10/22/2026
Title: The Pirate Queen
Author: Ariel Lawhon
My Rating: I loved it!
Ever cried over a pirate before? Well, let me introduce you to Grace O’Malley. 😅
The Pirate Queen is a historical fiction retelling of Grace O’Malley’s life. Many parts of the story are based on her real life, while Lawhon imagines and fills in other details. O’Malley is basically an Irish legend!
The fact that this story is based on a real person and real historical events made the story incredibly fascinating to me. The story is broken down into three timelines: Grace as a Maiden, Grace as a Mother, and Grace as a Matriarch. The chapters rotate between these three timelines, which made the story a bit confusing at times. But the way Lawhon pulls it all together in the end is masterful! So if you feel a little lost while reading, just trust the process.
Let’s talk about the content. Because while I loved the book, it’s not one I could recommend to everyone. These are pirates we’re talking about so the book has a lot of pirate like behavior. There is a lot, I mean a lot of vulgar language. There is also a lot of violence and killing. I didn’t feel like it was descriptive, but it was frequent. There is also casual talk regarding assault of women. I especially hated those parts, but then cheered for Grace as she brought justice.
The Common Grace Factor: This is in no way a Christian book. The religion mentioned in the book is more of a mythology that would have existed when Grace lived. But I think we can all relate to Grace’s ferocious love for her children and her people. Her fight for justice and her perseverance through extremely hard circumstances are something to cheer for. The ability to keep going, adapt, and continue pursuing what matters is a beautiful aspect of our humanity.
I found myself in tears at the conclusion of Grace’s story and it’s one I’m still thinking about a week later.
As I always say, please use discernment when deciding if this is a book that you personally should read. My goal is to provide good content considerations so that you can make an educated decision for yourself. I’m putting a full list of content considerations in the comments.
