The Pirate Kings Thief

A lady thief. A Fae pirate turned bard. Discover a dragon’s hoard of secrets in this cozy standalone with a dash of spice.

Lina spends her days as the perfect noble lady and her nights robbing the type of men her father demands she wed. She wants gold to bribe her way onto a ship and flee her gilded cage.

Zavi is cursed. To regain his wiped memories, the Fae pirate must sneak into a nobleman’s ship and find a magic object. If he fails, he will never know what happened to his brother.

Lina and Zavi could attempt the heist—to cure him and free her—only if he can convince her he isn’t the villain in this story.

Neither of them know the secret that will turn everything upside down…

My Review

Lina knows stealing is wrong, but she does it anyway, to get away from her rich father’s control and with her fellow thieves, hoping to one day escape the men who lord over them. She has had encounters with fantasy creatures like fae and tends to despise them, even hybrids. Despite her lighthandedness, she does get caught, but their banter and exhale leave her with more questions than answers.

Zavi is suffering a sort of amnesia; he can’t remember past 5 years ago, but has been blessed with a form of dark magic he sometimes can’t control. He lives playing in taverns; he seems to be fae. He was a pirate and had been piecing together his last years from his tattoos. I love the details on the abandoned castle he lives in.

So the pocket dragon absolutely catches my attention. Her friends mean the world to her, and you can tell as not only does Lina want to get away from her Gilded Cage, but she wants to take Star and Phoenix with her. I love that she is trying to make her own path, and her parents aren’t very astute to their daughter’s wants.

I get the reference to a retelling of “The Princess Bride” now, but this book is very different, and I love the way the author incorporated some aspects of that iconic movie. He has secrets, she has trust issues, they both have issues to be resolved, and find themselves needing the other’s help.

Also attraction this book gets steamy. The story gets action packed but we aren’t any closer to solving the mystery or the romance. I’m enjoying the fantasy read so much that the escape to another world is fantastic.  

“Firefly, I would happily take ages upon ages to discover what makes you gasp the loudest.” – Zavi

After so much planning and a few extra days, they finally make a move, and their plan goes dangerously, but it is exhilarating as well. I like the edge-of-your-seat suspense and action-packed fights. But the intimate moment between Firefly and the Bard is lovely as well.  This book is more of a fantasy adventure than romance, but there is a bit of that in here, too.

I find it intriguing that the author brings in fated mates, interspecies mating, and human mates into this story, especially with the hybrid main character.  But I love the freedom they are searching for, if they don’t get caught, of course, or some other danger doesn’t befall them. The forced proximity, secrets, and curses.

Omg, this book gets twisted as we do get some truths, but they aren’t at all what I expected.  How will she ever forgive him, let alone be mated? Like, I don’t know if I could be in the same room with the man, let alone the same ship.

Ah, the first taste of freedom, for all of them, but especially for Lina. However, her newfound hatred is weighing her down and anchoring her to her past.

It’s a little serendipitous that he runs into whom he is looking for so fast. The book has some not-so-unexpected surprises in this new land. I’m thrilled for Lina but still saddened by the discord between her and Zavi.

This book ends happily and steamily, but we finally get the couple we have been hoping for all along. The epilogue of this book wraps up the story nicely for a standalone book.

“Firefly, I will follow your light as long as you allow it. To the ends of the realms and back again.” – Zavi

The journey to get there is what makes the story a unique fantasy adventure, but it is a delightful one filled with action, adventure, and secrets. I especially loved the cursed objects and mate parts, but that’s just me. Overall, the story was good. I loved that it was a retelling of one of my favorite movies, but not an exact duplicate of the story.  The characters are interesting, and their backstory and drama are traumatic enough to draw you into the storyline.  There were some twisted parts I didn’t see coming and some cheesy parts as well. The book is steamy but not overly done.

If you would like to read The Pirate King’s Thief by Alisha Klapheke, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Assocaite, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this story, you may enjoy books with these tags and these categories: Morally Grey, Romantasy, and Modern Retelling.