The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke

8/10

The Pirate's Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke is second and concluding chapter of the Assassin's Curse duology. The Pirate's Wish is all round a better novel and provides a satisfying conclusion to the duology, but a small part of me still wishes that this duology was a single volume.

The story continues on directly after the events of The Assassin's Curse, with Naji and Ananna stuck on a desert island. The goals have been made clear to them - to break the impossible curse on Naji, they have to complete three impossible tasks. But before they start completing impossible tasks, they have to first survive the island and all of its deadly inhabitants, including one angry manticore.

The story here is clear-cut. Naji and Ananna have definitive objectives placed in front of them, and the journey to each objective provides all the action and drama. I think that a few too many of the issues were resolved by coincidence or hidden magic, but in the end it doesn't hurt the story too much. The Pirate's Wish is about the relationship between Naji and Ananna, and for the most part, I think Clarke got it right.

That said, I really couldn't stand Naji or Ananna as characters. Ananna is headstrong but comes across as a petulant child, while Naji is aloof and mysterious but comes across as condescending. As a pair, these two kind of go together, but individually, I just couldn't connect. I had a much easier time connecting with the supporting characters, especially the manticore who brought this story to life. I know my feelings are probably because I’m on the fringe of the target audience, so while I couldn't relate to the main characters, I have no doubt that those who reside within the target audience will have a much easier time relating to them.

The Pirate's Wish concludes what is a solid YA duology. YA fantasy romance is not really the genre for me, but from what I've read around the internet, people who love YA fantasy romance love these two stories. Clarke has got a lot of talent, and I look forward to seeing what she produces next.