To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

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 and 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?

Cover: I really like how simple this cover is, I like how it's relevant and the connections to the story.  And I really like that it's not a romantic cover, with a girl in a dress with a handsome boy on it.

I had this book on my kindle for just over a month before reading it, and I'm so glad that I finally picked it up- I freaking loved it.

It's a dark re-imagining of The Little Mermaid and I was hooked from the beginning.

I was worried I wouldn't connect with Lira because she's a killer.  A Royal siren whose mother is the Sea Queen, from a young age her mother has guided her, instructed her.  Shaped her into a killer.  A prince killer.  She lures them in with her song and then takes their still beating hearts from their chest.

So yeah...I did think I would struggle.  But I didn't.  I was drawn to her as a character and I think I recognised that she would be a different kind of protagonist.  And she was.  Not all good and not all evil either.  I really liked seeing her progress as a character.

Elian- the pirate prince.  He's drawn to the sea.  He doesn't want to become king, he'd much rather sail the seas ridding the world of sirens.  Killing isn't easy for him, but he does it for the  greater good.

I loved the banter between these two characters- they were very funny interactions to read, the one upmanship.  I did hope for a romance, and I got one, but what I liked for a change was that it was a very slow burn romance.  It wasn't instalove, and it wasn't the sole focus of the book. 

I loved this book, but I do wish there had been more world building of the underwater world.  We get to hear a lot about Midas -the prince's kingdom.  About how everything is golden and opulent, and some of the other kingdoms but we didn't get much of a visualisation of the underwater kingdom.  We get told that Lira keeps her 17 stolen hearts under her bed- we I couldn't really visualise what I sirens bedroom looked like.

Over all I devoured this book and look forward to seeing what else Alexandra Christo writes.

5/5 stars.

QUESTION FRIDAY! 25/05/18 REQUIRED READING?

This week's question is;

Q) During school and colleague I had to do a lot of required reading.  So my question is, did you ever come across a book that you had to read, but that you ended up loving?

A) I took English language and Literature at A Level and there was a lot of required reading.  Some of the course literature I had already read, such as Frankenstein.  So it wasn't new to me.

We read Hamlet but I find reading plays difficult, as they're meant to be performed I sometimes struggle to really enjoy the experience of reading them.

So my A level reading, I would say not really.

However during school, kind of GCSE age I think, we read Holes by Louis Sachar.  And I have to say I loved it.  Really hooked me into the story and I didn't want to put it down.  Ended up reading ahead and finishing it because I just couldn't wait for the next lesson to read the next chapters.

We also watched the Disney movie adaptation in class, which I also loved.

Waiting On Wednesday 'Stay With Me'

Waiting on Wednesday is all about sharing the books that I'm eagerly waiting to be released.

This week the book that I'm waiting on is Stay With Me by Kirsten Proby, #9 in the With Me In Seattle series.  This is the first series I ever read of Kristen Proby, and it's the series that got me into her books.  The series was 'over' but now we're getting a new book!  Can't wait to delve into it!

Released 29th May 2018.

From New York Times Bestselling Author Kristen Proby comes Stay With Me, an all new addition to the series that has sold more than a million copies to date, her beloved With Me In Seattle Series!

Amelia Montgomery has left her past behind her. With a beauty and fashion career that’s skyrocketing and a loving family around her, everything else is just junk in the rearview mirror.

Until it’s not.

When she has to drop out of the public eye, her cousin Jules offers her a new, temporary life on the Puget Sound. Her past may be catching up with her, but hope for the future is in Seattle.

Wyatt Crawford can’t figure out the enigmatic beauty who’s living next door. As an architect, he’s usually good at looking beneath the surface—but she barely even leaves her house.

Until she needs his help.

When she knocks on his door, how can he resist? It isn’t long before Wyatt and Amelia become more than just neighbors. But when he finally learns the truth, will the skeletons in her closet be too much for him to handle, or will he stay?

TEASER TUESDAY: To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

-Grab your current read

- Open to a random pageShare two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser.

Teaser from the 81% mark.

I stop dead and the rest of the crew stills alongside me.  Elian's gloved hand hovers dangerously close to mine, and though I feel the air spark and warm between us, I don't look at him.  I can't.  I can only stare ahead my feet elves farther into the snow the longer I stay still.  But I can't move either.  Ahead there are wonders.  There is the palace, carved from the last breaths of my goddess Keto.

Synopsis

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 and 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?

MAY EBOOK HAUL

Sick Fux by Tillie Cole

When Ellis Earnshaw and Heathan James met as children, they couldn’t have been more different. Ellis was loud and beautiful – all blond hair, bright laughs and smiles. Heathan was dark and brooding, and obsessed with watching things die.
The pair forged an unlikely friendship, unique and strange. Until they were ripped apart by the sick cruelty of others, separated for years, both locked in a perpetual hell.
Eleven years later, Heathan is back for his girl. Back from a place from which he thought there was no return. Back to seek revenge on those who wronged them.
Time has made Heathan’s soul darker, polluted with hatred and the thirst for blood.
Time has made Ellis a shell of her former self, a little girl lost in the vastness of her pain.
As Heathan pulls Ellis out of her mental prison, reviving the essence of who she once was, down the rabbit hole they will go.
With malice in their hearts and vengeance in their veins, they will seek out the ones who hurt and destroyed them.
One at a time.
Each one more deadly than the last.
Tick Tock.

Dark Contemporary Romance. Contains explicit sexual situations, violence, disturbingly sensitive and taboo subjects, offensive language and very mature topics. Recommended for ages 18 and over.

I'm not sure what I make of this book if I'm honest.  I love Tillie Cole's books, and am an avid fan, particularly of her Hangmen series, which is pretty dark. 
Sick Fux is described as dark...which it is, but I'm not sure that I loved it as much as her other books.  When I was reading I didn't feel that love for the characters.  I didn't feel completely invested in the story.
Dolly and Rabbit were interesting characters...but I didn't love them.  I felt so awful for them for what they went through as children as it was really awful, and hard to read to be honest.
I understood why Dolly and Rabbit (real names Ellis and Heathan) created an alternate world and identity for themselves. 
Over all, I'm glad I finally read this one, but I think it was a little disappointing.  It just wasn't as the same level as her others books that I've read.
Beware this could be very triggering for some as not only is the violence pretty graphic, the child abuse situations are very disturbing.
2.5/5 stars.

Grow With Me: A With Me In Seattle Story

I love the With Me In Seattle series, and Kristen Proby's books in general.  And Play With Me was one of my favourite books in the series.  So when I saw that Kristen had released on her website a short story about Will and Meg I was really excited.  I really enjoyed this short story- and it is a short story.  Just a little catch up with them and where they're at in their relationship.  It was really sweet and cute and I loved seeing those characters again.  I hope we get some more short stories, catching up with other characters from this much loved series.
4/5 stars.