To Kill a Kingdom

incroyable réécriture de la petite sirène ! J'ai adoré cette version plus sombre, plus sanglante avec La dévoreuse de princes et Le tueur de sirènes.
La romance from enemies to lovers

A book perfect for the enemies to lovers enthusiasts (which I am, of course)! This is my first book that revolves around a siren and I found it really interesting, especially the descriptions of the sirens and the mermaids.

I didn't particularly connect with either Lira or Elian, but I liked their stories and their evolution (especially Lira's). From a girl that used to do whatever her evil mother asked and from being the Princes' Bane, whom everyone feared, Lira becomes an amazing person because she decides to fight for what she wants, not what her mother wants. Her journey is inspiring and beautiful.

It's a quick and good read, however I won't give it 5 stars just because I don't feel like loved it that much, I just really liked it.

Such a fun adventure! Pirates and mermaid/sirens stories are DEFINITELY my thing. I especially loved Lira's personnality.

HOLY SHIT!!!! That was AMAZING!!! This book went faaaar beyond my expectations, I loved how sassy and strong Lira was, and how brave and cunning Elian was!!! I'll be honest, this is the BEST The Little Mermaid retelling I've ever come across (which, granted, isn't many), and I like it Faaar more than the original tale!!!!

A super fun and creative retelling, and I actually didn't entirely hate these straights! The world-building left much to be desired and the ending was soooo rushed though.

An alright, slightly more gruesome retelling of the little mermaid, but it kinda felt like I was reading a fan fiction the whole time where no one ever receives consequences for being terrible people

4+/5 stars. Omg the story and the characters were so unique and amazing! What a pity it's such a short book! It has potential for being more complex and even more compelling than it already is

Okay this was cuter than my expectations lead me to believe.

3.5

Me llamó mucho la atención que la trama estuviese basada en la Sirenita pero esta vez siendo las sirenas monstruos que, como en la mitología matan humanos.
Ambos personajes principales me gustaron mucho y lo cierto es que la historia, aunque es un poco predecible, me resultó bastante entretenida hasta el punto de engancharme. Es un libro que se lee muy rápido, pero aún así no le pongo toda la puntuación porque sentí como si una vez lo terminé todavía me faltase algo. No sabría decir exactamente el qué, pero esa fue la sensación que me dejó.

“To Kill a Kingdom” is a standalone novel written by Alexander Christo. This novel follows two perspectives, Lira a siren princess who kill's princes and takes their heart while the second character is Elian a human Prince who hunts sirens and kills them. Lira's mother turns Lira into a human and is tasked with bringing Prince Elian's heart to her mother. After Lira becomes human, she is saved by Elian, and she promises him that she can help destroy the siren's. They both go off to find something that can kill the siren queen, and during this adventure Lira and Elian fall in love with one another.

The novel was okay. I felt that the characters were fine. Though Elian trusted Lira way to fast after he saved, her from drowning. Lira was meant to be ruthless and bloodthirsty, but I did not get that from her character. I only got the ruthlessness when Elian caught that other siren and Lira was okay with helping him kill one of her own kind. I gave the novel a 3 out of 5 stars.

Y'all I'm still at the beach so shitty review again. Hopefully I'll actually write reviews for these two when I get home.

The gist for this one:

Great story, bad pacing.

I really enjoy books that take mermaids (or sirens, in this case, as mermaids exist but are something different in this world) and turn them back to their murderous roots. Adding in Cthulhu-esque horror made Into the Drowning Deep especially fascinating. To Kill A Kingdom didn't have much horror - it took the fantasy adventure/quest route instead.

The book alternates between the viewpoints of Princess Lira, the siren known as the Prince's Bane, and Prince Elian. Their name is at the start of each chapter that is written from their viewpoint, but it's small and easily missed. I wish it was in a larger, more obvious font, because I kept having to flip back a few pages to figure out who I was reading.

I loved seeing the character growth of Lira as she comes to know the humans, and realizes there is another possibility besides just following her mother's brutal orders. She learns, watching Elian's people follow him, that there is a way to inspire loyalty rather than compel it by magic and brutality.

Lira definitely shows more character growth than Elian does, and the book never really explains how Elian gets past the fact that she's killed so many princes.

