To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo is a YA fiction, standalone novel.
Lira is a Siren princesses, ruthless, cruel… a prince killer. She holds the hearts of 17 prince’s under her bed; one for each year of her life. Her legend, the prince’s bane, is known both above and below the ocean. Until chance or maybe fate forces her to kill one of her own and for punishment her mother, the Sea Queen, turns Lira into a human. Now she must capture the heart of one of the richest Princes in the world.
Prince Elian is not your usual prince. He is a Siren killer. He feels more at home on the sea, captain of his ship, hunting monsters than he does holding court or dancing at balls. He is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world and with that comes certain responsibilities… responsibilities he shirks as often as he can.
Now Elian is on a quest to rid the world of Siren’s forever. When he saves a young woman from the middle of the ocean, she promises to help him with his task. But her secrets may cost him everything.
Will Lira capture the heart of her prince and reclaim her place beside her deadly mother? Or will Elian succeed in his quest to rid the world of monsters once and for all?
It is refreshing to read a standalone novel once in awhile. Nice not to have to wait for sequels and get one full story in one book. And To Kill a Kingdom did that. Sometimes with a standalone you feel like the world isn’t fully developed or the author tries to sneak in too much but Christo had a nice balance of world building and storytelling.
I liked this world of Siren’s and Pirates. I actually would have liked to explore Lira’s world a little bit more but it was neat to see this mini world of pirates and the countries that specialize in specific traits–thieves, spies, gold, love, etc. It did give you the feeling of the Little Mermaid without being obvious.
The only thing I didn’t really like about this book was that in the first half, I felt like I was being told how to feel about the characters. Lira is cruel and the most wicked thing in the ocean. Sure she had attitude but it is one thing to say someone is mean and another thing for me to feel that it is true. I needed to see it more here.
This one gets 3.5 stars from me.
That’s all for now!
-M-