The Pirate Queen

The Pirate Queen

Ariel Lawhon

my review : ✮✮✮✮✮

This is the extraordinary story of Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Ní Mháille), pirate queen of Ireland.

My jaw was on the floor for the majority of this book. To be in the shoes of any woman in the 1500s is eye-opening, but to be on the gorgeous (and at times grueling) coast of Ireland, experiencing life from the point of view of the total and complete badass that is Grace O’Malley, made this story impossible to put down.

This book is everything a good historical fiction novel could hope to be: educational, inspiring, and completely & totally unbelievable. Nothing is sweeter than experiencing history in the hands of a very talented author who can make the subject matter informative and entertaining. Ariel Lawhon is a force.

The story is told in three alternating timelines, Grace in her youth, Grace in her 30s, and Grace later in life. You do risk a little whiplash as the author flips you from one timeline to the other, but once I got my sea legs, I enjoyed the back and forth. My biggest hurdle throughout the book was keeping all the names straight in each timeline.

The author’s note at the end is worth the read (as most author’s notes are!). She explains how she researched Grace, what in the book was true, what was fictionalized, and why. She also explains what inspired her to tell the story the way she did, and she encourages any readers who are doing a reread to read the book in chronological order. I am glad I read the book in the order it was written. I trusted the author and wanted to experience the book the way she wanted to tell it. While I at first struggled with the back and forth, ultimately I found it to be a unique and powerful way to tell Grace’s story.

There’s one point in the book where Grace shares that she drank mulled wine almost every day of her life, so of course that’s what we’ll be pairing this book with!

you’ll love this book if you love:

• Kristin Hannah novels

• Books set in Ireland

• Stories of pirates

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