Title: Daughter of the Siren Queen
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance/ Fantasy/ YA
Source: Sequel to Daughter of the Pirate King
Rating: 5/5
Favourite Quote: “I’m here because when I tried to get in that rowboat with my brother, I realised that the last thing I wanted was to be away from you.”
The second instalment from Daughter of the Pirate King.
It has been two months since Princess Alosa was able to secure the second map off Draxen on the Night Farer. Now comfortably back on her own ship with Draxen and Riden as her prisioners, Alosa stops at nothing to retrieve the final piece of the map. It doesn’t take long before she and her trusted crew are able to capture Vordan and the final piece before sailing home to her father; Pirate King Kalligan. With her mission almost complete, she can’t help but fixate on Riden. He’s confusing, relentless, has proven himself more than once at his attempts to save her life, not to mention that he knows her secret. A distraction this disconcerting shouldn’t be on her ship, Alosa needs to let them go, but she can’t bring herself to face it; leaving them, or rather him, behind.
Before reaching their destination, Vordan offers up information about her and her father. A secret that King Kalligan has been keeping from Alosa that has her now questioning everything she’s ever done for loyalty and respect. Filled with anger and doubt, she realises that she has no choice but to discover the truth for herself by sneaking into her father’s study to uncover his secrets. What she discovers is enough to risk her life and her crew forever.
As much as I loved Tricia’s first book, Daughter of the Pirate King, I loved this one even more! There is more piracy, more adventure, more mystery and most importantly, even more Alosa and Riden romance. Their love hate relationship is still going strong, which makes the story even more captivating.
Alosa has returned to her role as captain on board of her beloved ship, the Ava-lee, with her loyal trusted crew at her side as well as the third piece of the ancient map. The situation has been reversed now with Draxen and Riden as her prisioner, however, as much as she tries to avoid Riden, she can’t help but feel draw to the charmingly frustrating captive. After all, he did attempt to save her. Again. Even if it did get himself shot. Draxen on the other hand, is only alive because Alosa demands it, although she refuses to admit to herself why.
Her feelings for Riden get more confusing, particularly when she comes to rely on him when her inner demon surfaces. The siren part of her is still uncontrollable when she is consumed around sea water. The call is too strong and Alosa worries for the safety of her crew, that is, until Riden. For some reason, she is able to be one with the siren when she is focused on him, and for that reason, she feels free to be herself for the first time. When her entire life get’s turned upside down, she realises that the only way to save her crew is to rely on the siren, which also means trusting Riden to keep her sane.
‘The touch is electric. My entire body comes alive even more so than before. I still feel the strength of being under water. I feel the confidence, the power.
And my mind returns to me.
Riden.
I grip his arms and kick to the surface. His face breaks free of the water and gulps down breath after breath of air. The waves fight against me with everything they’ve got, but I don’t surrender. I keep Riden above the water where he can breathe. It is beyond strange to be so surrounded by both water and him, as if the two forces are battling each other for residence in my mind. The water encourages the siren, Riden the human.’
Alosa is still by far one of my favourite heroines I’ve come across. She’s daring, courageous, selfless and a complete and total badass in boots. She is demanding and sometimes snaps, but who can really blame her as a captain constantly at war with herself and the siren within. It doesn’t stop her from sacrificing herself for her crew at every point of the journey. I adore her behaviour around Riden, love is a strange and alien concept for her and she cannot understand why she reacts the way she does when being around him. It’s a lovely first romance with a whole lot of action and adventure.
‘Damned siren blood.
It’s the only thing I can think of to explain by behaviour yesterday. Surely no human girl would throw herself at some man she doesn’t fully trust because her parents disappoint her.
It must be because I’m a creature of the sea. Built for tempting men, killing men, and stealing from men.’
Riden is the perfect book boyfriend with his rugged handsome looks, selfless nature and witty sense of humour. He is both entranced and intrigued by Alosa and her siren abilities even though it is intimidating to know that someone could have so much control over another’s mind. Riden knows Alosa isn’t playing games with his mind when he can’t stay away.
Once of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much is because you get to spend time with more of Alosa’s crew. Rosalyn, the 6 year old pirate who will do anything to prove herself is one of my favourites. She doesn’t let the fact that she is so young stop her from showing everyone that she is more than capable of looking after herself with her small trusted blade. She looks up to Alosa as a role model and will do anything to help protect those around her, even if she gets hurt.
Overall a wonderfully fantastic story that I would recommend to everyone that enjoys a great pirate story with a heart warming love hate romance.
Goodreads Review:
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.
a thousand lives, one lifetime 