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Are you looking for a dark, romantic YA Fantasy read? To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo might be the book for you. Scroll for an honest review and enjoy. 😉
Title:Â To Kill A Kingdom
Author: Alexandra Christo
Pages:Â 358 (paperback)
Point of View:Â dual 1st person (Lira & Elian)
Genre:Â YA Fantasy
Installment:Â stand-alone
Trope(s):Â Enemies to Lovers
Lira, daughter to the Sea Queen and heir to the throne, has earned her nickname of Princes’ Bane fully by enchanting princes with her song and taking their hearts. As a siren, she hates humans and has taken one of their hearts every year on her birthday. Many princes had to die, yet Elian, the prince of Midas, the infamous siren killer, has never been in her clutches. Turned into a human after going against her mother’s orders, Lira must bring her his heart or remain on land forever. What she didn’t expect, however, is for Elian to be more pirate than royalty and for their interests to align so perfectly: to put an end to the Sea Queen’s rule.
It doesn’t matter how many princes I hunt, because I’ll never be the kind of killer that she is. I’m still not quite cold enough for the ocean that birthed me.
Conflicting Emotions and Unique Viewpoints
To Kill A Kingdom has to be one of the most underrated, underhyped Fantasy books out there! Sirens, mermaids, princes, and piracy? I mean what could you possibly desire more? Thanks to fierce Lira, who has to learn how to cope with human emotions, and Elian, who dreads ruling his kingdom, we have some unique viewpoints. Lira’s conflicting emotions twist you up inside throughout this. Being raised by a vicious creature and forced to do her mother’s bidding, second-guessing everything she has once believed naturally doesn’t come easy. Getting to know Elian and his crew of siren killers changes many things for her. Elian is brave and clever and would do anything to destroy sirenkind, he would die on his quest if that meant bringing the world peace.
I did connect a little more with Lira than Elian, but I loved Elian’s POV all the same. Lira and Elian are very much alike yet different in many ways. They are like mirror-inverted copies of each other.
Diverse and magical
The world-building was excellent. I loved the whole concept of various kings and queens ruling over their islands with each one having a different unique aspect to them. Some in appearance, some in the magic flowing through their veins. One other aspect that I adored about this was the diverse languages and skin colors of every kingdom. My favorite scene (NOT A SPOILER) has got to be when they are in the tavern, playing card games and all of the crew start singing the same song in their respective language. It just connected with me on a very deep level and sucked me right into the moment. I could nearly hear them singing out loud.
Some people burn so brightly, it’s impossible to put the flames out.
An Epic Adventure of Death and Thievery
To Kill a Kingdom is dark and vicious due to the cruel world and habits of the sea creatures underneath the surface of the ocean. It is conflicting since Lira and Elian are natural enemies. Yet it’s also the feeling of belonging and loyalty, of running away and running towards. It’s an epic adventure of death and thievery with love only as an afterthought.
Did I succeed in making you want to read To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo? If so, you can buy it here 😉 : Thalia | Amazon USA
