Book Review: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Author: Alexandra Christo

Series: Stand-alone 

Cover: I love the cover of this book so much! I even bought a copy of it to place on my bookshelf :)

Rating: 5/5 I never knew I needed this book in my life. I can't believe I waited this long to read it. JAKHFOEJCNALURNDMNAFE Just read it!!! 

Review: As usual, my reviews will be done in two parts. First part will cover all the basic stuff of a review. Second part will cover spoilers so don't read if you don't want spoilers! I've heard many many many many great things about this book. I didn't expect myself to fall in love with this book at all. I'm more of a series type of gal, but this stand-alone has captured my heart. 5/5

To Kill a Kingdom follows two characters, Lira, a royal siren that will rip the heart out of the chest cavity of any prince :D and Elian, the prince that has a hobby of killing sirens. Now, since Lira is a bad ass siren, she doesn't follow rules very well. She ends up disobeying her mother and as for punishment, she must get the heart of the siren killing prince without her musical powers, siren strength, and claws. How will she do it? Can she do it? As for Elian, after losing many friends to sirens, he wants to destroy them all. He has a good lead, but can he complete the task?

As someone who is in love with anything Disney, I was excited to read a retelling of The Little Mermaid. The actual story of the TLM is pretty dark and sad... but To Kill a Kingdom is a good balance between the happy Disney version and the tragic original story :D I wish the book was just a tad longer. Or maybe a spin-off of this world. I want to learn more of the 100+ countries in this world with all their quirks. Or maybe a short story of the origin of the countries or the sirens. I just love world building! 

One thing I particularly enjoyed were the characters. There wasn't a character that I despised. Sure, there are the "bad guys" in the book, but they are very well written villains. Lira was down right bad ass and Elian stole my heart. To Kill a Kingdom was also pretty comedic compared to many fantasy YA books I've read as well. There were also a bunch of other minor characters that were all distinct and enjoyable in their own way.

One thing that did bother me a tad in the book was how rushed the ending felt. The book was like 300 pages worth of build up and all of the sudden SPLOOSH we have the ending. Then again, that might be a good thing because it made me crave more Elian and Lira. I guess it is like a double edge sword. There were also some minor details that made me go "wait what?" but they were pretty tiny in the grand scheme of things. 

So, what are you waiting for? Go pick up this book and start reading. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy YA, retelling and mermaids. Also a very cute romance :) Let me know what you think of the book. Love it? Hate it? 

!!!!!!!!!! MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD !!!!!!!!!!

Alright, we getting to the good stuff now. The first thing that I knew that was going to annoy me before I even read the book was, can you love a killer? Lira has killed 18 people in the books before she even met Elian. I just want to know how he can forgive her. I mean she did save his life once or twice, but does that equal up? Heck Lira even killed a close friend of his. I just know that personally, if a guy killed my best friend along with 17 other people, I would have never gotten close to him. 

Second, Princess Sakura/Yukiko WHAT ARE YOU DOING? You traded up Midas for Eidyllio? A kingdom of GOLD in exchange for a kingdom of ROMANCE. You don't even like anyone! That kingdom isn't even powerful!! Midas is a much more powerful kingdom. I get you want a kingdom, but its like me wanting a cake for my wedding but instead of getting a wedding cake I got a cupcake lol...

Also, the powers of this world is a bit off? I'm curious what century(?) this book takes place. They have the tech for planes, wet suits and guns, but no ear plugs? I mean if I was traveling in a area where my ears can betray me, I feel like learning sign language would be the best option. But eh... its a world of fiction so I can't be too nit picky about it.

Just a little tid bit. The way sirens and mermaids reproduce is soooooo gross. Just the description of those flesheaters/shark dudes made my skin crawl. We can have beautiful fish girls but not fish guys?? Then again, I'm not really attracted to scales and claws...

Lastly, I did love the banter between Lira and Elian! I don't enjoy instalove very much and prefer a slow roast :) They way those two interact made me go "WHEN WILL THEY KISS??????" throughout the book. I love little a suspense like this. It is much better that seeing a hot guy for 10 pages and deciding he's the one. I also love that Lira didn't decide to be 100% human after. Also, just from my dark and dirty mind... can they make babies? Like half human and half siren babies? I mean technically Lira can be part octopus or full human... My brain lol...

Audiobook Rating:

Jacob York - Great performance overall :) 5/5 for the way he presented Elian. I also enjoyed how many different accents this narrator performed. I've heard many accents before, but York's is by far the most clear and distinct one when it comes to creating multiple accents.

Stephanie Willis - Another 5/5 for Willis. I wasn't expecting such a deep and rough voice for Lira but I really enjoyed it. I think it fits her more since she is a savage compared to a sweet princess voice. Love the way she performed Madrid as well. Great work :)

Top 3 Favorite Characters 

Lira- #1 Bae. No questions about it. I love the way her character grows. I think out of everyone in this book, she grew the most. 

Elian - I need an Elian in my life. Idk... the way I just imagine him is perfect. Like, I want a prince charming and can it be him? Though I don't like the smell of anise much so some compromising will have to be made.

Sea Queen - I like her for all the wrong reasons. Or I guess right reasons depending on how you view it. She's so evil... Like wanting to kill your own daughter to keep a throne or condemning your own sister to prove a point. Yikes!

Anyway... that is all everyone :)! I'm really glad to have picked this book up. The romance made me all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Have you read this book? Did you hate it? Let me know! The next review will be on Peter Green and the Unliving Academy: This Book is Full of Dead People by Angelina Allsop. Adios!