Tag Archives: Pirates

Review: The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Historical, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Callela

The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray
Christine Calella
Page Street Press
Published April 9, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray

Storms and pirates are nothing compared to the evil within men’s hearts.

After a lifetime of abuse at the hands of superstitious townsfolk, Ophelia Young, a bastard child of the notorious pirate queen, is tired of paying for the sins of her mother. Despite playing by the rules her whole life, she’s earned nothing but spite and suspicion. So when a naval officer saves her from the jeering crowd at her mother’s hanging, Ophelia hatches a new hope of enlisting in the navy to escape her mother’s legacy and redeem her own reputation for good. But Ophelia soon discovers that a life at sea isn’t as honorable as she hoped.

Betsy Young is as different as she could be from her half-sister Ophelia. She’s a nervous homebody who wants to keep her family safe and longs to be in love. So naturally, she’s devastated when the son of their family’s business partner rejects her hand in marriage and her sister joins the navy. But when her father contracts a life-threatening illness as well, Betsy has to bring Ophelia home to save the family business.

Unfortunately for the Young sisters, Betsy trying to get Ophelia recalled reveals that Ophelia enlisted fraudulently under Betsy’s name, a secret which Ophelia struggles to keep from crewmates who would kill her if they knew she was the pirate queen’s daughter. To save Ophelia from the naval authorities, Betsy will have to board a ship during hurricane season and brave all the dangers of the sea to get them both home safe.

My Review

Is it weird to say that I found it refreshing to read about pirates as the villains in this book? Ha. Actually, I liked a lot of things about this book. The relationship between Betsy and Ophelia, of course, drew me into the story. They are half-sisters nearly the same age but with very different personalities. Despite their differences, these two girls have each other’s back in everything but this: Betsy’s crippling anxiety keeps her mostly at home, and Ophelia longs for a life at sea in the Navy.

While I really appreciate that Betsy has anxiety, I felt like the representation in the story was uneven. At the beginning, Betsy’s anxiety pretty much runs her life. She has decided to stay home where she feels safe, and she can barely speak when someone outside her family tries to talk to her. When she faces boarding a ship and making the journey to find Ophelia, she doesn’t make that decision lightly or without her anxiety spiking. As the story progresses, though, her anxiety sort of evaporates? She experiences life-threatening situations and eloquently advocates for herself and others. She grieves and feels fear, but I felt like the symptoms the story used to define her anxiety faded away.

I don’t know. I guess it made me a little bit uncomfortable because it implied that all she needed to do to conquer her anxiety was get out there and be brave, and that’s not really how clinical anxiety works? Maybe this wasn’t supposed to be representative of clinical anxiety, though.

At any rate. I really appreciated the relationship between the sisters and the representation of the pirates in the story. It was nice to read something that didn’t totally romanticize piracy. The plot was pretty evenly paced, and I loved the twists and turns the story took.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Betsy has anxiety. Ophelia is asexual/aromantic. Minor characters are lesbian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
In one scene, a boy kisses a girl without her consent. She breaks off the kiss and makes it clear it isn’t what she wants. He stops, but is unhappy. Later, a girl welcomes kisses from a boy. In another scene, a boy coerces a girl to kiss him, and she bites his mouth.

Spiritual Content
Betsy and her mother believe in some spiritual things, like bad vibes and curses. Ophelia wrestles with whether she believes in anything like that. The people of her town seem to believe her mother’s blood is cursed, and they treat her terribly because of it. Later, some inexplicable things happen, and Ophelia isn’t sure what to make of them. She seems to finally believe in some spiritual happenings, whether it’s her mother’s spirit guiding her from beyond or some other benevolent force.

Violent Content
Betsy and Ophelia attend a hanging. The person’s face is covered, but they watch until she dies. The crowd abuses Ophelia, pushing her, pulling her hair, and nearly trampling her. Ophelia makes it clear this kind of treatment from her neighbors is pretty common.

Sailors are whipped as punishment. They battle those on enemy ships.

Pirates attack a ship, shooting some on board and brutalizing others. Some graphic descriptions of violence, including brief torture and dismemberment. A sailor wraps chains around a girl’s neck to mimic a hanging. Sailors battle for control of a ship, stabbing and shooting each other as they can.

Drug Content
Characters have wine with dinner. A fellow sailor passes Ophelia a bottle of whisky, which she takes a small sip from. Three girls drink rum together. One drinks until very drunk.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Compass and Blade
Rachel Greenlaw
Inkyard Press
Published March 5, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Compass and Blade

This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood.

