Book Review: Vengeance of the Pirate Queen by Tricia Levenseller

About the Book:

Title: Vengeance of the Pirate Queen

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Page Length: 336

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)

Publication Date: Nov. 7, 2023

Synopsis: 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.

LINKS:   Goodreads   |    Amazon | Author Website

Pirate Books

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Review:

“You can’t be afraid of the dark when you’re the monster lurking in the shadows.”

I’m so excited to be on the tour today for Daughter of the Pirate Queen by Tricia Levenseller, a standalone book in the same world as the Daughter of the Pirate King duology. The story switches perspectives from Alosa to her assassin, Sorinda, who leads a dangerous rescue mission at Alsoa’s behest. And Sorinda’s story is intense as she faces sea monsters, shipwrecks, a resurrected king who controls the undead and wants her as his queen, and a bunch of other dangerous obstacles on her mission.

I was really curious about Sorinda in the initial duology. She was such an enigmatic character. An assassin, silent and deadly, who lives in shadows and has a mysterious and tragic past, Sorinda’s journey is transformative. My heart broke for her when she revealed what happened to her and her family when she was a child. And my heart swelled for her as she faced her past and started to work through her trauma and started to forgive herself. I love that we see the fierce and unstoppable leader and the softer and more vulnerable side to Sorinda as she faces her past while adjusting to her new role as captain and all of the responsibility, complications, danger, and emotions that come with it. the story’s characters are as layered as the world-building, and it makes for a thought-provoking and memorable read.

Levenseller has a knack for creating immersive and vivid worlds, and this story takes the characters to new places to face all new dangers. The story has been described as The Mummy meets Pirates of the Caribbean, and I think that’s a perfect description. It’s dark and dangerous, but there’s also a lot of humor and heart.

Speaking of heart, for me, the heart of the story is the relationships. Sorinda is very much defined by the relationships in her life, both past and present. Alosa gives Sorinda an almost entirely new crew, though there are a few favorites from the original duology who accompany her. And if you were hoping for more Alosa and Riden, you won’t be disappointed. Our queen and her consort are supporting characters, and the found family vibes with them, the original crew from the first two books, and so many more highlight the loyalty and commitment they all have to each other. It’s one of my favorite parts of this whole series- the bonds of friendship and the faith and trust the crew has in each other. But the relationship that really stole the show for me (sorry, Roslyn and Sorinda! I loved your sweet friendship, too!) is the slow-building and burning romance between Sorinda and Kearan.

I feel like this is the kind of series that could go on for many more books. There are so many more secondary characters that I could totally see having their own story, and I really want to stay in this rich and atmospheric world for a while longer. And I’m dying to get more of Roslyn, Dimella, Enwen (OMG Enwen is so funny, and I just love how he teases and torments Kearan!), Niridia, and more.

Special thanks to Turn the Page Tours and Feiwel & Friends for having me on the tour and providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

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Rating:

Favorite Parts:

• The characters.
• The romance.
• The world-building.

Favorite Lines:

“We can do impossible things when others depend on us.”

“Dying isn’t so scary. It’s living that’s hard.”

“Your smiles are rarer than diamonds an infinitely more precious.”