I really enjoyed reading this book.
I loved Lira and how feisty she was.
I loved Elian and his desire to always be out in the ocean.
I loved Torik, Kye and Madrid. The story wouldn’t have been the same without them.
I loved the witty Banter between all characters. My only wish was for there to be a bit more romance early on, but I also loved how it wasn’t full on romance-y. I honestly would love to read more about Lira and the rest of the gang!
Also, I WANT TO BE A SIREN!!!!!

I love Mermaids, I love the legends, I love the tall tales and I LOVE the whole magic of it all. I love to believe these beautiful mythical creatures exist.

A dark, twisted take on The Little Mermaid sure to hook the reader from the first page. To Kill a Kingdom is Seductive Sirens, Pirate Princes and a tale so rich in Mythical Mer-Folklore you will drown in this captivating world. Be prepared to be pulled into the depths of the deep blue below and submerge your imagination with a fantastical adventure leaving you breathless for more.

Great book! Unique idea and strong characters, a very enjoyable read. I loved the theme of what makes us human, watching the relationships between the characters develop was moving. The worlds were very vivid too.

This is one I looked forward to reading, so I really wanted to love it. While I enjoyed it overall, it was too predictable and lacked depth in my opinion. While the concept was excellent, the story didn't meet expectations.

Lira is a fierce siren princess. She collects the hearts of princes. As punishment she is transformed into a human and loses her song. She is tasked with bringing home a human prince's heart. Elian is the human prince determined to rid the world of sirens. The two fall together. This is an exciting dark fantasy unlike anything you've read before.

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Recommend: Maybe
Review:
To put it simply: this is a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid, with some little twists added in. If you like terrifying mer-people, heart-stealing sirens, pirates with interesting moral codes, and a Future King who is a born Pirate Captain, you will enjoy this book.

THE CHARACTERS:

Princess Lira- This chick is a serious bad*ss who will rip your heart from your chest without a second glance. Starting this book, I thought she was gonna be the character I love to hate. I thought she was going to be cruel and evil and stabby, but I was wrong...slightly. Lira is the daughter of the Sea Queen, meaning she is trained at birth to steal the hearts of prince's. She, and all her sister sirens, are raised to trust no one, be loyal to their queen, be cruel, and never ask questions. Lira is supposed to be the cruelest of them all since she is their future queen, but like all wonderful evil mothers, she is a constant disappointment. Not to spoil anything, but Lira makes a huge mistake which results in her mother punishing her by turning her into a human, which she finds disgusting, and telling her she has to complete a task before she can be turned back into a siren and resume her position as the heir. Needless to say, some stuff goes down, we realize Lira is not what we first assumed, and by the end of the book I liked her. Lira is a fierce, strong, independent female main character who I definitely loved.

Prince Elian- This boy is a hot mess. He is the heir to the Midan kingdom (some fun Greek mythology thrown in), but he is not about that life. Elian wants to be on the sea forever, sailing from place to place with his morally ambiguous pirate crew. He is on a mission to rid the world of sirens, especially the Prince's Bane (Lira). Elian is sarcastic, driven, and determined to do whatever it takes to save the world, even if it means giving up the things he loves most. When he learns of a way to finally kill the Sea Queen and destroy the sirens, he takes off on a dangerous adventure that leads him to some surprising discoveries, including Lira.

THE PLOT:

Like I said, this is basically just a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid with some twists thrown in. It is about two people from two separate worlds who find each other unexpectedly, have two different plans for how things will end, end up falling for the person they never in a million years they thought they would, and end up making a big change to their world.
There is plenty of action, lots of fighting and blood and kicking butt, a little bit of romance thrown in, and lots of sass and sarcasm. All the characters are well-developed and rounded, the settings are intriguing and reasonably detailed, the plot is well-paced, and the ending was nice.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

