First off, I’d like to put it out there that The Little Mermaid, in all its iterations but especially the Disney animated film, is my favorite story of all time. The sacrifice, pain, heartbreak, MERMAIDS, attractive sailor types… there’s nothing about these stories that I don’t love. (Ok, well nothing except the slightly tone-deaf gender politics in Disney’s version.) Everyone who knows me knows just how obsessed I am with this tale and with mermaids. I was practically primed to love To Kill a Kingdom.

This is a Little Mermaid retelling (okay actually still rad) in which Lira is given human legs because she takes a heart without it being her birthday (she can only take a heart for every year yadda yadda) and her mom (the queen, a Very Bad Lady) says oh you think you’re so tough??? Okay. Get me the heart of an Extra Special Prince - the Siren Killer. Vintagenights Fandoms: Den lille Havfrue | The Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen, To Kill A Kingdom - Alexandra Christo Speaking of boring, this sh*t had absolutely no right to be and yet here we are. This is the most boring book in the history of ever. I don’t get it! The world-building was god awful, half the characters were flat, there was no setup or explanation or exposition of any kind, and yet NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK. I got halfway through and thought I was only a fraction of the way in! Nope, just bad writing! She trails off. What she thought was that princes were mine and I didn’t share. That’s not untrue, but where there are princes, there are kings and queens, and I’ve never had much use for either of those. Rulers are easily deposed. It’s the princes who hold the allure. In their youth. In the allegiance of their people. In the promise of the leader they could one day become. They are the next generation of rulers, and by killing them, I kill the future. Just as my mother taught me. This story also beautiful emphasizes the importance of found families. Blood is nothing more than blood. The people who choose to unconditionally love you, support you, protect you, those people are your family. Madrid, Kye, Torik, Kahlia, I fell in love with all of the side characters. And this book beautifully depicts how important it is for you to choose who is worthy of your time and love.

At this point, one would think that their relationship is unsalvageable. Lira doesn’t give up though. She forgets about the mission that her mother set her on and chooses to turn on and kill her mother instead. Also with my copy of this book, it didn't show the names of either of the two at the top of each chapter so like the way I wasn't able to distinguish who was talking in the beginning- Authors, if you are a member of the Goodreads Author Program, you can edit information about your own books. Find out how in this guide. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not perfect by all means; in fact, I found the initial chapters that introduce us to the world of sirens, mermaids, and the Sea, as well as the world above water with its various kingdoms, a bit dull at times—and I was afraid I’d end up resenting this book.

I reach out my hand to pull her up, and the look Lira gives me is nothing short of poisonous. “Do you want me to chop it off?” she asks. I keep my hand hovering in the space between us. “Not particularly.” “Then get it out of my face.” So if you haven't seen the description, this is somewhat of a little mermaid retelling, except it has a totally unique spin, pulling in other folklore as well! (Hint: Midas!)I had all of my questions answered, and for a single book, a lot happened and all made bloody sense. Which may be hard to find in a standalone. Elian is a prince whos pastime is piracy. Yep, you heard me. We have a pirate prince on our hands, ladies and gentlemen. Nikolai Lantsov, meet your brother from another mother. Anyway, Elian is hilariously sassy and all around amazing. But why does he patrol the seas, you ask? It’s a well-known fact that sirens are beautiful, but the bloodline of Keto is royal and with that comes its own beauty. A magnificence forged in salt water and regality. 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.

That’s the thing about risks,” Kye says. “it’s impossible to know which ones are worth it until it’s too late.” Anyways, my expectations were too high for this and clearly that was a mistake on my part. I will say that the one relationship I did actually like in this book was between Madrid and Kye. Now their bantering was perfect and I enjoyed it. Lira and Elian could learn a lot from those two. Throughout the novel, Elian shows that he is more interested in being a pirate, coasting along the sea hunting sirens than he is taking on his royal duties.

As the novel goes on, we discover that she is the true villain in this story. Thus, Lira and Elian try to overcome her because, by the end of the novel, she only wants to cause destruction and ruin her daughter. Kahlia What role does violence play in To Kill a Kingdom? Is warfare depicted as an effective strategy for change? p. 105 Parakalo = Please (here in Greece we never beg with only parakalo, we say se or sas parakalo, but I will let it slide)

I run a thumb over the poor prince’s lip, savoring his peaceful expression. And then I let out a shriek like no other. The kind of noise that butchers bones and claws through skin. A noise to make my mother proud. Not only is she prominently emotionally abusive, but she has also shown some physically abusive instances as well.Not all royals are alike. Some are furnished in fine clothes, unbearably heavy jewels so large that they drown twice as fast. Others are sparsely dressed, with only one or two rings and bronze crowns painted gold. Not that it matters to me. A prince is a prince, after all. p. 111 Pote den tha. It was supposed to say "I would never" but we don't cut it that way here like in English. It's "pote den tha to ekana".