‘Daughter of the Pirate King’ By Tricia Levenseller

After finishing The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty, I was left with a giant pirate-shaped hole in my heart. Even after rewatching all of the Pirates of the Caribbean’s and staring longingly at the book cover of TAoAA-S for a few days, I was still unsatisfied. I’ve clearly developed a taste for high-seas tomfoolery!

Anyhoo, after a highly specific and sophisticated google search (‘fantasy book with pirates in it’) I picked up Daughter of The Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller, which is the first book of three in the Pirate King series.

BLURB

Seventeen-year-old Alosa, daughter of the feared Pirate King, is on a mission. She must retrieve an ancient hidden map, the key to a legendary treasure trove. The catch? Alosa needs to conceal her considerable combat skills and allow 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 luckily, she has a few tricks up her sleeve – and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King.

The first chapter had me hooked, and all in all the Daughter of the Pirate King was a quick and fun read. I think I finished it within a few days! Obviously I will go into more detail later in the post, but let us first get the disclaimer out of the way:

This review contains spoilers. If you’ve not read Daughter of the Pirate King yet, skip to the last chapter of this post (spoiler free).

My review of Daughter of the Pirate King (spoilers)

I’d heard a lot about this YA fantasy sensation and the ‘lady Jack Sparrow’ before going into it, and I’m pretty certain the Pirate King series was all over TikTok at some point. Hyped for its slow burn romance and steamy sexual tension—two things I will eat up every single time—I didn’t think twice about purchasing it.

Overall I enjoyed it, but there were certain things/situations that fell flat for me. I’ll break it down:

What I loved

1. A sassy, intelligent, and fierce anti-heroine

Introducing our anti-heroine and the daughter of the pirate king—Alosa. I liked her, and I would say lady Jack Sparrow is a fair comparison. Especially as she was up against the ‘ruthless pirate crew’, who I didn’t find very ruthless. I guess at least it was true that no lone pirate could stop her!

There was a lot of bad-assery right from the first chapter, but beyond that, I thought she was an interesting character with a lot of room for growth.

Alosa proves herself to be strong and intelligent throughout, with more than a few tricks up her sleeve. But what I enjoyed most was her selfishness and lack of empathy toward anyone beyond her father and her crew, which was perhaps her deepest flaw. Well, that and her fear and dislike of the other half of herself. It made her feel very real.

Tricia Levenseller portrayed Alosa’s selfishness and lack of empathy well, and we saw Alosa’s walls come down slightly when it came to Riden, her enemies first mate and love interest.

I started to grow tired of hearing about her considerable combat skills without actually seeing them, but Tricia Levenseller more than made up for it toward the end.

I think in the sequels, Daughter of the Siren Queen and Vengeance of the Pirate Queen, Levenseller probably explores Alosa’s fear of the siren more, and so I won’t comment on that until I read them.

Even a man who’s spent his whole life at sea has reason to fear her when she’s angry. But not I. I sleep soundly. Listening to her music. The sea watches over me. She protects her own.

Alosa – the daughter of the pirate king

2. Fast-paced, entertaining story with plot twists

The story was very easy to get through. It was fast paced with hardly any unnecessary filler, focusing mostly on Alosa’s relationship with Riden and her secret mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map to help her father, the feared pirate king, find the legendary treasure trove.

Although I saw the first plot twist about her lineage coming, I didn’t find that to be a problem. I often get ahead of myself with books and I like guessing the twists! The second plot twist came around 80% of the way through. I didn’t see it coming, but I didn’t really feel like it gutted me like it could have if we’d got to know the ‘double agent’ more. We hardly saw anything of him in the book.

I’m assuming we’ll see her finally complete her mission for the ancient treasure map in the next book.

3. Magic system

The magic system was subtly woven in from the first chapter, and so it was easy to understand. The hints about Alosa’s lineage were well-placed, and the limits placed on her siren abilities—like needing water to regain her power and the risk of the siren consuming her—were excellent and added depth to her power.

4. Riden and Alosa’s Dynamic

I loved their witty banter and sarcasm, and on several occasions I chuckled to myself! The way they got under each others skin was just *chefs kiss*.

