Review – A Pirate’s Life for Tea (Tomes and Tea, Book 2) by Rebecca Thorne (5/5 stars)
Reading Level:Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy/ Paranormal
Length: 274 pages
Publisher: Rook and Castle Press
Release Date: April 24, 2024
ASIN: B0CTVKH27G
Stand Alone or Series: 6th book in the Madam Chalamet Ghost Mysteries
Source: Bought on ebook
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Kianthe and Reyna are on the hunt for dragon eggs to save their hometown—but it requires making a deal with Diarn Arlon, lord of the legendary Nacean River. Simply capture the river pirate Serina, who’s been plaguing Arlon’s supply chains, and bring her in for justice. Easy peasy.
Begrudgingly, the couple joins forces with Bobbie, one of Arlon’s constables determined to capture the pirate. Except Bobbie and Serina have a more complicated history than anyone realized, and it might jeopardize everything.
While Kianthe and Reyna watch this relation-shipwreck from afar, it quickly becomes apparent that these disaster lesbians need all the help they can get. Luckily, matchmaking is Reyna’s favorite pastime.
The dragon eggs may have to wait.”
Series Info/Source: This is the 2nd book in the Tomes and Tea series. I borrowed this on ebook from my library.
Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book a lot. I think I liked it better than the first one. This series has such fun characters, I love the adventure and fantasy world here. This is cozy fantasy with a bit more action and racy scenes than your typical cozy fantasy and I really love the combination.
Kianthe and Reyna have to hunt down the dragon eggs if they are going to save their (new) hometown of Tawney. Their hunt leads them to Diarn Arlon the lord of the Nacean River, only he has quite a problem on his hands…a river pirate (Serina) who keeps stealing his goods. Now Kianthe and Reyna have to work with a local constable, Bobbie, to capture this pirate in order to get access to info about the dragon eggs. However, when they run into Serina they find out that Diarn Arlon is not telling the whole truth.
This is full of fun and adventure and wonderful characters. I enjoyed the new characters of Bobbie and Serina, and especially enjoyed Serina’s makeshift pirate crew. The whole story from the first book takes a bit of a detour but still progresses through this book.
I really enjoyed watching Kianthe and Reyna as they work through making their relationship work. I love that they both have to come to terms with some aspects of their personalities. For example, while Reyna enjoys their quiet life at Tawney she also misses the espionage and fighting that she excels at. It was fun to watch the two of them find a good balance together and compensate for each others needs.
This is very well written; it is easy to read and flows nicely. I enjoyed every second of this and really looked forward to sitting down to read it.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I enjoyed this book even more than the first book in this series. I love the adventure, the characters, and the humor in here. I love that this feels very cozy fantasy but also has a lot of action and some racy scenes. The writing was expertly done, it flowed well, had excellent world-building and did a great job of adding in a new story thread while not forgetting the original storyline. I look forward to reading the third book in the series “Tea You at the Altar”. I would definitely recommend this to readers who enjoy traditional swords and sorcery type of fantasy but with a cozy feel to it and a lot of humor.
