Daughter of the Pirate King Book Review - No Spoilers
Introduction
This weekend Matthew tried to teach Marcus to sort screws by size for a shelf-building project. Marcus was convinced the tiny ones “didn’t matter” and chuckled when the shelf wobbled. I needed something solid in my reading life after that. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller felt like the anchor I needed.
Plot Summary
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller is a young adult fantasy adventure, the first in the *Daughter of the Pirate King* series. The heroine is Alosa, seventeen, captain of her own pirate ship, and daughter of the Pirate King, Kalligan. Her task: to recover a legendary map piece for her father. To do that she lets herself be “captured” by enemy pirates—specifically by Captain Draxen’s ship, where his brother Riden is first mate. As she navigates captivity, deception, danger, and magic (she’s part-siren), she must maintain her mission even as her feelings and loyalties shift. Along the way there are fights, betrayals, tricks, and the constant tension of Alosa’s double life.
Why I Love This Book
I love Alosa. She’s not perfect. She lies, she plans, she fights. She’s clever and ruthless when she needs to be, but there’s this ache beneath her strength—her father’s shadow, her desire to prove herself—that makes her human. Watching her balance that with the weight of betrayal and her own rules makes me root for her.
I also love the banter between Alosa and Riden. Their interactions are sharp, flirty, frustrating, and they keep me invested even when the plot slows. The tension in those moments—between trust and suspicion—is electric. And the siren lore adds a layer of wrongness and power that unsettles you in a good way. It’s not just romance and adventure; it’s a complicated moral pull.
Even the parts of the plot that feel familiar (pirate mission, treasure map, enemies-to-lovers) I enjoyed because of how much of Alosa’s voice comes through. The pacing mostly works for me—in the early action, in the quieter thefts and secrets, and in the danger when things go wrong. It doesn’t pretend to be polished fantasy; it leans into fun and risky more than perfect.
Who Will Like This Book
If you like pirate stories with strong female leads, adventure, sirens, a mission with risk, and romance that builds through tension, you’ll like this book. If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers, clever trickery, and moral grey areas, this hits many of those marks. It’s especially for readers who don’t mind violence, stealth, betrayal, and emotional stakes.
⚠️ Trigger warning: This book includes kidnapping, violence, threats of sexual assault, and emotional manipulation. Please check content warnings before diving in.
Tagged As
young adult fantasy, pirate romance, siren powers, treasure map quest, enemies to lovers, strong heroine, morally ambiguous characters, adventure, betrayal, slow burn romance, first person POV, sea voyages, duel between duty & desire, indie fantasy, series starter, HEA hopeful
Steam Level
The romance has heat—strong tension, flirtation, some passionate moments—but it stops short of being graphic. It’s more about emotional pull and the sense of danger than explicit scenes.