Tricia Levenseller did a great job with the witty remarks and sass, and it didn’t feel overly forced like it does in some other books. They bounced off each other wonderfully as friends. Which brings me to:

What could’ve been better

1. Riden and his Romance with Alosa

This is different from what I appreciated about Riden and Alosa’s dynamic. Because when it came to the romance, he fell flat against Alosa. I just didn’t feel anything for Riden as her love interest. While I didn’t hate him, I didn’t love him, either. I just felt kind of meh.

I struggled to warm to him beyond his witty banter because I didn’t know much about Riden other than “he killed his father and enables his pirate Captain brother even though he’s a complete knob bad person.”

I also didn’t really understand their relationship. Although Alosa told us many times she hated him, I didn’t see it. It felt insta-lusty, as Alosa often thought about how “unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive” he was. And, although we never saw her from Riden’s perspective, he often commented on her good looks, so I’m not sure where slow burn came from. (Though, I do want to add that I adored how Riden got through to Alosa when she was going full siren).

I didn’t really see any examples of him being unexpectedly clever as a first mate, given that Alosa constantly outwitted him, and as for being unfairly attractive I’ll have to take Alosa’s word for it.

Was there sexual tension? For sure, but a little too much of it so early on in their relationship, especially for a young adult fantasy. To me it felt more horny than romantic, but maybe that’s because Alosa hasn’t confronted her feelings for him yet. Lets see!

“Yes, we should all worship the stars. They are as useful as they are beautiful. Some never change position. They are constants in the sky. Without them, we would be lost.”

Alosa – the daughter of the pirate king

2. World building

I would’ve liked to know more about the world beyond the ruthless pirate crew who kidnapped Alosa, as it seemed so interesting and unique. In particular the dynamic of having a pirate king and the impact this had on everyone else in the world. Was the rest of the planet run by pirates too? Or was the pirate king in charge of the sea only?

I think this could’ve been really interesting as what I enjoy most in fantasy is exploring the new world’s politics. Especially given that, historically, many pirates actively rebelled against monarchical regimes and were effectively societal outcasts, the Daughter of the Pirate King offered a unique take on pirate-centred fantasy.

Though I am excited to learn more about Alosa’s crew and the sirens in the sequels. I hope it centres around the (mostly) female pirate crew of the Ava-lee and their adventure to retrieve the final piece of the map, which will kick off the search for the legendary treasure trove. And I hope to learn more about the feared pirate king himself, since we saw him for only a few pages when he came to collect the piece of the ancient hidden map.

In any case, I’m sure the next book will be a hoot!

3. Lack of seafaring adventures and high seas tomfoolery

Was this a seafaring adventure? I mean sure, it took place on a pirate ship on the high seas. But this story and the writing could’ve taken place on land, in a jungle, even in my attic and it wouldn’t have changed the story drastically. When it comes to pirates and fantasy, what makes them so exciting is that the story doesn’t work if it takes place anywhere else!

I hope to see some storms, swashbuckling adventures, deeper romance, and more ruthless pirate crews in The Daughter of the Siren Queen and Vengeance of the Pirate Queen.

Despite these minor gripes, the book was undeniably addictive, and I can see why it’s a YA fantasy sensation. I’m excited to see if the sequel delivers more of the high-seas chaos and worldbuilding I was hoping for.

My review of Daughter of the Pirate King (summary, no spoilers)

All in all, the Daughter of the Pirate King was a great first book in the Pirate King series. There’s a lot to love and I will definitely pick up the sequel, the Daughter of the Siren Queen.

What I believe could’ve been better I think Levenseller will improve in the sequels, as I can imagine it was difficult to build upon the world considering Alosa was kidnapped on the high seas and had very little to do with her own crew and her father, the feared pirate king.

I also imagine that Tricia Levenseller develops Riden and Alosa’s relationship beyond horniness now that the power is back in Alosa’s hands. Especially as he is perhaps the lone pirate who could stop her!

While not an all time favourite, it was a really fun read. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author!

Spoiler-free FAQ’s

Is there smut in Daughter of the Pirate King?

No, only kissing and the removal of clothes.

Are there any triggers to be aware of?

• Several mentions/threats of rape throughout the book, and one of the crew members is a serial rapist. One scene between the captain and the FMC is uncomfortable given it is unwanted by the FMC.
• Unconsensual touching/licking of FMC.
• References to alcohol. One pirate is an alcoholic.
• Graphic violence in the first chapter and toward the end of the book.
• Mentions of parental abuse.