Review: The House of the Four Winds

The House of the Four Winds by Mercedes Lackey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is turning out to be the summer of pirates and girls disguised as boys for me, and The House of Four Winds has plenty of both! (Well, really only one girl.) I felt like this one finally combined all the elements of sea-faring adventure and disguise that I was hoping for in those other books. There’s an unspoiled princess who is not above taking care of herself, and knows how to fight and how to read situations. There are real pirates, mutinous crews, ghost ships and treasures, curses and magic. There’s even a touch of romance - very light and mild, but also sweet. All-in-all it was a satisfying adventure and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. 

I did find the very beginning of the book a bit confusing and slow because of the world-dumping, though. There was too much information for my poor brain to process - so many names of places, kingdoms, important people, references to history, etc., that I just didn’t need to know about. All I needed to know is that this is a world very similar to our own geographically, back in the days of maritime trade and exploration. 

The names are different, but the picture that I was finally able to put together includes a London-type city, a Europe-style continent full of small kingdoms, faraway tropical islands, and lots of ocean in between. But really, the ocean is all that matters because it’s not until the ship sets sail that the real story begins. I loved it from that point on. Luckily there are only a couple chapters to set the stage before the voyage begins, so it didn’t drag on for too long. 

Since the series is called One Dozen Daughters, I’m guessing the next book will focus on one of the sister’s adventures instead of continuing with these characters. It might have nothing to do with seeking a fortune at sea, but whatever the fortune is, I’m looking forward to reading about it.  

**Received free arc for review.

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