"The truth of what I am has become a nightmare."

Oh my gosh I am about to start gushing because this book SLAYED me. If you are even a little into retellings you have got to pick up To Kill a Kingdom immediately. Do not delay. Do not pause. Go to Amazon and pre-order this gem NOW. This is The Little Mermaid like you've never heard it before. It is absolutely terrifying and fierce and did I already mention terrifying?

Our "little mermaid," if you will, isn't a Mermaid at all but a freaking Siren, created solely to steal the heart of princes. As in, the literal heart. Yes, she pulls their hearts right out of their chests and it is just as gruesome as it sounds.

Our prince is more of a pirate, bent on eradicating sirens from the face of the earth by whatever means necessary.

Our sea witch is actually Lira's (the siren princess) psychotic mother, who banishes her daughter to land after she shows weakness (aka human emotion). Lira has to kill Prince Elian and deliver his heart to her mother if she ever wants to rejoin the other sirens.

Not exactly your classic Disney story, that's for sure.

Lira is a fantastic anti-heroine. She's brutal and willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants, and in that way her and Elian are the same. Elian may be a prince but he is also ruthless when he needs to be and utterly single-minded in his determination to end the war with sirens once and for all. They're about as star-crossed as two people can be, and when they begin to get all tangled up in each other it gets messy real fast.

I liked the quest aspect of this book a lot, but I would have liked just a smidgeon more of the questing - it was a little too easy for them to get all the pieces together. Honestly, I thought this would have made a great duology, but as it stands now it's still a fabulous standalone.

If you like stabby pirate love stories this is definitely the book for you!

Rating: 5/5 stars

Arc provided by NetGalley!

Lira is a siren, luring people (specifically princes) to their deaths with her voice. Elian happens to be a prince that kills sirens, more pirate than prince. When Lira is cursed with humanity and finds herself traveling with him (and tasked to kill him), will she be able to? Or will she change into something else?

So, this starts off as a sort of Little Mermaid retelling, but it makes so many changes to the original story that it really stands apart. First of all, the characters. This book was told from dual perspectives, switching between Lira and Elian, and usually I’m not a fan of that but it really worked here, elevating both characters and helping to develop their stories, both separate and together from each other. How much these characters develop and change, and how unique their voices are, is a huge draw. Their romance actually feels genuine and earned.

The world building is honestly interesting enough that I almost wish more books could be written in this universe. Perhaps more dark, edge fairy tale retelling could co-exist in the same universe? The writing is exceptional, very lush and vibrant, and surprisingly graphic occasionally. Ariel this ain’t.

The side characters as well are interesting! They really pop off the page, especially Elian’s gang of pirates. They all have distinct stories and personalities that add depth to the story.

My biggest issue would be with the ending: after all the buildup, I thought it felt rushed, with not enough time to explore different responses to different actions (trying to sound vague but the ending even tho it wasn’t really surprising). This book could have been longer (and maybe I just wanted it to be longer).

Can’t wait to see more from author (and hopefully more from this universe)!

I really liked the premise of this book. I was excited about a dark, Little Mermaid, type story. I did enjoy this book, however, there were things I didn't enjoy which led me to give it only 3 stars.

First what I liked: the plot I felt was fast paced and it did keep my attention. I felt it flowed nicely and I really had no trouble finding motivation to read this book. I did not find any part of the plot slow or dragging. However, I felt the ending was too rushed. Tons of events took place over the last 10 or so chapters that I was sort of on we sensory overload. The action sequences felt muddled and it was hard to get a grasp on what was going on most of the time.

I really did not like the character development either. At first Lira and Elian are not very trusting of one another and eventually they do come around to being allies, however, I didn't see enough exchange between the two to make me care enough about their relationship. I needed more scenes between the two of them that really set a solid foundation for their relationship. There was only one scene in particular they were actually being decent to one another but I wish there had been more moments like that.
I also really wished there was more dialouge between the characters. Often times the author would just write in a paragraph about conversations being had. I wish, as the reader, I could have seen those conversations play out. I think this would have helped with the character development a little more.
I did really love the world building in this book. I appreciate good world building and I liked getting a glimpse into other kingdoms and rulers.
I would recommend this book. I was sorry to see it's not a series but I do love a good stand alone as well. I feel like this book may have benefited from being a series, though, because it was a lot of story to tell in one book.

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!

Princess Lira is siren royalty and extremely lethal. She is revered across the sea for the collection of seventeen princesses hearts. Until fate forces her to kill one of her own kind. As punishment the sea queen turns her human. Without her song, she has until the winter solstice to deliver prince Elians heart or be human forever.

