Too many deus ex machina moments, romance felt forced and cringy, and Niya and Alos read more like whiny, stressed teenagers than anything else. Their inner monologues were repetitive and seemed like they were written to take up space, adding no real depth after the 10th "I hate him! Yes I totally do!" and "I know I'm a heartless villain... or am I?" The pirate crew was 2-dimensional and fell into the standard "rogue with a heart of gold" trope right along with Alos, and even the Mousai in general failed to impress me here, as they took a major backseat and more time was spent describing their costumes than the substance of their (supposedly powerful) performances. On at least 2 separate occasions, the "performances" can be summed up as follows: they performed, the cavern was packed with bodies, debauchery was everywhere, everyone was spellbound and started drooling, the end. Unfortunately, that's pretty lazy writing. It's also a bit hard to believe these are the most dangerous sorceresses in all the realm, when one of them walks right into a kidnapping, has a bunch of childish outbursts, and then develops a badly written case of Stockholm syndrome.

Maybe if there were fewer poorly done tropes, I would've liked the story better. These were the ones that stood out the most:
- "Strong" (aka bitchy) female lead - this should be someone the average gal can look up to, not be annoyed by. And if she's so strong, how does she end up in so many situations where someone else has the upper hand? How does she make so many bad decisions?
- Brooding, mysterious, abusive male lead with a supposed ~heart of gold~ - just reinforces unhealthy relationship standards, because no woman should have to do all the hard work (or any at all) to understand and excuse some man's bad behavior. If they aren't on equal footing with each other, they're in for a toxic experience.
- Heck, I didn't even enjoy the enemies to lovers trope, since their personalities were juvenile and incompatible. The story might have read better if the romance was more subtle or nonexistent.
- Checking off the diversity/inclusion boxes - random mentions of women preferring women isn't the same as realistic portrayal.

The only thing I really enjoyed about this book was the imaginative settings (Barter Bay and Esrom were my faves), hence I didn't drop this to 2 stars. But we still don't get much new lore on the world of Aadilor, just a couple magical devices and tricks that conveniently get characters out of scrapes 5 minutes after they're mentioned. I think the author tried too hard for this to be both a character study and romance, and didn't quite do well with either one. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the second book in The Mousai trilogy. I borrowed a copy of this book through Kindle Unlimited.

Thoughts: This ended up being a fairly quick read for me (considering the long page length) and I enjoyed it. It is a fun adventure fantasy romance with magic in it. This book features the middle sister of the Mousai, Niya.

Niya made a mistake in revealing the secret of the Mousai to Alos (the pirate lord) years ago and Alos has finally decided it's time to exploit that secret to get a pardon from the Thief King. Unfortunately, Niya can't resist a bet and ends up binding herself to Alos and his pirate ship for a year. The time brings and understanding between the two the reignites a previous attraction.

This book definitely has some romance but it takes a back seat to the broader story and the adventure that Niya ends up on with Alos and his crew. Alos has a big secret and is trying to find an item to save his home kingdom and Niya is the only one who can help him. They have a very enemy to lovers thing that ends up going on but with a twist since they were lovers before as well. While I don't personally agree with how they treat each other, it seems to work for them...so to each their own.

I continue to really enjoy the close relationship Niya has with her sisters and her father. Their family dynamic is so much fun and so intriguing. I loved learning about Niya's magical powers and watching her grow both in her powers and her own maturity. Alos's home kingdom was absolutely magical and was truly a treat to visit.

The writing in these books has been very well done. They are incredibly engaging, incorporate some light humor, and practically read themselves. The description is magical and I can always picture these fantastic settings we adventure through perfectly. This was a fun, guilty pleasure read and I can't wait to read the final book in The Mousai series.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I really enjoyed this book. It is a fun fantasy adventure read with a lot of magic and some romance. The writing is beautiful and very engaging. The book practically reads itself and is incredibly entertaining throughout. I love the Thief Kingdom and the Bassette family. I can't wait to read the final book in this series which features the oldest sister. ( )

To be honest, I was a little disappointed in this one.

I LOVED the first one. And I was even more excited for this installment as it featured my favourite Bassette sister and Alos - the sexy pirate. Because of this fiesty duo I was expecting a lot of steaminess and the enemies-to-lovers trope - alas that was not the case. It was probably on par with the first book in regards to flirting and sex scenes.
The story as well just didn't vibe as much with me. I found myself a touch bored.
That being said I will still be reading the next one albiet with lower expectations in regards to chemistry. ( )

This is an interesting series, and after reading the first book, I was curious to continue. This book seems fully in the romance genre. I do not recall the first book being heavy with "romance" scenes, and that took away from the enjoyment of this book for me. That, and the forgiveness and tension of the characters was both bothersome and impressive—how the author made the forgiveness feel okay by the end.
— Rebecca ( )