Raised with the manners and bearing of a queen-to-be, Tess discovers on the eve of what she believes to be her wedding that she was in fact a decoy. The real princess, Contessa, meanwhile had been kept safe from assassins and hidden away in a nunnery. Now Contessa, thanks to Tess, is on the throne of Costenopolie and married to Prince Alex of a neighboring kingdom. Tess has been recognized by her sister as royal and has a new appointment as ambassador of Costenopolie.

Tess' first assignment is to escort her sister and new husband on their honeymoon cruise. It sounds posh enough but being confined on a ship with the bickering couple is enough to tempt Tess into jumping overboard. The boredom comes to a sudden halt when Contessa and Alex are kidnapped by pirates and held for ransom. Tess has also been taken, but the pirates don't consider her a Royal, no matter what her sister has proclaimed, and are only too keen to murder her for killing several of their own. Eventually, they settle for throwing her into a pit with a punta, a large venomous wild cat, and taking bets on how long it will take the animal to kill her.

Tess mind links with the cat, attempting to calm it. It almost works until the cat is startled, bites her on the shoulder and escapes the pit, leaving Tess still at the mercy of the pirates and now dying of the bite. In her delirium, Tess forms a mind link with Jeck, the Captain of Alex's royal guard, and is able to direct him to the pirates' island base. Jeck, through a special magic of his own, heals Tess, but the venom remains in dangerous levels in her body, making her magic wild and unpredictable.

It should be a simple search and rescue for Jeck, but nothing is ever simple when Tess in involved. The escape attempt is partially botched, although the Royals are rescued. However, Tess is still a captive of the pirates, who soon overtake the rescue ship and take the Royals again! Tess and Jeck are left on the ill-fated ship, now set on fire by the pirate crew, to die. Tess and Jeck, never on the best of terms, now have to save themselves before the pirates reach Costenopolie with their demands. Both major players in the game of power behind the thrones, Tess and Jeck are often at odds and must learn to work their wills and magic together for the good of Costenopolie and the captured royals.

PRINCESS AT SEA is more brilliant summer fantasy fun from Dawn Cook, author of THE DECOY PRINCESS, as well as the Truth series. It sounds like a lot of action and it is, but Cook also takes time to develop her characters and their world. It helps that this is a series and Cook has several books to bring her story and characters to light. Tess has two love interests and I was never sure which way she would lean. At different times, I found myself as unsure as Tess as to who I liked the best. There were some definite surprises in the way the plot turned but the twists served the story well. Cook has outdone herself in this follow-up book. You could read it without reading THE DECOY PRINCESS, but that would be just crazy. Why deny yourself the extra fun?