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

dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Title/author: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller 

Series: Daughter of the Pirate King book 1

Publisher: Square Fish (2018)

Genres: Fantasy with sub-genres of 
Fiction and Romance

Page count: 311

Intended age category, book format: Young adult novel 

Recommended age: 18+

Star rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Synopsis: Alosa, the Pirate King's 17-year-old daughter, is dispatched on a quest by her father to retrieve two-thirds of an ancient map thought to lead to an island teeming with treasures beyond belief. But first, Alosa agrees to be captured and carried onboard the ship The Night Farer, where she meets a cruel pirate crew of adversaries. Alosa must hold her ground against this brutal crew, discover the map for her father, and adhere to the plan, but despite the tricks she has up her sleeve, the plan may be more difficult to follow when clever and attractive first mate Riden stands in her way. 

Review: 
Alosa was a well-developed, sarcastic, and engaging character, but she felt a little flat at times owing to attempting to maintain the "I'm a strong badass woman who fears nothing" act. Riden was a semi-developed, witty, and occasionally problematic character that might have benefited from additional development and learning to stop seeking acceptance from his brother Draxen as well as living in his brother's shadow. Other characters, like as the crew, could have been written out more so that we could learn more about Alosa and Riden's crews. The mood was good and engaging, but for those who haven't seen or heard of pirate ships, speech, or weapons, the novel may be difficult to comprehend and imagine. 
The writing style was choppy and at times very short, to the point that it felt like reading a series of sentence fragments in a row, yet it was amusing and very easy to read. The plot had an intriguing premise but fell flat and insignificant owing to Alosa and Riden's budding flirty romance, the occasionally unneeded violence, and the stereotyping of the men and women in the book. The storyline twists were semi-predictable, and the language and plot felt repetitious at times. The book was fascinating, but the occasionally unneeded violence and flirting between Riden and Alosa detracted from the book's intrigue. The reasoning of Alosa's first plot to be captured and find the map was sound, but she and Riden both made logically dubious actions throughout the novel. 

I liked the book, but the drawbacks exceeded the good for me, so I will not be continuing with the series. 


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