Tag: historical

YA

Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Daughter of the Pirate King #1

daughter of the pirate king -tricia levensellerThere will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.

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.

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Daughter of the Pirate King is lighthearted and refreshing in a genre where there are way too many darker books and not enough pirates! It surely stands out, in a good way.

I was recommended this book after reading another review, and was very excited to get to it. Like a Captain Jack Sparrow book but for the YA audience, huh? Definitely sounds intriguing. And Captain Alosa is as intriguing as they come. She’s no damsel in distress, captaining her own crew of mostly young women amidst a world that has always been more male-dominant. She holds her own and she’s smart as they come. Of course, she knows that as she’s the daughter of the ruthless pirate king of the seas.

This whole story centres on her search for a 1/3 of a treasure map (of course, that’s what pirates love, don’t they?). It takes her on a course where she’s locked up in another pirate lord’s brig, but on purpose! Things get quite exciting when there’s a dashingly handsome first mate on board as well, who happens to be the captain’s younger brother.

The excitement of the seas and the exploits Alosa goes on weren’t as fast-paced as I had originally thought it would’ve been. It lagged a bit in the middle, considering she could only search a little bit at a time during the shadows of night so as not to alert suspicions about her intentions on being on board. But I suppose the intrigue of pirates and Alosa’s narrative voice kept me flipping intently. There’s also a twist, if you can call it that, that occurs later in the book, but if you really paid attention earlier, it’s not so much of a surprise. That particularly tidbit gave the story a little bit of a bigger push with its potential in driving the story, but it would seem that more of the excitement might be left for the sequel.

The romance, however, was fun. Riden and Alosa flirted with each other all the time. Like elementary school kids. If by flirting you meant by making fun of each other, which is the equivalent to throwing sand at the boy you liked in the playground. They kept trying to best each other, but at the heart of it, they seemed to care for one another even if they didn’t want to initially admit it. Beyond the fun of piracy and the excitement that comes with sailing the open seas looking for treasure and a good ol’ fight, this romance completed the trifecta that made the story interesting enough.

I suppose the lower than best rating would come from highly inflated expectations, but Daughter of the Pirate King does deliver on what its synopsis promises. Adventure, action, some romance and a good ol’ treasure (map) hunt.

Overall Recommendation:
Daughter of the Pirate King reminded me of why pirate stories were so popular. Lighthearted but filled with action, Alosa is a strong character to take up arms with as she navigates a man’s world among the pirates. Destined for more, she still finds it in herself to be fair and to overcome the challenges on her mission for a treasure map. Equally unique is the first mate who captures her interest and his interactions with the future pirate queen. With an added twist that may or may not surprise you later, this book is just what the YA genre needed.

YA

Review: The Golden Braid by Melanie Dickerson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: Hagenheim #6

the golden braid -melanie dickersonThe one who needs rescuing isn’t always the one in the tower.

Rapunzel can throw a knife better than any man around. And her skills as an artist rival those of any artist she’s met. But for a woman in medieval times, the one skill she most desires is the hardest one to obtain: the ability to read.

After yet another young man asks for Rapunzel’s hand in marriage, Mother decides they need to move once again, but this time to a larger city. Rapunzel’s heart soars—surely there she can fulfill her dream. But Mother won’t let her close to a man. She claims that no man can be trusted.

After being rescued by a knight on the road to the city, and in turn rescuing him farther down the road, Rapunzel’s opportunity arrives at last. This knight, Sir Gerek, agrees to educate Rapunzel in order to pay back his debt. She just has to put up with his arrogant nature and single-minded focus on riches and prestige.

But this Rapunzel story is unlike any other and the mystery that she uncovers will change everything—except her happily ever after.

 

3 Drink Me Potions

The Golden Braid brings to life an interesting re-telling of Rapunzel with a Christian twist that fits well with the characters and themes we already enjoy in the world of Hagenheim, and tacks on another good moral for the readers to mull over.

Set partially concurrently with the events of the previous book in this series, The Princess Spy, the next installment in Dickerson’s Hagenheim books met all the expectations that I’ve come to have for her and her novels. Rapunzel, with her name actually sticking to Rapunzel oddly enough, was a very shy girl sheltered from the world by an overbearing mother who could be seen right from the beginning to have more than one side than the one she showed her daughter. She was afraid of all men for fear of becoming entrapped in their lies and being left alone to take care of a babe out of wedlock.

The comes along the hero of the story, Sir Gerek, who is actually quite arrogant. I didn’t think he’d be as prideful as the synopsis depicted him, but he set on marrying a wealthy widow just to prove to himself that he can and does deserve such riches. His interactions with Rapunzel initially didn’t capture too much of my intention as the pace was slow around this point.

It wasn’t until more towards the middle of the book that everything picks up more. We see how the storyline with Margaretha from the previous novel intersects with Rapunzel’s story, and the aftermath of those events in her POV. I rather enjoyed the character development, particularly in Sir Gerek. It was humbling to see the two of them learn to put the other first, and above all, God at the top. The big “plot twist”, although it might not have been meant to be such a surprise, was very predictable. As soon as both points were mentioned in the book, you’d so easily connect the dots way before anyone else does, especially if you know the story of Rapunzel well.

