Daughter of the Siren Queen

Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

This is the sequel to DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING. If you don't want anything spoiled about either book, then I would recommend not reading this review. I'm going to do a series recap bit towards the end, because I have needs.

An amazon summary, "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.

In Daughter of the Siren Queen, Tricia Levenseller brings together the perfect mix of thrilling action, tense battle scenes, and a heart-pounding romance." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Book one recap: Alosa's father is pretty freaking evil, abusive, and just an overall nightmare of a person. Alosa and Riden kind of have maybe something going on? But Alosa takes measures to ensure the safety of Riden's brother (although she'd really rather not). Everyone wants the treasure known to be hidden somewhere on the siren isles (there's an official name for it, but I'm being lazy).

Book two begins with getting to know more about Alosa's crew, seeing her life amongst the pirate king's people, and really trying to figure out more about what's going on with her and Riden. Alosa also has many, many questions about her mother, and well, one thing may lead to another where she finds her mother has been held captive by her father for the entire time Alosa has been alive (probably a bit before then too). She manages to free her mother, only to see her mother immediately take off into the waves. Alosa has betrayed her father and made herself a most wanted woman in one fell swoop; she sets off immediately for the siren's isle.

That's enough summary. I have needs.

If you don't want anything spoiled, read no farther. 

So. Alosa frees her mother, goes through a lot of emotional turmoil with that, and when she meets up with her again she has the weird kind of like, "Oh I see" moment before kind of writing off her previous turmoil.

THEN. THERE IS THE EXTREME ISSUE OF ALOSA ONLY BEING ABLE TO USE HER POWERS SAFELY WHEN RIDEN IS THERE. So Alosa has half siren abilities. When Riden is around, she's able to make her siren side dormant and let her human side reign. But. For such a strong female character, I find it VERY vexing that she's given this shackle of only "LOVE CAN STOP ME FROM BEING A MONSTER". Like what is this, reverse beauty and the beast? Not. A. Fan.

A lot of the scenery also felt kind of lacking and sloppy this time around. The first time, the story was mainly taking place on a boat. This time, with more than one environment, it just seemed like, "Look it's the ocean. That's it. Just some ocean." And nothing to describe the gorgeous colors, the smells, the sounds, etc. It felt incomplete.

It also felt like there was a need to just wrap things up rather than giving the story it's due. I think there should have been more to the showdown between Alosa and her father than there was at the end.

I really enjoyed the first book, but the sequel has left me a bit unimpressed. It was okay; nothing more, nothing less.

Happy reading!

Daughter of the Pirate King

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

I previously read WARRIOR OF THE WILD by Tricia Levenseller, and I kind of loved it. So of course I had to eventually seek out other books by them. Now here we are.

This book does contain depictions of a toxic, abusive relationship and may not be the best read for everyone.

An amazon summary, "There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I've gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map―the key to a legendary treasure trove―seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

In Daughter of the Pirate King, debut author Tricia Levenseller blends action, adventure, romance, and a little bit of magic into a thrilling YA pirate tale." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

Alosa has been purposely captured by a rival pirate gang. As the daughter of the pirate king, the rival pirate king thinks they can hold her hostage for ransom. Little do they know, Alosa wants to be there to search there ship for a missing piece of map.

Along the way, Alosa discovers her captor Riden, is not the typical pirate. He keeps a clean cabin, keeps his word, and is very respectful to her and her strange ways. Very strange ways.

Alosa is half siren.

Dun dun dunnnnn 

That's enough summary.

Alright, so I loved this book, hence why the summary is so short, and also because many wonderful mishaps and adventures happen along the way that would be too minimizing to summarize here.

So, the book is chalked full of colorful characters, set in a sea full of islands, and ruthless pirates. I loved Alosa as a character since she was a very fierce, strong, independent woman and went out of her way to recruit other strong independent women to be in her crew. Her crew are mostly comprised of females except for a handful of gentlemen, which is basically unheard of out to sea.

The relationship with her father was like RIFE with a torrid of emotions and questions and all the things that should be happening given their power struggle and lifestyles.

It was fantastic. Spoiler alert, I read the sequel.

Happy reading!

Divided

Divided by Elsie Chapman

This is the sequel to DUALED, so if you don't want anything spoiled about either book, don't read this review. Because yeah! No spoilers. WHOO.

