To Kill a Kingdom- Also known as a study in averages

 Average, mean, median, mode, midpoint, circumcenter, orthocenter.... Whoops, sorry. Steering myself back from the random geometrical tangent. (Ha! See what I did there?) .

This novel is remarkable for being the epitome of unremarkability. The stellar example of fairly popular YA novel. There is nothing I loved or hated about it. It exuded a vague likability. It did not stir the depths of my soul or even shake up the shallows. It was a haze. A  fog. This was Comfortably Numb. I was amiably guided down a well worn path. 

Description. 

Lira is a siren. The best and the bloodiest. The crown princess of the sea realm. With seventeen hearts in her possession *, Lira is the princes' bane. Until an unfortunate murderous mishap gets her into trouble with the ruthless ruler of the sea kingdom, her very own mother. Now turned into a lowly human, she

must deliver the heart of the crown prince or stay human... forever.

Elian is a siren hunter. Ruthless and reckless. The crown prince of the land realm. Who has hunted and slaughtered sirens for years. The day he will become king looms ahead, the pressure mounting. Until he rescues a drowning woman, who is not who she seems. She might be the key to destroying the sirens... forever.

This pairing will end well, right?

(*Note: Literally. She literally collects hearts)

I cannot express any emotion. I cannot muster the strength to either slam on the exclamation marks or the asterisks. My heart is an empty void. I... am rendered speechless, because there is nothing there to say.

The characters were borderline stereotypes. They had just enough individuality to keep people from hating them. They were just violent enough to be vaguely interesting, and sappy enough to remain YA. They had nice, predictable, comfortable arcs.

The writing was nice enough. It was evocative and almost lush, but nothing I would put up on pinterest

The world building was quite good, actually. The human kingdoms and the sea realm are unique.

The plot was.. okay. There was traipsing around the ocean. There was a little politics and some other drama. There was the final showdown. The romance was ... borderline insta-love, but not insta enough to be annoying.

Overall, 3. Listen to it with the new aespa album or anything else unremarkably nice.