Daughter of the Pirate King is the first book in a series by Tricia Levenseller. When the ruthless Pirate King learns of a legendary treasure map hidden on an enemy ship, his daughter, Alosa, knows that 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 enemy ship. 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?

Daughter of the Pirate King is a entertaining read that captured my attention right away. I liked Alosa's character; she is smart, resourceful, and very self-reliant. I thought the additional development to her character because of her father, the Pirate King, and the information that is slowly revealed about her nature is very well done. Riden is a more slowly revealed character, mainly because we do not see the world from his point of view. The interaction between Riden and Alosa is highly entertaining, sometimes frustrating, but I liked the consistent conflict between the two, even when they are getting along. The variety of pirates and actions that are shared in the book are really compelling and kept me enthralled in the story. I liked the adventure, mystery, and suspense of the plot. There were a good number of twists and turns that kept me on my toes and guessing about what might come next. My only issue with the book is that it is labeled as young adult, but I think the attraction and interaction between the pair are more mature than I would recommend for younger teens.

Daughter of the Pirate King is dubbed a young adult novel, but I would likely call it new adult instead based on the ages and the content. However, I think many young adults would enjoy the book. But with the mindset of a parent and library labeler, I just wanted to mention it for those looking to recommend books for younger readers. That being said, I loved the book and will be definitely looking for the second book of the series.

Alosa is a pirate. In fact, she is the daughter of the pirate king, and she also captains her own all-female pirate crew. She is sent on a mission by her father to retrieve a map to an island covered in riches. She decides to allow herself to get captured by an enemy crew so that she can secretly search their ship. Sounds like a pretty awesome premise, right? A female pirate captain of an all-female pirate crew? Sign me up. But unfortunately, Daughter of the Pirate King did not deliver the awesome story that it promised.

The biggest disappointment about this book was the fact that it could have been something completely unique and amazing, but instead ended up being exactly what you would expect of every YA book out there. First of all, the all-female pirate crew was barely present in the entire book! Why would you write a book about badass female pirates and then ignore them for 95% of the novel??? It was such a wasted opportunity. Instead, the book focused on a weird and unbelievable romance. Insert rolling eyes emoji here.

Honestly, the only characters I really enjoyed were Alosa's crew, but we barely got to spend any time with them. Alosa was seriously a pain and was completely full of herself. The book was told from her point of view, and I found this to be pretty detrimental to the story. Alosa kept telling the reader how tough she was, talking about all the cool things she could do and how she could destroy an entire ship of men if she wanted to. But she never really did anything that was that amazing. She was all talk and never actually SHOWED us what she could do. Perhaps if the story wasn't actually told by Alosa, we could have seen what she was actually capable of, instead of repeatedly hearing her talk about how awesome she was.

The only thing that Alosa proved to me was that she was not nearly as amazing as she claimed to be. Despite all her talk and bravado, when it came down to it, she was distracted from her mission by a boy. (OF. FREAKING. COURSE.) You would think that the daughter of the pirate king would have a bit more wherewithal and stay true to her cause. But no, as soon as he takes off his shirt and she realizes he smells like soap, she completely forgets what she is supposed to do. The romance was totally unbelievable as well. It felt very forced - like the author was trying to cross things off a typical YA checklist. Girl (redhead of course) is captured and falls hopelessly in love with her hunky, mysterious captor with a dark and troubled past. Gag.

All in all, this book was predictable and a huge disappointment. The multiple "twists" were easy to guess and super trope-y. This book had so much potential, but it went so wrong so fast. Even the cover is awful. The entire thing was a giant disappointment. The only good thing about it was that it was a really fast read, so I didn't waste too much time on it. I will definitely not be picking up the next book in this series.

I love pirates and had high hopes for this book, and it did not disappoint! Alosa is spunky and fun. There's a slow burn romance with lots of sexy banter. To me it was one of the highlights of the book. I could see some of the plot twists coming, but ultimately it didn't lessen my enjoyment. I'm looking forward to book two!

