To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo was published in 2018.
In this article, I will try to answer some frequently asked questions regarding the fantasy novel.
Along with answers to these questions, I will also share a bit about some of the characters too!
I hope you enjoy this article! And if you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment!
Please note: spoilers are clearly marked, so if you don’t want to read anything that will spoil the story for you, make sure to skip over those parts!
Frequently Asked Questions
Before discussing some of the characters, I’ll discuss some frequently asked questions below!
Does To Kill A Kingdom have spice?
Honestly, no. To Kill A Kingdom doesn’t have spice. It is more so filled with witty dialogue between the characters, and descriptions of each character from the others’ point of view.
There is romance, but it isn’t comparable to the A Court of Thorn and Roses series, or the From Blood and Ash series.
This book is rated for 13+. So anything that is romantic would be more so for young adults.
How many books are there in this series?
There is only one book. It is a standalone novel.
Is To Kill A Kingdom a good book?
I think it’s a good book. I really enjoyed it. If you like romance, fantasy, and The Little Mermaid, I definitely think you should read this book. It’s a darker twist of the classic fairytale, and instead of mermaids, they are sirens.
It rates 4 stars on Goodreads, and that is with 107,640 votes.
Is To Kill A Kingdom LGBTQ+?
No, there are no LGBTQ+ characters that I’m aware of in this novel.
Is this book a series or will it be?
No, Alexandra Christa stated that she wrote To Kill a Kingdom as a standalone.
She does not intend to write a sequel.
Is To Kill A Kingdom enemies-to-lovers?
Yes. With Lira being a siren, and Elian being a siren-hunter, they are natural sworn enemies. But due to the circumstances that take place in the book, Lira becomes human and spends a lot of time with Elian. The two become close, even with Lira keeping her Siren secret. As they get to know each other, feelings arise.
So, I would absolutely consider this an enemies-to-lovers novel.
What are some of the other tropes in this book?
Some other tropes in this novel are:
- Abusive Parents: Lira’s mother is emotionally abusive to Lira, treating her horribly.
- Big Bad: There is one big bad enemy in this book, which is Lira’s mother.
- Fantastic Racism: Between humans and sirens. They have hated each other for centuries.
- I Came Here To Kill You: Lira’s mission is to kill Elian and to collect his heart.
The main trope would be enemies-to-lovers with it being the most advertised trope.
What is Lira’s age in this novel?
Lira is 17 years old in the novel, about to turn 18.
It is depicted that she has a heart of every year she has been alive, and she currently has 17 hearts. She is also on a mission to get another, so I’m assuming she’s turning 18.
Mermaid vs Siren
Mermaids are usually presented as beautiful mystical creatures that live within the sea. They have gorgeous tails, long flowing hair, and flawless skin. For example, see Ariel from The Little Mermaid or the mermaids from Peter Pan. They are beautiful!
Sirens are explained to be like evil mermaids luring sailors to their deaths by enchanting them with a song. They aren’t as beautiful as mermaids.
However, in this story, Sirens are beautiful creatures who still sing songs to lure humans to them.
The author mentions mermaids in this story but she describes them as lesser creatures to Sirens and less beautiful.
Lira kills a mermaid causing her mother The Sea Queen, to exile her from Keto. This turns her from siren to human.
Elian and Lira’s Relationship
[SPOILER WARNING]
Lira is a siren. Elian is a siren-hunter. Normally, you wouldn’t expect these two to get along.
At the beginning of the novel, their relationship begins with Lira on a mission to murder Elian, steal his heart, and return it to her mother to prove herself worthy to be queen, and unexiled. Lira does this by becoming human and gaining access to The Saad, which is Elian’s ship.
Elian believes Lira was drowning and “saves” her. The two become close and start having feelings for each other. The relationship builds in a very slow-burn fashion. The two share a few kiss scenes, one of which Lira asks Elian to kiss her.
The chemistry between Lira and Elian slows when he realizes that Lira is more than what she appears with the skills she possesses. It isn’t until later in the novel that Elian finds out that Lira is in fact, his worst nightmare. She’s a siren.
