Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Publication Date: February 28th, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Source: #booksfortrade

Format: Physical ARC

Pages: 320

Add it on Goodreads!

A 17-year-old pirate captain intentionally allows herself to get captured by enemy pirates in this thrilling YA adventure.

If you want something done right . . .

When the ruthless pirate king learns of a legendary treasure map hidden on an enemy ship, his daughter, Alosa, knows there's only one pirate for the job—herself. Leaving behind her beloved ship and crew, Alosa deliberately facilitates her own kidnapping to ensure her passage on the ship, confident in her ability to overcome any obstacle. After all, who's going to suspect a seventeen-year-old girl locked in a cell? Then she meets the (surprisingly perceptive and unfairly attractive) first mate, Riden, who is charged with finding out all her secrets. Now it's down to a battle of wits and will . . . . Can Alosa find the map and escape before Riden figures out her plan?

Debut author Tricia Levenseller blends action, adventure, romance, and a little bit of magic into a thrilling YA pirate tale.

I don't even know how to write an introduction to this review. I absolutely loved this book so much. The characters are amazing, the plot is amazing, all the ship descriptions are amazing. 

Alosa is the princess of the pirates. Her father is the pirate king. He basically owns all the seas. Alosa is SUCH a badass female character. She is fierce. She is stubborn. She is ruthless. She isn't afraid to kill a man and get her hands dirty. She is the captain of her own ship which is manned by almost exclusively women. I love it. She's so girl power, it's amazing.

Riden is the first mate of the Night Farer, the ship that came along to kidnap Alosa. He is charged basically with babysitting her and interrogating her to get information about her father's keep. Little does he (or anyone else on the ship) know that Alosa allowed herself to be kidnapped in order to search their ship for a piece of a special treasure map.

Riden really doesn't come off as pirate material. Either that or he really lets his guard down too much around Alosa. He really seems to underestimate her and she continues to best him at pretty much every turn. I really liked Riden though. He's definitely not a hardened pirate. He's sweet and he's kind. He cares about Alosa and what happens to her even though she's a captive on his ship and she killed several other members of his crew. 

I love the relationship between Riden and Alosa. In the beginning, it really seems more like they're just lusting after each other. The ship hasn't docked for awhile and Alosa is just doing what needs to be done to get what she needs. But they have such chemistry and the banter between the two of them is everything. They really shouldn't like each other, but somehow they do. And I love it.

Draxen is the captain of the Night Farer and Riden's brother. He really isn't cut out to be a captain. He doesn't really hold the respect of his crew. But he does seem to actually try. He really comes off as a dirtbag. He likes to watch people suffer, but when you get to know him from Riden's point of view, you can't help but not actually hate him. I really hope that this is going to be an actual series because I think that Draxen could become an interesting character to learn more about, especially in his predicament at the end of this book.

Overall, this book was AH-MAZING. I polished this one off all in one day because I just could not put it down. There was always something going on and there was a super interesting plot twist that makes Alosa even more awesome, if that's even something that's possible. Seriously, I don't think that there was ever a dull moment in this book. If you like pirates, badass female characters, and so much action that your head will spin, you will definitely LOVE this book. This is a 2017 debut book that you NEED on your radar if it's not already there.