(3.5/5) I liked Daughter of the Pirate King. The main character, Alosa was realistic and complicated. Her relationship with Riden has a fun back and forth. I really liked that the story got started right away, it made it a little difficult for the world to develop but the author includes bits and pieces here and there.
The one problem I had with this book is the first person narrative. It may just be a personal reading quirk, but I found this made it feel like Alosa was "telling not showing" constantly. Her inner monologues could feel repetitive. All in all, I would give the sequel another chance because I enjoy the characters.

Fun exciting adventure, Alosa is a quick sassy strong female who doesn't take things sitting down.

If you’re into YA romance that focuses on pirates and sirens and spying and forbidden love, this is probably the book for you. I’m not a huge romance fan, but I enjoyed the half pirate, half siren protagonist Alosa and her budding romance with Riden as she finds herself taken captive on a rival ship.

Favorite Quote:
“If I’m to keep up appearances, I’ll have to escape the ship. Then get caught on purpose. Oh, the ridiculous things one has to do when one is a pirate.”

The Pirate King’s Daughter is a humorous, high spirited, action packed , YA fantasy adventure that offers readers an empowered teenage female pirate whose need for her infamous father’s approval sends her on the adventure of a lifetime.

Fans of the mythical Captain Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean films will find a kindred spirit (and some familiar scenes and plotlines) in Captain Alosa-the Pirate King’s Daughter. Bits of magic and mayhem rock the seven seas as Alosa is charged with finding a very special map. Allowing herself to be captured by rival pirates allows Alosa to gain access to their ship and search for the map. Of course, she never expects to be waylaid by the good looking and frustratingly intelligent first mate-Riden-who’s been charged with extracting information from her. As Alosa and Riden battle their wits and wants, someone else is looking for the map and will do whatever it takes to get it.

Well written with a bold narrative, dynamic characterization, and some interesting plotlines; Levenseller relies heavily on her heroine and the heroine dialogue to fuel the story. Slow but steady, this book spends a great deal of its time setting up the world and main character backgrounds while simultaneously plotting the conflict and edging towards the grand reveal. While most assuredly comedic and almost parody-like in this story’s telling, there are darker and more serious undertones as Levenseller deals with emotional angst, feelings of abandonment, abuse, misogyny, paternalism, and the risks one will go to gain a loved one’s approval. Levenseller pokes quite a bit at the male characters and their archaic masculine in here as you watch her constantly direct Alosa to humiliate them.

Our heroine, Alosa, is one of the few female pirates and an entertaining pain the arse. You can’t help but be amused by with her constant and oft repeated tales of all her magnificent talents while watching her drive an entire ship insane with her annoying but effective skills. Beautiful and extremely deadly, this seventeen-year-old is much much more than meets the eye. Raised by her father to be nothing less than the best, she is confidence personified and takes advantage whenever she can. She is an interesting mixture of strength, wit, and pragmatic views that is offset by her feminine nature. She is a girly girl.One minute she’s slicing throats and the next she’s fussing over the state of her dresses.

The romance is more of an undercurrent rather than a dominant element though it gains strength towards the end. It’s an antagonistic relationship that entertains immensely. I loved that even though Alosa is attracted to Riden, her mission and honor mean more to her. That’s not to say she won’t use Riden to get what she came for. Pirates are notoriously selfish and self motivated, you know. :) Riden is a strong solid presence and helps to show Alosa see there are more things in life beyond being a pirate.

The secondary characters all hold the potential to be more and each one seems to have a secret waiting to be revealed, adding to the suspense and intrigue. No one is quite what they seem and we are on constant guard possible betrayal and deception-I mean, these ARE pirates. Levenseller barely scratches the surface of the potential this story holds and I can’t wait to see what she has in store for readers next.

While the strong juvenile tone and overly chatty protagonist may turn some off, I feel this whimsical and high spirited adventure is sure to appeal to both young and older readers who love a flamboyant and forceful female protagonist, non stop action, witty banter, and a long reaching mystery. Tricia Levenseller is definitely an author to watch for in the future.