On the remote isle of Rosevear, Mira, like her mother before her, is a wrecker, one of the seven on the rope who swim out to shipwrecks to plunder them. Mira’s job is to rescue survivors, if there are any. After all, she never feels the cold of the frigid ocean waters and the waves seem to sing to her soul. But the people of Rosevear never admit the truth: that they set the beacons themselves to lure ships into the rocks.

When the Council watch lays a trap to put an end to the wrecking, they arrest Mira’s father. Desperate to save him from the noose, Mira strikes a deal with an enigmatic wreck survivor guarding layers of secrets behind his captivating eyes, and sets off to find something her mother has left her, a family secret buried deep in the sea.

With just nine days to find what she needs to rescue her father, all Mira knows for certain is this: The sea gives. The sea takes. And it’s up to her to do what she must to save the ones she loves.

My Review

This reminded me of another at-sea, oceanically gifted protagonist story that I enjoyed. It’s not the same story as the other. The characters and motives are really different than the other book. But it definitely delivered on the adventure-on-the-high-seas kind of vibe I hoped for.

It feels like a series opener. I’m not sure what will happen with it now, though, since Inkyard Press has closed down. I’ve heard that the authors have been transitioned to HarperCollins, so maybe the series will continue under a new publisher? I don’t know how all of that works. At any rate, I hope the story continues– I’d love to know what Mira does next.

Dangerous Romance

Only two things tripped me up a little bit, and one is absolutely a personal preference thing that I’m only now realizing is the case for me. You know those stories where there’s instant sexual attraction between two characters for no reason or even against good reason? I’m discovering that makes for a difficult protagonist for me to connect with. I find it really hard to buy in, especially when she’s in real danger from him, a stranger. Not saying that someone couldn’t have those feelings. But because I don’t react to danger that way, I find it pulls me out of the story or makes me question the narrator’s reliability.

Totally a personal preference. I enjoyed the book despite that element. It really only comes up a small number of times.

The other thing that challenged me was the magic system. I think the story moved so quickly that sometimes I wasn’t quite sure I understood how things fit together in the larger world. For instance, the blood of magical creatures can be harvested by witches and given to an apothecary to make a powerful potion that can, for example, heal a bad wound. Beyond that mention, we never learn anything about witches. Are they people who have a natural magical ability? Is Mira a water witch? Do they perform magic or are they magic hunters? This doesn’t really come into play in the story, so it doesn’t require a deep explanation, but I found myself wishing that some of the peripheral magical elements were better explained.

Conclusion

I truly enjoyed the chapters on the water, whether Mira was swimming out to a ship or joining a crew and sailing off somewhere. Despite our differences in how we approach romance, Mira’s loyalty to and love for her people made her an easy character to root for, and I’m invested enough to watch for the release of a sequel. I think readers who like stories at sea or characters with a strong connection to the ocean or readers who swoon at star-crossed love will enjoy COMPASS AND BLADE.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The larger cast of characters includes characters of different skin tones and identities.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used pretty infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, two characters have sex, but it isn’t graphically described.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have a special (magical?) ability in the water. They can swim better, hold their breaths longer, etc. Magical creatures, such as wyverns, exist in the story world. Blood from magical creatures can be harvested by witches and used to make powerful potions. (I’m a little fuzzy on the magic system, but I think that’s how it works.) One character can do some kind of shadow magic. A promise between two characters can have a magic binding to it, depending on who’s involved.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some descriptions of battles between two opposing sides with serious injuries, including gunshot wounds.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of COMPASS AND BLADE in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: How to Train Your Dragon: How to Be a Pirate by Cressida Cowell

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

How to Be a Pirate (How to Train Your Dragon #2)
Cressida Cowell
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published February 1, 2010 (orig. 2004)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How to Be a Pirate

When Hiccup finds a coffin at sea, he opens it to discover a riddle that will lead to the treasure of Grimbeard the Ghastly, the world’s greatest pirate and Hiccup’s ancestor. So Hiccup and his friends set out on a treasure hunt, determined to master the art of swordfighting. How else will they escape an island of murderous dragons, defeat a boatload of Viking pirates, and survive all the twists and turns their journey will bring?

Join Hiccup and his friends on another rollicking illustrated adventure, and discover the brilliant combination of magic, action, humor, and heart that has made Cressida Cowell a beloved bestseller around the globe.

