Massey, Missy. Mad Kestrel. Pirates and Fantasy - sounds like a good combination. The book started off well, with a girl pirate who has magical powers she must keep secret. If her magical skills are discovered, she could be abducted by the Danisoba, who seek out and take any magical children from their parents to be raised exclusively by the Danisoba. Kestrel managed to escape when the Danisoba killed her parents who refused to surrender her, and grew up in the alleys, a street urchin who managed to survive.Eventually, a hearty old pirate captain takes Kestrel under his wing and trains her as a pirate. Then things start to go a bit south. Kestrel loses the independent attitude of the daring pirate lass whenever she comes in contact with Phillip McAvery and begins moving back and forth between a simpering, love-struck adolescent and a swashbuckling, take-charge pirate. That's a bit of a stretch.
That little flaw in her character undermines the believability of her exploits. The plot has some problems as well.
Fiction. Fantasy. 2008. 320 pages.
That's too bad as this is one I really wanted to pick up and read. I've heard varying accounts but they all seem to at least hint that the story is far from perfect.
ReplyDeleteCarl - I wanted to like this one and for a while thought I would. When Kestrel got so silly, though, it began feeling tedious.
ReplyDeleteI understand. Wonder why the author chose to go that way with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry it didn't live up to the initial promise. It sounded like a really fun book.
ReplyDeleteCurious, I thought the book moved fast and that the main character stayed strong.
ReplyDeleteDifferent perception I guess. What book is perfect.
It was a fun read and satisfied my needs.