I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love mythology, and grew up with a love of mermaids and the sea. One of my favourite Greek myths is about the sirens who lured men to their deaths with their beautiful voices, so I was extremely intrigued by this book and what it had to offer other than as a retelling of The Little Mermaid.
Lira is a siren who specialises in taking the hearts of princes, known as the Prince's Bane. Her mother, the siren queen, is the epitome of evil. Basking in cruelty and power, she has complete dominance other all sirens and enjoys making them suffer. Lira, as her daughter, often bares the brunt of this torture. As a result she's a deeply complex and ambiguous main character. She's conflicted, a known murderer of men and sirens, with a tortured past and a hatred of everything except her cousin Kahlia. Never knowing love, she only wants to please her mother by becoming as cruel and heartless as her. She must be cruel to survive in a world that takes no prisoners and has no sympathy for anything or anyone. When she meets Elian she gets a glimpse into a world that includes kindness and friendship, and she begins to question whether men are really as awful as her mother has led her to believe.
Elian is a prince of the kingdom of Midas, and a siren hunter. Charismatic, loves the sea, hates being a prince and the responsibility that comes with it. More than anything he wants to be free. Unlike Lira he follows more of a moral code. He kills sirens, but he doesn't enjoy it. He sees it more as a task that he alone must endure in order to keep peace throughout the kingdoms. He's also a loyal friend and captain, trusting his life in the specially selected crew he holds on board his precious ship.
I really enjoyed the dynamic relationship that Lira and Elian had. They're very similar in a lot of ways, and bounce off each other well. I also though the progression from hostile adversaries to friendship and beyond was built on gradually and never felt forced or unrealistic. I enjoyed the scenes where they simply talked to each other, and I would have liked more of this to deepen their relationship.
I loved the world building here. The world itself is made up of different island kingdoms all built around different myths. There's an island dedicated to love and romance, a warrior island and of course, the island of Midas which is filled with gold. I thought this was so unique and well thought out, as we travel with Elian to these various islands and explore them with him gradually. It's a subtle way to introduce a complex world to readers, and meant I was never overloaded with information all at once. If anything, I wish we could have explored more of these islands and seen more of the various myths associated with them.
There is a running theme throughout the story that family is determined by who we have around us, rather than blood. We make our own family, and our own futures. This is portrayed best in terms of Elian and his pirate crew, who are made up of a jumble of the kingdoms most talented and bloodthirsty. Elian's relationships with Madrid and Kye in particular is another great dynamic addition to the story, and they often provide the more lighthearted elements.
However, this wasn't a perfect novel for me. I wasn't overly keen on the writing style. This is told in first person narrative between Lira and Elian, which doesn't really float my boat, and sometimes it felt a little stilted. Its also difficult to distinguish who is 'talking' in each chapter as both voices are so similar, meaning I sometimes struggled at first trying to work out if it was Lira or Elian. I'm hoping this is just an ARC problem however, as I presume the finished copy will have named chapter headings.
The plot itself is also a bit of a slow burner, with not much action at first as we follow Lira and Elian in their respective homes, and see their extended families. There isn't much threat or tension, as the siren queen feels more like a far away threat. I did like the fact that we got to see the comparisons in home life between the two however, and how this has helped shape how each of them behave. Elian is from a loving, if overprotective, family who expect great things from their future heir. This creates a lot of pressure on Elian to always do the right thing by his kingdom. Lira in comparison is from an extremely abusive background, constantly berated and put down by her mother, to the extent that she's suppressed all aspects of her humanity to the point where she no longer feels anything but hatred and anger. I just wish there could have been more of a build up of tension at the start.
The introduction of Rycroft half way through the novel had the potential to add another layer of antagonism that I desperately thought the story needed at that point. However this was short lived, as his character disappears towards the later stages of the novel. This was a shame as he had the potential to provide a worthy antagonist to Elian to compete with Lira and her mother. In fact, I thought quite a few of these secondary characters seemed to act as filler, such as Yokiko and her brothers. For such a feisty female warrior we never really see her in action and she only appears in a few scenes, more as a plot device than as a fully formed character.
I think I wanted more from this. I wanted more sea adventures, more of Lira's life as a siren, more time with Elian and Lira getting to know each other, and more explanations about things that are never developed. Where did Elian get his knife? Why is it special? How did his father get his compass? The final scenes are great, and lead to an epic showdown, but I was left feeling a little letdown by it. I wanted more answers, and that final 'reveal' that's built up throughout the story didn't really live up to the moment. I wanted more drama from it.
Don't get me wrong, this was a great read. It flows well, it's wonderfully written and full of adventure and imagination. It's just not perfect.
To Kill a Kingdom is available to purchase now from: Amazon
- 4 stars
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