#lira keto

[maddiesflame]

To Kill A Kingdom headers

like/reblog if saved © maddiesflame

[lirasafin]

to kill a kingdom — headers.

★ like or reblog if you use/save.

★ @lirasafin on twitter

[silenaabeckendorf]

To Kill a Kingdom Headers

🦋. fav or reblog if you save!

⟩ © silenabeauregrd - twitter.

[atlasedit]

to kill a kingdom headers.

reblog or fav if you save it.

@bridgxrton on twitter.

[liazuheaders]

•   to kill a kingdom  (alexandra christo) headers

credit @liazuheaders on twitter and like this post if you save/use, please

[kakmoya]

╰❥headers to kill a kingdom

「like or reblog if you use or save」

credits on twitter: oliiemia

[thbookclub]

to kill a kingdom headers

like/reblog if you save

credits to @ninasrising if you use

[justmesofi]

To Kill a Kingdom

Kye *runs to Elian*: Elian, listen. Lira has this crazy idea and...

*Two minutes later Kye stops speaking*

Lira: So are we gonna do it?

Kye: NO. We are NOT gonna-

Elian: ...

Kye: Elian.

Elian: ...

Kye: Elian, no. Stay right there.

Elian *grinning*: Of course we're gonna do it.

[theincorrectbookquotes]

Lira: Fuck you

Elian: I love you too

[im-moreofa-dogperson]

Continuation for To Kill A Kingdom

Summary: Set directly after Lira’s POV and before Elian’s at end of novel.

Warning: Vivid description of blood, minor changes to the rules of TKAK universe, mild fluff

Words: 1410

POV: (second person) Reader as Lira

**MAJOR SPOILERS** For To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo (Enemies to Lovers book, 10/10 highly recommend).

masterlist

______________________________________________

When the Sea Queen melts away until all that’s left are broken shards of ice in her place, Elian and you are still embracing. The warmth of his hold makes you feel as though you might just melt alongside your mother and you laugh at the thought of it.

Elian finally pulls back and smirks, “What’s so funny”?

You smile at him, and shake your head, “nothing.” He traces his thumb across your cheek, pushing the wet strands of hair from your face.

A small part of you tells yourself you should find no joy in this and rather be feeling remorse. Or guilt. Or grief. Something that a daughter should feel when her mother, no matter how cruel and heartless, departs from this world.

But you don’t. In fact, you feel just the opposite as your heart is full only of relief. Relief that your mother’s tyrannical ways have been forever ceased. Relief that your cousin Khalia and the remaining surviving sirens kept or shifted their allegiances to you. And you felt especially relieved that Elian is safe beside you, and that his crew is mostly intact.

As if reading your mind, Elian, still crouched beside you, begins surveying the frost-covered battle ground, no doubt even more hardened than he was before by the souls now lost, both human and other. While he inspects all the worn faces, you suddenly feel a sharp pain course through your shoulder.

You grimace and Elian immediately returns his focus to you, placing his gloved hands on your forearms, gently forcing you to face him. It’s then you both remember the wound graciously left for you by the Flesh-Eater.

Your entire right arm is now stained as crimson red as your hair. Even with your familiarity to both receiving and inflicting pain, you still weren’t used to seeing this much blood pooling around you the way it did given that you’d spent the majority of your life underwater.

Even after you’d been shot, at least the wound had been far more controlled. A term Flesh-Eater didn’t seem to understand. Meanwhile, the relief washes away just as quickly as the pain increases as it was all you were able to think about now.

You gasp as Elian suddenly scoops you into his arms, drooping only for a second by the unexpected weight of your fin, and rushes to his medic whose other title of mechanical engineer fits just a bit better.

While clinging to his neck, you wished you understood more of the power that the eye of Keto granted, or that the invincibility of being Sea Queen was brought about after the old one passes on rather than when your skin once again reunites with that of the Diavolos Sea. Then you were sure you could just fix yourself and be done with it. Not have to involve a medic who could be aiding anyone else injured in such a merciless battle.

You don’t mention these qualms to Elian, however, already knowing he’d refuse to hear any of that, and would instead tell you to just be quiet.

When you reach the medic, it takes him a moment to place where the blood is coming from given the mess of crimson hair and liquid spilling all over your side. Elian gently places you beside him, seamlessly webbing his fingers with yours and shifting your weight so that the left side of your back was on his chest and you weren’t lying awkwardly on your side.