Prince Elian calls the ocean home. Hunting sirens is his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman, she promises to help him find the key to destroying all of siren kind. But can he trust her?

I fully expect this book to be raved about this year. The cover is gorgeous.There is a bit of the story in the beginning where I feel the author rambles on a bit more than necessary. Such as Lira's internal dialogue.

Other than that the book flows seamlessly. The storyline is intriguing. I love that this book doesn't focus on beautiful sirens and gorgeous mermaids. It shows the ugly sides of both mythological creatures. The author has the amazing ability for world building and description. I could honestly picture all the characters and the backgrounds clearly in my mind.

Holey moley the ending of this book is action packed and absolutely amazing 😍

This book reminded me of where my love of reading began. It began with reading fairy tales at a young age and from then on I was hooked on reading and still love re-reading fairy tales. This book is full of wit, humour, charm, adventure and is simply fantastic! Do not miss this!

I LOVED THIS BOOK! There were some minor plot holes that had me just a little bit confused towards the end, but other than that this is such a unique twist on the Little Mermaid and I absolutely loved every minute of it. Highly, highly recommend!

Thank you, Macmillan, for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"How strange that instead of taking his heart, I'm hoping he takes mine."

Someone please give me another book by dear Alexandra Christo because I absolutely enjoyed this one! Next to The Cruel Prince, it's the most captivating book I have read this year. Anyone who loves fairy tale retellings will devour this book in a day. However, since it's such a good book, I recommend savoring it for as long as possible!

To Kill a Kingdom is a dark reimagining of The Little Mermaid. Lira, also known as the Prince's Bane, is a siren infamous for literally stealing the hearts of more than a dozen male royals. After Lira is forced to kill one of her own, the tyrannical Sea Queen turns her into a human and commands her to redeem herself by killing Prince Elian, the heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Interestingly, he also happens to be a talented hunter of sirens. Despite their divergent backgrounds and loyalties, Lira and Elian might be the key to ending the war between the land and sea.

Before I requested this book from the publisher, I already had a feeling that I was going to love it. Reviewers whom I trust had given it five stars, so I was all the more excited to delve into the story. To my delight, all of my expectations were met; the characters were compelling, the plot was perfectly fast-paced, and the writing was beautiful in its simplicity. I really wanted to savor this book, but I just couldn't put it down (even in the workplace).

Lira had excellent character development. Her brutality at the beginning of the novel made it clear that she was a force to be reckoned with and that she deserved her title as the Prince's Bane. In fact, she was so empowered that her mother, the Sea Queen, unwillingly saw her as a threat. As the story progressed, Lira's humanity began to show itself. It was fascinating to see her grapple with her conflicting desires. Killing Elian would prove that she was worthy to be queen someday, but it would also mean that she wasn't any different from her heartless mother. I was so happy that Lira was able to make the right decision in the end by following both her heart and brain. In totality, she more than did justice to Disney's Ariel.

Prince Elian was similarly fleshed out. In spite of his stereotypical daddy issues, I liked him a lot because he did not allow revenge to overcome his moral compass. He was indeed talented in killing sirens, but he didn't necessarily enjoy it. And when he discovered Lira's betrayal, he still had the willingness to love and forgive her. If I were in his shoes, I probably would've been angrier at Lyra for a longer time. Haha. Nevertheless, I admired Elian because it took guts to give a second chance to an ex-murderer.

Like I mentioned before, it was hard for me to take a break from this book. It came to a point that it consumed my breaks at work. Each chapter was relatively short and ended with a cliffhanger, so it took much effort not to neglect my professional responsibilities. It didn't matter that I already had an idea about how the book would end; I was 100% invested in Lira and Elian's journey to lasting happiness. The fast pace could be also attributed to the author's penchant for amusing dialogue. Lira and Elian's conversations never failed to make me laugh. I couldn't get enough of their banter!

The world-building was the last thing I liked about this book. I was surprised that the author established a difference between sirens and mermaids. Sirens, like Lira, were powerful stealers of human hearts. Mermaids, on the other hand, were weaker and didn't always kill humans. I found this dichotomy refreshing and memorable because sirens and mermaids are typically one and the same in books and other forms of media.

Yes, I loved this book enough to give it a high rating. But I would've loved it more if it didn't use the bad parent trope. I hated the Sea Queen as much as the characters did, but I wasn't happy that she didn't seem to have any redeeming qualities; she was just a horrible mother. As for Elian's father, he was a bad parent in that he was a source of pressure and undue stress. In fact, he was one of the reasons why Elian didn't want to go home to Midas. Can't we have more good parents in YA, please? xD

All in all, I highly recommend To Kill a Kingdom. You don't have to doubt the hype because it's completely justified. Given how great of a retelling it is, I wouldn't be surprised if it were adapted into a film someday.

