Book Review – Daughter of the Pirate King

Title : Daughter of the Pirate King

Author : Tricia Levenseller

Publisher : Feiwel Friends

311 pages

Rating : 4.5/5

Goodreads Synopsis

There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship.

More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

Review

“Lass, you’ve the face of an angel but the tongue of a snake.”
― Tricia Levenseller, Daughter of the Pirate King

Hi all! I finished this quick read this past weekend (trying to get to all of my library books before they are due back, yikes!). I’ve seen this title on Bookstagram a few times, but not super often. I honestly only grabbed it from the library for 3 reasons:

I like the author. I read Warrior of the Wild a little while ago and loved it, so I wanted to give her other books a try. I knew Daughter of the Siren Queen came out semi-recently, so I knew if I liked it I could easily get to the next one.
It looked short. I normally go for really long and meaty books, but when I was perusing the library I wanted to get some quick and easy reads to break up some of the more extensive books I have on my TBR.
I saw it on Bookstagram. I wasn’t invested enough to buy it, but that’s what libraries are for.

So as you can see, I picked this one up for pretty simple reasons. I really enjoyed it though! The characters were likable (mostly) and the plot was good, if not outstanding. Like I said, I picked this for it’s simplicity, not to spend weeks on it.

Let’s start with our main characters – Alosa and Riden. It becomes apparent quickly that we’re going to have a romance between these two. Like it’s so obvious that I’m not even classifying this as a spoiler. They have an instant curiosity towards each other because Riden seems to have Alosa figured out, and she isn’t used to that. He is smart, insightful, and he calls her on her BS. In return, Alosa gives him everything she has in her Vault of Sarcasm and Snark (I have one of these, but hers is MUCH better). She loves to rile him up and get into his head – cue some serious sexual tension. It’s a pretty easy back and forth in the beginning as the plot is being laid out, but it becomes more prevalent and obvious as it continues. During the main CONFLICT part at the end, they become much closer in order to set it up for the next book.

I gave this one a 4.5/5 stars because it hit the spot for me. I’ve seen some reviews where people hated it, and come on now we are never all going to agree on a book. I liked it for the same reasons that people hate it. If you’re looking for an in-depth, high/epic fantasy novel that will keep you entertained for hours and salivating for more, maybe pick up a different book. If you want something more on the light and breezy side, try this one on for size.

I did knock it down by .5 stars for a few reasons, but one major one. TRIGGER WARNING –

There is a scene in the book where Alosa is on the brink of being sexually assaulted. She is grappling with another pirate and it does NOT go very far, however it is traumatic for her a bit and can be triggering for readers. Riden is present while this is happening but chooses to stay out of it. In his words, he thought she could handle herself and wouldn’t appreciate him stepping in to take care of something she was fully capable of. OKAY YES Riden, Alosa doesn’t exactly give off “damsel in distress” vibes (I mean, she’s a trained killer come on?) but friend, let’s help my girl out. Honestly, he mostly just wanted her to kill the other pirate so he didn’t have to and get in trouble with the Captain, aka his brother.

So, this scene was a major draw back for me for that reason, so I couldn’t give it a full five stars. However, still worth the read and I will be picking up Daughter of the Siren Queen on my next library trip.

Happy reading!