The Butcher’s Daughter (The Queen’s Privateer #1) by Mark M. McMillin

In an age ruled by iron men, in a world of new discovery and Spanish gold, a young Irishwoman named Mary rises from the ashes of her broken childhood with ships and men-at-arms under her command. She and her loyal crew prowl the Caribbean and prosper in the New World for a time until the ugly past Mary has fled from in the old one finds her.

This book was an enjoyable read. I love historical books, and this one was something different for me. It was a fun pirate book. I loved how it was constructed, as in the main character was telling her story until the last few chapters of the book. I would to read the next book in this duology.

You can tell how much research the author went to tell his story. This story takes place during the Elizabethan period. You fall in head first and keep ongoing with adventure, smugglers. Pirates and historical new world ways, and the conflict between Spain and England. He did not go to over board on information and when given information; it felt natural. The author could have shortened some scenes as some felt long and dragged the book. The book was a good pace except for some of those scenes.

The main character Mary was well written and inspired by real female pirates during this time. Mary tells her story to Queen Elizabeth, and this is also how the readers are seeing the story. Mary’s character was well fleshed out. I enjoyed seeing her flaws and how she points them out as well to herself. She is an interesting character with her own set of rules and codes. She holds not only her crew, but herself accountable.

The other characters in this story were also well written. They were rounded and interesting characters. We did not get as much background stories, but it did not feel like we needed them. The crew respected Mary and showed loyalty to her as much as they could. Each of these characters were strong and contributed to the plot well. I enjoyed reading about every one of them. As I was reading, I rooted for them and hoped they would end up safe during the wild adventures Mary took them through.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves adventure, pirates, smuggling, and the Elizabethan period. It was a fun ride!

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from Book Sirens.

I give this book a 4/5