The biggest issue I had was it’s choppy pacing, which could have been balanced a little better. So why the four stars? To Kill a Kingdom is a strong debut but it has its flaws. The slowest of slow burns, their narrative is full of sass and snarky banter. I had so much fun traipsing across the ocean with Lira and Elian. In a spectacular homage to Disney, Elian saves Lira from drowning and that’s where the real fun begins. His reputation as the Siren Killer is almost as notorious as Lira’s – and I bet you can see where this is headed…īasically, a twist of fate sees Lira robbed of both her siren’s song and tail, which is how the Prince’s Bane comes sword to sword with the Siren Killer. Elian spends the majority of his time captaining the Saad on a seemingly hopeless but noble quest to rid the seas of its bloodthirsty sirens. A classic reluctant prince, Elian is heir to the kingdom of Midas but his heart belongs to the ocean. I’m not going to lie, unlike Lira, it took me a while to really click with Elian’s character. All I’m going to say is that Lira’s character growth is phenomenal as she questions what makes a monster and what makes a human. But Alexandra give us glimmers of humanity hidden deep beneath her heartless façade and Lira must discover who she is without her mother’s influence. It’s very hard to hate Lira when she was basically manipulated into becoming a murderess. Lira is a classic case of circumstance and nature vs nurture. A classic anti-heroine you just can’t help but root for.īut what makes Lira’s story so heart breaking is her complex relationship with her mother and the violent, abusive nature of her upbringing. She’s bloodthirsty, desperate to prove herself and utterly ruthless with the hearts of seventeen princes under her belt. Known across the high seas as the Prince’s Bane, Lira is heir to the Sea Queen’s dark legacy and the deadliest siren of them all. The idea of the sirens dissolving into sea foam was one of Alexandra’s more obvious nods.Īnyway, Lira is our new Ariel but don’t mistake her for a gentle Disney-esque princess. I also really appreciated how Alexandra pulled threads from Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid too. Spoiler alert: THIS SCENE WITH ERIC HOLDING ARIEL IN THE WATER ACTAULLY HAPPENS!!! There are elements of the beloved classic tale scattered throughout with direct references and even a new spin on iconic scenes. While the plot takes a darker, gritty turn, Alexandra Christo drops a lot of subtle nods guaranteed to make any Disney fan scream. It’s impossible not to read To Kill a Kingdom without drawing comparisons to Disney’s Little Mermaid. Clearly To Kill a Kingdom had my name plastered all over it. So what happens when you combine a sweeping, high-stakes pirate adventure with the Little Mermaid? You get To Kill a Kingdom, a deliciously dark, twisty AF retelling of epic proportions. Another thing I’m 100% trash for is anything even remotely related to the Little Mermaid. At this point, I’m basically pirate trash. If you know anything about me, you’ll know that I’m all about sexy swashbucklers and high seas shenanigans. 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? When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby-it’s his calling. The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. 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. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most-a human. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears.Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen and or remain a human forever. Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. This action-packed YA debut pits a deadly siren princess and a siren-hunting human prince against each other as they fight to protect their kingdoms.
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