I was sent an eARC of this books from Hachette Children’s Group and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
When I saw the beautiful cover of this book it instantly attracted me and when I saw it was a pirate book, I was sold! And this book did not disappoint! I loved it so much and I’m really looking forward to the next book.
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Marianne has been training to be the Viper for her entire life – to serve and protect the King and the citizens of The Twelve Isles – but to become the Viper and protect the islands she loves she must find the strength to defeat her father.
He will make me a killer.
Or he will have me killed.
That is my destiny.Seventeen-year-old Marianne is fated to one day become the Viper, defender of the Twelve Isles.
But the reigning Viper stands in her way. Corrupt and merciless, he prowls the seas in his warship, killing with impunity, leaving only pain and suffering in his wake.
He’s the most dangerous man on the ocean . . . and he is Marianne’s father.
She was born to protect the islands. But can she fight for them if it means losing her family, her home, the boy she loves – and perhaps even her life?
A brave heroine. An impossible dilemma. An epic new fantasy trilogy set on the high seas.
This book is fast paced, action packed and very brutal and bloody and right from the beginning we see how brutal Marianne’s father is and the type of people she has grown up around. Yet, despite growing up like this, seeing all the violence, she still is unwilling to murder someone, which makes her a disappoint to her father. She defies her father in small ways despite knowing she will be punished, and I loved her from the first chapter.
When I started reading I quickly realised that not only is this a story of pirates but of pirate assassins! And I fell in love even more. I will warn you though, it is very violent and there is lots of suffering. It’s a lot darker than I thought it would be. Yet there is still hope in the characters despite everything they go through.
Marianne has to go through a lot to stand up to her father. She doesn’t know who she can trust or who will help her achieve her goal. I loved her determination and how kind she was. She wants to be a healer not a killer yet she is definitely capable of being a killer, she chooses not to. I loved her story as she discovered who she was and who she wanted to be and what she’s capable to being. She chooses her own destiny despite one being laid out in front of her.
One of the things I loved was how distinct each island was that Marianne visits. That we actually get to spend time on the island too and explore them with her. And just like the islands, the people who live there are equally as diverse. And the time spent on the waters was so interesting too, from seeing how powerful her father’s ship and crew is to learning about the sea creatures that are just as scary as the pirates themselves.
I don’t want to say too much about the characters as it will spoil some of the plot for you but I will say that there are several characters that help Marianne and I loved all of them! I hope we get to see more of their stories in the next book.
If you love pirates or assassins and action packed books, I highly recommend picking up Viper when it releases on April 18th.
The Tsundoku Chronicles 