A beautiful stand-alone novel enchanting readers with a world of one hundred kingdoms, deadly seas, devoted pirates, savagely beautiful sirens and firm fates that can be altered. Alexandra Christo wins over the hearts of her readers with her beautiful tale of the killer siren and the siren killer, at the core alike despite their completely different nature.
Two kingdoms that come with responsibility we each have trouble bearing. Him, the shackles of being pinned to one land and one life. Me, trapped in the confines of my mother’s murderous legacy. And the ocean, calling out to us both. A song of freedom and longing.
Title: To Kill a Kingdom
Genre: YA Fantasy
Author: Alexandra Christo
Publish Date: 6th March 2018
Pages: 352
Personal Rating: 8/10
When we’re gone, there’s nothing left to remember.
One of the very first stand-alone novels I’ve read in a very, very long time. I can’t even remember when the last time was I didn’t read a book which was part of a series. However, there you go, To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo, a perfect mixture of fairytales, adventure and a story of choosing your own destiny no matter the odds.
Before the usual prejudices come caving in about stand-alone novels having no depth, a lack of character development and generally some serious issues with bringing a fictional world alive, just stop for a second and listen – or rather read. To Kill a Kingdom is a jewel among the stand-alones and that for a good reason. It has everything one hopes to find in a book, no matter if it’s part of a series or not. This novel will make you shiver, cheer with glee, have some good laughs and marvel at the adventure you’re taken on. It definitely won’t make you in any way able to put it away if not finished.
And the best thing about it all? – Opening, introduction of the characters, action, climax and satisfying closure in mere one book! And that without even having to wait 12 months for the release of a sequel! Isn’t that nuts?!
It feels like the entire world is asleep. And us – just us – we are finally awake.
Summary
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?
3 Reasons Why You Should Read it
If you’re just a tiny little bit like me, you don’t need these following three petty pros why you should read it. If you’re just a tiny little bit like me, you’ve already pressed the “Buy it now” button and ordered your own copy of To Kill a Kingdom.
In case you’re not even a wee bit like me, there you go. Your three reasons why you should leave everything as it is and buy books instead, including this one.
Freaking arc of suspense
Beautiful, intriguing plot
Compact but profound stand-alone novel which saturates your cravings
And now you know what to do – read the book for yourself. It will be worth it.
“I don’t like you because you’re nice,” Elian says. His forehead touches mine, his lips hovering a breath away. “That says a lot about your psyche.”
Content
One of the greater characteristics of this novels is undoubtedly the richness of prose we get in it. It’s written in an alluring and captivating way that doesn’t allow the reader to put down the book until it’s finished, which is both so intriguing and fatal at the same time. Reading too eagerly, turning pages fast and devoting too much enthusiasm into it, is really going to turn on you rather sooner than later. Like, hello-oh, all I need to say is “roughly 350 pages, folks” because those 350 pages and you’re done – as in through with it, no more pages, no more Elian and Lira. Just through with it.
Alexandra Christo’s beautiful and refreshing prose, which also bestowed us with many great lines to quote (as you may or may not have realized by the many quotes in my review), also did a great job in concealing the eventless and, frankly, boring middle part of the book as a less annoying version of it. Although I took a great pleasure in reading the patters and chatters among the crew members, thanks to Christo’s talent in making even the boring parts enjoyable, I could clearly sense that the bigger part of the action would take place later in the book, as in the climaxing ending where shit hits the fan and the great mingle takes its course. I smelt the rat a mile afar, wasn’t really that hard. – On one side that concept provided a gradually growing and always-present suspense, which I very much liked, on the other side it made the middle part seem less or not at all relevant.
Thanks a lot, cruel pirate-thief or whatever that dude was, who saved the day with holding prisoners in the second half of the middle part.
“Are you staring at my chest or my necklace?” I give her a shameless smile. “Which one won’t earn me a slap in the face?”
Anyways, the major strength of To Kill a Kingdom as a stand-alone is definitely the depth, purpose and presence of so many things we value in a book series which all are compound in a single novel. There is enough humour and wittiness laced in dialogues that make you have a good laugh ever so often, characters who appear to have a certain profoundness, interesting character traits and individuality, though I must say I fare better with Lira than with Elain because I couldn’t quite grasp his way. During the book the character development is evident and the protagonists’ arc are in my opinion genuine and intriguing.
Moreover I loved the fact that we were thrown into a world full of diversity in culture, landscape and customs but nevertheless I never had the feeling that I was running low on piecing together stuff for my imagination. The only criticism I level on the description is the lack of sentiments about the sea. Lira and Elian literally cherish the untamed sea, nevertheless, they could have been travelling on an airship, car or train – it wouldn’t have made a difference. What I wished for was to read at least once something like “a salty breeze” or anything associated with a sea storm, brutal waves or gusts. But they were either non-existent or got lost in the words. I really missed the “We’re on the sea and we’re fecking pirates”- mood.
Last but not least, I share with you how freaking satisfying it was to read such a book and being like “FUCK YESS” and “WOOOOHOOO” because there was no 12 month of silent and agonizing withering till the sequel comes out. No! Not with To Kill a Kingdom. You’ve got it all; romance, humour, action, great prose, an introduction of witty characters and a great climax with a satisfying closure. It spares you all the shit ass cliffhangers which leave our hearts dripping blood and our minds going wild with setting up theories.
“You’re getting an awful lot of conspiracy from a dress shirt and a new pair of boots.”
It’s just one pleasant and exhilarating read that’s got it all. Simple as that.
(My book smelt like meat wtf. How disconcerting.)
By falling for a monster, I have become one for her.
