Pirates of the Caribbean meets The Mummy in Vengeance of the Pirate Queen, a beautifully designed standalone YA fantasy romance, set in the world of Tricia Levenseller's Daughter of the Pirate King.
You can’t be afraid of the dark when you’re the monster lurking in the shadows.
As an assassin working for the pirate queen, eighteen-year-old Sorinda is surprised when Alosa’s next task for her is not to kill a new target, but to captain a handpicked crew on a rescue mission. Unfortunately, her sailing master is twenty-year-old Kearan. He may be the best helmsman the pirate queen has, but Sorinda finds him a real pain in the arse. Sadly, there are few places on a ship to hide from an attentive man.
As the crew of the Vengeance faces dangerous waters and deadly sea creatures, they accidentally awaken the King of the Undersea, a being who can control the dead. Their rescue mission quickly turns into a fight to save the world, but first, Sorinda must save herself from becoming an undead queen.
I received this ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
I was eager to return to Tricia Levenseller's Daughter of the Pirate Queen world! I remember the duology being so much fun, because pirates! A kick-butt female one at that too! Vengeance of the Pirate Queen follows one of Alosa's fierce pirate crew members, Sorinda. Sorinda is a force to be reckoned with and Alosa's top assassin, but for this task, Sorinda will have to save lives instead of taking them!
I'll admit, it's been a long time since I read the original duology and I had read a few other pirate/mermaid themed books around that time too (trends, ahoy?) so I forgot some details and couldn't place other details with their correct series but thankfully with this one, it wasn't really necessary to have read those first two books--but I HIGHLY recommend them because they were awesome! But luckily for readers with poor memory like me, it's not necessary to remember everything, the bits and bobs we need to know are hashed out and yes, we get those lovely cameo appearances from our favorite Siren Pirate Queen and her consort!
When some of Alosa's crew members have been missing for too long after being sent on a mission, she sends Sorinda on a scouting mission to hopefully find them. And because these are new waters for Sorinda, Alosa sends someone who has already been there...Kearan. Sorinda isn't exactly thrilled being strapped with the alcohol happy pirate, but she quickly learns that Kearan is a new man and try as she might, Sorinda can't help but being a little bit impressed, though she will never admit it, barely even to herself.
The journey is fraught with the typical danger a pirate faces, but when they reach the island where it looks like the missing girls might be, things are not what Sorinda expected. There is something else on this island, something dangerous that has been hidden for many years and Sorinda may have played a hand in accidentally setting it free. In order to protect her crew, innocent lives, and really, the world at large, Sorinda will do whatever it takes to stop this evil from getting exactly what it wants...her!
So yes, this book got very intense around that halfway point! The stakes are raised to unimaginable heights and things get serious! Up to that point we still had plenty of action and adventure and other things happening on the horizon! If you've read Levenseller's previous pirate books, you can expect some of the same high sea-faring adventures and action! The ocean can be a scary place for many things are under those waters and Sorinda and her crew will encounter one of them before they even get to the island!
The pacing was impeccable! I loved the opening scene the most, which may have had some links back to Alosa's story which again was murky area for my memory, but Sorinda gave us the details we needed to know and that was enough for me! This girl is just freaking amazing! I lover her bravery and strength, she's a heroine to admire!
Romance, because we got at least mention that! There is definitely some chemistry brewing between Sorinda and Kearan! While it does get intense towards the end, it's very low-key. The romance doesn't overpower the story, in fact, Sorinda spends a lot of time avoiding Kearan because she doesn't return his affections, but he's not even actively pursuing her. So if you don't care for romance, this story is for you, because there's only every a moment or two throughout the book where the two grow closer, but even then it's almost just bonds of friendship growing versus romantic intentions...that happens towards the end, so be advised of that at least! I feel like it's never really a spoiler when the character names are thrown in the blurb because you pretty much know nowadays that just screams romantic tension and that things will be happening!
The ending was spectacular! Things were epically grand and I loved these end action scenes. I was totally hearing POTC music in my head as I was reading! This was just an all around epic read that kept me entertained from start to finish! If you're looking for a fantastic and action packed pirate read sprinkled with magic then this is the read for you! Again, I will stress, you don't have to have read the first two books as this is merely a "world series" addition, but if you're wanting a pirate read and haven't read those, why not binge the three together because they are all freaking amazing and action adventure packed!
Overall Rating 5/5 stars
Vengeance of the Pirate Queen releases November 7, 2023
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