Tag: romance

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.

adult

Review: Lost Souls by Lisa Jackson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: New Orleans #5

lost souls -lisa jacksonNew York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson delivers her most harrowing novel yet as a young woman’s determined hunt for a serial killer draws her into a twisted psychopath’s unspeakable crimes.

Twenty-seven-year-old Kristi Bentz is lucky to be alive.

Not many people her age have nearly died twice at the hands of a serial killer, and lived to tell about it. Her dad, New Orleans detective, Rick Bentz, wants Kristi to stay in New Orleans and out of danger.

But if anything, Kristi’s experiences have made her even more fascinated by the mind of the serial killer.

She hasn’t given up her dream of being a true-crime writer–of exploring the darkest recesses of evil–and now she just may get her chance.

 

3.5 Drink Me Potions

Lost Souls wasn’t quite as freaky as Lisa Jackson’s previous novel in the New Orleans series. This might’ve been due to the whole vampire theme that was going on. I’m not shaming vampires. I frankly still read stories on occasion that feature vampires who are very real in their fantasy world, and I was a lover of many vampire novels in the past. But when it’s set in the real world of New Orleans, people who exsanguinate others for blood just didn’t sound as scary as other serial killer types.

That being said, this novel was still weird in its own way. I love that there’s always different clues and red herrings that get pointed in our way to make it harder to easily predict the killer. The POV coming from the killer didn’t make it much easier to help narrow down the pool of suspects. I enjoyed the thought Jackson put into crafting the plot, but at times, it was just a bit slow and long to read. I felt the killer had more “screen” time than most other crime novels do, although I’m not necessarily complaining about that. I’m mostly satisfied with how it turned out and who the culprit was.

What I felt lagged a bit was the reconnection between Kristi and Jay. I liked that there was already a spark there, but it didn’t feel like it rekindled naturally. I also don’t love Kristi. Since the last novel, I already figured that she wasn’t one to listen to anyone, let alone her own survival instincts until it was too late and she’s just screaming for help and praying that someone would intervene in time. There’s no sense of safety and precaution in this girl! You’d think after at least 2 attempts on her life from SERIAL KILLERS, she’d at least be more careful when tracking down another. It’s like she doesn’t experience PTSD or learn anything from not one, but TWO, horrible dealings with killers. And I hated that she was able to persuade Jay to let her do things her way (aka not going to the police when they had some evidence of sorts ’cause she was afraid of what her daddy would do *eye rolls*) or by plainly lying by omission to Jay so he wouldn’t know what harebrained plan she had hatched up and wanted to try – without thinking the consequences through of course.

All in all, Lost Souls wasn’t bad as I’m not adverse to the whole vampirism trope that was happening here, but the personal relationships and the main character could annoy some people.

adult

Review: Absolute Fear by Lisa Jackson

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Series: New Orleans #4

absolute fear -lisa jacksonEvery Serial Killer…

A serial killer is stalking the streets of New Orleans. The victims are killed in a ritual fashion, a series of numbers tattooed into their bodies. There are no clues, no connections except one: a crumbling old asylum that was once the scene of unspeakable madness–and is now the calling card of a new kind of fear.

Is Searching For…

Eve Renner knows Our Lady of Virtues Hospital well. As the daughter of one of its doctors, she spent her childhood exploring its secrets chambers, hidden rooms, and forbidden passageways. Now, somewhere in the decaying asylum lies the key to a betrayal from the past whose echoes are being felt with a vengeance–a crime beyond imagining that seems to lead to Eve herself.

The Perfect Victim…

As each new body is found and forgotten, memories surface, and Eve must race to put together a deadly puzzle, one terrifying piece at a time. A killer is watching, planning, luring her back to the ruins of Our Lady and the shocking truths hidden there. For the sins of the past must be revealed, and the price paid–in blood…

4 Drink Me Potions

This was my first Lisa Jackson mystery (I know, why pop into the 4th book of a series? I don’t have an answer for you), and I was fascinated with the killer. Not in some creepy obsessive way. The killer was obviously deranged in more ways than one with a God complex. For some reasons, those kinds of killers always seemed so much scarier, maybe ’cause it’s not implausible that someone in real life could think like that.

Anyway, the premise of the killings and the romance itself were intriguing. Tattooed numbers on the victims with seemingly random numbers. A very scary setting at an abandoned insane asylum complete with all those old inhumane machines they used to use, like electroshock therapy. The protagonist Eve had even initially thought she saw her ex-fiance Cole point a gun at her and shoot her. So the romance already is at odds. But somehow, everything wound itself together in all the right ways.

Amidst what I thought were the two main characters, there’s also Detectives Montoya and Bentz, who are apparently very central to this series (like I said, I came in late). Laughingly, I even suspected one of these detectives planting evidence on Cole before I figured out they were protagonists too.

This was a good mystery that kept me on my toes as every time I thought I had a culprit in mind, some other weird clue or discovery made me second guess myself. As it turns out, it wasn’t as simple or predictable as I thought the answer would be. The whole mystery made sense, which is no small feat when writing a plausible motive behind such atrocious acts, and the weird clues and tattoos were resolved in a way that made me go “ohhhh, why didn’t I think of that?”. I believe Lisa Jackson has just made a fan of me.

There were a few things that I didn’t love as much, such as the explicit nature of the killer. Whenever we see their POV, it’s like they’re always lusting after Eve. Ridiculously lusting after her. Is there ever a time when he wasn’t? I’m not sure if all of that was necessary, but oh well. Additionally, the romance just felt lacking in some ways. The way Eve started trusting Cole again, even though I always knew he was being wrongly accused, just didn’t feel quite enough. It’s a huge toll on a relationship to accuse the other capable of murder. Other than these few tidbits that just bothered me, Absolute Fear was a good introduction to Jackson’s mysteries. I look forward to reading some more by her in the future.