My Review

My only complaint about this book is that there are practically no female characters at all. There are maybe a couple references to female characters in the village, but no one of note and none involved in resolving the plot of the story. It’s also an entirely white cast. I’m not at all sure of the history of Vikings and whether there are simple/creative ways to incorporate BIPOC into the story and what those might be.

That said, HOW TO BE A PIRATE is another wild and wacky adventure starring Hiccup and his dragon Toothless. There’s no overlap between this story and the second HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON movie. It’s an entirely different book, as the title suggests.

At first, it seems Hiccup is outmatched and ill-equipped for the Viking challenges before him. He’s both terrible at swordplay and at an apparent disadvantage with Toothless as his dragon to hunt for treasure.

As the story progresses, Hiccup faces challenges that require more than brute strength and a dragon with a super-sniffer. As with the first book in the series, it’s here that Hiccup finds his opportunity to shine.

Toothless is still my favorite character, though he’s totally different than the dragon in the movie. He’s kind of goofy and irascible but smart. He and Hiccup make a comedic pair, but they also have a great bond which shows when things get dicey.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I don’t know that I’ll read the rest of the series, but I can definitely see why they’re so lasting and popular.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Characters are white Vikings.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Some crude references to passing gas.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to Valhalla.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and battle scenes. One human character threatens to eat other human characters.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,

Daughter of the Siren Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #2)
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 27, 2018

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Siren Queen

Alosa’s mission is finally complete. Not only has she recovered all three pieces of the map to a legendary hidden treasure, but the pirates who originally took her captive are now prisoners on her ship. Still unfairly attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate Riden is a constant distraction, but now he’s under her orders. And she takes great comfort in knowing that the villainous Vordan will soon be facing her father’s justice.

When Vordan exposes a secret her father has kept for years, Alosa and her crew find themselves in a deadly race with the feared Pirate King. Despite the danger, Alosa knows they will recover the treasure first . . . after all, she is the daughter of the Siren Queen.

My Review

I finally read the first book in this series a few months ago, and I knew it couldn’t be long before I read the second (and final) one. I really wanted to know how things progressed with the quest to reach the island where Alosa’s mother, the Siren Queen was rumored to live. I desperately wanted to know what would happen between her and Riden. And I was very eager for a confrontation between Alosa and her father, because that definitely needed to happen!

The story scratched all those itches for me, and for the most part, I felt like they all exceeded my expectations. The only thing that felt a little bit underwhelming for me had to do with Alosa’s mom. I think I was expecting her to be… more something. Complicated? Morally gray?

She definitely is not a morally pure character, as she’s a siren and behaves as sirens in this story universe do. (See content notes below.) So it wasn’t that she was pure. I guess maybe I just found it a little weird that she was also sort of scripted as the perfect, loving mother in some ways? I don’t know. For sure I read the first scene with her in it and was like, wait, that’s her mom?

On the whole, though, I enjoyed the story. I appreciated that the sirens’ behavior is more strongly condemned in this book than in the first one. And I loved seeing both Riden and Alosa grow as characters and find their way through personal battles and issues to figure out what they wanted from each other.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. She takes of his shirt. In one scene, it’s clear they intend to have sex.

There are also some sexual comments about both women and men.

Spiritual Content
Alosa’s mother is a siren, and she herself possesses the ability to sing and command men to do as she wants them to. All sirens have that power.

Violent Content – Content warning for rape.
Sirens desire to drag men under the water, rape them and murder them. It’s discussed but not shown on scene. There are scenes in which sirens drag men under water with them and disappear into the ocean.

There are also several scenes showing some pretty gruesome violence/torture. Someone shoots prisoners trying to make another prisoner tell secrets in order to save others. Some mentions of childhood abuse. They’re brief, but pretty intense.

Drug Content
One character is an alcoholic and gives up drinking. Alosa keeps a supply of rum on the ship and rations it out to her crew.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: Pirate Queens by Leigh Lewis

Biography, Book Review and Content, Historical, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , , ,

Pirate Queens
Leigh Lewis
Illustrated by
National Geographic Kids
Published January 11, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Pirate Queens

This wow-worthy book proves that women have been making their mark in all aspects of history―even the high seas!

Meet Ching Shih, a Chinese pirate who presided over a fleet of 80,000 men (by contrast, Blackbeard had some 300). Get the scoop on Anne Bonny who famously ran away from an arranged marriage to don trousers and brandish a pistol in the Bahamas. And there are more!