Not going to lie, I don't like this cover at all. Still, when I got an email about a new mermaid book from NetGalley, I couldn’t help checking it out.The writing is descriptive in all the right ways and the dialogue brought a smile to my face every time. I loved how it was a twist on The Little Mermaid, and I just can’t get over how great the ending was. Thanks NetGalley for giving me this ARC! I wouldn’t have read it otherwise.

(Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!)

Where do I begin??? This book was fabulous! I am almost a little sad that this isn't going to be a series, but I think it worked really well! There were a few slow moments, but the pacing overall was really great. I especially loved Lira, able to come into her own self-awareness after years of abuse at the hands of her mother. Her inner monologue was amazing. You could really feel the conflict going on inside of her. Love love love. Read this book!!

It took me a long time to start enjoying this book. I like the idea of the story, but I felt it was choppily executed. I kept reading because I hate not finishing a book. And because it was sirens. Ok?

First, the descriptions were really, really bizarre. It was hard to picture everything being described, the mermaids, the sirens, the mermen. Mixes of jelly-legged creatures, slack jaws, siren beauty. While I never was quite able to picture the mermaids, I did figure out they were supposed to be ugly.
Also, mermaids ugly??? That was weird.

TROPES GALORE.

So many, many different tropes. Hate-to-love relationships, treasure hunts, pirate crews, human heart vs sirens lack of hearts.
Some of the tropes worked, ok? Some of them didn't. If I'm rolling my eyes, that's not exactly a good sign.

I liked the build-up to the ending, but then it just ended. And I felt like there was a bunch more to explore [especially as Lira and Elian's sister as queen. We just know she's the queen, and that's it? Please more??? Another chapter or two would have been nice.

The best thing going for this book? It's a stand alone. It's harder and harder to find stand alones in fantasy these days and I'm pleased this book ended

Solid 4.5 stars. ARC provided by Netgalley, thank you!

I have found a new favorite author and I hope to revisit this world because I feel like so much is still there to be explored.

Love the fact that this one is a standalone, too. Gaaaah, such a wonderful book hangover I’ll have.

My only complaint, and it’s minor, is that it switches back and forth between Lira and Elian’s view points, which is ok, but there’s no indication or warning that you’re switching between them, so whenever a chapter would change characters I’d spend the first few paragraphs confused and a little lost. Otherwise, I love the characters, I love this world, and I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the ride.

I needed zero convincing to read this story once I saw that it was about lethal sirens, arrogant princes, and PIRATES. To Kill a Kingdom is a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid, but way more awesome and vicious.

Lira is a siren princess and unashamedly skilled at taking the hearts of human princes. I loved everything about her as a character: her sarcasm, her ruthlessness, her intelligence. We also have Elian, who is a charming, conceited pirate prince set on hunting sirens. When Elian and Lira’s lives are thrust together, the real fun begins. I breezed right through this book because it was just so entertaining! Alexandra Christo’s writing, setting, terrific pacing, and great characters all blended together seamlessly to create a stunning story. I loved the interactions and witty banter between Lira and Elian, and the slow build of their hate-to-love romance. My only complaint: that the book wasn’t longer.

To Kill a Kingdom is a plot-driven adventure – full of deadly sirens and pirate princes – that everyone should read. This is a spectacular debut book by Alexandra Christo and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future!

I didn't have a lot of expectations going into To Kill a Kingdom and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This is exactly the type of story I enjoy in YA Fantasy. It's a darker retelling of The Little Mermaid with pirates, swashbuckling adventures, and a star-crossed romance. If any of these tropes appeal to you definitely give To Kill a Kingdom a chance.

DNF at 54%
Sadly, this didn't live up to my hopes of what this book would be. While the first 25% was fantastic, it just slogged down with dense pacing, unnecessary long scenes of dialogue/standing around and the main male lead didn't feel like a pirate captain; he was too cocky, didn't follow his own rules and just smirked too much. I didn't understand why his crew had such blind trust with him. I also feel like I never understood why he never felt at home with his family and why he had to become a siren hunter. I also feel like Lira went from a strong, kinda scary siren to a whiny and blindly reckless human who didn't feel like the actual daughter of the Sea Queen. I hoped she would be more conniving and actually plan her moves more effectively. While I kept reading past the 25% mark, nothing really happened and the plot hardly progressed and I lost interest. While I will give this author another chance, this was a disappointment. If you read a lot of YA fantasy, this isn't really anything new. Full mini review will be up on my blog on Monday February 5th and the link will be updated.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

“He kissed me, after all. Brushed my cheek so delicately and pressed his lips to mine in a way that shot fire through me, melting away any pieces of the mountain that had slicked itself to my skin. Things like that can’t be forgotten any more than they can be undone.”

