[Bite Sized Review] To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

ABOUT

Title: To Kill a Kingdom

Author: Alexandra Christo

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Release Date: March 6th 2018 

Goodreads Page

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?

I received an advanced copy from Indigo Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion whatsoever.

I totally picked this book up to read because of Mith's recommendation as I do with a lot of the books I'm reading lately. She and I just have a very similar taste in books and I've even started a shelf on my goodreads that will be populated with the books she recommends.

This book was such a fun read. There's definitely a lot of angst in this book with Lira's situation of having been plucked from her life by her Sea Queen mother and given legs so that she can steal a prince's heart. Though not just any prince of course, but a prince who prides himself in killing sirens like Lira. Elian is also in turmoil as he struggles with his role as crown prince and his heart longing for the freedom of the sea. He's also hell-bent on killing sirens, protecting the humans from the "monsters" that rule the sea. And of course because they're natural enemies, their banter is so so good and they have a natural chemistry.

I really breezed through this book since the pacing was so well done. It reads really well and has a well-developed world that we're introduced to throughout the novel without it ever feeling as if we're being info dumped. The point of views in the book also switch between both Elian and Lira. The chapters aren't labelled with whose point of view it is which mildly irritated me. Even though I would eventually figure it out, it was a little annoying having to figure it out especially when they were doing a rehashing of the same event in different points of view.

The end part was a little weird and hard for me, mainly because of my whole thing with reading action scenes and not being able to visualize them properly. Alexandra Christo mentioned in a Twitter chat that she is writing short stories of Lira and Elian and I absolutely can't wait. I love the two characters a lot and their bantering.

Overall, I would definitely recommend a read of it, especially as it spins The Little Mermaid on its head. I look forward to the short stories and whatever her next project may be! I hope there are more banter-y characters please.

Happy Reading!