While I did overall enjoy reading this book, I also often found it predictable at times. There were parts that I absolutely loved and enjoyed, but then there were parts that left me bored and excitedly waiting for the scene to be over. I thought the romance was predictable, sometimes the plot dragged, and while the ending was nice, I thought it wrapped up too nicely for the story. Even more, my biggest issue was how similar the Big Battle was to the Disney movie, plus I thought it was far too short.
I did enjoy this book and I maybe would recommend it to people, but I didn't love it. I did think the characters were interesting and well-developed, I do think they were very different from their Disney versions, and I did like the history included, but since I did find myself bored at times, able to clearly tell which parts were just like the movie, found some things predictable, and the ending far too nicely tied up, this book is deserving of a 3.5 star rating...in my opinion.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish reading the book.
I had been really looking forward to reading this. I love anything to do with mermaids and sirens and royalty, however the writing was much too juvenile for my liking. There lacked a breadth to the story and I felt that at times, the scenes were too rushed.

I still gave it two stars because I love the concept behind the story. I will try to reread this at a later date, but for now I must leave it.

This book was absolutely fantastic! I loved every minute of the high seas adventures and siren related intrigue. Highly recommended!

Arc provided by NetGalley.
Lira is the Prince’s Bane, a siren who collects the hearts of princes in order to be Queen. Her mother, the Sea Witch, does not want to give up the throne and accuses Lira of being too soft to rule. The Sea Witch commands Lira to take the heart of Prince Elian. In a twist, she saves him (although she was going to kill him) and her mother changes her into a human as punishment. This Prince is also a pirate and Lira becomes part of his crew which is searching for a magical object to kill the Sea Witch. Lira has to decide whether or not to kill the Sea Witch or use the object to get back into her mom’s good graces.

the good: interesting twist on The Little Mermaid; Lira is changed into a human as punishment not because she is in love with a human. The ending is also pretty good- a siren queen who can become human to be with the pirate prince.

The bad: the supporting characters on the pirate ship are not well developed and somewhat interchangeable- I can’t remember any details about them except that one was a woman pirate with tattoos

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I wrote and published a review for this novel - and then accidentally deleted it from my blog! My second review will be short and sweet to say the least. Christo's To Kill a Kingdom is an action-packed story full of memorable characters and rich world-building. Her incorporation of fairy tale characters and settings is unique and fun. I absolutely adored this setting - please tell me Christo will write companion novels set in this world!

Princess Lira is a sass queen extraordinaire. I enjoyed Lira's cultural shock as she mixed with other cultures and races. Her character's gradual transition away from moral ambiguity is interesting. As for Elian, I think he and his kingdom needed more development. His character arc seemed boring compared to Lira's arc.

My biggest complaint is the ending. It felt incredibly rushed. It was an epic battle followed by a HEA, yet missing key character moments.

tl;dr A fun, quick read with a memorable setting and a fun cast of characters.

Four stars: A dark, vicious refashioning of The Little Mermaid.

