To Kill a Kingdom

by Alexandra Christo

[nitzan_schwarz]

I read the first 50 pages in ten days and the rest 300 in one lol

(disclaimer: I only actually "read" for minutes of every one of those ten days, and then nonstop for the remaining one)

I honestly really really loved this one. It's a little mermaid retelling with a spin to it, and it's definitely made the whole thing a lot more interesting.

First, we've got Lira, the killer siren princess who steals literal heart for every birthday. It's not as cut and dry as it sounds, even as the book will try to make you think it is. At the heart of things, Lira is a person forced into a rather horrible situation, and it's her time on the Saad, with its pirate prince Elian, who reminds her of that.

There are many kind of ships in this read. We've got the literal ones, and the ones we fangirls really love to rile around. Elian and Lira are such ship. They have delicious banter, wicked chemistry, and the fact the both of them have vowed to kill the other just adds to the fun. I'm also partial to Kye and Madrid and would LOVE to read their story. Or Kahlia--I feel like this siren has a story to tell as well.

In fact, this world seems far too fleshed out and planned to be confined to one single story. I really hope Christo decides to expend it, with some cameos from our favorite duo in the mix. There are so many kingdoms to explore!

This was such a fun adventure story, with lots of quirky and fun characters, and I loved the romance of it!

Quick question though - why all the names in the ice kingdom Japanese? Is Japan considered especially cold or something? It struck me as really odd. I may have missed other themes since I only know Japanese, English and Hebrew, but it was a really odd choice to me.