Pirate Throne (Telepathic Space Pirates Book 3)

I really like the world and characters the author has created in this series and I was excited to return for another installment and follow Mercy’s journey along. While this was another compelling read and I really enjoyed it, I also had some mixed feelings about this one sadly.

Pirate Throne is told mainly from Mercy’s point of view with a few other point of views mixed in. In this book they’re trying to find out more about telepathic queens and the creation of the talented all in an effort to gain knowledge that can be used to counter the Alpha Queen. The monarchy is dead and chaos reigns and the Alpha Queen is clearly making her move. Mercy and her friends have to travel deep into commonwealth space to visit the planet where they might find the information they need. The mission is dangerous not only because of traveling into commonwealth space, but also because the planet they plan to visit has the highest hazard level and the assassination squad that follows them to kill or capture Mercy.

With the stakes and danger being high I was curious to see how they would pull of this mission and how they would get through it. Would they find information to help them or wouldn’t there be anything left? Would they survive this dangerous expedition? It was interesting to see a bit more of the commonwealth, although the focus was mostly on this one planet and while we get some hints about the chaos in the universe it’s limited. I liked learning about the history of the talented and the queens. It broadens the world building a bit more and it’s interesting to read about. There is a prologue from another character and at first I wasn’t sure what his role would be, but it it was fun to see his plot line tie in the story eventually.

I always like following these characters and spending more time in this world so that was another win for me. Mercy makes for a great main character and I enjoy reading about her. In every book she grows and gets more into her role as queen. This book also has some great reveals and revelations, especially toward the end. I also quite liked the new character Vera that we meet in this book.

Now for the parts that didn’t work as well for me. I felt that this book changed the tone of the series. While it has the same characters and writing style, there were other aspects and a feel of the book that was noticeable different from the previous books. First off this book was a bit darker than previous books, this mission is quite dangerous and the tone turns darker now that they’re trying to find a way to deal with the Alpha Queen, add in the assassination squad and the characters who are part of that were that we learn a bit about and some torture later on in the book and the tone felt noticeable darker.

Besides that this book felt very plot focused and while there is nothing wrong with that one of the things I love about this series is the character focus and reading about the characters. I felt that this book put the plot front and center and there wasn’t as much about the characters as I would’ve liked. That’s not to say the characters aren’t important, but I just felt there was less focus on them and the developing relationship. The focus is first and foremost on the plot and the role the characters play in it. I still enjoyed reading about these characters, but would’ve liked a bit more.

While the first 2 books I would category as science fiction romance I can’t say the same for this one. I would say this one is science fiction. The romance in this books is really limited and I missed it. There are some fun scenes with Reaper and a bit more about Sebastian as well, but only a few throughout the whole book. And it did make sense given the plot, but I still missed the romance. The romances didn’t develop much in this book and the part that did develop felt oddly placed. There is a sex scene that felt out of place and even while they were technically safe it just felt a bit off timing wise.

I also hate to say this as it’s obvious the main plot line, but I find myself not as interested in the whole Alpha Queen plot line. like seeing the plot develop, but somehow I am just not as invested or interested as I would’ve liked. I wish the scope would’ve stayed smaller like in the first few books. Now the fate of the whole galaxy rest on their shoulders and whether they can stop the Alpha Queen. I am also not sure yet about the new main character as the glimpses we get in this book and the what the plot focus will be in the next book hasn’t really got me excited yet, but I will definitely give the next book a try. I am curious to see how the author handles the shift in focus to a new main character and whether I will like this character more when I get to know her better. It also seems Treon will be a big part of the next books and I really like his character.

To summarize: Pirate Throne is another compelling read in this series. I like spending time in this universe and with these characters. Mercy is a great main character to read about and I liked how in this book we learn more about the talented history and queens. I wanted to keep reading and find out how this dangerous mission they embark on goes. However I had some mixed feelings about this book as well. I felt that the tone of the series has shifted a bit, it’s more dark and focuses more on the plot than the characters. There also is very little romance in this book at all and the bit of romance development there is felt off timing wise. I missed the romance a bit in this one. I also am not as invested in the alpha queen plot line and the big scope of their current problems and miss the smaller scale and character focus of the first book and novellas. I am curious to see what the next book will bring and whether the author can make the next main character likable as I don’t really like her yet with what we’ve seen so far. I am looking forward to see more of Treon as I like his character. All in all another solid read, although I am not as happy with the change of tone in this book, I am looking forward to the next book.