What an amazing book. It takes the Disney version of The Little Mermaid, tosses in the original tale from Hans Christian Andersen and turns it all on its head.

Lira is a killer, her name is the Prince’s Bane and her greatest joy is her birthright: collecting the hearts of her victim princes (literally). Elian’s one true goal is to kill every siren he can, and find retribution for the friends he’s lost. How can these two find each other and reprieve or salvation from all that they know?

The tale was enchanting with characters you learn to love. From the loyal Madrid (who deserves her own story) to the silly protector Kye. The love story wasn’t the central theme to the story but it aides in the path to redemption for our hero’s.

I love that Lira is sassy, independent, and powerful in her own right. She makes it clear she needs no man to help her. All of our girls are independent in some way, and none depend on a man for rescuing.

The characters are pretty predictable dimensionally, no amazing characteristics that you wouldn’t expect between the adventure loving prince, etc. The transition in character development for both Lira and Elian was a little awkward and jolted but it didn’t negate my love of them at all.

All in all, worth the read. Raving about it already to friends as a must pursue.

I wanted to like this book, and pushed myself to do so, yet felt that, in the middle, it wasn’t meant to be. This novel started out great. I devoured the first few chapters and really enjoyed this new world that has hints of The Little Mermaid, yet is absolutely its own realm. I was a little mystified but some of the creatures (mermaids and flesh-eaters) and why they acted certain ways (vicious when they’re supposed to be love-torn and stand by when they have blood thirsty reputations), but this was easily glossed over as the story moved on. The characters of Lira and Elian are well rounded quickly and are given great histories that help explain their behaviors and thought processes. The secondary characters often fell flat for me on the other hand. They were often just a mix of banter between one another and became a means of slight humor rather than actually moving the story along.
As for the story, I was immediately into this novel from the first page. It was definitely catching and ran at a good pace. For a while. Towards the middle of the book, mainly when they start their main adventure, the plot line becomes weak and there is a lot of useless banter back and forth, no real progression other than the crew moving along from place to place, and not much action to keep the reader interested. I found myself skimming the pages until I got to something better. The last part of the book did pick up and ended wonderfully. I liked the romance, the action, and the revenge. I did find the obstacles faced by Elian and his crew awfully easy to overcome (no one gets by just on their charm). I thought that finding the necklace was a bit too convenient as well (it’s been missing for hundreds of years, yet he knows right where it has to be, no research or inquiries required).
Fairy tale retellings are so popular right now, and I’ve definitely gotten caught up in the hype. It’s hard to say that I would recommend this novel as there are a lot more in this category that are much more interesting to read. It is unique on its own and that it is the only Little Mermaid retelling that I know of now, but if this trend continues, there will be more I’m sure. I will probably still purchase for the library, as these book fly off the shelf here. I hope that others enjoy the novel more than me. Interesting and different story, needs some cleaning up.

Fascinating premise. I do love a good re-telling and this one added a lot of edge--I mean she's storing the hearts of princes under her bed.

The writing and tone weren't quite my style, but this book will do well, I'm sure!

2.5 stars

Word Play Blog Book Club Review
gabriellenblog.wordpress.com

This was a very different look at The Little Mermaid tale. And by different, I mean on the complete opposite end of the spectrum compared to the Disney version we are familiar with. This tale pays more homage to the Brothers Grimm than it does to Anderson.

Setting: The world-building was neat, and I'd like to learn more about the various countries represented in the story. I especially liked how the royalty of each country had their own unique myth or legend that made them stand out compared to the rest of the citizens.

Characters: The characters were entertaining, on the whole, even if they did fall a little flat. Lira's character arc stuttered a bit, and I struggled to understand and empathize with what she was going through. I felt like she changed a lot without enough description of what was going through her head to make it believable. Elian, on the other hand, was more enjoyable to read about; however, I felt like he was two different characters, depending on if I was reading from his perspective, or Lira's perspective. I get the author was doing that on purpose, but it just made it harder to connect with him.

Plot: Nothing special here. It's a typical band of YA characters going on a mission to save the world from an oppressive ruler. Read it for the retelling, not for the plot.

Content: The book starts off gruesomely violent, and it doesn't really improve from there. Graphic descriptions of violence are in nearly every chapter, and if this book was made into a movie, it'd probably be rated R. The book did not have any explicit sexual scenes, but it did have some crude jokes and inappropriate references. It also had fairly frequent profanity. A lesbian couple is represented, and sirens seduce both men and women.