Tricia Levenseller

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.… (més)

Protagonist Ziva, 18 yr old bladesmith and her 16 year old sister Temra live in the land of "Ghadra" recently divided into six sub-kingdoms. Ziva has inherited from her mother, long since dead, a magical ability to imbue her weapons with special powers or functions. Swordsmen, soldiers, etc seek her out to fashion all variety of warring weapons, or shields. Unfortunately, one such customer - the much feared warlord Kymora seeks out Ziva & demands she make for her a special sword. It must be imbued with immmense power, that can defeat many enemies at once. Ziva agrees to put off her other commissions and prepare such a sword; however, when she forges it her magical abilities and her own secret thoughts imbue in ways she didn't expect, and cannot completely control. She realizes Secret Eater, the blade, is not to be used by any ordinary person. Recognizing its immense power will allow the cruel and ambitious Kymora to defeat all her foes and bring tyranny to all of Ghadra - she decides to flee her forge, her home, her town. Temra insists on fleeing as well; with a young scholar in tow - who wishes very much to document Ziva's magic knowledge, a journey begins. They also pick up a ridiculously handsome mercenary, Kellyn, who agrees to protect them on their road to faraway Thersa, where they hope their father's family may still live. Temra and Ziva have been orphans since they were small children; heir parents were never able to tell them about their relatives. But they hope for a welcome and a place to hide. ... thus the adventure begins. Lots of suspenseful scenes, a growing romance, & a desperate quest to ensure Secret Eater can never be used - but of course, a cliffhanger at the end. There's a sequel!… (més)

I haven't read all of Tricia Levenseller's novels, but I enjoyed those that I did read. I approached Vengeance of the Pirate Queen with excitement, figuring I was in for another literary treat.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy Vengeance of the Pirate Queen as much as I hoped. I'll admit this could be because I have not yet read the first two Pirate Queen books. Unlike those who have, I opened the novel not knowing any of the characters or their previous trials. Reading Vengeance of the Pirate Queen was less like a homecoming and more like entering a party without knowing anyone in the room.

From my perspective, there is very little character development. I believe Ms. Levenseller expects her readers to know her characters. As such, they already understand the bonds that unite them. I did not have that advantage and felt like I was missing something. I saw no chemistry between Sorinda and Kearan. I didn't understand Sorinda's loyalty to Alosa or any of the other characters mentioned but not seen. The only characters I truly enjoyed were Enwen and Rosalyn. I might not have known who they were ahead of time, but they provided some much-needed laughs in a story I felt had no emotional heart.

We do get Sorinda's backstory, however, and that does help explain her motives. By the time we get that story, though, it is apparent that she is one scary person. Someone who gets excited about killing another person is not someone I would want to meet. And she gets WAY too excited about that. That may be the only thing about which she gets excited.

Even the introduction of the main villain is anticlimactic. I found his storyline lacking in suspense. He's so one-noted that you cannot feel anything for him. While his lack of humanity is supposed to be chilling and proof of his evilness, I found it to be another example of an unimpressive story.

I do believe fans of the first two Pirate Queen books are going to get more out of Vengeance of the Pirate Queen than I did. After all, they already know the players, know the events referenced in the book and understand the character dynamics. That pre-established connection may be the source of this third story's heart. All I know is that I did not find it and felt no connection to any of the characters. I felt nothing about the perils they face and had no thoughts on the blooming romance or dastardliness of the villain. I won't give up on Ms. Levenseller, but Vengeance of the Pirate Queen is a cautionary tale that sometimes you should not start anything mid-series.… (més)