms at war.

~ Lira aka the Prince’s Bane, is a siren who is raised in the kingdom of Keto in the Diávolos sea, by her sea Queen mother. Lira's mother is brutal and expects totally fealty from her followers and any transgressions are punishable by death.

“Love is a word we scarcely hear in the ocean. It exists only in my song and on the lips of the princes I’ve killed. And I have never heard it from my mother’s mouth.”
~ Lira, To Kill a Kingdom.

~ Elian aka the Siren Killer. Elian is a pirate Prince, he is set to rule the kingdom of Midas, the city of gold. But his heart is with the sea and with his 200 strong crew. They sail the seas hunting the monsters that lie beneath.

“He belongs to the ocean. He is made from it, as much as I am.”
~ Lira, To Kill a Kingdom

Elian receives information that could stop the sea queen and her monsters once and for all, and sets off on a quest with a 100 of his most trusted crew members.

Meanwhile Lira has broken the rules and is punished in the most horrible way by her mother the sea queen, she is turned in to a human and left to drown. Elian finds her and saves her life, after finding out what Elian is doing, Lira convinces him that she can help. And so they begin their journey to destroy the sea queen, but how will Elian react when he learns the truth about Lira?

The world building is fantastic, in a 342 page book that is also standalone, it’s amazing how much Alexandra packed in. It created such a vivid view of this new world, I could imagine all the lands as we followed their journey and I am in love.

The banter between Lira and Elian was great I liked that she isn’t trying to be the damsel in distress to get his heart. That she is strong in a world she knows little about and has lost her power.

The Crew were great, as secondary characters their presence was strong and they worked as a team. They treated Elian like a brother and not a prince and were loyal and protective of him. Also a female pirate that was kickass was the added bonus we needed. She had morals and was not easily swayed from them, she hated killing, and was a reliable crew member, what a refreshing change.

If I had any criticism of this book it would be that it ended too abruptly, all tied up in one chapter, it just lost the whole feeling of the book that was so in depth about everything and I felt the end was rushed. Secondly I didn’t know who was talking in many places and had to reread so I could figure out who said what to make sense.

This story also highlights some important themes that are common today, parental abuse, expectations, and that the youth can change the world to a better one, they have a great power that should not be quashed.

Overall this book was great, a wonderful world and I hope we get to revisit it again soon

I absolutely loved this book, it had me hooked the whole way through. The language was beautifully descriptive and I thought the characters were really believable and likeable. I hope there will be more follow on books!

I tend to sit on the fence a lot when it comes to fairy-tale retellings, as most of them tend to start off fresh and intriguing but gradually become more boring after the halfway mark. While I thought this book was no exception, the story was saved by a fantastic climax that drew together brilliant characters.

TO KILL A KINGDOM is about a not-so-typical-princess: a deadly siren who murders a heart every year for her birthday. When her latest victim is taken two weeks before due, her terrifying mother (the nefarious Sea Queen) punishes her by turning her into a human, and commands her to go after a prince who would rather continue being a pirate than overseeing his kingdom's security (ironically we see very little of his kingdom). Drama and romance brews in the typical way, and while the story didn't particularly surprise me, it was definitely an enjoyable read and one of the better fairy-tale retellings I've read.

Also featuring: angst, drama, royalty, pirates, subtle references to the original Little Mermaid, revenge, murder...

The strongest part for me was the strength of our two main leads. Lira doesn't care for being pretty or falling in love, she doesn't pity herself or drown in her own vanity. She's strong and determined, she's a ruthless killer, but still has her own loyalties. She's brave and defiant, and her romantic banter with Prince Elian marks the start of an interesting relationship.

Elian is just as strong-minded - he'll do anything to keep his life of adventure even if it means bartering off the future of his kingdom. Both characters are undeniably strong and just as flawed, they balance off each other perfectly and there's a lot of chemistry built up over the course of the novel. However, the slow-burn romance turns out, to my annoyance, to erupt into a faster pace for seemingly no reason. The story is told from both perspectives so it gets increasingly frustrating when both characters abandon their internal edgy epicness and divert to being in love against their better instincts. I would have preferred more deliberation from both parties, but I having said that, at seventy percent through the story the romance did need to pick up fast to allow future scenes to make more sense.

