To Kill a Kingdom – Alexandra Christo

Thank you for joining me today! I hope that you are doing well on this fine Tuesday. I am happy to bring you my review of To Kill a Kingdom…finally! I actually borrowed it from the library before but did not find time to read it and was unable to renew it. I hated having to take it back, but I hope another reader enjoyed it while it was there!

This time I made sure that I squeezed it into my schedule, which is very full by the way. Well…let’s get to it.

To Kill a Kingdom 

Author: Alexandra Christo

Published: March 6th, 2018

Publisher: Feiwel Friends

Genre: Fantasy

Rating:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist), Kobo

I have to say, I mention that I love a lot of covers, but the small details in this are great! You can see the ripples in the water where the Sea Queen’s tentacles lay ominously. In her grasp is a sword, I assume one belonging to Elian. It is a small touch, but I also enjoy the small crown within the O in Kingdom. The colors really catch the eye as well.

Where do I begin with this…It is hard to write a review when you enjoyed a book so much. Granted, it took me a few chapters to really dive in (see what I did there…dive in, mermaids…ok I am not funny I get it, just move along) but I really liked this novel. I suppose I will start by letting everyone know if you are one of the few like myself that have not read this yet, that this is a fairytale retelling. Can you guess which classic it spins off from?

You got it, The Little Mermaid. Easy enough to guess right? Well, this brings so many new twists, making it an entirely new and captivating story. I might be on a mermaid hunt myself. By that, I mean reading any mermaid books that I can get my hands on, for research purpose of course.

This story is told from a dual POV perspective. We see parts from Elian’s perspective and Lira’s. I do love a dual POV novel because I am able to really see into how each character is feeling. It helps me to bond more with them, dare I say grow close enough to wish they were real? Lira, the daughter of the Sea Queen, is a strong and independent siren who is feared among many. For Lira, Princess of the sea, there is only one type of heart that will satisfy her…that of a Prince and she has known no other. She must fight to prove to her mother that she is worthy to become the next Sea Queen. Elian is a Prince who yearns to live at sea. He does not desire the chains that come with a kingdom. What he desires most is seeing the last glare in the eye of a siren as his blade pierces their pale flesh. He is determined to stop the deaths of humans caused by sirens at any cost.

Between Lira and Elian, Elian was my favorite. He was not a typical prince. He wanted to be free, explore the ocean. His wit and sarcasm made me laugh out loud on numerous occasions. He never failed to bring some humor to a tense situation.

I think the one thing that really stood out to me in this book was the distinction between mermaids and sirens. No, sirens did not have wings or fly as in some mythology, rather they were very similar to mermaids.

“Unlike sirens, mermaids have stretched blue husks and limbs in place of hair, with jawlessness that lets their mouths stretch to the size of small boats and swallow sharks whole. Their deep-blue flesh is dotted with fins that spread up their arms and spines. Fish and human both but the beauty of neither.”

I enjoy how mermaids were depicted as ugly here rather than typically beautiful. It is something unusual, I mean how often do you hear about mermaids being able to swallow small boats whole?! The way a siren become Sea Queen was incredibly well thought out. I will not give it away here because you know…go read the book. The idea of sirens was so well thought out that even their blood was described in detail, again with a unique twist. Even the way a siren dies is different. Simply put, the amount of detail and the depth to which each aspect was thought out is amazing, even more so for a debut novel. Christo really did her research, including the Greek goddess Keto in her story as well.

The plot is nothing less than engaging and spectacular, especially the final battle scene. I was actually on the edge of my seat while reading. I hated to put the book down! I would get so excited when the kids went to bed because it meant that I could get back to Lira and Elian. The world building was so good that I felt as if I could really picture each location as if it was me there alongside the characters.

With beautiful writing, this story wraps its tentacles around you in the beginning and never lets go. Go ahead, dip your toe into the waters and find that you never want to leave. If you love retellings and young adult fantasies, pick this book up and sail through the pages of a wonderful adventure.

Would you read this novel? Buy it or borrow it? If you have read it, what did you think? Do you enjoy retellings? What have you been reading lately?

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