Madrid and Kye soon rush over both sporting various minor injuries, but all in all mostly unscathed. At least unbothered by their inflicted wounds.

As the medic gets to work on stitching you up, keeping his gloves on so as not to come in contact with the acidity of your blood, you begin eliciting subtle winces and hisses. Your face fluctuates between human and beast, vulnerability versus ferocity.

However prominent the two depicted emotions you expressed were, you still felt as though the human in you as well as the siren had merged into one. That you were now an equal part of both land and sea. This new revelation, however, didn’t subside the pain you still felt.

Hissing out a string of curses in Psariin, you tighten your grip on Elian’s hand who doesn’t even flinch at the added pressure of your newfound strength.

Kye crouches down on the other side of Elian with Madrid standing behind him placing her hand on his shoulder. They both see you as a member of the Saad’s crew now, therefore were once again desperate that you hadn’t lost too much blood and would be alright.

Being that you were a long way away from the Diavolos Sea and you didn’t possess the powers quite yet accompanying your being the Sea Queen, you were right there beside Kye and Madrid’s worries, hoping you’d have enough strength to make it back.

“So, what happens now?” Elian asks, no doubt attempting to relieve some of the tension that yet again clouded around a monstrous wound of yours.

You peer up at him and say with as much composure as you could muster, “Well I suppose your ship’s head engineer either strings me back together, or I’ll wither away like half of your brain cells.”

He chuckles and replies, “You know that loss is a result of conversing with you.”

You laugh in response and so he continues, “I meant after that.”

Rather than responding, you gaze out at the carnage left behind and begin pondering what you should do. Though the atmosphere had somewhat improved in lieu of recent events, the sirens still wore expressions of restlessness. Now that you were the Sea Queen, it was your responsibility to safely them back home.

You remembered the way your mother had spilled a pathway through the water, allowing the underwater folk a portal-like mode of transport from the Sea all the way to the Cloud Mountains. You lift up your good arm, Eye of Keto in hand, and close your eyes.

Willing the water to do your bidding no matter how far away you were from any real sea, you feel the push of the tides and muster what little strength you had left to pull back.

Opening your eyes, you notice the water begin to swirl hypnotically. You attempt to block out the pain emitting from your right shoulder and instead focus your attention on widening the doorway through the crystal-like waters.

The merfolk begin to take notice of the portal you’ve created and without barking an order at them to go through, they dive back in one by one. The number of sirens quickly dwindles as they return back home.

After the last siren dives through in a blur of blonde hair and sunset scales, you drop your arm and huff out a breath of relief. The water splashes back into place, rippling back out through the lake.

You collapse back on Elian’s shoulder in exhaustion just as the medic had finished stitching you back together as best as he could. The pain of your skin being threaded had subsided. Now you simply felt drained.

“Not going back just yet, huh?” Elian asks smirking, already knowing the answer.

“Did you want me to?” You respond.

“No”, he states. You smile at each other, grateful to be on the same page until Kye interrupts the moment, “If you two are done making love, can we start making plans to get the hell off this mountain?”

Madrid laughs and although at first you feel like joining her, you feel a slight twinge of guilt. You were so focused on freeing your own kind from this frozen wasteland, you’d forgotten all about the treacherous terrains that awaits the humans.

After some mild bantering and eventually coming to the conclusion that Elian’s crew were still too weary to travel back down the mountain today, you all begin making your way back into the palace to rest and revive, you in Elian’s arms.

You figure once your shoulder has had time to heal, you’d be strong enough to use the Eye to transform yourself into human to accompany the crew on their journey back before returning to the Diavolos.

Though the repercussions of the battle were not minimal, the war had still been won and you wanted to relish in that with the people who helped you to find that it was a war worth ending.

