The Pirate Prince (Ascencion Trilogy #1) by Gaelen Foley
Series: Ascencion Trilogy
Published by Ivy Books on July 29th 1998
Genres: Historical
Pages: 407
Goodreads

‘It has been fifteen years since Prince Lazar di Fiore last set foot on Ascencion.”

FINAL DECISION: This book was uneven to me.  There were parts that were compelling and beautiful and parts that just dragged and made me want to skip ahead.  I ended up liking it more than not but I doubt I would read it again.

THE STORY: Lazar di Fiori returns to avenge what was stolen from him.  As a youth, his royal family was murdered and he barely escaped with his life.  He intends on seeking revenge by killing the only daughter of his sworn enemy.  Allegra Monteverdi inadvertently ends up in Lazar’s hands, and her sweetness and purity makes it impossible for Lazar to kill her.  Instead, Allegra offers to be his captive in exchange for her family’s lives.  Despite himself, Lazar agrees and finds himself challenged by a woman who demands that he be better than he could have imagined.

OPINION: This book should have been tailor made for me.  I love those dark, tormented heroes and Lazar definitely falls into that category.  I could never fall completely into the story.  I found it uneven and I didn’t become completely captivated by the story or the characters.  Parts of the book were absorbing but so much was tedious and I felt like skipping ahead.  I didn’t find the totality of Lazar’s journey as compelling as I might have expected.  The story had the possibility to being a compelling and rollicking adventure, but while parts were great, there were too many parts that pulled me out of the grand adventure for me to think of the book as anything other than good but not great.

WORTH MENTIONING: Spoilers:  The book contains references to slavery and rape.

CONNECTED BOOKS: THE PIRATE PRINCE is the first book in the Ascencion Trilogy.

STAR RATING: I give this book 3 stars.