To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo
⭐⭐⭐ 3 out of 5 stars
An excellent idea wasted for enemies to lovers YA romance.
To Kill a Kingdom is a retelling of a Little Mermaid story. The main character, Lira, is the daughter of the Sea Queen. Like every other siren, she has a hidden human heart for every year she’s been alive. Unlike others, her hearts belonged to human princes killed firstly by her mother and then by Lira herself. This earned her the respect of other sirens and fear among humans, named her The Princes’ Bane. Everything changes when her path crosses with Elian’s, a prince of Midas and a ferocious siren hunter…
The underwater kingdom created by Alexandra Christo is fascinating. It has its laws, rituals, myths and monsters. It is full of violence and cruelty, but it seems original. In the first chapters, Lira is a dark character, relishing in seducing and murdering humans. She has no remorse or sentiments. And then, as a punishment for an act of defiance, she is turned into a human. She learns all about friendship and loyalty and, obviously, falls deeply in love with Elian. Her darkness slowly wears off, and the novel becomes one of many enemies to lovers stories. I think it’s a shame that such an intricate idea of the sea kingdom of Diávolos was wasted for a teenage love drama. On top of that, the story bored me somehow, and the constant banter between the various characters became somewhat annoying.
Still, I believe the novel can find its fans among YA fantasy lovers. It touches on traits typical for this genre and has enough action to interest many readers.
A bookish daydream 