____________________________________________

[jessentialreads]

There are two points of view in this book, first there is Princess Lira, the most dangerous siren in all the seas. She and her kind take the hearts from sailors every year for power but Lira only takes the hearts of Princes, which is something her mother started for her and she wants to do everything to please her mother and prove she can be a queen herself someday. Lira then makes a big NO-NO and her mother punishes her by making her human and asks her to take the heart from Prince Elian, the siren killer, without her siren charms. Elian is the captain of the Saad, he and his loyal crew hunt down sirens and also do piraty things, like drinking and stealing, everything that is in no way apt for a future king, but that is not one of Elian’s current concerns. He is in the search for the eye of Keto which says that can give the power to destroy all sirens from the ocean, with a few leads he embarks on this journey not before having a rebel girl that he found on the ocean tell him that she can tell him how to use this power and the ritual that has to be done before using it. Can you guess who that is? So, I know there are predictable bits to it but I really enjoyed this book. Lira was dark and twisty, and Elian is not the perfect prince that we are used to seeing in most fairy tales. The characters are all enjoyable and lovable, they are a pirate family so obviously there are some trust issues. There is a bit of background on a few members of the crew from the Saad and we get to see how tough and loyal they are. The banter between them was so amusing to me and of course Elian and Lira (slow-burn romance alert) have this I hate you more relationships until they don’t, and it was very entertaining to read. I was a little disappointed by the ending but only because I wanted to know more and there were some things that felt unresolved for me. I will recommend this to all fantasy-mermaid-pirate lovers out there and I will definitely give it a second read. #booksbooksbooks📚 #bookblogger #bookish #beautifulbooks #books #booklover #bookcommunity #bookwormforlife #booknerdlife #booklove #bibliophile #bookslover #bookaholicgirl #bookreviewers #bookreviewblog https://www.instagram.com/p/CPGUDc_LnL5/?utm_medium=tumblr

[lirasafin]

to kill a kingdom — headers.

★ like or reblog if you use/save.

★ @lirasafin on twitter.

[books-secretgetaway]

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo Book Review

Star Rating

“A princess must have her prince.”

Lira is a siren, known as the Prince’s Bane for the many hearts she’s stolen from the one hundred kingdoms. When she takes her cousin, Kahlia, on her first hunt, she breaks the law and takes a heart before her birth month which angers her mother, the Sea Queen. Elian is the prince of Midas, the land of gold, but he’d rather spend his days on the Saad; a pirate rather than a prince. As the famous sirenkiller, he’s attracted Lira’s attention. When Elian embarks on a quest to find the Eye of Keto, the only thing that can destroy all sirens and bring safety to sailors, he saves a drowning woman who seems to know how to find it. But she has her own motives in finding the Eye, one that would have her back in the Sea Queen’s favor. 

Review: This is one of the best fairytale retellings I’ve ever read. The world is so beautifully expansive that I’d be disappointed if Christo never returned to it. There are 100 kingdoms, yet we only get to visit a handful, each one uniquely different from each other and each one with their own legend about their royal family. With Midas, it’s that they bleed gold, for Págos, they can survive extreme cold. The royal women of Eidýllio, any man she touches will be filled with lust for her, but for the women, they will find their soulmate. Psémata is the land of lies, Efévresi, technology, etc. etc. Even the sea kingdom of the Diávolos Sea is its own world. Christo fully realizes each of these kingdoms with the little details, from culture to the atmosphere, which brings such a depth to this story that so many other stories are lacking. 

Christo fills this world with captivating characters whose banter with one another is perfect. The crew of the Saad consists of Elian, Kye, and Madrid who have a long history with one another and so whenever they share a scene together, it’s easy to feel their friendship built over their years of pirating. Kye brings humor to the story as Elian’s self-proclaimed ‘bodyguard’ while Madrid brings a touch of femininity while still being this badass fighter. Lira is wonderfully vicious and animalistic when we first meet her and Christo doesn’t shy away from her brutality. Her development as a character is very well written, mostly in part because Elian acts as her mirror. He’s the perfect half to the narrative and just as compelling as she is. He holds the humanity that Lira needs and he embodies the joy and freedom of the sea that Lira was once a part of. Kahlia is the precious cousin of Lira and she’s what retains what’s left of Lira’s humanity. Her role is rather small but so important. And of course, we have the big bad Sea Queen. Though I thought she was a bit rash at times, which made it hard to believe her actions at times. But nonetheless, she was a brutal and powerful force to be reckoned with. There are plenty more characters, each one just as interesting and driving the plot forward, making this world feel truly inhabited. 