An amazon summary, "The hunter becomes the hunted. . . .
 West Grayer is done killing. She defeated her Alternate, a twin raised by another family, and proved she’s worthy of a future. She’s ready to move on with her life. The Board has other plans. They want her to kill one last time, and offer her a deal worth killing for. But when West recognizes her target as a ghost from her past, she realizes she’s in over her head. The Board is lying, and West will have to uncover the truth of the past to secure her future. How far will the Board go to keep their secrets safe? And how far will West go to save those she loves? With nonstop action and surprising twists, Elsie Chapman’s intoxicating sequel to Dualed reveals everything." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

We're back with West and the emotional trauma from Dualed, and the horror of killing someone who looks identical to you. And also a bunch of other people while she worked as an active striker. It's fine. ...it's fineeeeeeeee. So, West is in therapy, she's also working as a teacher of weapons, and her past is coming back to haunt her. Someone from the board has figured out that she worked as a striker, and wants her to take out some idles. But West is torn; she doesn't want to kill any more, but the Board offers a way for her to have children without them having a clone. They would never have to kill to live.

That's enough summary. Because this book is kind of basic.

If you liked book one, you'll like book two, because there's not a lot of growth from West even though she's in therapy and it's a lot of the same confusion she faced in the previous book.

Plus, when they start to kind of delve into the mystery behind the city, the book seemed to be like, "nahhhhhhhh, I'll just hint at some stuff, but draw your own conclusions because I don't feel like explaining anything at allllllllllll well enough to be remotely satisfyinggggggg." which was obnoxious as hell.

There wasn't anything new in terms of really world building, there were some new characters, but they didn't really add a ton to the story, and while learning about the board should have been cool, it just seemed like a lot of bureaucracy and a bigger complaint about the freaking DMV than anything.

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to know more about why the city was still isolated, why the citizens were sterile, why their world works as it does, and I'm leaving entirely unsatisfied. The explanations are a whisper of the truth rather than the whole truth.

....but I still read the whole thing. I wanted to know how it ended. I found it. I'm still dissatisfied.

Happy reading!

Strange Grace

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

I've previously read THE LOST SUN and THE STRANGE MAID, and I've also read the sequel to those The Apple Throne (but I didn't review it because reasons). So I was pretty excited to stumble across another book by them. ...and then also, you know, when you amazon things, you find out they've written a bunch of other books, and well of course THOSE have to go in the to read pile too. Reading life problems.

Anyways, I loved the United States of Asgard series, so I was pretty excited to pick this book up.

...but it was a bit of a bizarre read. An amazon summary, and then let me explain, "Once, a witch made a pact with a devil. The legend says they loved each other, but can the story be trusted at all? Find out in this lush, atmospheric fantasy novel that entwines love, lies, and sacrifice.

Long ago, a village made a bargain with the devil: to ensure their prosperity, when the Slaughter Moon rises, the village must sacrifice a young man into the depths of the Devil’s Forest.
Only this year, the Slaughter Moon has risen early.
Bound by duty, secrets, and the love they share for one another, Mairwen, a spirited witch; Rhun, the expected saint; and Arthur, a restless outcast, will each have a role to play as the devil demands a body to fill the bargain. But the devil these friends find is not the one they expect, and the lies they uncover will turn their town—and their hearts—inside out." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

In Three Graces, no one gets sick (not even the animals), there's no blight, and everyone seems to get along. The village of Three Graces is quite prosperous but... that's because long ago, a witch fell in love with the devil. She ran into the devil's forest and gave her his heart in exchange for the enchantment for the village. But, the enchantment comes with a high price. Every seven years, the blood tree blooms red leaves, signaling the rise of the slaughter moon. The younger men of the village are assembled to go through a mild series of trials to prove they are the best boy in the village, worthy of becoming the next saint. The saints must enter the devil's wood. If they survive the night, they can go free, but most of them don't come back. This renews the enchantment for another seven years.

Mairwen is the latest witch of the village. She has always been drawn to the forest and has always tried to understand more about the bargain struck so long ago by the original witch. She loves Rhun, the boy who will most likely be the saint this time. Rhun, is kind of the perfect guy; he's super kind, loves everyone and is affectionate with everyone. Arthur was originally raised as a girl by his mother in a hope to avoid him becoming the saint. Arthur was discovered when the girls went to go swimming at the lake when they were about six, and, well he didn't match the other girls. His mother left in a fit of anger, and Arthur has been a restless outcast since then.

