To Kill a Kingdom

To Kill a Kingdom is a YA romance fantasy novel written by Alexandra Christo and first published in 2018. It is a retelling of “The Little Mermaid” that reimagines the mermaid princess from Hans Christian Andersen’s story as a bloodthirsty siren whose kind has been engaged in a war against humanity for centuries. It follows Lira, the siren princess of the sea, who is tasked with taking the hearts of human princes each year for her birthday. When Lira makes a grave mistake, her mother, the Sea Queen, curses her to walk among the humans. Transformed into an ordinary human girl, she meets Prince Elian, a human prince and pirate whose sole mission is to rid the planet of sirens. Citations in this guide refer to the 2018 Feiwel and Friends edition of the novel.

Plot Summary

Lira, a young siren, is tasked with taking her younger cousin Khalia out to hunt for a heart for her birthday. They stalk a human ship, and when they are close enough, they begin to sing their hypnotic siren song, which will lure their human victims into the sea and to their deaths. Though Lira is still two weeks away from her birthday and therefore not supposed to steal a heart, she notices that there’s a prince aboard the ship.