Grade: B-

Half the reason I requested this galley was because of the pirates. Even better was the fact that the lead pirate in the novel is a girl. There are not enough pirates of any gender in YA literature!

Alosa is the daughter of the new pirate king and the captain of her own ship. But she is more than a pirate. She has abilities that make her powerful, abilities that she hates. But she uses them in order to please her father, who is a tyrant at best. And he has sent her on a mission... to find a third of a fabled map that leads to impossible treasure.

Alosa is a strong, confident girl who doesn't hesitate to go after what she wants. She knows that there are very few that could match her skills. I love that attitude! But she isn't all hardened edges. She desperately wants to please her father, even after the ways in which he's treated her. And she just might have a soft spot for a certain fellow pirate.

I really enjoyed this story. Alosa's character was fantastic. Strong and powerful, but with an edgy sense of humor. Her interactions with the men on the ship are sometimes serious, but most of them time she is pushing them just for the fun of it. There were times, though, when the plot dragged a little bit for me. A little repetitious, but not enough to ruin it for me. All in all, it was a fun read!

I had high expectations going into Daughter of the Pirate King and I hadn’t seen many advanced readers so there wasn’t many reviews I could read before starting it. I just thought that any book featuring an epic female pirate would have to be good, right?

I wasn’t wrong. While some plot points were a little predictable, I found the whole story to be really interesting. Basically the whole plot is about Alosa being “kidnapped” when she really planned the whole thing so that she could look for this mysterious map piece. Most of Daughter of the Pirate King is Alosa sneaking off to look for this map mixed with some fun banter between her and Riden. It fits into a typical YA book mold but I still found it entertaining enough to skip over those YA tropes that I saw. What I really liked about Daughter of the Pirate King was that even though there was a little romance, the actual plot was very clearly the main focus. The romance truly is a side plot in this case.

Easily the best part of Daughter of the Pirate King was Alosa. Think if Jack Sparrow was a teenage girl mixed with any badass female heroine. She’s clever and sarcastic (which I love) but she’s also been through a lot in her life and fights through it all. I loved that the majority of her crew was female and that even though she was a skilled killer, she didn’t kill if she didn’t think it was necessary.

I’m dying to meet more of Alosa’s crew. I hope we get to see a lot more of them in the next book because they sound awesome. We got a lot of “girl power” type vibes , it made me really happy to read. I honestly can’t wait to read the next book in this potentially epic series!

When I hear “Pirate” in the title – I want a story that is fast-paced and action packed, with plenty of intrigue and characters who straddle the line between outright villains and upstanding citizens in their own little world. And Levenseller brought all of that, and more, to this first book in the duology featuring Alosa, the Daughter of the Pirate King.

Brazen, confident, smart-mouthed and seventeen, Alosa is easy to picture, strutting about as she plans and commands the next move. The only (claimed) child of Kalligan, the tendency is to underestimate her cunning and deadly skill, to the dismay and surprise of all who seek to derail her from the course she’s set forward. And she is everything that one would want in a pirate ship captain, fueled by her own confidence and determination. When she is tasked with finding a piece of map for her father, she sets a plan in motion, believing the subterfuge and her own skills will bring success.

From the start, the story is non-stop: from Alosa’s plan to allow her own capture by Draxen, a newly crowned pirate lord in possession of the ship formerly owned by the man who held the map piece. Alosa believes she can use her wiles and cleverness to search the ship for the missing piece, and reunite with her own crew thereafter. Adding to the mix is Alosa’s repeated “discovery’ by Riden, first mate and younger brother of Draxen, and the banter they share as he is returning her (repeatedly) to her space in the brig.