The beginning of the book was also a little slow - I actually set it aside for a couple of weeks while reading other things and worried a little that I was never going to pick it up again. Worried because I don't usually not finish books unless they're terrible, not because I actually wanted to find out what happened. I didn't get invested in the characters until probably about halfway through the book. Books usually catch me far before that point.

So - it was okay. If you want predatory mermaids, I would recommend Into the Drowning Deep long before this one. Though if you want more fantasy with a touch of romance, and less horror, then this is probably the book you want. Just be warned it takes some time to hit its stride.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

This is absolutely incredible, the little mermaid was one of my favorite fairytales when I was young till now o still love it so much. But after I read this book I actually think I love this much better.

I listen to the Audiobook, the narrators are amazing, I couldn't stop listening.

The slow burn romance is brilliant , even Lira and Elian's fights are so entertaining, they made me laugh so hard .

Lira is character development is one point , in the beginning she was the girl who tried to do anything to please her mother , her mother turned her into a ruthless Killer.

Elian trys to save humanity, he is a Siren killer , he desperately want to save his people , want killing to stop.

I loved pretty much everything in the book , I know this is a standalone but I desperately need another book, this author didn't release any other book , it's killing me , I need to read other works of hers.

4 stars
The writing is impressive.

From the first sentence I was in love with this book. Seriously. I read the line and went “Wow, I'm going to love this book.”

This is the siren book I have been waiting for. Yeah, I have a ton of mermaid books on my TBR to read, so who knows if one of those will fit the bill too, but this one was just what I needed.

See, Lira is a killer. Sure, she might have doubts about it occasionally, but that doesn't mean she doesn't make threats all the time or try to take down other beings. She is badass. I love her. She does have her own problems though.
Prince Elian, is kind and caring, but also shows no mercy to the beings who kill his fellow humans. He doesn't like that he is a killer, but he has no regrets. He isn't your stereotypical prince – he's clever and charming, but he is so much more than that annnnddd he is also, kind of a pirate.

These two are just perfect together! Oh, and the romance? Totally a slow-build. There might be some instant attraction, but the feelings come later and it is awesome to see build. This is the kind of romance I like! There is also witty banter, many times including how Lira will kill Elian or how Elian is going to leave her behind. Yet, there isn't anything abusive in this enemies-to-lovers trope. No one holds power over the other, so I wasn't uneasy about Lira being on Elian's boat.

One thing I should mention though, there is mention of parental abuse and manipulation, which really scars Lira. This is a heavy topic that is introduced and dealt with and I think it was done in a respectful manner and appropriately.

One last thing before I go, I absolutely loved the writing. It grabbed me and I would lose track of time. I was caught on every word and absorbed into the world-building and description which was just the right amount for me. I never felt confused about location or setting appearances. I almost didn't want the book to end.

So, I totally recommend this to fantasy fans and I plan on keeping an eye out for this author's future titles. Go read this book!

Fairytale retellings have always been a soft spot of mine but dark retellings? And I'm already swooning. This book was such a fantastic retelling it was a new take on witches and the idea of good and evil and redemption. There was no insta-love which I had been prepared for instead the love story went through the proper steps to get where it ended. There were a few plot holes like the fact that Lira had until the winter solstice to take the princes heart it was mentioned once and then never again, as if the author just needed a reason to turn lira human. And he ending was rushed and while the Lois ends were tied up nicely it lacked he umpf I really wanted out of a story like this. All in all a great read!

Lira is a siren princess, destined to become the Sea Queen after her mother. She has taken the heart of a prince every year on her birthday, earning her the infamous title of Princes' Bane. Elian is the human prince of Midas, who has made it his life's mission to kill as many sirens as possible, especially the Princes' Bane. When the Sea Queen decides to punish her daughter by transforming her into a human and charging her with taking Elian's heart, Lira must play a dangerous game of deception to try and win the trust of Elian and his loyal crew.

To Kill a Kingdom is an engaging, suspenseful tale with echoes of The Little Mermaid and other mythologies woven in throughout. I enjoyed the ever-evolving relationship between Lira and Elian as they each tried to figure the other out and began discovering they had more in common than they realized. One undertone of the book is how our families and responsibilities shape who we are, but also that we can stay true to ourselves in spite of them. Overall a fun read!

I made it 15% and 10 chapters in and I just can't do it. Everything is a witty retort or a smart reply. The first line of the book is promising, but everything after that is painful. Maybe this gets better after where I read up to, but I don't care enough to find out.