Sadly, The Pirate’s Wish reminded me a lot of The Elite. Not content-wise of course, but it fell into some of the same faults. Sophomore slump is in full swing.
Book Review: The Pirate’s Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke
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Title & Author: The Pirate’s Wish
Genre: YA – Fantasy, Pirates, Magic
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Series: The Assassin’s Curse #2
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
How I Got the Book: ARC via Netgalley
Description:
Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must still face the repercussions of going up against the Pirate Confederation. Together, Naji and Ananna must break the curse, escape their enemies — and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.”
Second Helpings Not As Good
My philosophy has always been that pirates are the trump card of any book. Inconsistent plot? Messy romance? Add a pirate and PRESTO, it’s magic. So, in The Pirate’s Wish where there are pirates AND sailing AND magic, it’s a no brainer right?
Wrong. Although I really enjoyed The Assassin’s Curse, I called it then – Ananna is kind of annoying. Well, ok, not so much annoying as super feisty and stubborn and difficult.
The problem is she is sort of in love with Naji and somehow hopes he’ll return her feelings even though she bites, kicks and verbally eviscerates him at ever turn. Yeah, good luck with that girly.
The novelty and fun of the first book was lost a bit in this second take on Naji’s curse and the journey he and Ananna take to unbind him (as she is stuck with him till he can figure it out). Although, there is a manticore (featured on the cover), who is pretty cool and down to eat some male humans.
I wished there had been some alternating POV action. There was something sort of flat about only seeing Ananna’s perspective on their journey – especially because I felt like I needed a break from her nagging and pessimistic attitude.
Kisses and Starstones and Violence, Oh My!
I believe this is the last book in The Assassin’s Curse series (but there is another set of books due to come out in the same world). To be honest, my second side of beef with The Pirate’s Wish is due to the ending of the book.
I know I go on about wanting realistic endings and not some accident/good luck that wraps things together so perfectly with a little bow. But, sometimes you get what you wish for and you realize you don’t want it anymore. I’m big enough to say that I wish this book had a more saccarine-sweet ending that was ribboned with bows to an inch of its life.
Agh, I hate complaining. Some things I did like about the book:
- Cool new beasts – the manticore, among others
- Cool new landscapes – boat life and new isle
- Romantic tension in random moments
The main problem I think I had was that I just didn’t want to read the book. It was interested at times and I felt invested because I had read the previous book, but overall I just didn’t feel how things wrapped up and the characters’ actions and personalities.
OVERALL:
If you’ve read The Assassin’s Curse, I think finishing off this series still has value. It’s only a two-novel series, so you don’t have much to lose. Sadly, The Pirate’s Wish didn’t fulfill the promise of its predecessor, and I was left a little wanting.
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by Carrie Vaughn
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