With a touch of friendship blooming into a gentle romance, the interplay here is clever. In fact, all of the dialogue in this story, from Alosa and Riden’s banter, to the general dialogue caught and captured during the story has a lovely touch of humor to it: in many ways Alosa is funny, the moments even more bright as they contrast completely with her ruthless determination and her overwhelming (if occasionally bordering on overstated) confidence. When the action and pacing is so forward thinking, it would be easy to lose sight of the plotting: this story is well crafted and builds piece on piece to give readers a never-ending sense of ‘what next’ among the smiles. With a last little twist, and an ending that works without being a cliffhanger, yet leaves room for more for Alosa to come, this was a wonderful debut, sure to please readers.

I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of “Daughter of the Pirate King” by Tricia Levenseller. Alosa reminded me of Celaena Sardothien from “Throne of Glass” by Sarah J. Maas. They are both sassy and fierce young women. I greatly enjoyed reading about Alosa’s journey. It is full of adventure, a girl who knows how to handle herself, and romance. This is an original story with fantastic characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Feiwel & Friends for a copy of the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

Alosa is the daughter of the Pirate King and she is on a mission. When Draxon and Riden board her (fake ) ship she hides herself among the crew and only reveals herself after they have surrendered. She then negotiates rather well to get her crew released and all of her stuff moved over to their ship.

She is looking for a map and she will do whatever it takes to find that map. No matter how handsome Riden is. She spends night after night breaking of her cell looking for this map. She keeps getting caught by Riden, and even when her father's man reveals himself to her, she refuses to take any help.


For Riden is right she is hiding a great many things, the least of which is the location to her father's keep. When another pirate steals her from Draxon, she knows things are deeper than she expected. There are many players in this game.


I loved Alosa and her all women crew!!! Totally on board with that. She is snarky, clever, and a complete badass. And those twists, whew this was a game and many players were playing and no one knew just how many until the end. I will say that I am not a fan of her father, he was clearly very abusive in his training of her.

But that connection between Riden and Alosa was amazing! I can't wait to see what the next book brings... In fact I am more than a little heartbroken I have to wait a whole year.

Loved this book!! Action packed with a strong female lead!

This book met every detail I was hoping for in this pirate read. Alosa is a strong and amazing character, and really enjoyed her throughout the book! Her spunk and attitude was right on, and the writing kept me hooked the whole time. I was excited for this book and it did not disappoint! Would recommend to anyone who wants a great read!

I don't read a lot of fantasy. I have no idea why I don't, because every time I read a fantasy book, I always have such an enthusiastic response. Daughter of the Pirate King was yet another fantasy book which won a huge response from me.

The daughter of the pirate king, Alosa, is sent by her father to retrieve a map. This requires Alosa to be captured and imprisoned by the enemy pirates. While aboard the Night Farer, she is challenged by the Night Farer's crew, but most of the crew is really no match for Alosa, that is except for Riden.
"Lass, you've the face of an angel but the tongue of a snake."
Alosa had me on her team from page one. She was the total package. A fierce woman, who was smart and snarky, and not afraid to slit a few throats if necessary. She was also loyal to her crew, and would go above and beyond to protect them. But don't let that fool you, she still liked to be clean, groomed, and well-dressed even if she was not a "lady". Her wit and candor kept me amused, and I just thought she was a stellar example of what a great heroine is: strong, but a little soft too. Still, so much girl power. The twist with her lineage really pulled me in. I thought it was an imaginative addition to an already great character. Aside from Alosa, she had an almost all female crew filled with fiery, intense, and bold women.
"Submissiveness. I try not to cringe as the word enters my mind. Horrid word, that one."


"Because pirates aren't supposed to look like you look and talk like you talk and do what you do. You're confusing, and it's messing with my head."
There were many supporting characters who added to the fun, but I would be remiss if I did not talk about Riden. All I am going to say is, every time Riden was on the page, I had heart eyes. Levenseller gave us a great heroine AND a great hero. It was interesting of her to create this anti-pirate. Yes, he could fight, but he had a lot of compassion and cared a lot for his brother, his crew, and after a short time, Alosa. The verbal and physical sparring between these two was fantastic. The chemistry was perfect. And the tender moments were full on swoony. I just adored every minute of them together.
"His brown eyes are alight with merriment. I think he enjoys our little spats."


