Woke up this morning to learn that Snarky officially has had over 90,000 hits! Thank you for letting me gush about things I love and rant about things I hate.
Speaking of things I love: this book.
Retellings of fairytales and/or classic lit has become a favorite genre of mine. I wasn’t expecting this to be a reinterpretation of THE LITTLE MERMAID and I was a very happy reader. Just swap in sirens and add more blood. A lot more blood.
The 411: Siren Princess, Lira, is known as the Prince’s Bane–having made her name by exclusively killing mortal Princes. One a year for her seventeen years of life. On her way to number 18, she is responsible for the death of a fellow siren and her mother, the Big Bad Sea Queen aka Ursula on Steroids, isn’t having any of that. Lira is transformed into a human (but she doesn’t wish she could be part of that wooooooooooorld) with the mission to deliver the heart of Prince Elian to her charming mother before the Winter Solstice. The trick? Prince Elian isn’t your Prince Eric. He’s a pirate and a siren hunter, dead-set on serving some revenge on the Prince’s Bane.
So there’s glaring similarities to THE LITTLE MERMAID, yes? Ok–but TO KILL A KINGDOM stands completely on its own and is such a fresh, imaginative take that it feels original. Lira is not Ariel and Elian is not Eric and the mermaids in the story are physically hideous and annoying creatures, they’re the Flotsam and Jetsam of this story.
This book was so much fun. If you’ve read my blog before, you know that I love books that skew towards the darker side and this definitely ticked that mark. Congrats, Alexandra Christo! I’m excited to see what you come up with next!
MY RATING: ✰✰✰✰
RECOMMENDED FOR: lovers of retellings with a darker twist and pirates!
MAY I ALSO SUGGEST: DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING duology by Tricia Levenseller
Thank you Macmillan / Feiwel & Friends for my galley! To Kill a Kingdom is available March 6.
Preorder links!