Top positive review
4.0 out of 5 starsAn exciting ending to this duology of pirates, adventure, sirens, and treasure!
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2021
At the end of Daughter of the Pirate King, Alosa took prisoners from the ship that held her captive, then killed everyone else. Two of those prisoners joined her crew, the younger ones were secretly released, Riden was injured but still considered a prisoner, and his brother Draxen was taken to the Pirate King's keep to be held in a dark dungeon for his cruel treatment of the princess. Alosa only manages to keep him alive for Riden's sake, otherwise he would already be dead.
Now in part 2 of the duology, Daughter of the Siren Queen, Riden has healed and agrees to join Alosa's crew. This is with the understanding that he is still a prisoner, the price for keeping Draxen alive. At least that's what Alosa tells herself to keep him around... They return to the Pirate King's keep after obtaining the final piece of the map so they can regroup with the other captains and plan the journey to claim the siren's treasure horde.
When events happen at the keep and Alosa must help one of the Pirate King's prisoners escape, her crew agrees to join her and support her defiance of her father, knowing what will happen to them if he catches them. The only way to avoid that outcome is to race ahead to the siren treasure and claim it first, hoping the rest of the pirate fleet will turn on the King to join Alosa for their share of the treasure. But it is difficult to survive long enough to get to the siren's island, even with all three pieces of the map. Alosa's crew is brave and skilled, but not everyone survives the journey. There are many terrible events they must endure to obtain the treasure, and some are not for the faint of heart, or even the steely-hearted...
We get to know the crew of the Ava-Lee a lot better in this book and go through several exciting encounters with them. They are a capable pirate crew, all talented and ruthless. They are also protective and loyal to their own crew and captain, which is like family for all of them. They were all gathered by Alosa from their own tragic backstories to form her crew and become formidable pirates, to become a family. They take care of each other and understand each other.
Throughout the journey, Alosa struggles with her human and sirens halves, her parents' history, and what she should do if she finds her mother, the Siren Queen. She is afraid of what she becomes in the water, a mindless beast made for seducing and killing men. She loses her humanity when she becomes the siren. Only a few times was she ever able to break the hold on her mind and stay in control, and that was with Riden's help. She has to figure out why, and if she can eventually keep control of her siren side and use her abilities to protect her crew. Without this edge, they won't be able to outrun the Pirate King's fleet or outsmart him. They won't survive this time. And Alosa must save her crew, her family. They are everything to her, more than treasure or pirating.
Despite their shared experiences of saving each other from the first book, and Riden's confession that he feels compelled to take care of her and that wasn't the result of a siren song, Alosa believes that Riden can't possibly be sincerely interested in her. She convinces herself that his advances toward her are acts of a prisoner trying to play up his captor until he can free his brother. This is maddeningly frustrating through the entire book! They do a lot of back and forth, even some steamy tempting scenes where they finally almost give in and admit their feelings, before one or the other of them gets distracted or offended or angry or hurt or says the wrong thing or the timing is just not right. SO. MANY. TIMES! Just spit it out! The tension is killing me!
Alosa honestly cares for him but doesn't want to be hurt or tricked. She was trained to not trust anyone but her own strength and skill. Riden honestly cares for her but doesn't want to rush or take advantage of her until she understands and admits her true feelings. He may be a pirate, but he's also honorable, sensitive, and compassionate, and he can see that she is at odds with herself. And they both need to overcome some of their dark history and parental abuse before they can cope with other strong emotions like love. When they finally figure it out by the end, it's just sort of accepted and neatly glossed over and they move on. Almost a let down after all the buildup and tension.
Overall, I really liked this duology and wish there was more. I'd like to see the reign of the Siren Pirate Queen! (Come on, that can't be a spoiler for you. Of course she survives and has a happy pirate ending!) Just a few things about the ending that wrapped up too quickly for my taste that I would have liked to see fleshed out more. But I liked the characters, especially Riden, and the little girl on the ship, Roslyn. She was so cute and fierce and clever! Alosa knew how to recruit a formidable crew. Maybe I'll sign up for her next adventure too!
Common sense: Like I said for the first book, these are pirates, ruthless and deadly. They kill without remorse or concern. They steal, drink, and laugh. They care about treasure and pleasure. There is some drinking and swearing in this book, and more gory fight scenes and injuries/deaths from sword and musket. There are seductive sirens that drag men under the ocean and play with their dead bodies after they drown. Sirens don't wear clothes, because why would you need clothes when you live under the water, so that is mentioned, though not dwelled upon. There are some intimate scenes between the main characters alone in her cabin, kissing, caressing, and some undressing before they are interrupted. Just keep in mind that this is a young adult novel, definitely too much for kids. I would recommend probably high school and up.