But, Mairwen loves Rhun and wants to see him survive the woods. She doesn't want him to go in. She's going to find a way to save Rhun.

That's enough summary.

So, I can't explain any more of the story without ruining all these complicated plot lines. There's a ton of exploration of identity, of relationships, and how everything kind of connects. There's a bunch of character growth and a whole lot of plot intrigue as the three friends embark on solving the mystery once and for all.

There's a bunch of magic, mystery, and also this pervasive kind of pulse of doom throughout the story. Something darker is a foot, and as it's slowly revealed, it's freaking chilling.

There's a bunch of graphic descriptions of different spots of violence, or different.... I don't know how to describe how menacing aspects of the world seem to be. The tone of the story always carries an air of a dark mystery, even during the lighter aspects of the story.

It was a good read, but, I can't make this a recommended book review because I'm still not sure how the story really came together in the end. The story telling was so smooth, and this certain thing happens, and it all kind of seemed disjointed after that. I did like the very end of the book, but between the certain event and leading to the end, it was kind of lots of head scratching and uncertainty of what was happening.

Happy reading!

Dualed

Dualed by Elsie Chapman

This is a bit of an older book, but it's been on my to read list for quite some time. I volunteer with this book club for middle school readers, and I remember when this book first came out... one of the kids was just super excited to talk about it. I mean, the whole nine yards; face lit up, was so excited to explain the basis of the story that they could barely get through it before telling us how much they loved the book, and then why they loved it so much. Ever since then, I've wanted to read it. Enthusiasm is contagious. And now, there's a sequel out.

Anyways, so here's an amazon summary, "Two of you exist. Only one will survive.

West Grayer is ready. She's trained for years to confront her Alternate, a twin raised by another family. Survival means a good job, marriage—life.
But then a tragic misstep leaves West questioning: Is she the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future?
If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from herself, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.
Fast-paced and unpredictable, Elsie Chapman's suspenseful YA debut weaves unexpected romance into a chilling, unforgettable world." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE

West Grayer has grown up in Kersh. Kersh is a barricaded city that survives by making their citizens cut throat. From birth, people are raised to know they are clones, and that an exact clone exists with another family out there. Between the ages of thirteen and twenty, they're activated. Meaning, they have to go out into the world and fight their clone to the death. Well, they fight in many different ways. It doesn't seem to usually end in a duel kind of situation, but more like I stabbed/shot you first, now you're lying prone on the ground dying kind of deal. Plus, if they don't finish their assignment within thirty days of being activated, they have something in their head that kind of explodes on them. So there's a lot of incentive to be the 'worthy' one.

West, West has seen the rest of her family die at this point, in one way or another. Her parents are gone, and at the very beginning of the book, she's sees her last sibling, her brother, die as an accidental death during his best friend, Chord's trial. Chord successfully becomes a complete, but at a high price.

West isn't ready to face her Alt (her clone; well I guess they're clones of each other on some level) but she struggles with feeling adequate in her skills. So she decides to become a striker. A striker is someone who completes other Alts assignment. West figures if she becomes better at killing, she has a better chance of surviving when it's her turn.

Dun dun dunnnn

That's enough summary.

So, I liked this book overall, but I had a few hold ups with it. I really liked the world building, the character dynamics, how the relationships pan out. I think West is interesting in the way she has very soft spots, but she also has these like razor edges about other things. It made the experience she was going through more real. There was also a strong emphasis on everyone grows up thinking this way about things. There wasn't like, this person got a sheltered childhood, this is a way we're trying to cheat the system, but it was more like we're trying to make the best of it. It was just kind of weird to get use to this sense of finality of literally kill or be killed.

But, there was also this kind of romance thing that was happening which, I didn't really find to work for me. It felt kind of really unnecessarily forced.

I also just had BIG questions about why they were all in Kersh. What happened to the rest of the world? I assume we'll get answers in book 2 about why this needed to be such a blood thirsty world.

So really, as this point, it's kind of why, am I still wondering when I could just read book 2?

Happy reading!