To Kill a Kingdom: TikTok made me buy it! The dark and romantic YA fantasy for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Sarah J Maas

by Alexandra Christo

A TIKTOK sensation! Alexandra Christo's unforgettable dark romantic YA fantasy novel is not to be missed.

"A world of beauty and monstrosity" - Publishers Weekly

TO KILL A KINGDOM is dark romantic fantasy about a siren with a taste for royal blood and the prince who has sworn to destroy her.

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. His calling? Ridding the world of the menace of the sirens. But when he rescues a drowning woman, it becomes clear that there's more to her than there first appeared.

She promises to help him find the key to destroying the sirens for good. But can he trust her?

"Stellar world building and nonstop action will keep readers hooked on this twisted reimagining of 'The Little Mermaid'." - Booklist Online

• ISBN10: 147140739X
• ISBN13: 9781471407390
• Publish Date: 6 March 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Hot Key Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Djilan]

I loved this retelling! With a nice new 'sauce' over it to make it a whole new story.
What I really liked is that the story is written from the point of view of both main characters. You really got to know both. The characters are well written, persons with depth and relatable.

The only downside I find is that I think the ending is a bit short and abrupt. It could have done with an extra chapter, or two ;) That's why I gave it 4 stars and not 5.
But it sure is a nice book for a re-read :)

[alisoninbookland]

I really liked that sirens and mermaids weren't romanticized. They were pretty fearsome killers. This was a fun adventure overall.

[Beth C.]

Lira is a siren princess—and she is deadly. She has been killing human royalty since she was 12, always ripping their hearts out of their chests to celebrate each birthday. She has been raised to be brutal—though nothing she does is cruel or horrific enough to please her mother, the queen. When she fails to kill the human prince who has been killing their kind, her mother banishes her to the human world as a plain girl, and if she does not deliver his heart, she will be stuck as a human forever.

Essentially, this story is a retelling of The Little Mermaid—though bloodier and more vicious as the older fairy tales tended to be. The first half, frankly, seemed a little too on-the-spot with the Disney version, even with the harshness of the original tale. It was hard to separate the Disney version from the one happening in the book. Having said that, the writing was excellent—otherwise, I’m afraid I would have called it quits.

However, the second half of To Kill a Kingdom was a rip-roaring adventure...(For the remainder of the review, please click through to http://vampirebookclub.net/review-to-kill-a-kingdom-by-alexandra-christo/comment-page-1/#comment-43550 )

[bookishzelda]

To Kill a Kingdom is such a great retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. As well as keeping a little of the Ariel and Ursula influence. I loved this story and the way it was reimagined!!

My favorite love stories are always the ones filled with sarcastic and witty banter between the two love interest. I think Lira and Elian have this down pat. They go from despising each other, to friends and even confidants. I loved the way their interactions paly out all the way through. Even when trust is something that really has to be tested. Neither of them have bright and sunny past but they both can see each other for what is in front of them. I loved the way they come together.

Also it’s always great to have dual POVs. Especially when you are dealing with both an Ocean and Land kingdom. Having the two perspectives of a war that has waged for centuries, is really insightful and adds depth to the story. You are like oh I can see where they are coming from, oh I can see where they coming from too. Plus I thought they were well down and definitely sounded like two different characters.

The supporting characters fill their roles well. Kahlia who is Lira’s cousin and Elian and his crew of pirates. Of course Sakura and the kingdom of ice. We got bits of the other kingdoms but not so much information where you felt overloaded.

Again I loved the little nods to the other versions of The Little Mermaid. The sea foam and taking of a princes heart. Lira’s fiery red hair and the Sea Queens tentacles. It’s my favorite way for a retelling to be done, keeping little elements but making the story it’s own.

I really loved this book and especially the characters. A great reimagining of a classic story!

[Joséphine]

March 8, 2018

My full book review is now up on Word Revel.

_________

January 24, 2018

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

Initial thoughts: To Kill a Kingdom was so much more than I had envisioned!

Although I have to say, I was confused in the beginning. The first two chapters started out at sea with the perspective of a siren. Then the third chapter had others referring to the first-person narrator as "he." Alright, I though, male siren, let's roll with that. But nope, the perspective had shifted from the siren to a human. That part wasn't clearly marked with chapter headers, and I'm not sure if the final editions will be printed with differentiated fonts.