Me every time Riden is mentioned

Overall: A fun and fantastic pirating adventure filled with action, romance, and witty banter. I am eagerly awaiting book 2!

I absolutely loved Tricia Levenseller's DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING. It's action packed, with plenty of adventure, a tough heroine, the best kind of romance, magic and so much more. This is one book that had me re-reading right after I had finished reading it for the first time.

This is the book I've been waiting on. With plenty of wit, humor, sarcasm, and the right amount of sizzling character chemistry, I devoured this book in one sitting. The writing is awesome. It's the kind of writing that ensnares you, and leaves you wanting more. I absolutely loved all this story gave me. From the characters, to the high seas, to the dangers, and romance. It's a layered story that's pealed back little at a time, giving you enough to keep you reading. It wouldn't be a pirate story without fight scenes, romance, and a few twists. I love that there was the right amount of humor, which off sets a lot of the gore. Oh those twists are so good too. I didn't see two of those coming. I love the element of surprise Levenseller adds to the story when it comes to a certain revelation. Keeping it spoiler free....

I love a snarky character, and Alsoa has the mouth of a pirate (without the swearing), and the pose of a Princess. It's the perfect combination. What I loved the most about her, is she doesn't make excuses or apologize for who she is. She is the Pirate King's daughter, but she's her own person. She's someone who can take care of herself, but knows when to ask for help. She's intelligent, witty, sarcastic and is someone who takes her of her own, as well herself. I loved watching her in action, as well as getting to know her. Her has this fierce inner as well as outer strength, and unshakable courage, that I loved. She keeps her head in the game no matter what is going on. He is her perfect counterpart is Riden.

I need more of Alosa and Riden! Their romance is my favorite kind. I love the banter between these two. They have this on going battle of wits and wills. It's so well written. While on the surface it may seem like they're trying to outsmart the other, there's really much more going on. They definitely have a character chemistry that sizzles. It's that 'much more going' I loved watching unfold as the story goes along. These two are the perfect match. There's so much more than meets the eye with each of them. It's so much fun watching these two try to best the other. I like that they don't dish out what they can't handle. Boy do they know how to ruffle each other's feathers, as well as how to leave each other breathless.

Character wise, I really enjoyed the variety of characters in this story. There's the ones you love, ones you enjoy getting to know, and the ones you utterly despise. It's like the best of the best, and the worst of the worst of the pirating world. It's interesting to see how they all mesh together. The hierarchy on the pirate ships is fascinating. I enjoyed getting to see how it all works. I really enjoyed that the majority of this setting is on the pirate ships. The ships are described in great detail, making it incredibly easy to visualize.

This book was awesome! It has the perfect combination of romance, action, unforgettable characters, and of course plenty of action and danger on the high seas. This is a book that will be sitting on my favorites shelf. If this is Levenseller's debut, I can't wait to read her sequel. This book will be out tomorrow, and I highly recommend picking it up. It will definitely be among my favorite reads of 2017.

Pirate novels are coming back onto the market and I find that really cool. Pirate movies are always a lot of fun to watch, what with all of that swashbuckling action, but I haven't read as many novels like that. Getting to now is a fun escape into a bygone era.

I like the idea of a female led pirate crew, especially one that's got an dueling set of morals. There's a certain set of morals that belong to pirates, but in novels female pirates tend to mix them with their own brand of ideals. We didn't get too much of this, however, because Alosa spends most of the book being the prisoner of a rival pirate, which is all part of her and her father's plan. Of the glimpses we did get of Alosa and her crew I saw some good interplay between her and those crew members.

Alosa herself wasn't particularly likable. It seems as though she's set up to be a strong female lead. She's constantly telling us through inner monologue that she's so strong, that she can fight three men at once and not break a sweat. She's the only one that's ever been trained by the Pirate King, after all, and that's makes her a bad-ass (my own words, there).

