To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

To Kill a Kingdom

Author: Alexandra Christo

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Release date: 24th April 2018

Pages: 358 pages

R.R.P: $19.99

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. 

Princess Lira is siren royalty and revered across the sea until she is cursed into humanity but the ruthless Sea Queen. Now Lira must deliver the heart of the infamous siren killer or remain a human forever.

Prince Elian is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world, and captain to a deadly crew of siren hunters. When he rescues a drowning woman from the ocean, she promos uses to help him destroy sirenkind for good. But he has no way of knowing whether he can trust her...

My Review

Thoughts on the book: To Kill A Kingdom is the debut novel from Alexandra Christo which is a dark retellings of The Little Mermaid. Princess Lira is the terrifyingly ruthless Sea Queen's only daughter and loves ending prince's lives and stealing their hearts. That is until she steals one before her birthday and her mother turns her into a human and challenges her to steal the infamous killer of sirens, Prince Elian. Prince Elian is the captain of the most ruthless siren killers around and is constantly searching the ocean for sirens that he and his crew can kill. Out on the ocean he isn't royalty, he is just your normal everyday captain and that's how he would like to be everywhere, just an ordinary person. But everyone changes when Elian and his crew pick up a woman found in the middle of the ocean. Why would someone be out here unless they were a siren. But this girl has no tail and Princess Lira soon draws the attention of the Prince by promising that she knows the way that he can destroy all Sirens. Will Prince Elian trust the word of a stranger and go on the most treacherous journey that he and his crew have been on yet? Well of course he does because all he wants in life is to end the siren's reign on humankind. But what happens when the truth of who Lira really is is revealed?

A massive thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of To Kill a Kimgdom to read and review for you. I squealed like a little girl when I recieved it as I had seen so many people on Instagram talking about it and knew that it was believed to be fantastic for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J Maas who are of course massive authors who everyone loves. Of course the fact that it was also based on The Little Mermaid fairytale also made it that much more appealing. So of course I dove in thinking that it would get me out of the reading slump I seemed to be in at the time, which unfortunately it didn't even come close to getting me out of. But the more I think about it, if I had read it at a different time I properly would have loved it but I'm basing my review on my thoughts then. 

Our two main characters are our voices throughout the book so we get a male and female POV and also kind of a good cop bad cop feel, with Lira of course being the bad cop and Elian being the good cop. Both have great qualities about them that will draw everyone into loving them. Princess Lira is the fierce siren turned human who has been out for blood her whole life and plans to overthrow her mother whenever she gets the chance because she thinks she will make a far better leader. Despite being turned into a human her goal doesn't change and she will stop at nothing to achieve this proving just how strong she is. Prince Elian is from the powerfullest kingdom, yet despite this doesn't want the kingdom but prefers to be at sea with his crew who understand him more than his own family. He wants to avenge every Royal who has been killed at the hands of the sirens and to end the war against the Siren Queen once and for all so peace can reign over their kingdoms. Both contribute so much more than their royal title to the kingdoms which was refreshing.  Of course despite their love/hate relationship you can basically guess that they will somehow end up falling for each other which I found I kind of wanted in the end.

I think my biggest let down for the book was the ending. We go on this amazing treasure hunt through the kingdoms and get to meet amazing new characters along the way and once we get the treasure all hell breaks lose and then all of a sudden it's over. The fight scene, which is built up to be the most epic battle of all time but failed miserably in my opinion, barely lasted 50 pages. I just wanted more and for it not to feel so rushed. But despite that I would defiantly read more from Alexandra Christo in the future.

Rating: 3/5