To Kill a Kingdom
by Alexandra Christo
Publisher – Hot Key Books
Release Date – 8th March 2018
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository

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?

What more do you need when you have pirates, royalty, sea queens and sirens? Oh and not forgetting kick ass crew, romance, sacrifice and adventure. Two world’s collide in this stunning debut novel by Alexandra Christo…


“If I would have just been a girl, like any other who walked the world. Keto created our race in war and savagery, but it was the sea queens who took her hate and made it our legacy. Queens like my mother, who taught their children to be empty warriors.”

Told from two perspectives; Lira a siren, she is also known as the Princes Bane. A dark creature that seduces and lures the princes of each of the kingdoms and rips out their heart to bring more power to the sea kingdom. Being the daughter of the Sea Queen, she has a duty to make sure that when the time comes she can become the Sea Queen that her mother approves of. But when she does something that Sea Queen disapproves of, she is punished and reduced to being a creature she loathes, a human.

Elian, by blood he is the Prince of Midaos when he’s on land, but when he’s not he rules the sea as Captain of the Saad. His reputation proceeds him as the Siren Killer, he wants to rid the world of the creatures that threaten the waters and finally end the war the has been waging between human and siren.On his quest, he rescues a girl named Lira and two worlds collide but what happens when their battle may be closer to home, when Lira can contrive a plan and use the ship as an advantage to get what she wants.

What I loved through both of their chapters was their character progression and the intensity of their persona that you are instantly ready to dive right in. Who knew I could fall for such evil creatures, I mean I researched Siren and they aren’t beautiful, they are totally opposite of mermaids, but Lira’s character developed in such a way that her sinister and evil nature surpassed itself when she became human. To the Sea Queen she is seen as weak, but Lira became more than just human.

Elian is more Captain than Prince. His duties and expectations lie within the waves, his loyalties are to his family, his crew on the Saad. My favourites characters being Kye and Madrid, I would love for them to have their own story. But more than that, he is proud and he would sacrifice himself for the sake of his kingdom whether on land or on the sea. He is driven by the darkness of the sirens that has inflicted his life, and he won’t let it go until he’s finished his quest. Lira and Elian are more alike than they know, a perfect match.

A brilliant take on the classic tale of The Little Mermaid, this year seems to be the year of mermaids fantastical stories. Alexandra’s novel is the first book that I’ve read from under the sea and I have to say that I loved this world without a doubt. The world building was just beautiful, from the sands and ices of the most powerful kingdoms, to the depth and darkness of the sea below. You can smell the sea, you can feel and sense the emotional connections between all of the characters. These touches add shows off  Alexandra’s quality of her writing, full of darkness, emotion, romance and adventure. There is more to this world, more to this kingdom that needs more stories of their own but at the moment this is a standalone and a cracking one at that. To Kill a Kingdom is beauty of The Little Mermaid with a mix of one of Sinbad’s dangerous and magical adventures.

Rating – 🌟🌟🌟🌟


Thank you to Hot Key Books for providing a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.