There were a few instances of contradicting information, such as the number of of hearts that Lira has, which left me confused, though they are minor details. I also didn’t like when the diction went into slang, such as the line “shit-eating grin” and “octobitch”. These particular phrases really threw me from the story and just really didn’t fit. Despite these small things, I absolutely loved this story and the characters. I can easily see myself combing myself through it many times to catch everything perfect about it. 

[brightbeautifulthings]

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

"'Look at you,' he whispers. 'My monster come to find me.'"

Year Read: 2019

Rating: 4/5

About: Princess Lira is the daughter of the siren queen and, other than her mother, the most lethal of all. She's stolen seventeen human hearts, all from lovesick, drowning princes, but when she oversteps, the queen turns her into a human as punishment. If she doesn't take Prince Elian's heart by the winter solstice, she's doomed to remain a human forever. Elian is a prince, a pirate, and a siren killer. When he rescues a drowning girl from the middle of the ocean without a ship in sight, he knows better than to trust her. He's chasing the second eye of Keto, a legend that may have the power to wipe out sirens forever, and Lira may be the key to finding it--if they don't kill each other first. Trigger warnings: blood, death, violence, body horror, drowning, abuse/abusive households, manipulation.

Thoughts: A Little Mermaid adaptation where the mermaid and the prince are trying to kill each other? I'm so there. The only thing better than mermaids is murderous mermaids, and Christo's siren lore is grim and bloody. It's better fleshed out than the various kingdoms Elian passes through, and most only have passing details to make them stand apart from the others. I suspect it would be a rich magical world if we got to see more of it. The pace lags some in the middle where there are too many kingdoms in too short a time, and none that do a lot to advance the immediate plot. The Little Mermaid references are frequent and amusing, for those who like their Disney with a lot of murder.

Otherwise, it's a well-executed fantasy/adventure novel, full to the brim with mermaids, pirates, sword-fighting, and magic. I enjoyed Christo's original take on the world and her lovely descriptions--albeit, sometimes about terrible things. Lira and Elian are both strong and original. He's a prince who would prefer to live a pirate's life, and she's a murderous princess with a lot to learn about the human world; their sniping banter makes for some of the best dialogue in the book. Lira's development, in particular, is very well done, and while she's a cold-blooded killer, she's also much more. It's a slow-burn enemies to lovers romance with a side of betrayal. For me, the end was slightly more lackluster than the beginning as more magic is introduced into the book with no clear idea of its boundaries, but the plot itself has a satisfying conclusion. Recommended for fans of fairytale retellings, mermaids, or adventure stories.

[abookandacuppa]

To Kill a Kingdom review

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Rating:  ★★★★

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?

This book was highly entertaining, from the mythical lore, the world-building, the characters, and the action. The characters were well-rounded, for the most part, and I enjoyed them all. Lira, one of the main characters, is so different from the typical protagonist. She’s a siren, and a cold-hearted killer who slowly starts to change when she is turned into a human by her mother, the Sea Queen, and interacts with them and befriends them. Elian is a more typical hero protagonist: a prince whose true love is the sea and his one mission in life is to hunt and kill sirens. While I adored both of these characters, there were a few times the author was a little exasperating in describing how these characters loathed the expectations of them. How Lira wasn’t cruel and emotionless like her mother wanted or how Elian’s true home was the sea rather than his kingdom. This got a little tedious at times, which is why this book only got four stars.

The dynamic between Elian and Lira was interesting and captivating as newly-human Lira boards Elian’s ship and joins his quest to find the crystal of Keto in order to bring down the Sea Queen. Elian wants the crystal to end all of the sirens, while Lira wants it to end her brutal and tyrannical mother.

I thought the plot was interesting and clever, though there were places it felt too rushed, then others where it seemed to move too slowly. I also wished there was a little more background on the characters and their relationships with their friends and families.

The romance between Elian and Lira was a nice touch. It didn’t seem too forced, as Elian and Lira went from sort-of enemies, to friends, to being in love with each other. They were fiercely protective of each other, and they had complete trust in the other, which was nice and refreshing to see. The moment Lira’s secret was exposed about her being a siren was such a great moment. Elian’s warranted hurt and betrayal was well done, and it was nice to see him struggling to reconcile his love for Lira with his mindset that all sirens are evil and must be destroyed.