Princess Lira is a siren. She is vicious and lethal and her prey is princes. Every year, Lira hunts down a reigning prince, lures him to his death with her siren song, and then plucks out his heart for her collection. She is feared by all. Weeks before her seventeenth birthday, Lira hunts and kills a prince before her birthday, angering her mother the Sea Queen. The Sea Queen is cruel, twisted and manipulative. She punishes and harms her people to force them into loyalty. The Sea Queen seeks revenge on Lira by stealing her siren song and turning her into a human. If Lira wants to return to the sea, she must deliver Prince Elian’s heart. Prince Elian is a formidable ally as he is known as the siren killer. Will Lira return to the sea or die trying?
What I Liked:
*To Kill a Kingdom was a pleasant surprise. This is a vicious, dark refashioning of an old favorite. This book is loosely based on The Little Mermaid, and I ate up the this sinister tale.
*Lira and Elian are two formidable characters. They are both fierce and feared, and their reputations are known throughout the world. Lira with her bright red hair and flaming eyes causes princes to shrink in fear as she is known as the Prince’s Bane. She hunts down princes and steals their hearts. Meanwhile, Prince Elian doesn’t behave like a prince. He leads a ragtag band of pirates, and his goal is to hunt down sirens and kill them to make the waters safe. His biggest prize is the Prince’s Bane. What will happen when their paths cross?
*For those of you looking for a romance, there is a small romance in this one. I loved that it was a slow burn, and that it took the entire story to develop. The relationship starts out rocky to say the least, when the two meet as human and siren. Things change drastically once Lira becomes human. When they meet the second time, Elian has no idea who Lira is so he eyes her mistrustfully. There is lots of sparring between the two as the get to know one another. Then something begins to change, and a friendship forms. The relationship was perfect the way it unfolded. No magical fairy tale type of romance, it felt gritty and real.
*I enjoyed all of Elian’s ragtag crew. Elian has a band of misfits who are incredibly loyal to him. They would lay down their lives for Elian. I loved their relentless loyalty to Elian.
The Sea Queen, in my opinion, steals the show. She is monstrously wicked. Black to the core. She is cunning and cruel and she cares for no one. She will murder anyone who defies her, including her own family members. She is scary good. She is the type of villain you love to hate.
*I loved the refashioning of mermaids, sirens, mermen and the Sea Queen. The sea creatures are all foreboding and deadly. The mermaids aren’t beautiful half human half fish creatures, they are far darker. The sirens are lovely and they kill with their song. The mermen and abominations, predatory and depraved. The author did an outstanding job with the sea creatures.
*The world building was well done. I loved the many different kingdoms, the legends and lore behind the royalty. It had a fairy tale type of feel to it even though this book was far from a fairy tale.
*The ending is fantastic. I loved the way it all played out. It was a different type of ending, but I liked it.
And The Not So Much:
*I don’t know if it was just me or what, but there were sections in the book where I got bored. I loved the action and the drama, but there were many parts of the book where not much was happening. I was immediately drawn back in when the action revved up. I thought there were too many down parts.
*I enjoyed the way the romance developed, but I didn’t like the way it quickly jumped from point A to B. It felt too forced for me.
*I wish that Lira had been able to have that conversation with Elian before the big climatic ending. I wanted to see Lira come clean and hammer things out.

To Kill a Kingdom exceeded my expectations. This was a twisted revision of a classic tale. I have read plenty of fairy tale retellings, and this one was one of the best. I loved the dark tone, the vicious characters, the action and danger, and the hint of romance. This is not your Disney Little Mermaid type of story. If you want a monstrous tale, look no further!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Note: I received a free ARC of To Kill a Kingdom from NetGalley a very long time ago and finally got around to reading it.

I was drawn to this novel for multiple reasons. First of all, I requested it from NetGalley not too long after having read another interesting YA book about sirens so I was kind of on a siren themed roll. Plus, the description sounded interesting. A siren Princess named Lira, the killer of many princes, gets turned into a human and is told to make sure she kills Prince Elian, one of the few humans known to have killed multiple sirens? Sign me up! And, third of all, it was being marketed as a standalone! It's not too often that I come across fantasy standalones! (Because sometimes I just get so annoyed when I come across the first book in a who knows how long it will be series that sounds interesting because it could take years for it to come to its conclusion.)

Now I was a little worried because I had a feeling that, of course, this book was going to turn into a romance and I expected it to feel forced or the insta-love type of deal. That's not exactly the case. Lira and Elian are surprisingly deep and their relationship has a very natural progression as the book goes on. I also like how they were both very gray characters. Lira does kill princes and she seems to enjoy it when she's doing it but she spends a lot of time wondering what life would be like if her mother wasn't commanding the sirens to take hearts. Elian feels obligated to rid the world of sirens and yet he doesn't exactly enjoy it. It makes them very interesting and well rounded characters.

I also liked most of the side characters as well which is always a plus.

The main issue I have is that most of the booked was slower paced (but not in a bad way...in a way that was perfect for character growth and development) but then the end was maybe just a little bit rushed.

But overall I really, really liked To Kill a Kingdom.

Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most--a human. 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.


The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby--it's his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she's more than what she appears. 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?



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Dear Alexandra,

Okay, first of all I have to say thank you to you and NetGalley for the free eBook copy. Of all the books that I had requested, yours was the one I was most anxious to get a chance to read. I loved the idea of a twisted Little Mermaid retelling. The Little Mermaid is hands down one of my most favorite fairy tales growing up. And I don't know if you've noticed this, but there isn't really a lot of little mermaid retellings out there. Or at least any that grab your attention the way that your blurb did!

Where do I even start?! All of the characters were amazing. Lira was amazing, I really enjoyed reading her character development and seeing her come into her own and realizing what kind of "person" she wanted to be. Elian was definitely Prince Eric level swoony, I mean yes!!! Charming with just enough scoundrel to keep you on your toes.

The Sea Queen, I feel like she should get her own little section in my review because hand downs the best villain in all of the fairy tales is the Sea Witch and this Sea Queen did not disappoint. I mean imagine having an Ursula type figure as your mother, no wonder Lira is called the Prince's Bane.

The world building and the character development in the book were just freaking amazing. I could not put it down. I devoured this book like there was no tomorrow and it took me on an adventure that made me reminiscent of my childhood and at the same time was something all its own. I enjoyed this world of murderous sirens, hideous mermaids and pirate princes enough that I'm wishing and hoping and praying to the book gods for another adventure in this amazing world

As everyone who knows me is aware, I have been on an unceasing quest for one good mermaid book. If the main character would have deigned to allow herself to be called a mermaid, that journey would be over.

This book manages to be a more realistic version of the little mermaid while somehow also being much less depressing. Lira's character arc was compelling and believable, which didn't feel super likely reading the first few chapters.

I enjoyed this book. It started with action but then slowed considerably for a little while. It was an ebb and flow with that and the slow parts were slow. I enjoyed Elian so much. He made me laugh and him and Lira together cracked me up. They had that love-hate relationship that is just so exciting to read. I liked Lira so much. She grew the most throughout the book and it was amazing to see her humanity come out and make her a better siren. She is a strong female lead and one of my favorite characters now. The supporting cast was great as well. I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes books about the water and ships and sirens.

’m sure we all know the story of The Little Mermaid, so I’ll skip over the synopsis and just jump right into pointing out some of my favorite details. I love how fierce our heroine, Lira, is. In the original, Ariel is a young, fairly helpless and naïve character, but Lira has so much more going for her (both good and bad). This is in part due to the fact that she is a siren (a more murderous sort of human-fish hybrid, according to all legends), instead of a “normal” mermaid. And in part due to that fact that she’s been raised by her ruthless and emotionally controlling mother, the Sea Queen (our Ursula), to be just as ruthless and emotionless. Essentially her “humanity” has been crushed out of her (see our connection there…). But her mother still doesn’t think it’s enough and as part of a punishment, Lira is turned into a human, told not to return to the sea until she can prove to her mother that she is worthy (by way of being merciless enough) to rule after her. In the bargain she loses her “voice,” her access to the siren song that is used to lure humans to their deaths in the ocean. I love this method of paralleling the original, Ariel’s loss of her voice, without having to take her ability to speak and communicate completely. It definitely made the development of the story easier and more realistic for both the author and the reader that our protagonist could talk.

Our other protagonist, Elian (the Prince Eric), is absolutely fuller than any Disney prince of that era, which was expected and necessary. Because really he’s pretty useless in the Disney version. In any case, that’s probably also because this is a much darker version of the story. I mean, Lira is known for her Prince killing (by ripping hearts out) and Elian has made a name for himself by leaving his “prince” duties behind in favor of a life of piracy and hunting/killing sirens. I love that our main couple are both killers in their own rights, violent and messy. They are equals in background, even if the reasons for starting seem different. And they find common ground, even though they don’t speak to each other about it for quite some time, in struggling with how to fulfill the needs of their parents and prospective kingdoms, while also finding and being true to who they are. It’s a deeper connection than I expected them to have and enjoyed watching it develop and grow as they spent time together.