Each pirate profile includes a dramatic original poem presented against a backdrop of gorgeous full-color art by award-winning illustrator Sara Gómez Woolley. Each profile is followed by fascinating information about the real life and times of these daring (and dangerous!) women.

Vetted by the world’s leading pirate experts and historians, this book is a cool and edgy gift. It’s also perfect for any curious kid who dreams of adventure and for parents who are eager to show their tweens and teens that history is more diverse, daring, and surprising than what is typically found in textbooks.

My Review

What a cool idea for a book! I had no idea there were female pirate captains, much less that there were so many or that one commanded 80,000 pirates. Wowza.

I like that the author included a note at the beginning of the book talking about why she wrote the book. Basically, her daughters were playing a game and she discovered that they were all thinking of pirates as only men. She wondered if there were female pirates, and from there, the book was born. I also like that she clarifies that this book isn’t to glorify the piracy or romanticize what is a violent life. It’s about bringing to light stories of powerful women who history may have otherwise forgotten.

The book is divided up into six biographies: Artemisia of Caria, Sela, Sayyida al Hurra, Grace O’Malley, Anne Bonny, and Ching Shih. Each biography features a poem telling the story of a critical moment in the pirate captain’s life followed by historical information. I learned a lot of things, and I’m really excited to have read this book.

I think PIRATE QUEENS would make a great addition to a library or classroom, and it’s a great nonfiction book for readers who love seafaring adventures.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Details the lives of six pirate queens. One is Chinese. One is Muslim and Moroccan.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Reference to marriages.

Spiritual Content
Sayyida al Hurra was a Muslim who grew up in Spain when its rulers forced Muslims out of their homes. As a pirate, she specifically sought out Christian vessels as revenge for how she and her people were treated.

Violent Content
References to battles and stealing/looting. References to execution.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of PIRATE QUEENS in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Daughter of the Pirate King
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published February 28th 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Daughter of the Pirate King

There 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.

My Review

I really enjoyed a lot of things about this book. First, I loved Alosa. She’s fierce and smart and knows how to bide her time and wait for the right moments to do what she needs to do. I also loved Riden. He’s so conflicted, so caught between what he wants and protecting people he cares about and doing the right thing. But he’s also a pirate, so kind of unpredictable, definitely living by his own code of ethics. Once I understood how that code worked, I was a huge fan of him.

So… consent stuff. Alosa is a captive aboard a pirate ship. She arranges for herself to be captured and makes it clear (to the reader) that she can come and go from her cell pretty much at will. When she experiences a romantic advance from one of the other pirates, it’s not clear whether she wants him to behave like he does. I guess it’s clear she could stop him if she wanted to, but it felt a little weird to me. Maybe I’ve just come to appreciate the recent books where consent is made really clear.

There’s also some backstory referring to the way sirens treat their victims that isn’t ever really addressed in the story. At one point, a character comments on the sirens’ behavior (See below for details.) and Alosa kind of dismisses it like, yeah, but the pirates had harmful intentions, too. I don’t know. I wish the book addressed this in the story more clearly.

Conclusion

Aside from that, I liked a lot of other things– the adventure on a pirate ship, the enemies to lovers romance, the banter between characters, and the fierce heroine. I want to read the second book in this duology, DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN. Some of the reviews on Goodreads indicate that this book better addresses consent issues.

Readers who enjoyed SIEGE AND STORM by Leigh Bardugo or IMPRISON THE SKY by A. C. Gaughen will like this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content – Trigger Warning for Mentions of Rape
A pirate captain implies that he will let his crew rape Alosa. One of the crew members is a serial rapist. He stands guard over Alosa’s cell and continually leers at her. He reaches into the cell (she stands out of his reach but is unable to sleep while he’s there.). At one point he grabs her and licks her neck.

Sirens live in the ocean, but journey to the surface to capture men before dragging them to the bottom of the sea, raping, and killing them. The story states this more than once, but no graphic description.

Kissing between a boy and girl. It’s an enemies to lovers situation, and it’s not really clear if some of the kisses/touches are welcome or not. I had weird feelings about it.

Spiritual Content
Sirens are powerful beings whose song controls men.

Violent Content
Graphic battle violence. Some scenes include references to torture and some descriptions of it.

Drug Content
One pirate is clearly an alcoholic. There’s reference to others drinking alcohol, too.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.