Daughter of the Pirate King --- Book Review

When a person enters booktok, they are expected to read some notable books in order to join the club. Apart from The Selections Series and ACOTAR, The Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller has also carved its mark. It is often recommended to someone who loves the enemies to lovers trope. So when I picked up this book to review for TYWI’s Summer Book Review Event, it was understandable that I had high expectations from it. 

The title is self-explanatory and reveals what the book has in store for the reader while its cover reinforces the idea of the protagonist being a sassy and self-sufficient woman. This book follows Alosa Kalligan, daughter of the ruthless Pirate King, who in order to earn her father’s respect takes on a dangerous mission of finding the Final Piece of a Treasure Hunt Map. She is one of those pirates who is undermined because of her gender and is always able to prove them wrong. The book starts with the successful execution of her kidnapping so that she has a better opportunity to find the map. She hilariously describes Riden as a “cocky bastard” and she constantly makes him lose his patience by trying to understand him. 

“I stare at him, stunned. He let me cut him so he could take my weapon

from me. It’s a bold and stupid move.

I like it.

I’m so impressed, I can’t even muster up the right amount of anger. I have

underestimated Riden.”

Alosa is kept in a ship full of men but her luck saved her from being questioned by the brutes. It resulted in her learning that there was a glimmer of humanity in Riden too and it is showcased in numerous instances in the book. He hides secrets of his past and both have inhuman fathers. “There are many kinds of pirates, but Riden is the first I’ve met who feels

remorse for his pirating. Perhaps that’s why I find him so interesting. He

treats me better than any other pirate would a prisoner, I’m sure.”

The writing style of this book is engaging and I wanted to keep reading this book. The witty banter amongst Riden and Alosa and their vain attempts to hide their frustration often made me laugh. Sidekicks who believe in superstition, love drinking and quarreling amongst each other made this book a little bit comfortable against their gory surroundings. The only thing that put me off was that I had expected what anyone would expect from a pirate novel - swords clashing, plundering ships and treasure hunts. The book mostly focused on the leads’ issues with their fathers and how each was being forced to do something they did not believe in because they felt they had to. 

Now, the verdict. For me, the book did not live up to its hype - adventure-wise and in the romance aspect. However, I’m intrigued enough to read its sequel - The Daughter of the Siren Queen - whose title makes a lot more sense now that I know that Alosa is a Siren.