I’m going to review these two together, since I read them back to back. It’s hard to talk about the 2nd one too much without giving away spoilers, but I’ll do my best!
“Even a man who’s spent his whole life at sea has reason to fear her when she’s angry. But not I. I sleep soundly. Listening to her music. The sea watches over me. She protects her own.”
Alosa has been raised by the king of pirates — a fearsome man who rules the seas. She definitely doesn’t have it any easier as his daughter — he’s a cruel father who trained her to be a fighter and a leader by putting her through amazing torments. Now he’s given her a ship and a crew (mostly women — so many women in these books, it’s awesome) and a task: go find a piece of a missing map that will lead the Pirate King to a treasure trove. Alosa allows herself to be captured by the captain presumed to have possession of the map. She plays dumb, hides her skills, and sneaks around the ship at night to try to find the map’s location. She catches the eye of the first mate, Riden, who also seems to be hiding his true personality. From here, it could have easily been a standard romance novel — and it would have been a good one. Levenseller writes the tension between Alosa and Riden beautifully, as she struggles to maintain her bad-ass attitude while also feeling some feelings.
But Alosa has a secret, which gets revealed quite far into the first book. And I’ll tell you, I did not see it coming. I was so impressed by how it snuck up on me, but then made perfect sense. I can’t tell you about that, but then again, if you read the title of the second book…
In Daughter of the Siren Queen, Alosa has the map and her crew, and she’s determined to find the treasure on her own. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one — her father wants that treasure, too. Along with Riden, who of course has stuck around, Alosa has to decide how far she’s willing to go to stop her father. And when she finds out about the secret HE’S been keeping — well, shit gets real.
This universe was a lot of fun to spend some time in, and I can’t wait for the third installment to come out!