MINI-REVIEW: Daughter of the Pirate King *Spoiler-Free* // Buddy Read with Debbie @ Debbie’s Library

Author: Tricia Levenseller

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Format: Hardcover

Page Count: 320

Synopsis:

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.

I have been wanting to read a pirate book for SO LONG, so whenever I heard about this book I just knew I had to pick it up. Luckily, Debbie @ Debbie’s Library wanted to read it this month as well so we decided to buddy read it together.

Our main character Alosa is the daughter of a pirate king. She’s been brutally trained by her father for her entire life and was sent on a mission to get captured by this rivaling band of pirates so that she could steal a map from their ship. This map is said to have the directions to this island with sirens and as much gold as you could ever imagine.

I got hooked from the very beginning of this book. There wasn’t much build up, which I was thankful for, and more little bits and pieces revealed about Alosa and her life as the daughter of the most ruthless and feared man on the seas.

Alosa herself is someone to fear and I immediately understood that when she ruthlessly kills those who pose a threat to her. I wanted and needed this in a protagonist. Especially since she’s a pirate I knew she had to be ruthless and kill without blinking an eye and I’m happy that the book didn’t shy away from that like I thought it would.

“Everyone has something dark in their past. I suppose it’s our job to overcome it. And if we can’t overcome it, then all we can do is make the most of it.”

Even though I found myself enjoying this book a great deal, there were still a few problems I had with it. The romance, for one, was highly unnecessary. It’s YA so it’s not like I didn’t expect it, but both Debbie and I could tell who it was going to be with and rolled our eyes at it.

Besides that, it was weird having this written in first person because usually I don’t really like fantasy novels to have first person POV. It’s usually something I enjoy more in contemporary but that’s more of a personal preference than a fault of the book or author.

My Rating: 4 Stars

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the writing but the first person POV and romance knocked this book down a star.

Purchase This Book:

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository

Q&A With Debbie:

What was your favorite and least favorite part of this book?

Debbie: My favorite part of this book was seeing how Alosa dealt with all the problems which came on her path and the solutions she came with. And I don’t really have a least favorite thing about this book.

What was one question you were left with when you finished the book?

Uhmm… I think that would be a question for the future book, and that is if the interaction between Raiden and Alosa will change now that they know each other’s feelings.

If you were stuck in the same situation as Alosa how long do you think you could survive?

1 page? Or I would survive because of pure dumb luck and clumsiness.

If you lived in this world, what job do you think you’d have?

I would love to think that I would be a pirate on board of Alosa’s ship and I would take care as a sort of nurse pirate of the other crew members.

Does this book make you want to read future books by this author?

Yes! And I am really excited for the sequel which hopefully will be coming out in 2018.

I had so much fun buddy reading this book and asking Debbie questions! If you’d like to see my answers to her questions, make sure to check out her review on her blog!