As far as other aspects of this retelling that I liked, was the story line itself. It centered on a much greater concern than the small/personal “fall in love with me so I can stay a human” story of the original. This story is about worlds at war: sirens killing humans and humans striking back. And it’s about a quest to stop that…or, well, what becomes a quest to stop that (there are a few changes of hearts and plot twists along the way). I won’t spend too much time going into them individually, but there were some fun side/assisting characters too. I mean, not fun in the cute Flounder way, but fun in the way that adds a little light banter and extra intrigue to the plot. The world-building is interesting. It’s clear that a lot went into it – there are so many kingdoms, myths, histories, etc. that are visited and referenced that it’s really impressive. But almost there was so much that I wanted to read more about those, in addition to our main story. I’m not talking a series, but more like, standalone stories focused on characters from each of the different kingdoms that are mentioned – they are all so different and fascinating and there wasn’t enough time here to learn everything I wanted to about them. And I loved, loved, the ending! I mean yes, the conclusion to the story itself was written well and fit the story and characters, so I liked that. But even more than that I love the little “wrap-up chapter” – where Lira and Elian find themselves afterwards. The roles they are playing and how they are balancing these with who they have decided to be, as people (as siren?), and with spending time together. It’s a wonderful ending of compromise and support that is empowering for both. And that’s fairly rare. I really appreciated it.

The one thing that kind of was too much for me was some of the internal thoughts we get from Lira and Elian. Their alternating chapter perspectives, which I did like, allowed us insight into both their though processes. And that was nice. But I think there was maybe too much exposition there. A number of their thoughts/conclusions were described multiple times, or they went back and forth on them to an extent that got a little annoying. This was made worse because I think sometimes the editing was off just a little…and the “talking in circles” seemed like it actually ended up saying the opposite of what the author wanted it to. Like, it almost confused itself, if that makes sense. So I could have done with a little less of that repetition/disorientation. It just could have used a little more polish (maybe because this was an ARC?). Also, I’m not sure about the title…I mean I guess I get it, but it doesn’t seem to totally fit, in my opinion.

However, all in all, this was a super enjoyable read. The darker side that we get here was a terrific addition to the story, especially the banter between Lira and Elian (dark and snarky, just like I like it). And it had great pacing, with just the right blend of reference to the original tale and unique characteristics all its own, which is exactly what I look for in a retelling.

