Happy New Year! I'm excited to present my first book review of 2023. I think it's safe to say I'm a fan of Tricia Levenseller. This is the second book series I've read by her, and it's just as good as Blade of Secrets!
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller is a lovely YA fantasy swashbuckling adventure. Alosa is the daughter of the famed and feared Pirate King Kalligan. After intentionally allowing herself to be captured by a crew of pirates in order to search their ship for a treasure map, Alosa finds her task more difficult than anticipated. Her main obstacle is the ship's first mate, Riden. With wit to match her own, Riden doesn't fit the typical pirate persona Alosa is used to dealing with, and his gentleness throws a wrench in her plans. But Alosa is more than capable of taking care of herself with a few well-placed tricks up her sleeve—the question is, will she find the map in time?
Alosa is a captivating protagonist. She reminds me of both Kaz Brekker from Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows and Sage/Jaron from Jennifer Nielsen's The False Prince, with her easy confidence, snark, and trickery. She is quite a capable pirate, making it easy to root for her. It also made me feel her frustration as her task became more challenging, as I genuinely believed in her competency and felt that annoyance with her. Meanwhile, Riden's character is just as intriguing as Alosa's, and it was fascinating to see how they played off each other. I loved seeing the change in both of them as they grew closer and changed their opinions of each other.
My only complaint with Daughter of the Pirate King is how short it is. At a little over 300 pages, the action is over just as quickly as it begins. The majority of the story plugs along at an even pace with few complications, but the climax is practically over as soon as it starts. Maybe I only feel that way because I just finished R. F. Kuang's The Poppy War series—each book is upwards of 600 pages with more plot twists than I can count—but I felt that this book could have done so much more. With the length and simplicity, it feels closer to a middle-grade novel than a YA novel, despite the protagonist's age at 17 years old. Though I must acknowledge that this is a duology, and I will admit that a 2-book series is always hard to split up. There is a good chance there will be much more action in the sequel, Daughter of the Siren Queen, which I am excited to start.
I rate Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller 4/5 stars. Any fan of pirates, with a few fantastical elements thrown in, will enjoy Daughter of the Pirate King. And while you're at it, check out Tricia Levenseller's other books!
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