In any case, I really enjoyed To Kill a Kingdom. It was filled with monsters and those who weren't monsters were monstrous in their own rights. They were brutal, and yet there was lot more to them too. I also liked that this book clearly is a standalone. The story is contained within the book and what happens after the loose ends are tied up is up to the reader's imagination. I just wish the ending hadn't been quite so abrupt.

_________

Note: I received an advanced reading copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Ashley]

To Kill a Kingdom was everything it promised:

• - Two kingdoms at war.


• - Sirens and mermaids.


• - Enemies falling in love.


• - The main character questioning her violent upbringing (nature vs nurture).

But most awesomely? STANDALONE! I love series, but it was super refreshing to read a complete story in just one book. No cliffhangers, and a satisfying ending that wrapped everything up pretty well.

It was missing a little X-factor that would have helped me give it five stars, but I still enjoyed it a lot.

[Leigha]

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I wrote and published a review for this novel - and then accidentally deleted it from my blog! My second review will be short and sweet to say the least. Christo's To Kill a Kingdom is an action-packed story full of memorable characters and rich world-building. Her incorporation of fairy tale characters and setting is unique and fun. I absolutely adored this setting - please tell me Christo will write companion novels set in this world!

Princess Lira is sass queen extraordinaire. I enjoyed Lira's cultural shock as she mixed with other cultures and races. Her character's gradual transition away from moral ambiguity is interesting. As for Elian, I think he and his kingdom needed more development. His character arc seemed boring compared to Lira's arc.

My biggest complaint is the ending. It felt incredibly rushed. I really wanted to spend some time in Lira's head after her mother dies. We also didn't get to see Elian process after finding out Lira's true identity. It was an epic battle followed by a HEA, yet missing key character moments.

tl;dr A fun, quick read with a memorable setting and a fun cast of characters.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

I will admit, I didn't know much about To Kill a Kingdom when I picked it up other than that there was a lot of hype surrounding it. I expected standard YA fare, maybe some instalove, but this book delivered! Say hello to my first five star read of 2018!

Princess Lira is the MC of this story, and she is a siren. More specifically, she's the daughter of the Sea Queen. Her life has been brutal and she has spent her childhood gaining a reputation as a prince killer. When her mother turns her into a human, Lira is forced to live as one of them in order to get close enough to kill Prince Elian.

I loved both these characters so much! In fact, I loved them all. Lira is brutal and strong and amazing and I loved her. I also loved Prince Elian, who was completely not who Lira (or I) expected him to be. I adored the chemistry between these two characters and loved watching them not trusting each other. I love the enemies to lovers trope so much and, although it goes wrong so often, Alexandra Christo wrote it perfectly! Thankfully, no instalove in sight and the romance is written convincingly, even though you know what's going to happen from page one.

One of the things that makes To Kill a Kingdom so great is the incredible cast of secondary characters. The Sea Queen was honestly kind of terrifying in a way that not many villains achieve and I loved it every time the threat of her was near. I thought Elian's crew and Lira's cousin were all well fleshed out, important side characters and I loved them all!

The world building was also fantastic, blending multiple cultures and mythologies seamlessly. I felt like I could picture each new setting in my mind and, following the characters on their journey, I could almost imagine I was with them! The pacing is also great, not at all too slow. It was just enough to keep me interested with some totally crazy action thrown in here and there.

This brings me to the absolutely amazing plot of To Kill a Kingdom! Confession: I've never read a siren story that I really enjoyed. To Kill a Kingdom did sirens the right way. They are fierce and terrifying. I loved following Lira from that undersea world into one that was totally unfamiliar and watching her go from a girl on a murderous mission to one completely different was thrilling! There were real stakes and urgency and I feel like I'm started into fangirl territory.

To Kill a Kingdom was the biggest surprise I've had this year! I was surprised when it showed up in my mailbox and I was surprised when I absolutely loved it! Although I thought it had an absolutely perfect ending, I am a little sad that there won't be a part two. Alexandra Christo has definitely won a space on my autobuy authors list! Whether you're a fan of sirens and mermaids or not, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book!