Overall, I was really surprised with this book. It was dark and compelling and far better than recent YA I’ve read. To Kill a Kingdom is a brilliantly thought out book, filled with a magical world that made me want to jump on Elain’s ship and explore every corner of the kingdom.
Our main character Lira is truly a vicious siren who keeps the hearts of princes she’s murdered in her bedroom. Can you hear me screaming about this character yet?
I have a heart for every year I’ve been alive. There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom. Every so often, I claw through the shingle, just to check they’re still there. Buried deep and bloody. I count each of them, so I can be sure none were stolen in the night. It’s not such an odd fear to have. Hearts are power, and if there’s one thing my kind craves more than the ocean, it’s power.
At this point she is truly an evil character yet you love her for every blood thirsty cell in her body. When she falls out of her mothers favour she decides that bringing her the heart of the famous siren killing prince is her way to redemption. However, she’s not the only one with murder on her mind at the prince has every intention of killing her for every heart that lies under the seabed.
I love a slow burn romance. I am not here for the fall-in-love-at-first-sight trope, I like a more realistic romance and throw in a good love-to-hate trope and I’m all over it. I do like the fact that the romance is not the main theme of this book which it could so easily have been. This really is Lira’s story which is so interesting to read.
Honestly, I loved all the characters in this book. They all jumped of the page and pulled me back into their world and made me care about their fates. And I mean talk about strong female characters, I don’t think you could get anyone more badass than Lira.
Although I loved the story and most of the time it was fast paced and engaging, I did hit a wall at about 20%. I was even tempted to put it down, but then the story picked up again and I couldn’t put it down from there on. It was just a couple of slow chapters, but it does bring my rating down by half a star.
I really do recommend this book. Even if you’re not a big fan of retellings, it truly is a brilliant book.
4.5/5 Stars
Our main character Lira is truly a vicious siren who keeps the hearts of princes she’s murdered in her bedroom. Can you hear me screaming about this character yet?
I have a heart for every year I’ve been alive. There are seventeen hidden in the sand of my bedroom. Every so often, I claw through the shingle, just to check they’re still there. Buried deep and bloody. I count each of them, so I can be sure none were stolen in the night. It’s not such an odd fear to have. Hearts are power, and if there’s one thing my kind craves more than the ocean, it’s power.
At this point she is truly an evil character yet you love her for every blood thirsty cell in her body. When she falls out of her mothers favour she decides that bringing her the heart of the famous siren killing prince is her way to redemption. However, she’s not the only one with murder on her mind at the prince has every intention of killing her for every heart that lies under the seabed.
I love a slow burn romance. I am not here for the fall-in-love-at-first-sight trope, I like a more realistic romance and throw in a good love-to-hate trope and I’m all over it. I do like the fact that the romance is not the main theme of this book which it could so easily have been. This really is Lira’s story which is so interesting to read.
Honestly, I loved all the characters in this book. They all jumped of the page and pulled me back into their world and made me care about their fates. And I mean talk about strong female characters, I don’t think you could get anyone more badass than Lira.
Although I loved the story and most of the time it was fast paced and engaging, I did hit a wall at about 20%. I was even tempted to put it down, but then the story picked up again and I couldn’t put it down from there on. It was just a couple of slow chapters, but it does bring my rating down by half a star.
I really do recommend this book. Even if you’re not a big fan of retellings, it truly is a brilliant book.
4.5/5 Stars