To Kill a Kingdom
Alexandra Christo
Feiwel & Friends, 2018
346 pages. Kindle Edition.
Trigger Warning: violence
About the Author: Alexandra Christo decided to write books at age four when her teacher told her she couldn’t be a fairy. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and works as a copywriter in London, both of which make her sound more grown up than she feels. When she’s not busy making up stories, she can be found buying far too many cushions and organizing food crawls all over the city. Alexandra currently lives in Hertfordshire with an abundance of cacti (because they’re the only plants she can keep alive).
“We have eyelashes born from iceberg shavings and lips painted with the blood of sailors. It’s a wonder we even need our song to steal hearts.”
Princess Lira is the only daughter of the Sea Queen. Thief of human hearts, Lira is renown through the ice-blooded sirens as the next to take the trident and carry on the timeless war between the races. When Lira’s actions contradict the cruelty that the Sea Queen beat into her, she is abandoned on the land, finless and at the mercy of Prince Elian, the siren killer. Her only chance is to bring home his heart without her captivating song, or never return to the sea again.
The novel makes good use of the dual perspectives of Elian and Lira, both of whom have made it their goal to wipe out the other race. The undercurrents of tension between the two is captivating, but makes it all the more mysterious when the two inevitably begin to fall for each other. The romance detracts from the tension, and the book could have used an extra hundred pages or so to untangle the suddenly uncomplicated feelings the protagonists have for one another. Even so, the lyrical writing is as captivating as a siren song, and the level of internal conflict made the character’s personalities shine through the clouded waters.
PRR Editor, Kayla Wactor