This story was overall very great. It has been a long time since I’ve read something that was not part of a series, and this was a great book. The characters were charming and flawed and real, and it was a very entertaining read.

--Ashley

[unlikely-allies]

****WARNING contains SPOILERS****

4/5

To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo is a new take on The Little Mermaid. Imagine Ursula as Ariel’s mother and Ariel as a blood-thirty siren. Lira, the daughter of the Sea Queen is a siren known for collecting the hearts of princes. Sirens are to collect human hearts once a year during their birth month as an act of retribution. Long ago, the sea goddess Keto was killed by humans and it is in her honor that the sirens collect the hearts. Lira’s murderous nature is the product of her mother’s brutality. When Lira makes the mistake of hunting before her birthday and in failing to kill the human prince Elian, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into a human as punishment. The Sea Queen commands Lira to bring her Elian’s heart or to face her wrath instead.

Elian is a prince with a pirate’s soul. He is the captain of the Saad and of a crew who he considers to be family. Elian has made it his mission to hunt sirens, specifically Lira. During one of his trips to his family’s kingdom, Elian learns of a crystal that has the power to put an end to the sirens. The crystal is hidden on a mountain in one of the coldest places on ear, and requires a key and ritual to access it. Unwavering in his mission, Elian sets out to find the crystal even if he must bargain away his soul to do so.

Early into the journey, Elian and his crew spy a woman floating in the water. Elian brings her aboard and unknowingly invites the Sea Princess into his crew. After hearing about the crystal, Lira plans to take it as her own so she can replace her mother as the Sea Queen. As she as Elian grow closer, Lira yearns for a peace between their two species, and plans to use to crystal to obtain it. When Elian discovers Lira’s true identity, he is hurt and angry and confused. Lira’s allegiances only become clear once, in battle with the sirens and the Sea Queen, Elian realizes that he is immune to the sirens’ song. Lira had previously told Elian a myth that stated that if a human were to take a siren’s heart, they would be unaffected by any siren’s song. In realizing that he is unaffected, Elian knows that Lira’s heart, and loyalty, lies with him.

Though the idea of the story was not a novel one, the story itself was enjoyable and had enough differences from the original to make it unique nonetheless. Elian is the epitome of a sarcastic and charismatic male lead. He has just enough darkness to compliment his hero-ness that he avoids being cliché. He reminds me a lot of Nikolai from Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels. Elian and his crew are the best part of the book. Kye, Elian’s best friend and pseudo-bodyguard, is part older brother and part mischievous sidekick with touches of sarcastic humor and dry wit. Madrid, Elian’s second-mate and Kye’s partner, is an ex-assassin and current badass. Madrid shows more open affection to her crossbow than she does to Kye, and I believe we would get along just fine. The trio have some of the best interactions in the book and are easily my top 3 favorite characters.

This also leads us into my least favorite part of the book: Lira. Lira’s character is a bit bland and seems underdeveloped. She lacks elements that would make her character as dynamic as Elian’s, Kye’s, and Madrids. She either is something or she isn’t something; she lacks the ability to feel/be anything in the shades of grey range that would make her character much more interesting. At the beginning of the book, Lira is proud of her murderous nature and of all of the princes’ hearts she’s collected. She too quickly makes a complete 180, believing that her mother is the sole driving force behind her behavior and acts as though she was being forced to kill the entire time. She goes from hating Elian and wanting nothing more than to rip his heart out to being in love with him. There was no real transition, no real time of moderate tolerance prior to the drastic change over a relatively short period of time. Honestly, it made their romance a lot less interesting.

One other issue I had with the story was that no one seemed to realize who Lira was before it was revealed when she retrieved the crystal. She hates Elian right after he saves her, speaks the rare outlawed language of the sirens, has a siren necklace, knows details about the myth of Ketos, and makes general references related to sirens pretty often. You would think a crew that does nothing but sirens would realize that she is one, especially Elian. This may have just been obvious since we’re told Lira is a siren at the beginning, but still.

Character flaws and obvious hints aside, To Kill A Kingdom was an enjoyable read. Elian, Kye, and Madrid alone as enough to make it worth the read. Fans of the original tale of The Little Mermaid will enjoy is YA adaptation. It is also one of the few standalones that was interesting enough to get me invested in the story and the characters without needing to be involved in a series to adequately be immerse in the world the author has created.