Review: To Kill A Kingdom

Title: To Kill A Kingdom 
Author: Alexandra Christo 
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Retelling 
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends 
Publication Date: March 6, 2018 
Source: Bought 

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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I'm such a sucker for dark fantasy books. Add in a dash of fairytale retelling, an enemies-to-lovers romance, and killer world building and I'm a goner. To Kill A Kingdom has all of this and more and it totally sucked me in. I'm a little sad that it's not a series, even though it ended so well. I just want more time in this world and with these characters. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Alexandra Christo will write more in this world, even if it doesn't necessarily follow these same characters. 

First -- the world! I can't rave about the setting, history, and lore of this world enough. I loved the concept of having a bunch of royal families who are all thought to have some sort of mystical/magical aspect/ability in their bloodline. I really wanted to learn more about all the other kingdoms and royal families; the ones we did learn about were just so cool. And the setting was just gorgeous in general -- the imagery had me wishing I could spend a couple months just going all throughout this world exploring it.  It feels like we only just scratched the surface of this world and I really would love another few books set here!

Okay, Lira and Elian are so, so amazing. I loved how their upbringings and positions mirrored each other while also contrasting each other. There was so much awesome in both their characters and a lot of that awesomeness stemmed from their flaws and their complexity. Neither were perfect (far from it, in fact) but their experiences and growth throughout the novel earned them a place in my heart. I loved watching their relationship develop as they were forced together time and time again. They were also both so stabby and murderous and I couldn't get enough of that. I love somewhat villainous and morally gray characters and these ones definitely fit the bill. While I would love to read more about them, I'm happy with the way both their stories were left. 

The only thing that kept this from being a five-star read for me was the rushed and somewhat chaotic ending. So much was happening at once and there were so many characters at play that it made it difficult to keep track of exactly what was going on and with who. But still, the majority of this book was absolutely amazing and the chaos of the end definitely didn't take much from it!

Overall, I'm so thrilled I picked up this book. I loved the world and the characters and I want more of all of it! My fingers are firmly crossed that we will get another book set in this world. It's such an interesting concept and one that we've only just started to explore. If you're a fan of fantasy books, retellings, and awesome romance subplots, I'd highly recommend picking To Kill A Kingdom up!

“They celebrate love as though it's power, even though it has killed far more humans than I ever have.” 

Four out of Five Teapots