To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo Review

Hello Again!

Hope everyone has had a great week! We just got back from West Palm Beach to see the Foo Fighters and we rocked out! It was an amazing concert and honestly probably the best I've ever been to. We read To Kill a Kingdom in the Bookish Boss Book Club last week and I have been excited to review it for you guys. Enjoy!

Synopsis

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 unsavory 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? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy?

-GoodReads

Review

We chose this Little Mermaid retelling for the book club because of what a highly anticipated release it was! This novel is The Little Mermaid with a darker twist which was so intriguing and I couldn't wait to dig in. It seems like the siren/ pirate genre has been quite popular lately and I have found myself drawn to this sub- genre.

One of the first things I enjoyed in this novel is the multiple POV's. This story is told from the perspective of the two main characters, Elian and Lira, and is done so very well. Writing from both of their perspectives allows each character to be fully developed as well as giving the story a unique sense of narration which I really enjoyed. Both protagonists in this novel have a strong personality and this leads to a slow burn romance as opposed to an insta- love romance. Starting off as enemies but finding similarities in one another, these two develop a bond and this shows in the excellent writing from this author.

Aspects of original Little Mermaid story were a bit light and I would have liked to have seen more but where this novel pulled away from the original story is also where it excelled. The world created in this novel is well done by this author and not too expansive that a second novel is needed, as this is a stand alone. The author does a good job of keeping the story on track and making sure it is well developed.