Captive of the Pirate King by Rebecca F. Kenney was a book that started off with such a strong intro, that you were immediately captivated by the book.

Rebecca really takes the time to flesh out her characters and their special powers and I greatly appreciated it.  The Pirate King is someone that no one has really seen, and no one really knows who he is.  I deeply appreciated that even though he was not there, the people under him listen to the rules he had put into place, whether they be out of fear or respect.

When we start the book the ship our heroine Veronica is on is being attacked and she is quickly disguising herself as a boy.  The boats sailing under the rule of the Pirate King are known for not taking women, instead putting them on a boat as it drifts out to sea.  This may seem cruel, but I honestly sincerely appreciated it as opposed to the alternatives where the women are taken aboard the new ship and are passed around as pleasure object for the crewmates.

Once Veronica has disguised herself as a boy named Nick, our story continues as she is trying to make her life as bearable as possible on the pirate ship she has come aboard.  Part of this is battling the attraction she feels towards a pirate named Locke, while trying to maintain her cover so she can fulfill her ultimate goal of finding her brother.

The twists and turns this book takes are really well done and it is really hard to put the book down once you start it.  I think I finished reading this book in a few hours in a single night, while my eyelids were begging me to just let them close. 

One of the most interesting things about this book was the powers that people had.  Without spoiling too much of the story, the power I want to focus on is Veronica’s. She can control people for a few minutes, by tasting their blood.  First and foremost, ew.  Imagine being able to control people, but to do so you have to walk up to them and bite them really hard.  And once her control wears off, the people remember what happened.  There are multiple powers like this throughout the book, and seeing what they are and how they are limited was intriguing. 

The one thing I really did not like about this book, is that there is not a sequel.  There is so much that could be done in the sequel, and the characters leave such an impression on you that you desperately want more.  However, as far as I am aware, this is it with these characters and it is truly such a disappointment.

Overall – this book was really good and I highly recommend it.  While there are some intense scenes, the interment scenes (and I am not necessarily talking smut, but the scenes where the characters are peeling back their layers) are so well done that you kind of want to hug the characters.

Plot – 8/10

Characters – 10/10

Originality –  10/10

General Joy of Reading – 9/10

Overall Score – 37/40

The Curse of the Dragon – Eliza Gayle

Cost* – $2.99 on Kindle or $16.99 for paperback.  This book is included on Kindle Unlimited.

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published