To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo | Review

Paperback: 358 pages

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Published: 2018

Language: English

Rating: 5 / 5 stars 

" I've made a mistake. It started with a prince, as most stories do. Once I felt the thrum of his heart beneath my fingers, I couldn't forget it. "

I have a tendency of reading overly hyped books because seeing them everywhere and hearing about them from so many people makes me think that they are worth a try. And they are, most of the time.

To Kill A Kingdom though, I have only heard about once before in a recommendations video from one of my favourite booktubers. After that, I completely forgot about the book until I found it in a local bookstore. And honestly, it was so totally worth it!

The story is a retelling of the Little Mermaid, only bloodier and containing a high amount of sass.

First things first, I shall introduce you to our two main characters who stole my heart from the beginning (pun not intended).

Lira is a siren princess and one of the deadliest creatures existing in the Kingdom of Keto. As is tradition, sirens are required to take the heart of a human on their birthday each year, stealing the humans' lives as revenge for the goddess Keto's stolen life generations before.

" Every action will betray. Every choice will slaughter. Despite what my mother says, I seem to be the exact kind of monster she wanted. "

Elian is the crown prince of the Kingdom of Midas, the most powerful kingdom of all, but also a siren hunter who navigates the seas with his trusted crew of pirates on a deadly ship, in hopes of ridding the world of sirens.

" Technically, I'm a murderer, but I like to think that's one of my better qualities. "

After disobeying the Sea Queen repeatedly, Lira is cursed into humanity and given the mission of stealing the siren hunter's heart.
When Elian rescues a drowning girl from the ocean, she promises to help him end the sirenkind for good. 
I'll let you take part in their exciting adventures and find out the rest of the story on your own.

The dynamic between the characters is one of my favourite parts of this book, along with their evolution throughout the story, Lira being the best example in this case, the way she matures as time passes.
As fantasy is my favourite genre, this book was the perfect mix of magic, myth and imagination and in terms of writing an amazing retelling based on a centuries old fairytale, I'd say the author did a wonderful job. I can't wait to read Alexandra Christo's other (future) books, hopefully they'll be just as amazing!

If you love fantasy, I totally recommend this book. You won't be disappointed.