To Kill a Kingdom - Alexandra Christo (Review & Summary)

Date of Reading: 29/06/2020

Author: Alexandra Christo

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: March 6, 2018

Rating: 4/5

About the book:

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 unsavoury 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 didn't know that this was a retelling of the little mermaid story when I began. Once the realisation dawned, panic set in. Well, to tell you the truth, 'The Little Mermaid' was my first heartbreak in a world of happily ever afters. Many of you may argue that it does have a happy ending, but I tend to disagree. Anyway, that is not the happy ending my childhood self wanted. And the adult me did not want a repeat performance either. At least, this time I was prepared.

      So when did I suspect this to be different? When I found Lira retaining her speaking abilities as a human. Rest was a smooth ride since I no longer have to worry about the tragedy awaiting at the end. Looking back, there are quite a lot of differences between the two storylines; Lira is no saintly figure for one and the enemies to lovers trope makes her stronger and bolder than the original version. She is no submissive woman to dance at the prince's whims but a killer just like him, matching all his tunes.

       Alexandra Christo's expert narrative reminds us of the beauty of retellings. The story of deep-seated hatred, the wit and banter of the lovers, the camaraderie among a ship's crew and vivid fighting scenes transform a cherished fairytale into something more. What are you waiting for then? Pick up a copy and prepare to be surprised.

Summary:

       Due to the constant enmity between sirens and humans, sirens are required to kill a human and take his heart every year on their birthdays. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, Princess Lira is the most lethal of them all and is called The Prince’s Bane. The one who possesses the most hearts becomes the next Sea Queen and even Lira’s mother, the present Queen is feeling threatened by her daughter. When she takes the heart of a prince before her birthday, the Queen is angered. Lira decides to bring her the heart of Prince Elian, the most hated siren killer of them all.

      Even though he is the crown prince of Midas, the most prosperous of the human kingdoms, Prince Elian finds true joy within his ship, Saad. Every time the ship docks at Midas and when he is forced to play the part of a dutiful prince, he feels exhausted and away from his aim to kill the Prince’s Bane. He has killed many sirens but still hasn’t got an opportunity to meet this red-haired demon.

       Lira finds the prince on his ship but a mermaid prevents her from attacking. In the struggle that ensued, Elian slips to the water and Lira kills the mermaid to catch him for herself. But the timely intervention of Midasian soldiers saves Elian. As a punishment Lira is turned into human form without any magical abilities by her mother; to get back the powers she needs to bring back Elian’s heart before the winter solstice.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

      A stranger informs Prince Elian that he can defeat all the sirens with the crystal of Keto, the eye of the Sea Goddess. Her other eye provides power to the Sea Queen and so releasing this is the only way to kill her. The crystal is rumoured to be on the Cloud Mountain of Pagos, the highest point in the world. Only the Pagos royalty is known to have the ability to climb the mountain. Elian approaches Sakura, the princess of Pagos hiding in Midas as a barkeeper and offers to make her his queen in exchange of a way to reach the mountain. With the map in hand Elian and his trusted crew start their journey to Pagos.

     They find Lira in the middle of the ocean and saves her from drowning. She quickly adapts to this new lifestyle in the ship and gradually makes friends with others. She pretends to hate the sirens and offers to do the ritual to release the crystal of Keto. Her plan is to stick with the crew and get the crystal for herself so that her cruel mother can be defeated. But their journey together opens in her the long lost emotions that she has buried deep inside to survive and kinship is formed with the prince and the crew. 

       On reaching Pagos, they are guided by Sakura (Princess Yukiko) to the mountain. Her presence makes both Elian and Lira realise their love towards each other. Still, she decides to go with her plan to acquire the crystal. At the summit, Lira makes everyone believe that they need siren’s blood to release the eye of Keto. Elian tries to use his magical knife which has absorbed the blood of the sirens he killed, but it has long been converted into its powers. 

       While everyone lies sleeping, Lira releases the crystal using her blood. Sakura catches her in the act followed by Elian. She is no match to him in her human form and so after putting up a fight, she relinquishes the crystal to Elian, fully aware that it will consider only Lira as its master. She summons her mother for battle and the Sea Queen comes in all her glory thinking that it is Elian who released the crystal. Perceiving Lira’s affection towards the human prince she turns her back to siren form thinking that it will erase her humanity. Elian decides to believe in their love and entrusts Lira with the magic eye. In the battle that followed, the Sea Queen is killed and Lira takes her throne. 

      Prince Elian decides to follow his life in the sea with Lira, leaving Midas in the care of his capable sister. He gets out of his promise with Sakura by arranging another strong alliance for her. A new era is born with Lira as the Sea Queen who brings peace between sirens and humans.

Meet the author:

Alexandra Christo decided to write books when she was four and her teacher told her she couldn’t be a fairy. When she’s not busy making up stories, she can be found organising food crawls over London and binge-watching Korean dramas.

Alexandra has a BA in Creative Writing and currently lives in England with an abundance of cacti (because they’re the only plants she can keep alive).