In terms of side characters, I had literally no interest in Madrid and the other crew members on Elian's ship. I thought perhaps one of them might become more interesting by being a traitor or dying heroically/dramatically, but they seemed to only serve the purpose of taking things down from the angst between the main romance. However, the side characters from Lira's side of the story are far more intriguing and I wish we could have read more from them: her cousin, the Sea Queen, Flesh-Eater, even the cameo of some confusing prophetic mermaids was more fascinating than random humans flirting on Elian's ship.

From this alone I would have placed the story at a decent three star read, but I feel guilty for undermining the writing style which drew the narrative to the next level. The description alone, woven in lyrical mythos, is worth an extra star. Alexandra Christo has certainly placed so much effort in her writing and it really does show. I am very much looking forward to her next novel.

I was very lucky to have been given a version of this author’s debut to read on NetGalley, but unfortunately I hit a reading slump halfway through this book. It had nothing to do with not enjoying the book, in fact, I really enjoyed To Kill a Kingdom and its refreshing take on sirens, mermaids and pirates. It isn’t very often that I read standalone novels (most books can’t do the character development justice in just one) but the character arcs in this book were incredible, especially Lira’s.

Princess Lira is well known among the seas and the lands, stealing the hearts of princes that sail the waves. She is feared by all, but her weapon, her voice, is taken away from her when she is punished by her mother. The Sea Queen took away what was most important to Lira and turned her into the one thing she despises – a human. The only way to return to her natural form is to take the heart of a Prince, who is also a pirate. Prince Elian runs away from his duties, dreaming of seeing all the kingdoms and spending his life on the sea. He hunts sirens along the way, ridding them so that people may board ships without being afraid. When he crosses paths with a strange woman in the waters, they embark on a journey that will lead them to the key to destroy all the sirens. But can she be trusted?

The world building in To Kill a Kingdom was wonderful and so magical, with amazingly vivid descriptions of what was happening under the sea, as well as on the surface and land. There are some great fighting scenes in this book that weren’t too detailed that you didn’t understand what was going on, but they had enough that you could picture it all in your mind. I’m going to say this now, the end of the book is amazing with incredibly descriptive scenes that were action packed. It was so good.

I can’t forget to mention the fact that the writing in this book was great, the dialogue was incredibly funny and witty at times (the banter between Elian’s crew was top notch). The dual POV really helps to give different perspectives, switching between Lira and Elian, and it was great to have flash backs to their pasts, seeing what their lives were like before they met. You really feel for these characters and want the best for them, especially when you see them being treating cruelly.

Lira was brutal, deadly, but at the same time she was thoughtful and caring. She is a very dynamic character, and she has some incredible lines when speaking to Elian. They had me smiling as I read their interactions which were so genuine. Nothing seemed forced at all and there was a lot of chemistry between the two of them. It was great to see Elian be more than just a Prince. He doesn’t let anyone do the heavy lifting for him and takes an active role in their mission to extinguish the world of sirens. He is more than just a handsome face, he’s a badass and it shows with how he talks and acts.

To Kill a Kingdom was very entertaining and it had everything I love in a YA novel. The fast pace matched the story perfectly, guiding us towards an incredible finale and an ending that left me smiling as I read the last page. It was perfect for me and it more than deserves the 4.5 stars I’m going to give it.

I've shocked myself. It's kind of unsettling to admit this, but I kid you not when I say it's been years since I rated a book five stars. Who has been a reviewer for as long as me perhaps can get the personal struggle to find that little more, the unexpected, or just a particular something that makes you say a book is perfect. Well, I'm pleased to say I found my treasure.

This debut novel is absolutely brilliant! From the moment I read the very first line, I was captivated and honestly wasn't able to put the book down. Made no mistake though, it's not "The Little Mermaid" re-telling you would expect, it's far more than that. In fact, it's a completely different and darker twisted tale. I.Love.That. The plot is original, the world building is done skilfully—major kudos especially since it's a stand-alone novel—the characters are witty and interesting, and the romance is... not a typical romance. But then, Lira is not a classic siren and Elian is more of a pirate than a prince, so they are always on guard, and with a slow building trust going on the reader gets to connect with both. Also, one of the most fascinating things to me? I had 'My Jolly Sailor Bold' song from "Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger Tides" playing in my head during the whole read. THAT made the whole story creepier and, if possible, even more magical.

With mesmerizing legends and lethal creatures invading your mind, and a strong desire To Kill a Kingdom pumping your heart hard and fast, this is a read you don't wanna miss. Alexandra Christo managed remarkably well to turn a fairy-tale into a nightmare, and then a nightmare into a dream.