Book Review: To Kill a Kingdom

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Genre: Fantasy

Sub-Genre: Romance

It’s been a while since I’ve picked up a fantasy and I have been craving for a good fantasy world that I could get lost in. This book was a pretty decent fantasy for me to read in order to get back into the swing of fantasy books. Plus, the little mermaid is my favorite Disney story/movie so I was really excited for this one. Let’s just say, this is not your original chirpy disney story, it’s wayy darker and wicked.

Continue reading for more details.

🌊🔱🏴‍☠️🗡️⛵🖤🏹⚔️💣🥀

Synopsis:

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?

🌊🔱🏴‍☠️🗡️⛵🖤🏹⚔️💣🥀

Review:

I found Lira to be a really unique female main character. I have read about strong women who suffer and fight and still stand tall but Lira really stood out to me. Lira was portrayed and truly came across as vicious, ruthless, and savage. The way Lira was described luring and catching her prey was so intriguing. It seemed like watching those national geographic videos about animals in the wild. I also haven’t read many (or any) books about sirens and mermaids/men so I found it really interesting reading about the difference between the two and the interactions between them as well. I loved how throughout the story we could watch Lira’s purpose and morals change as she reembraced her “humanity” that was stolen from her by the Sea Queen. The way Lira changed by the end of the book was something I did not think could happen due to how cruel she appeared in the beginning of the story. I genuinely enjoyed watching Lira see more of herself in Elian and shift her views a lot due to the things she experienced while being human.

“You are a little heartless today, aren't you?"

"Never," I say. "There are seventeen under my bed.”

I’m so happy we got Elian’s pov! Elian was born a prince, but a pirate by heart. He had the pressure of his kingdom and responsibilities as the heir making him dread his future because he knew he’d be forced to settle down one day. The ocean called to Elain and he had a purpose he wanted to live out. His heart was always in the right place even if his actions weren’t. Just like how Elain helped Lira, Lira helped Elain realize there could be another way then killing the entire siren race.

Lira and Elain were such a power couple. This was a slowburn and not a romance heavy fantasy which was refreshing as sometimes just a fantasy with an amazing world and a journey with action is what I need. Though still, Lira and Elain had instant sparks from the moment they met. Lira just gave mysterious-hiding-secrets vibes from the way she let a few things slip when she was first found by Elain and his crew which made Elain oh so curious about her. On top of that, they were both snarky and liked going head on with each other. Lira being future queen and Elain being the captain of his ship and crew, they both were filled with authority. I do believe they had some sort of chemistry, though I found it really surprising when Lira became way more straightforward with him about her feelings due to how she rejected his every act of chivalry, but that might have just been her not having any bit of damsel-in-distress blood flowing within her.

“I reach out my hand to pull her up, and the look Lira gives me is nothing short of poisonous. “Do you want me to chop it off?” she asks. I keep my hand hovering in the space between us. “Not particularly.” “Then get it out of my face.”

Though the plot is where I was met with problems. The beginning and middle were a little slow in general as they were introducing the characters and world building but that wasn’t too much of a problem. I enjoyed learning and exploring the new sea creatures and the different kingdoms. Towards the end of the book, the story started picking up pace but eventually everything was going too fast for me to fully immerse myself in the story. Everything seemed as if it was rushed and I wish the author had added more details to clarify the plans and situation so it’d be easier to understand. I was confused about some things that I don't recall the author mentioning or maybe was drowned in the rest of the action and fast paced-ness of the scenes.

I did love the world building in the story. A lot of the descriptions of the sirens and how things worked for them underwater was new information to me and I found it really fascinating to read about. I also enjoyed how on land, the different kingdoms were connected to different legends which were just as interesting to read about. Especially since each of the kingdoms explored were vastly different from the people who inhabited the land from the sort of legends they were connected to.

“Any human who takes a siren's heart will be immune to the power of their song. Only Elian didn't need to take my heart; I gave it to him.”

I also want to give some attention to Elain’s crew, especially his close crewmates. They always had his back and were ready to lay themselves down for Elain. I loved how they were so close like they were family, it was the sweetest and I wish I had friends like them! Lira’s cousin was also such a sweet character and I enjoyed the relationship between her and Lira. I loved how a childhood event that should’ve split them apart (which was what it was intended to do), brought them closer instead and formed an unbreakable bond between them.

“That's the thing about risks," Kye says. " It's impossible to know which ones are worth it until it's too late.”

Overall

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