Daughter of the Siren Queen

“I braved the ocean for you. Will you brave the land for your queen?” 

- Alosa

(Warning: This post may contain spoilers and it is an HONEST review so please, if you are in the middle of the book or if you are a fan and love everything about this book and will get offended please don't read.)

Hi friends and readers! I just finished Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller. It was gifted to me by my best friend and fellow book reader @bumble_bee_reads. We did a book exchange for Christmas and I really wanted to the read the sequel of Daughter of the Pirate King. I was ready for swashbuckling adventures, Alosa and Riden's ruthless banter and of course hoping to meet the Siren Queen. Instead of all those things it wasn't much of an adventure, sexual banter and meeting the Siren Queen but boy was it not what I had pictured at all.

What's It About: In Daughter of the Siren Queen we revisit Alosa and her crew aboard the Ava-lee where they have discovered all three pieces of the map which will lead them to buried treasure but what Alosa thinks will be smooth sailing it seems to go totally opposite. The pirates whom were originally trying to take her captive are now prisoners on her own ship and when one of them spills a secret Alosa finds herself in an on ocean battle with her father, The Pirate King. They have to race to find the buried treasure first before her father does and along the way she may just meet her mother whom is the Siren Queen.

I was so excited to sit down and read this but I was sorely disappointed. This book was honestly so downhill from the last one. I try to give all books chances, and I did but I never got really into this book except for the last three chapters. 

 As a writer myself I really take my time with my books and I really want to put the best possible book out there for my readers but honestly I think Ms. Tricia Levenseller (in all due respect) got ahead of herself. I felt like she was revisiting Alosa, Riden and the crew again too for the first time since book one. I felt like she wasn't spending any time with at all since the break between the first book being let out and writing the second one. 

There was no character growth or development. I thought Alosa would have changed just a tad but nope she was the same. In my first review I applauded Ms. Levenseller for creating a strong female character but this wasn't the case in this book. Alosa was so caught up in Riden that she really didn't have a personality without him. It really was poor and distasteful how much sexual tension was in this book. 

Alosa and Riden were stuck in their same old feelings for each other. It was like watching a T.V. Show where they drag out the love triangle until the last episode only for you to be sorely disappointed with no closure. Literally the end of this book after Alosa and Riden literally begging for each other's love was them wanting to make out....or you know. 

There is really nothing more to say except this wasn't one of my favorites. Daughter of the Pirate King was great! I thoroughly enjoyed reading that but this one, it was just plain hard to get through. 

With bad comes good though and I will say meeting Alosa's mom was definitely a great thing that happened in the book! I loved the way Alosa finally met her, it was a plot twist for sure and I did think it really creative for Levenseller to write it the way she did. I also just adored the ending how Alosa, though adored her mom she knew it was best to stay above the ocean. Sort of reminded me of The Little Mermaid and she's my favorite Princess so double points! Also the action was impeccable and little Roslyn has easily become a favorite character for me.

I wish this book hadn't seemed so rush, I wonder if the author was rushed and if she was, if she would rewrite and change a few things. Unfortunately this wasn't a favorite and most definitely not a re-read.

I'm just grateful that I have two books down for the month of January and for those being two books of my TBR list for 2019! What kind of books are on your TBR list and how are you doing with your goal for this year? Let me know in the comments below!!

Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." 

-Dumbledore 

(Warning: This post may contain spoilers and it is an HONEST review so please, if you are in the middle of the book or if you are a fan and love everything about this book, do not read.) 

Happy New Year fellow readers/writers. I just finished my first read of 2019 and that was Harry Potter and the  Chamber of Secrets and I absolutely loved it! It may have been my favorite Harry Potter book out of the series but I've only read the first two and there's still so many adventures for Harry to go on! 

What's It About: After spending all summer long with Harry's family - The Dursleys, he is whisked back to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But before boarding the Hogwarts Express, Harry is confronted by a strange creature, given the name Dobby that there is much trouble awaiting him at the school 

When Harry arrives though there isn't much to be concerned about, except for the evil classmate who is Draco Malfoy, the craziness of Colin Creevy, and the admiration of Ron's little sister Ginny Weasly. Harry forgets all about his warning from Dobby but when voices start to stir that only Harry can hear, pasts become present mysteries and a mysterious killer roaming the Hogwarts campus all the fingers start pointing to Harry himself.

After the first Harry Potter I couldn't wait to get my hands on the second one. Just like the first one, you get lost in the pages and instantly transported to Hogwarts where another adventure is waiting around every corridor.

I felt like I didn't miss any beats with the characters or the storyline  but that's probably because whatever happened in the first story was told in a much shorter amount of time throughout the book. you could understand what happened in the first story even if you didn't read it. If you are planning on totally skipping the first book in the series Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (Which I highly don't recommend.) the only thing that may be confusing is the many characters that you'll be meeting for the first time. You wont be meeting them one by one but in groups and personally I really dislike that. 

The beginning kept pace very nicely and I found it nice that we got to check back in with the Dursleys to find out they haven't changed one bit. But I very much liked the shenanigans that Harry had with before he left to Hogwarts.

I felt like Ron had much more of a personality in this book. I don't know if that was because we got to meet his family or spent more time with his brothers but I definitely enjoyed Ron in this book (the second one) more than the first book. Hermione's personality didn't increase or decrease. I haven't been a huge fan of her character thus far. Personally just because she isn't easy to relate to me for me but I guess that is kind of the point of her character.

I would like Harry's personality to have more description to it. I guess the only con I have with the Harry Potter Series (again, thus far) is the description really lacks and though, I do, like to use my imagination, I can't use my imagination when I didn't create the character and how they feel when in certain situations. 

It kept it's pace and I felt like every page was In part of the storyline and it always kept me entertained. I was rushing through the pages so fast just to see what was going to happen next.

I felt like J.K. Rowling put a lot more of the magic world in this book than the last one. We got to take a peek and see the magical subjects the gang studied in school, learn more about magic, and meet some ghouls etc.. It was very much more magic filled than the first one and I am really glad because of that. 

Once again, J.K. Rowling made a book I couldn't put down. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets had life advice, laughs, and such a page turning plot.