Oh my, how do I even begin to write my review for this book? My own words will probably not do justice to this wonderful masterpiece! But I can start by saying that "To Kill a Kingdom" is a refreshing take in the world of mythology, teenagers thriving in their own worlds, and a journey for all ages and time. An interesting mix, right? Well, I was enthralled from the very first sentences and could not stop reading the story until the end. I am embarrassed to say that I almost neglected to make dinner for my family just because I had to read until the next chapter.
To Kill a Kingdom is a surprising mix of childhood fairy tales, ancient mythology, and modern story telling. From the very first words into the book I got a sense that the main heroine was going to be a very spirited and brave young lady. Lira, the main heroine is at once beautiful and deadly, with a strict goal set for her life since birth. She is definitely not one to be reckoned with but having a mother who is the sea version of the devil must put quite a toll on one's own psyche.
Then there's the hero, Prince Elian of the kingdom of Midas. A mighty prince who's heart and soul belongs in the sea and not as the token heir to the majestic Midas throne. It is the differences yet similarities between Lira and Elian that you instantly know their meeting will be combustible. They are both bright, shining stars, held back by their royal blood to be nothing else but the future king and queen of their own kingdoms - Lira the kingdom of the sea and Elian the kingdom of riches, Midas.
But it's the way their stories are written that is truly captivating. The author has such an indelible way with words. The descriptions and the world building are so vivid and masterful that I couldn't help but imagine myself in this mystical world full of 100 kingdoms and various types of beings. There are mermaids, sea monsters, ice legends, pirates, thieves, and of course Sirens, one of the most deadly creatures of the sea. The fascinating beings - both humans and monsters -all have their own stories to tell, their own lives written so vividly by the author. I couldn't hate any of the antagonists just as I couldn't solely pinpoint which hero I adored more. Both Lira and Elian had their own strengths and weaknesses, their own downfalls and triumphs. But through it all, both of them can not somehow quite live up to their parents. And both of them have a need to prove to their kingdom and themselves that they can become more than what they are born to be - just mere royals.
Lira, the Siren princess of the kingdom of Keto is described as an ethereal beauty. A sea creature that's not quite a mermaid and not quite human - but a mixture of both perhaps. Sirens are incredibly strong and led to believe that their main mission in life is to kill humans. Sadly, that is what most mythology portrays Sirens to be as well - mere murderers who kill on instinct through the lure of a song. But Lira and her cousin strive to be more than the scary legend that their race is known for. Lira, ridiculed and trying so hard to win mommy's approval realizes that the human part of her can indeed have compassion and free will. Yet somehow she still lives in the shadow of her mother's insistent disapproval and betrayal. Will she break free of her mother's chains and become more than what her kingdom wants of her?
Prince Elian, the heir to Midas wants nothing to do with being the future King. He'd rather sail the high seas as a pirate prince enjoying the open freedom and will to do whatever he wants, not what daddy, the King wants. And while his parents allow him some freedom or rather to "get it out of his system", his perilous journey to capture the elusive Princes' Bane has him unknowingly find her in the middle of the sea, afloat and abandoned by the Sea Queen. Clueless to who she truly is, Elian unwillingly accepts Lira as part of his crew if only lured by her mysterious beauty and strength and her promise to help him find the ultimate weapon to capture the Princes' Bane and kill the Sea Queen. And that's where the fun begins between these two!
The witty dialogue between Lira and Elian was so fun to read and picture in my head! While Elian had no clue to who Lira truly was, Lira in fact knew that Elian was the prince who's heart she had to take in order to win her crown as the future Sea Queen. And while this secret was kept for a good part of their journey, eventually Elian and his crew helped Lira see that humans weren't objects of domination and the need to kill them really was just the cruel wishes of the Sea Queen and not by choice.
As I read through the story, I am captivated by the imagery and words of the various kingdoms and their customs and wills. There are a few kingdoms that the story highlights, to further the story along and all of them are quite unique in their own way. The Ice Kingdom reminds me a bit of the Snow Queen and her story. The "love" kingdom reminds me of Shakespearean times. The Midas kingdom instantly reminds me of King Midas and his constant need for everything rich and gold. And the Sea Kingdom reminds me of the old mermaid and siren myths told throughout generations. Whatever kingdom you are reading at the moment in the story, you are immediately transported to that time and place as if the author picked you up and placed you right dab in the middle of them all.
To not give away any spoilers, I am very happy for the ending of the story though. There is a HEA for all that's important to the story and the justices doled out to those who deserved them. I truly loved reading the book and was desperately hoping that there will be a part two. I did not want the book to end at all! But alas it did and although saddened that the story ended, I am further enlightened and light-hearted from reading it.
Thank you for the ARC to this brilliant novel!

I really enjoyed this book and I hope to read more from the author in the future. I loved how it stuck somewhat to the original fairytale of the little mermaid but also had the tale of Midas and the golden touch in it too. I eagerly awaiting more books from the author in the future.

This was the new and different re-telling of "The Little Mermaid" that I didn't know I was looking for. I appreciated what was done in terms of changing the story and breathing new life into it. I did have some trouble connecting to the characters, but I found myself continuing to read just to see what would happen and what new twists the story might take.

I did have a problem with the a country full of white people being given Japanese names for no apparent reason, which took me out of the world of the story somewhat and was also just confusing. Overall, though, the world building was interesting and enough to hold the story up for me.

Full review to be posted on blog.