Below the divider the second part of my review adjoins. As usual it’s partly spoiler-free but not entirely. So keep reading at your own account and watch out for the titles which pretty much indicate if it’s spoiler-free or not. To all the others who want to keep everything a secret and reveal it for themselves when they read the book, bye-bye. Come back later.
To Kill a Kingdom aka To Find a Bold Ass Partner
“But it’s not every day we find a naked girl drowning in the middle of the ocean. Especially with no other ship in sight. Especially one who slaps me after I save her.” “You deserved it.” “I was helping you.” “Exactly.”
Welcome to the non-spoiler free zone where I discuss characters, smother you with too many quotes, otp fangirling that makes you want to cringe (or not if you’re just as bad as me), my playlist with songs that made me go nuts and many other things depending on how full my stock of creativity is.
Here’s what to expect.
The Protagonists
OTP Elain and Lira
Playlist
The Protagonists
Choosing this book started with the gorgeous cover (classic – woman, are you boring) and, later, with the quoting in one review that had me or should I rather say got me hooked immediately. And it started with the following line:
Technically, I’m a murderer, but I like to think that’s one of my better qualities.
Present me a morally gray and doubtable character with a spark of cunningness and a whiff of boldness, and I am so down for it you can’t even imagine how down I can go.
And as if one bold and questionable character wasn’t enough there pops a siren out of the sea like:
I have a heart for every year I’ve been alive. There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom.
I’m awe-struck in a very, very positive way. And the book really didn’t disappoint because it just went on like that. Great and witty lines followed great and witty lines that first provoked a “woah, damn, that’s bold” and then a “damn I adore them”.
To Kill a Kingdom is doubtlessly a favourite for all the dark humoured ones who go crazy for the bad and evil guys, though Lira and Elain aren’t evil to the roots since they end up being heroine and hero at the end of the book and they’re responsible for peace.
Elain
“Sorry,” I rub a hand over my throat. “I don’t speak bitch.”
A prince who rather wants to dash it all and be a wicked pirate seeing it all.
I think that dude is simply adorable in all his smug, witty, self-conscious and composed glory with that eat-shitting grin on his face. Full of cockiness and humour he never loses during the book. Oh, and he has dark curls and cheekbones to cut bread with – so that’s great news for my never ending Black-haired-hot-and-twisted-dudes-with-issues list.
I didn’t tell my family about my engagement. I’m saving that for after I get myself killed.
Lira
Become the queen we need you to be.
The King’s Bane who is one deadly badass who nobody has anything on. Seriously, she’s the queen in this book – not only by blood.
I’m her worst nightmare come true.
Bold, confident, intriguing and doesn’t give a flying fig about what others have to say about her. One great, lethal and female powerhouse. I root for strong female characters and Lira is definitely one of them.
“Touch me,” I tell him, “and I will break every bone of your fingers.”
OTP Elain and Lira
I flick my chin up. “We wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t insisted on such a ridiculous plan.” “I think getting my head smashed in may have affected my hearing.” Elian’s voice loses its usual musicality. “What did you just say?”
They’re hell of a pairing. Bold together with bolder makes a great combination and the outcome is evident: entertaining, a relationship on eye-level and head-heated.
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.”
Not only do I think they’re totally equals in every way, but also do they share a deep understanding and carry a burden with themselves, and that’s the one component I love the most in a relationship. A feeling they don’t have to voice in order for the other person to know – but simply that blind understanding. And Elain and Lira understand each other. They understand the burden both of them bears, the love for the sea and the longing for freedom and for deciding their own fate.
“Are you ever going to kiss me?” Slowly, Elain says, “That’s not a favor.”
Any human who takes a siren’s heart will be immune to their power of their song. Only Elian didn’t need to take my heart; I gave it to him.
Playlist
What would a good read be without a just as good song playlist that supports the story vibe, intensifies the shiver intervals and makes you want to be a part of the epic scenes? – Just not the same as with one. I approve (with myself).
For this time’s playlist I formally browsed the internet for existing ones because my original one consisted of two petty songs and like – nah – that’s not enough. So, I google the shit out of my patience and found one song that I liked from a stranger’s playlist. Thus I dashed that kind of searching for songs and went straight into a two-hours research on Spotify, coming out not empty-handed but with *drums* four songs.
Here is my composed playlist that will let your imagination thrive and the book’s vibe intensify – or whatever shit impact listening to music whilst reading has on you. For me it’s a transit to the world of the book, and now this passage is getting more nuts and ridiculous with the second. It’s magic and done. Get over it and enjoy. Don’t make me type in more non-sense. Thanks.
Bishop Briggs – Baby
Valerie Aimee – Ocean
Florence + The Machine – Ship to Wreck
WILD – Throw Me in the Water
Fleurie – Sirens
Bishop Briggs – White Flag
The Naked And Famous – Rolling Waves
That’s the end of my review and I hope you took just as much pleasure as me in reading To Kill a Kingdom because, let’s be real about it, *screaming out loud* “It was fantastic for a stand-alone!”
“Elian,” I say, and he wets his lips. “I heard you.” His face gives nothing away. “And?” “And nothing.”
And since it is a stand-alone novel, does anyone care creating fanfictions about it because there might be a person (me) interested in reading it because they are (I am) too lazy to do it themselves (myself).
There is actually another book by Alexandra Christo coming out this year. Into the Crooked Place is the first book of the same-named duology and will be published on 8th October 2019. I suppose, we don't want to miss that.
She can’t see the world with me, so we settle for me bringing the world to her.
Read my 5-star review of To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo on Goodreads and follow me there to check out the books I've read and are on my to-do list.
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