Yo Ho, Yo Ho, A Pirate’s Life For Me // Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller
Published February 27th 2018 by Feiwel and Friends
Classified as Fantasy, Romance, & Young Adult
Obtained as an Ebook

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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Content & Trigger Warnings:

Child Abuse, Death, Gory Violence, Forced Imprisonment, and Cannibalism.

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Let’s Make Some Waffles

Pirates of the Caribbean was the first PG-13 movie I ever saw. Sure, I saw it at home under the strict supervision of my parents. And yes, they had me close my eyes every time the creepy pirate-skeletons came on-screen (I was a child highly prone to nightmares. Even though I’ve gotten older, I’m still a child highly prone to nightmares. My tolerance for horror flicks is the world-record-breaking percentage of zero). But none of that mattered to little mini-me. I was watching a coveted (and usually contraband) “grown-up” movie and I loved every second of it. I loved it as much as I loved eating waffles for breakfast. (Yes, I was a devout waffle lover, even then.)

This special viewing spurred on a childhood pirate obsession that probably sat a bit too close to the edge of socially acceptable. For Halloween that year, I insisted on dressing up as a pirate (how original, mini-me) and even went as far as to print out all the lyrics of the song, “Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me)” and tack them to my wall for prime memorization purposes.

Yep, I had pirate fever bad, and to be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever recovered. Granted, I no longer go around humming, “We’re devils and black sheep, really bad eggs,” under my breath Gosh, I was one strange kid, now that I think about it, but I still cry heart-eye emojis every time I unearth a book with pirates in it. So, obviously, I just had to pick up Daughter of the Siren Queen.

The Main Character

In my mini-review of Daughter of the Pirate King, I described Alosa as a, “Spunky, kick-butt main character who can hold her own in a world of bloodthirsty men and pirates,” and no where is that more evident than in this sequel. In Daughter of the Siren Queen, our favorite red-haired, red-handed Captain is back and just as fiercely fabulous as ever (because she would never allow herself to be anything but). I’m certain that my favorite Pirate King, Elizabeth Swann, would be proud.

Something interesting about Alosa’s character is that she priorities self-care, likes to use makeup, and is interested in fashion – all of which are so-called “girly” qualities that the Fantasy genre tends to look down its nose at. Some might even say that being feminine equates to being weak, but that simply isn’t the case, and Captain Alosa helps reinforce that. In a world full of heartless men, she doesn’t try to hide the fact that she’s a girl; instead she embraces it. And I find that to be an empowering message.

“You’re beautiful, the most stunning person I’ve ever seen. You’re fearless. You like danger. You like to make your friends laugh and your enemies cower. You have the power to obtain anything you want, yet you’ve worked hard for everything you have.”

The Story

In Daughter of the Siren Queen, Alosa is reunited with her crew of dangersome lady-pirates and if you thought this Pirate Princess was deadly before, it was just a drop in the Seven Seas compared to now. Nothing and no one can get in their way…except perhaps the murderous Pirate King himself. But Alosa doesn’t have to worry about her father. They’re all on the same side…right?

Once upon a time, I read a piece of writing advice that went something like this: “Think of the worst thing that could happen to your characters – and then make it even worse.” It’s almost as if Levenseller invented this tip herself, because that’s exactly what happens in this book. Things go from bad, to worse, to raining.

The Romance

During the two years my husband lived in Hawaii, he got the chance to see some to real-live lava up close. The way he explains it, the stuff was as hot as a McDonalds’ deep fryer and moved like a speeding snail. It crawled so slowly, in fact, that you could barely even register it was moving at all. That’s how I felt about Alosa and Riden’s relationship in this book; it was a lava-level slow burn. Just the way I like it.

Alosa’s inability to accept her own feelings, along with the couple’s many missteps and misunderstandings, were gloriously painful to read. And don’t even get me started on the sexual tension – you could’ve cut it with a knife (and I’m sure Alosa would have, if given the chance).

Something else that I loved besides the slow-burn was that Levenseller weaves in the ever-important issue of consent. In Daughter of the Pirate King, there is a scene where Alosa says, “That’s enough,” and Riden immediately stops kissing her. She said stop, and he did. Simple as that, and yet so beautifully important.

“‘I said that’s enough.’ He steps away from me quickly, as though he doesn’t trust himself to be near me.”

In Daughter of the Siren Queen, we are met with a similar situation, but this time gender-swapped:

“‘Alosa, stop it.’
I open my eyes and look at him. ‘What’s the matter?’ I say, irritated.
‘I want to stop.’”

And they did. Take note, folks. This is what a healthy relationship based on respect looks like.

The Verdict

Although Daughter of the Siren Queen might not be a groundbreaking, scholarly masterpiece, it’s got heart-pounding adventure, slow-burn romance, and plenty of swashbuckling to go around. (I couldn’t NOT include the word, “swashbuckling” in my review for this book. It would be a disservice to pirates everywhere).

In short, if you’re on the look out for an action-packed story with a butt-kicking girl gang, empowering themes, and a fresh twist on pirates, then drink up me hearties, yo ho.

My Rating: Me Likey

*After writing this review, I promptly sat down and watched Pirates of the Caribbean, because how could I not?*

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Do you love pirates as much as I do? Why or why not?

Have you read this duology? What are your thoughts?

Help a girl out…what are some of your favorite pirate books?

Are you excited for Tricia Levenseller’s next release, Warrior of the Wild?