A review by egbella
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

adventurous challenging mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

This was a fun, quick read, but I have some complicated thoughts.

What I liked: 
  • the fast-paced, adventurous plot and vibes. It felt like Pirates of the Caribbean (which I love) and made me want to go back to working on my own pirate series, the swash-buckling, mystical feels were so strong. It was easy to read and I didn't want to put it down at any point.
  • some of the side characters, namely Enwen, who is a sweetheart and always made me smile. Kearan was also very interesting, and I wish I'd gotten to see more of his story. Maybe the sequel contains more of it?
  • the setting/world-building, especially the details we're given regarding sirens and their "treasure island". 
  • the way the plot twist was slowly worked in. I guessed it RIGHT before it was revealed, which may have been the author's intention, but it made sense and was a neat shake-up to the story.
  • a lot of the banter was fun. Particularly regarding the protagonist's repeated ability to escape her cell, and her captors' frustration at not understanding how she was doing it. 
  • the pirate king is an interesting character. I didn't LIKE him at all, but I do think he was written well. He bothered me immensely, but I know that was intentional, and it was well-done.

What I didn't like: 
  • the steaminess. I wasn't expecting SO much steam in this book, and although nothing explicit ever happens, it wouldn't take much more to cross that line. It was certainly over my comfort level, so be aware. (ex. mainly thinly-veiled references to it, the protagonist intentionally seduces men to get her way - and is prepared to follow through, undoes belt buckles, sleeps in same bed as a man, passionate kisses, etc.)
  • the protagonist felt very Mary-Sue. Although it makes a little more sense when I got further into the story, the constant reminders of how unique, strong, clever, etc. she was combined with the repetitious descriptions of her flaming red hair and how her personality matches (and oh yes, she's so tiny that she struggles to find clothes in her size but can somehow effortlessly knock men unconscious even when they're prepared for it) were frustrating. I did emphasize with her as I learned more about her father, but overall, I didn't LIKE her. I would love to learn more about who she really is as a person, besides a killing, can-seduce-men-instantly weapon...
  • toward the end, the plot jumped around a little too much for me to follow (especially with the island). I was a little confused and didn't feel like all the loose ends were tied up. THAT SAID, obviously there's a sequel that immediately follows this book, so I'll reserve full judgement until I read that.
  • the violence. I'm not too squeamish typically, and there really wasn't any gore, but the frequent "slitting of throats" and the overall callousness of the deaths (even and especially from the protagonist) made me uncomfy.  I understand she's a hardened pirate, but just something to note.

All in all, if you don't take it too seriously and can gloss over the steamy sections, it's an easy, relatively quick and fun read, and I do plan to read the next book in the series to see what happens with the plot. I enjoyed it, but wish I could take a few elements out. If it sounds like your kind of book, you might like it!
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