Title: Daughter of the Pirate King
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Genre: Historical Fiction/ Romance/ Fantasy/ YA
Source: Kindle Recommendation
Rating: 5/5

Favourite Quote: “I am me because I choose to be me. I am what I want. Some people say you have to find yourself. Not I. I believe we create ourselves to be what we want. Any aspect of ourselves that we do not like can be altered if we make an effort.”

Princess Alosa is on a mission by her father, the pirate king; to find the missing pieces of an ancient map which leads to the Isla de Canta. The hidden island holds many secrets, including a huge wealth of untold treasures that is enough to rule the entire ocean as well as control over the lands. It’s also told that the island is protected by the feared demons of the sea; Sirens, who use their enchanting song to drown men and steal their treasures to add to their wealth.
The pieces of the map were given to the three pirate lords and have been passed down through generations.

In order to obtain one of the pieces of the map, Alosa’s mission is to become a prisioner of one of the pirate lord’s ship the Night Farer. Captain Draxen and first mate and brother, Riden, have commandeered the ship from their late father, Jaskor the pirate lord, which means the piece of the map must be hidden somewhere on the ship. Alosa plays her part as the stubborn prisioner well, even with Riden watching her every move. She uses her skills to sneak out of her cell at night to search the ship for her prize, but soon realises that getting close to the brothers is going to be the only way she can locate the piece. She will need to use her particular inherited abilities to get the job done this time.

‘Typical pirate. No responsibility. Just selfish desire.
“I think,” Riden finally says, “there is more here than either of us is willing to admit.”
“More of what?”
His frustration flares, as does the desire. Interesting how they’re tied together. But I can’t hold on to this anymore. 
“What did you do?” he asks.
I quirk an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“You… you just changed. You looked off for a moment but I thought I’d imagined it. Now you look yourself again.”
Nobody has ever been able to tell when I’m using my abilities before. Riden couldn’t have actually noticed the difference, could he?’

Daughter of the Pirate King was the perfect blend of piracy, mystery, adventure and romance. The romance being key here for me! It was difficult to get lost in the adventure sometimes when all you can see is the stubborn love hate spark between Alosa and Riden. When Draxen takes princess Alosa prisioner on their ship, Riden quickly realises that their lovely princess is more than capable of looking after herself and starts to question her motives. If she is able to easily escape out of the cell, how is it that she’s still on the ship? Alosa soon begins to cloud his judgement as his role of first mate to his brother and he uses his power to keep her close instead. Holding her locked up in his cabin so he can keep an eye on her is a sneaky surprising move she didn’t see coming, and even though she makes it as difficult as possible for him, you can’t help but gush over the chemistry between them in that room.

‘”Why must you always be so defensive? I was helping you.” 
“Yes, and what a sacrifice it must have been for you. I’m sure you didn’t enjoy every moment of it.” 
Smiling, he leans forward a bit. “You are by far the most enjoyable prisoner ever aboard this vessel.” 
“I assure you, I’m not trying to be.” 
His smile fades. Intensity takes hold in his eyes. “I know” 

Alosa is everything I admire in a female protagonist. She’s strong, independent, loyal, caring, beautiful and a complete badass when it comes to fighting. She prefers to fight in her own princess get up of dress, corset and boots, she doesn’t hesitate to defend her right or her crew, not to mention she’s skilled and intelligent which makes her a perfect match against the sharp and quick-witted Riden when he becomes suspicious of her and her abilities. Her inability to give into her feelings makes it even more wonderful. The character build up is fantastic, you understand how she is able to put up with so much from what her father put her through in training. She’s hardened her body and mind to others in order to complete missions for the pirate king to prove her just as capable as any man.

The characters are really well written and woven in nicely to the main story surrounding Alosa and Riden. Alosa has an extremely loyal crew who not only think of her as their captain, but as a friend who they see to protect. You don’t see alot of them in the story you can already see the unwavering dedication with Mandsy, Sorinda, Zimah and Alosa when they are together.
Kearan and Enwen are definitely a funny element to the story as the pirate guards set up outside Alosa’s cell. Completely different in personalities but dependable on each other which makes an unusual friendship for pirates. They have loyalties to themselves and each other whilst filling a role to keep them occupied. Enwen will sure to make you laugh out loud on a few occasions, even through the bars of a cell.

‘”You’re much smarter than you let on. Do you only pretend to be a superstitious fool so the crew will remain unsuspecting?” 
“Oh no. I’m as superstitious as you can get.” 
“And the part about being a fool?”
“I may overdo that one just a bit.” 
I laugh lightly’

I absolutely adored this book and it has definitely made my favourites shelf. Watch my blog for the next book in the series, Daughter of the Siren Queen!

Goodreads Review:
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.