Title: Daughter of the Siren Queen

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Pub. Date: February 27, 2018

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

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Alosa’s mission is finally complete. Not only has she recovered all three pieces of the map to a legendary hidden treasure, but the pirates who originally took her captive are now prisoners on her ship. Still unfairly attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate Riden is a constant distraction, but now he’s under her orders. And she takes great comfort in knowing that the villainous Vordan will soon be facing her father’s justice.

When Vordan exposes a secret her father has kept for years, Alosa and her crew find themselves in a deadly race with the feared Pirate King. Despite the danger, Alosa knows they will recover the treasure first . . . after all, she is the daughter of the Siren Queen.

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Unlike my review of Daughter of the Pirate King this review will contain spoilers, but like with the majority of my reviews, the first part will be spoiler free, followed by a spoiler section.

I hate that there are only two books in this duology. I could read about Alosa and Riden all damn day, I love them that much. I was fortunate enough to get to read the Pre-Order Perk for Daughter of the Siren Queen; Riden’s Chapter and can I have a whole book from his point of view? Please? I’m on my knees begging. I didn’t know I needed it until I read it, and then I was sunk. I’m not kidding about being able to read about the two of them all day.

This duology quickly became one of my favorites and I will get as many people as I can to read them, I swear it.

But, onto the actual review –

Daughter of the Siren Queen picks up where book one left off, and Alosa has all three parts to the map and more than eager to please her father, she heads home. With a captured Vorden whispering things into her ear, it doesn’t take long for hidden secrets to float to the surface, and suddenly Alosa is questioning everything she’s ever felt for her father.

With her feelings decided, she has no choice but to flee, knowing full well that her actions will bring the entirety of the Pirate King’s fleet down upon her and her crew’s heads. Where she goes, so does Riden, and while Alosa would never so much as tell him that, they both know.

In a race to get to the siren’s treasure first – Alosa has no doubt that they will win – the journey on the Ava-lee is far from safe, and they end up taking a very Odysseus-esque detour.

Tensions and feelings are high, and on top of protecting her crew, she has to worry about the other part of her, the siren part of her. The part of her that is murderous, dangerous, not human and therefore lacking in empathy. In this race for their lives, the questions become, who will get there first, and who will win out, the human or the siren?

I thought I loved Alosa in the first book, but now I really love her. She’s tested a lot more in this one, and she has to rely on her crew, her chosen family to be there for her. Her internal battle with the siren made her so engaging to read, and I ended up inhaling the story.

As for Riden – he’s just another fictional guy that I’ll never get to meet in real life * internal screaming * and somehow, he gets even more attractive and hotter in this book. I lived for his and Alosa’s interactions, because romantic tension.

This book has everything, pirates, princess, sirens, tension, love, action, betrayal, sorrow, but it’s still a fun, heartwarming and light read.

Now onto the spoiler section

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Last Chance!

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* Endless internal wailing about how I’ll never get to be a kickass pirate princess who gets to kiss Riden. *

^ That is actually something that hurts my heart.

There are just some books * cough * Stalking Jack the Ripper * cough * that I really wish I could exist inside because I love the characters so much.

Let’s just jump in with the line –’’THE SOUND OF MY knife slitting across a throat feels much too loud in the darkness.’’ – because daaaaamn. That whole scene was such an epic way to take Vorden down.

Skipping ahead – I DON’T KNOW WHY I NEVER EXPECTED HER FATHER TO KEEP THE SIREN QUEEN HOSTAGE. That was another daaaaaammn moment, or more appropriately, and oh shit moment. I kind of figured when she went to open the secret door that she would find her mother, but up until that point, I just thought that we’d meet her when they went to collect the siren’s treasure.

While I know it’s sad, because casualties, I really enjoyed the scene when they went to the island for the new mast – cannibals, nice touch. Even nicer touch that they were her father’s men. There were just so many things that I loved about this book, and I will continue to believe that that scene was inspired by the Odyssey and Odysseus’s journey home. You won’t be able to convince me otherwise.

But I think my absolutely favorite part of this book, this series really, is the relationship between Alosa and Riden.

In this book Alosa figures out that Riden keeps her human when she’s in her siren form. Lack of freedom and control of his own life in his past has left him never wanting to be controlled, and the siren can do exactly that. When it comes to either using her siren abilities on him or letting him drown, Alosa saves him, going against his direct wishes to never be controlled. Riden reacts badly, angrily, and while Alosa vehemently would do it again if it meant saving his life, he can’t see past his hurt feelings and betrayed wishes.

BUT, when learning (or should I say confronted and kind of tricked) that he keeps Alosa grounded, human in her siren form, he is willing to work with her, bring her back to herself.

I think given a little more time to think, Riden would have agreed to help her on his own, instead of being confronted to help, but their timeline was seriously rushed.

I loved this book, the first one, Riden and Alosa – I don’t have bad things to say. I just wouldn’t complain if I got both of the books from Riden’s POV. Daughter of the Pirate King could be “Smitten with the Pirate Princess” and Daughter of the Siren Queen could be “Hopelessly In Love with my Captain” – okay, the titles need a lot of work, but I’d totally be here for them. Though, with these titles, they sound very NA / Upper YA. OH YEAH! Give me Riden and Alosa a couple years down the road! Her ruling as the new Pirate Queen with Riden by her side.

Here. For. It.

 

I digress…(I’ve been doing that a lot lately)

 

If you’re looking for a book about a bad ass pirate princess and a hotter than hell first mate, then you should definitely check out this duology!