However, she also acts the part of a petulant child more than once during her captivity and that infuriates me. Her constant bragging sounded like just that, bragging. It sounded like the boasting of someone that never expects to have to prove it and is assuring themselves that, even though they're having their ass handed to them, they could get out of it if they really wanted to.

There was also the fact of her acting as though the most unimportant things mattered. For someone that's meant to be strong and resilient, she was entirely too full of herself regarding her appearance. There were several comments made about how much attachment she had to her clothes and how she spent much of her gold on face paint. The scene that finally frustrated me was when Draxen, the captain who has Alosa captive, threatens to cut off her hair. Considering he could hand her off to his chief torturer or have another pirate assault her, losing her hair seems the much better option, but rather than face that, the text says,

"he seems not to understand the value a woman's hair has to her."

When it's held up against your life? I should think it would mean a great deal less. That was the moment when I truly lost interest in Alosa and couldn't understand why she was so special.

<spoiler>

As if all this special snowflake behavior wasn't enough, about halfway through the novel Alosa has yet another unique trait thrown about her character: she's half siren! What joys, she's even more special now, with the ability to spell men with her song and see colors about them that tell her their feelings and read their intentions.

</spoiler>

The character of Alosa was heaped with too many special characteristics and no real weaknesses. She was set up as an idol that made me dislike her the more I read about her.

I am ambivalent about the ending. It didn't resolve enough to make the reading worth it and, having been so annoyed by the characters, I'm not sure that I care enough to read the second book if or when it comes out to find out what the conclusion of the massive treasure hunt is. The writing didn't wow me enough to make me eagerly anticipate the next move of anyone, nor did it engage me enough to enjoy a slow burn of action.

The plot of the novel was really interesting and it had the potential to be really intriguing, but it felt like it got bogged down too much by Alosa and Riden's weird relationship and Alosa's flawed character. It took what could have been a truly great adventure story and turned it into an afternoon movie special that didn't hold my interest past the first third of the book. I think this will be one where I'll wait for a summary or spoiler filled review of any potential sequels rather than read them myself. There are too many other books on the horizon, begging to be read.

So happy to have read a book about pirates, I love pirates!!
While I wasn't too thrilled at first with the cover, the title and the blurb intrigued me so much that I knew I had to read Tricia's book and I'm very glad I did because it was like that old saying that you shouldn't trust a book by its cover because let me tell you, "Daughter of the Pirate King" is an amazing story and you know what after being hooked into this adventure I totally forgot about the cover in fact looking at it now I quite like it.

I loved Tricia's writing, it was very fluid and easy to read, her world building was solid, before you know it you're immerse in this tale. And not only is the plot intriguing, she also has created compelling characters.
Alossa is amazing! She's smart, strong, fierce, independent, sassy, truly a badass heroine.
Then there's also Riden, whom I loved! Yes, he's totally dreamy but also a fantastic character and his banter with Alossa was incredible, loved their interactions and seriously I just ship them so hard.

There's humor but also lots action, a true swashbuckling and for that I give the author my total respect because she nailed it!! As a fan of pirates I couldn't be happier. There are some interesting twists in the story and although the ending isn't precisely a cliffhanger you're left wanting more because you juts know there is something more so I'm very excited for the sequel.

Absolutely recommended!!

WOW! This book blew me away. I loved it. Alosa is captivating, cunning, and represents herself well. She is a fascinating character. I also loved Riden. He is intriguing and I enjoyed the love/hate relationship he and Alosa had. Pirates are SO cool. Some are a little more on the rough/icky side, but that did not stop me from enjoying this book immensely, it is quite the page-turner. There is action, romance, and thoughtful twists and turns on every page. I loved how the author would gradually reveal secrets throughout, and whoa, one secret was so amazing! The whole book is just exciting and I didn't want it to end. I can't wait for the next book.

Content: recommended for older teen readers and adults.