Although predictable and occasionally slow, The Golden Braid is another example of combining Christian elements with a fairy tale we find very familiar. Dickerson continues to write in a manner that’s consistent with my expectations, but maybe one of these days, I hope to be surprised by her to bring up a rating.

Overall Recommendation:
The Golden Braid brings readers a re-telling of Rapunzel in the land of Hagenheim. With wonderful continuity with the previous novels of the series, Rapunzel’s story fits extremely well with what happened in an earlier novel. Rapunzel and Sir Gerek’s character development turned them from slightly irritating people to stronger people with better goals in life. Fitting with my expectations from Dickerson these days, I found myself mildly entertained by the book as it’s not meant to be unpredictable but rather a pleasantly familiar journey to walk through on a lazy afternoon (or night).

YA

Review: The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: The Falconer #2

the vanishing throne -elizabeth mayEverything she loved is gone.

Trapped. Aileana Kameron, the Falconer, disappeared through the fae portal she was trying to close forever. Now she wakes in an alien world of mirrors, magic, and deception—a prisoner of the evil fae Lonnrach, who has a desperate and deadly plan for his new captive.

Tortured. Time after agonizing time Lonnrach steals Aileana’s memories, searching for knowledge to save his world. Just when she’s about to lose all hope, Aileana is rescued by an unexpected ally and returns home, only to confront a terrifying truth. The city of Edinburgh is now an unrecognizable wasteland. And Aileana knows the devastation is all her fault.

Transformed. The few human survivors are living in an underground colony, in an uneasy truce with a remnant of the fae. It is a fragile alliance, but an even greater danger awaits: the human and fae worlds may disappear forever. Only Aileana can save both worlds, but in order to do so she must awaken her latent Falconer powers. And the price of doing so might be her life…

3 Drink Me Potions

The Vanishing Throne was just as imaginative and epic as its predecessor, filled with character development and lush new settings and mysteries.

First off, can I just say that I’m so glad Aileana isn’t constantly harping on about revenge and what not in her mother’s killer in this book? It was a major turn-off in the first book as her bloodlust drove her to do irrational things and the descriptions of how it overtook her was just getting tiring.

That’s not to say that she doesn’t have things that happen to her in this book that wasn’t worthy of being mad about. It starts right off where we last left our hero. Trapped in some underground world with their number one enemy. Things pretty much stay level on the action department from there. I felt so bad for her as her strong spirit was slowly broken down and her physical body tormented in cruel ways. Fortunately, they don’t stay in this world for long in the book, which surprised me as I assumed this part of the story arc would last longer.

But of course, this allows more time for the other familiar characters from book 1 to appear. Derrick is such a sweet little thing, with a fiercely loyal spirit to Aileana and love for honey. We get to know more about him and his people in this story, including the weird history that he and Kieran share. Speaking of our resident bad boy, a TON of things about his past and who he was were answered, although many more questions popped up just as soon afterwards. He’s a lot softer than I remembered him being in the first novel, but I suppose feeling love towards another human could do that to you. The romance was unrushed, but at the same time, it felt a little lacking for me. I totally love this ship but my heart just wasn’t captivated by it so much in this book.

What disappointed me less was the overall story plot. After getting back to Scotland, things were so very unlike what they were in the first book. Time has passed (after all, fae time differs greatly from human time on Earth) and people Aileana knew had changed after facing horrendous events in the aftermath of the Wild Hunt in Edinburgh. While this completely different setting, and their new camp base, intrigued me, the action (aka battles) weren’t as suspenseful or mysterious as I anticipated. Don’t get me wrong, crazy things go down as their enemies close in on their surviving human base, and of course a certain few fae were really gunning for our girl Aileana. Some of the events that occurred just felt a bit predictable overall.

Although exciting things do happen with regards to this main story arc, no matter how predictable, I felt this book suffered a little. I can’t quite pinpoint how. It seemed to have the makings of everything I could want in a fantasy to make me quite happy, yet I felt my attention swerving to another book and it took a while to finish this book after a long break. This could’ve just been me and the exciting books I read prior to it, so don’t feel too disappointed yet with this sequel. That ending! Oh my goodness, it really sets things up for the next and last book. I’m pretty sure some big head-to-head is coming our way. So stay tuned and just get through this one. I’m sure it can be enjoyable for quite a few readers who loved The Falconer.

Overall Recommendation:
The Vanishing Throne continues with our brave heroine, Aileana, as she tackles one-on-one with a fearsome foe. Although there are plenty of scenes that should leave you breathless with anticipation and excitement, something just didn’t hit me right with this book. Maybe it was the pace which sometimes felt a little slow, or the romance that just didn’t seem to excite me as much as it should. But with plenty of imaginative additions to the fae lore and familiar secondary characters playing a different role in this book, I’d say this sequel should satisfy most fans even if it didn’t quite do the trick for me.