Book Review: Daughter of the Pirate King
Daughter of the Pirate King
By Tricia Levenseller
-Firstly, the writing and style were very good and quite easily worth spending my time on. The author of this book had some very lovely prose and the plot flowed easily. I didn’t feel like the book was rushed or incomplete, and by way of the words on the page it was a very enjoyable read.
-Overall the storytelling was excellent. This book was definitely a page turner for me, and the suspense was done very nicely. Even if I didn’t necessarily enjoy the book, the plot and the way the author sold her story was well done.
-Riden, the only relatable character. Riden was the first mate, and the love interest of the novel. Though even he made some debatable decisions, he at least had his head screwed on at a better angle than the rest of his crew and, for that matter, the main character herself.
3 Things I disliked.
-Alosa. The main character. This was the first major turn off for me. The fact that I disliked the main character told me a lot about the rest of the story and made connecting to and enjoying the rest of the book more difficult for the rest of the story. Personally, I thought she was stuck up, far too powerful, and had too much of a twisted moral code for me to relate or sympathize with her. (She would tell the reader how kind and just she was… and then killed a man in cold blood moments later? I distrust a character with no self awareness!)
-The plot was relatively solid by way of consistency, and I believe that the author did a good job with making sure that the plot made sense and everything flowed nicely. The one plot hole that was significantly frustrating was the fact that the pirates were not necessarily… pirates. Technically, they had made a treaty with the land bound monarchy, and promised that they would not attack any of the king’s ships or loot them. I read this part and went (!!!) “What? That means they’re not really pirates!”
-In general, the characterization was disappointing. All of the characters (including Alosa, I might add) were shallow and unappealing. They had unrealistic goals, motivations, and worldviews.
By Tricia Levenseller
Introduction
“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.”
Oh, great! A pirate book! Yay, adventure! Several good things going for this book- it’s an adventure (supposedly, anyways), it’s noted to be fantasy, which is great, and it looks AWESOME. The only thing working against this book is that I, personally, am not the biggest fan of Pirate novels overall. But it looks good.
I’ve prepared myself, I grab a mug of hot chocolate, I sit on my sister’s bed despite the dirty look she gives me, and forget for a moment about my math homework on the kitchen table as I begin to read. (No spoilers! I think.)
Overarching impression of this book, signed, me.
Firstly, a word of fair warning to the reader: I found a disheartening amount of things to dislike about this book. In general, I do not necessarily enjoy pirate novels, so that was a red flag from the very beginning, and in general there were a surprising amount of plot holes, poor characterizations, and inconsistencies. Of course, there were also some great things about this book. I believe it’s worth mentioning I would give this one a three out of ten.
3 Things I liked.
“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.”
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| https://www.instagram.com/sam_tattershall/ |
I’ve prepared myself, I grab a mug of hot chocolate, I sit on my sister’s bed despite the dirty look she gives me, and forget for a moment about my math homework on the kitchen table as I begin to read. (No spoilers! I think.)
 |
| ADVENTURE BOOKS |
Overarching impression of this book, signed, me.
Firstly, a word of fair warning to the reader: I found a disheartening amount of things to dislike about this book. In general, I do not necessarily enjoy pirate novels, so that was a red flag from the very beginning, and in general there were a surprising amount of plot holes, poor characterizations, and inconsistencies. Of course, there were also some great things about this book. I believe it’s worth mentioning I would give this one a three out of ten.
3 Things I liked.
-Firstly, the writing and style were very good and quite easily worth spending my time on. The author of this book had some very lovely prose and the plot flowed easily. I didn’t feel like the book was rushed or incomplete, and by way of the words on the page it was a very enjoyable read.
-Overall the storytelling was excellent. This book was definitely a page turner for me, and the suspense was done very nicely. Even if I didn’t necessarily enjoy the book, the plot and the way the author sold her story was well done.
-Riden, the only relatable character. Riden was the first mate, and the love interest of the novel. Though even he made some debatable decisions, he at least had his head screwed on at a better angle than the rest of his crew and, for that matter, the main character herself.
3 Things I disliked.
-Alosa. The main character. This was the first major turn off for me. The fact that I disliked the main character told me a lot about the rest of the story and made connecting to and enjoying the rest of the book more difficult for the rest of the story. Personally, I thought she was stuck up, far too powerful, and had too much of a twisted moral code for me to relate or sympathize with her. (She would tell the reader how kind and just she was… and then killed a man in cold blood moments later? I distrust a character with no self awareness!)
-The plot was relatively solid by way of consistency, and I believe that the author did a good job with making sure that the plot made sense and everything flowed nicely. The one plot hole that was significantly frustrating was the fact that the pirates were not necessarily… pirates. Technically, they had made a treaty with the land bound monarchy, and promised that they would not attack any of the king’s ships or loot them. I read this part and went (!!!) “What? That means they’re not really pirates!”
-In general, the characterization was disappointing. All of the characters (including Alosa, I might add) were shallow and unappealing. They had unrealistic goals, motivations, and worldviews.
Conclusion
To conclude, I did enjoy the process of reading this book. I appreciate the effort the author put into this book and her plot. But in general there was not enough going on during the book to cause me to completely ignore the plot holes, and it felt as if the book were proceeding at a walking pace, which works for some books, just not this one. I repeat myself when I say that in general I disliked the characters because they were shallow and unrealistic.
If I were required to recommend Daughter of the Pirate King, it would be to a middle school girl looking for a feminist and dramatic story about a siren with nearly limitless powers and no personality, pirates with very twisted and unrealistic moral codes, and a slow paced but otherwise entertaining adventure!!!
If anyone else has read this story and has conflicting or otherwise differing opinions, I would love to hear about them!!!
To conclude, I did enjoy the process of reading this book. I appreciate the effort the author put into this book and her plot. But in general there was not enough going on during the book to cause me to completely ignore the plot holes, and it felt as if the book were proceeding at a walking pace, which works for some books, just not this one. I repeat myself when I say that in general I disliked the characters because they were shallow and unrealistic.
If I were required to recommend Daughter of the Pirate King, it would be to a middle school girl looking for a feminist and dramatic story about a siren with nearly limitless powers and no personality, pirates with very twisted and unrealistic moral codes, and a slow paced but otherwise entertaining adventure!!!
If anyone else has read this story and has conflicting or otherwise differing opinions, I would love to hear about them!!!
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