Grace O’Malley was a 16th century Irish sea captain. Ariel Lawhon’s historical novel covers most of her life. Grace was a defiant, independent woman who loved the sea, despised her first husband, adored her second, was the mother of three sons and a daughter and wouldn’t hesitate slitting a man’s throat if she felt she had been wronged.

The headings of the many chapters in The Pirate Queen are Maiden, Matriarch and Mother, and none of the chapters are in chronological order. Readers who prefer a linear novel will not enjoy The Pirate Queen. Also, warning, parts of The Pirate Queen are violent-lots of blood. Finally, I found it difficult to empathize with Grace until she got together with her second husband which was more than halfway through the book.