Book written by Alexandra Christo, published 2018.
Imagine a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” with a few glorious twists.
Glorious twist #1: Lira (the little mermaid—or siren in this case) has a reputation for collecting the hearts of land princes. Yes, hearts, and no, not metaphorically. Hearts are a source of power for a siren, so the more the merrier. And the hearts of princes? Well, that’s just Lira’s M.O.
Glorious twist #2: The Sea Witch and the Sea Queen are one and the same, and this is the woman Lira has for a mother. As ruthless and harsh as Lira is, her mother is altogether heartless, even—especially—toward her own flesh and blood.
Glorious twist #3: Elian (the landlubbing Prince Charming who isn’t actually a landlubber) is a siren hunter. More pirate than prince, Elian seeks to escape the confines of his staus and make the ocean safer for all. The Princes’ Bane, the mysterious siren that only takes the lives of princes, is Elian’s white whale.
It’s difficult to imagine any encounter between Lira and Elian ending without a lot of blood, but what happens when the Sea Queen cruelly levels the playing field? Click on our video to join our conversation about To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo.
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