I received a digital advance reader’s copy (ARC) of A Pirate’s Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne. Since this version is just a proof and not the final version, I won’t quote directly and will keep my comments general.

In A Pirate’s Life for Tea, the sequel to Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea, Kianthe and Reyna are reveling in having just gotten engaged. But when they take a trip to a riverside region to search out three missing dragon eggs, they have to set aside their wedding planning. Because not only is there no sign of the eggs, but the local lord is determined to rid his river of a pirate that’s been raiding the ships there. Kianthe and Reyna end up helping out Bobbie, one of the local constables, who just happens to know the pirate, Serina, from childhood. As Kianthe and Reyna witness the relationship, they start to wonder if there’s something other than platonic feelings at play here—at least, there could be, if Bobbie and Serina don’t end up a shipwreck first.

The cozy fantasy continues! Though I will say there’s more plot and higher stakes than most I’ve read in this genre so far. However, there’s always a sense of an inevitable good ending, so it definitely still qualifies as cozy.

I enjoyed seeing Reyna and Kianthe again; they’re very cute together. Their banter and flirtation is sometimes rather silly, but it’s entertaining. I like how they’re a good team, but also more than capable of going off on their own, and recognizing each other’s strengths.

I also was entertained by the new characters Bobbie and Serina. Bobbie is a sweet character, totally out of her depth and desperate not to cause harm to anyone. She reminds me of the character Muriel from Good Omens season two, actually. As for Serina, she’s full of righteous anger against unfair government practices, so her Robin Hood attitude is really fun. And I liked seeing how being around Bobbie tends to soften her. Their relationship was really predictable, but it was still nice to see it play out.

There are a couple other new characters, like Diarn Arlon (the aforementioned unfair government man) and Dastardly Pirate Dreggs (the famous pirate, whose reputation is way better than Serina’s for good reason). I bet you can guess who I liked more, of these two. Spoilers, it’s Dreggs, whose dry humor and easy competence is just fantastic. I want entire spinoff novel about Dreggs, honestly.

As for the plot of this, I think it wasn’t quite as good as the first book in this series. I think there’s a little too much going on, between Reyna and Kianthe, Bobbie and Serina, the dragon egg search, the pirates vs. government. Specifically, the dragon egg search felt a little out of place. I know it was why the protagonists were in the area, but this aspect of the story didn’t feel that well integrated. I assume and hope that there will be a bit more to the dragons/humans interactions in the third book. That said, there are seafaring (or rather, riverfaring) shenanigans, swordplay, kidnappings (though let’s be honest, I’d go willingly with Pirate Dreggs anywhere), and general adventure. So that’s not a bad thing!

I do wish we’d seen more of Tawney, the town where Kianthe and Reyna had settled in book one. I missed their adorable bookshop. But again, I hope there will be more set there in book three. And the Nacean River was a decent setting on its own. I like that the river kind of had a personality when Kianthe used her magic on it; that was a fun touch.

And in the end, A Pirate’s Life for Tea is a lighthearted, cute story that serves as a decent second installment in the series. The character development perhaps could be a little stronger, but everyone has distinct personalities that play off each other well. The antics are entertaining, and the magic is cool. It’s not the greatest book I’ve ever read in my life, but it’s still charming. I look forward to reading book three in the future!

A Pirate’s Life for Tea is available in its self-published form currently (I believe?), but will be released by Bramble Books on October 1st, 2024!