With hunting sirens as his calling, Elian struggles with this fact. It’s more than just a hobby to him. When he finds out that she is the princes’ heart-stealing princess of Keto, he realizes that she is the one siren he has been trying to kill for years.
Not only that, but Lira has killed some of his royal friends throughout the years. She killed some when they were just young princes.
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.
Elian sees that Lira is in trouble and goes to her aid along with The Saads other crew members.
The two prevail, leaving Lira to become the new Sea Queen.
Character Overview
Lira
Lira is a Siren with long red hair, blue eye, and one red. She is the crown princess of Keto and daughter of The Sea Queen. Lira is known for her malicious hunting of human princes’ hearts.
Her personality is strong, brave, courageous, and lethal. Underneath all of her hardness is someone who cares for others.
Although Lira tries to be cold and cruel, she will never be cold enough to gain the approval of her mother. She tries to put on a different personality around her mother so The Sea Queen won’t see what truly lies within Lira – a good heart.
In her human form, both eyes turn blue, her red hair lacks the same vibrance it had when she was a siren, and of course, her tail is replaced by two thin, pale legs.
Elian
Elian is the 19-year-old crown prince of Midas. He is the son of Ramades and Isa Midas.
He is also captain of the vessel, The Saad. Although he is a prince, he is known for being the skilled siren-hunter of the Diávolos sea. He spends more time on his ship than in the castle.
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.
This doesn’t sit well with his father who expects Elian to care more about taking the throne than any other responsibilities. Elian considers the sea his home rather than his home on land.
He later becomes Lira’s boyfriend, but they go through many events before that.
Lira’s Family
The Sea Queen/Sea Witch
The Sea Queen is Lira’s mother. She is the Queen of Keto in the Diávolos Sea. She is a cruel, wicked, brutal, abusive, and power-hungry mother.
Not only is she prominently emotionally abusive, but she has also shown some physically abusive instances as well.
She was a siren, but as Sea Queen, she has black tentacles rather than a tail. Not only is she a queen, but she is also a witch.
She has ancient red runes and symbols tattooed all over her body, and her eyes are ruby red.
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
Kahlia is Lira’s favorite younger cousin. Lira takes Kahlia under her wing and protects her.
When Kahlia was young, her mother was killed leaving her under the abusive guardianship of Lira’s mother, The Sea Queen.
[SPOILER WARNING] – We learn that The Sea Queen was the one who killed Kahlia’s mother. Her own sister.
Kahlia is kind, young, and depicted as an innocent soul even though she is a siren.
Lira mentions that Kahlia is so much like her and that maybe that is why The Sea Queen hates her so much.
Lira says this is also the reason she chooses to care for Kahlia and to protect her from her mother’s brutalities.
She has long blonde hair, deep auburn scales, one sapphire blue eye, and one creamy yellow eye.
The Saad’s Crew Members
Torik
Kolton Torik is Elian’s first mate on The Saad. He is in his early forties. Torik has a white mustache and is four inches taller than Elian. He is a burly man, who dresses well.
Elian describes him as a good man with a conscientious heart who takes things very seriously.
Kye
Kye is another crew member on The Saad. He is close with Elian and always offers him advice when needed.
Elian describes him as the opposite of Torik, taking nothing seriously, and someone who dresses like he’s a thief.
Madrid
Madrid is Elian’s second mate. She is an expert at compelling people to behave decently.
Elian says that the relationship between Kye and Madrid has managed to keep Kye from getting himself in deep trouble.
Elian’s Family
Amara
Amara is Elian’s younger sister. She is 16 years old and crown princess of Midas.
Her eyes are like Molokhia, and her hair is as black as Elian’s.
She is close with Elian and is excited to see him every time he comes home.
Elian is a little bit jealous of Amara as there are no expectations thrown onto her.
Radames and Isa Midas
They are Elian and Amara’s parents. King and Queen of Midas.
Radames doesn’t like the way Elian lives his life and has many expectations of his son.
He would prefer Elian to be on land rather than on the sea.
Conclusion
Thank you so much for reading. Please feel free to leave a comment. If you’ve read this book, leave me a comment down below to let me know what you thought!
I would love to know!
