What do you think?
Rate this book
Dread Pirate Fleur #1
Dread Pirate Fleur and the Ruby Heart
A death and a dark family secret see the orphaned Fleur finding her sea legs and a thirst for adventure in this brooding and brilliant book from an exciting new talent. Moments before he is murdered, Fleur's father tells her the terrible secret of who he really is. Now orphaned, Fleur has little choice but to leave her home and join the man who comes to claim her - her estranged uncle, William Hart. But William is a terrifying and ruthless pirate and Fleur is thrust into life on board the Libertine . Living amongst a devilish crew of battle-hardened buccaneers is dangerous for a young girl and earning their respect seems impossible. But Hart blood runs in Fleur's veins and when she gets the chance to avenge her father's death she might just prove to be the fiercest pirate of them all ...
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 2, 2009
3 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Read
August 26, 2025i would have been a great pirate, it is true
June 26, 2011
fleur has lived her life as the daughter john morgan, the owner of the pandora inn in truro, cornwall. however her world is turned upside down the night her father was brutally murdered in front of her very eyes. that night everything she had known her whole life is thrown into doubt. her father had not been the man she had known, he was henry the hartless, a pirate, and he died leaving her nothing but a bow and couple of arrows along with a message--someone was coming to take her away, she was not alone. on her father's funeral, fleur's uncle comes to take her as promised. fleur then faced a life changing decision--either join a band of cut-throat pirates and lead a life of danger on sea or cling to the well know life on land. she shose the life of adventure. but that's just the beginning of everything. not every pirate is thrilled to have a girl on board and fleur must learn what it's like to be a girl in the world of men. she must prove her worth at every step--or die trying. meanwhile traitors poison the minds' of the sailors and mutiny boils at every nook and corner of the ship...waiting to spill over.
first of all, let me, make it clear that i intended to give this book three and a half stars out of five and not four. the book is a so-so novel. not too good but not too bad either. the writing was fluid and easy enough to understand, but not exactly enrapturing. the plot was thin and the side chracters hopelessly shallow and one dimensional. what was worth applauding though, was the amount of research gone into writing this book. everything i ever wanted or needed to know about pirates was there in this one book.
another aspect of the book i loved was fleur. she was brave, smart, daring and totally believable--everything you could ask for in the central character of a pirate based novel. the myth of the sacred ruby hart was thoroughly unconvincing, melodramatised and an unnessacary addition to the plot. it made me feel as though it reduced fleur's worth.
the book, as i said earlier, is no lord of the rings. it's worth a read if you have time, but if you're looking for an epic, then you shouldn't really be reading this book. there was excitement, and plenty to know about pirates and the lives of sailors in general of those days, but that's nearly it.
first of all, let me, make it clear that i intended to give this book three and a half stars out of five and not four. the book is a so-so novel. not too good but not too bad either. the writing was fluid and easy enough to understand, but not exactly enrapturing. the plot was thin and the side chracters hopelessly shallow and one dimensional. what was worth applauding though, was the amount of research gone into writing this book. everything i ever wanted or needed to know about pirates was there in this one book.
another aspect of the book i loved was fleur. she was brave, smart, daring and totally believable--everything you could ask for in the central character of a pirate based novel. the myth of the sacred ruby hart was thoroughly unconvincing, melodramatised and an unnessacary addition to the plot. it made me feel as though it reduced fleur's worth.
the book, as i said earlier, is no lord of the rings. it's worth a read if you have time, but if you're looking for an epic, then you shouldn't really be reading this book. there was excitement, and plenty to know about pirates and the lives of sailors in general of those days, but that's nearly it.
April 3, 2020
Amazing character development throughout and an jnspiring female lead makes this book a must read for any young girls!
Loved this book as a child. Still own a copy I don't have the heart to move it on just yet.
Loved this book as a child. Still own a copy I don't have the heart to move it on just yet.
Read
April 11, 2016I read this to my 8-year old daughter, and we were thoroughly excited to finally find a novel about a female pirate; and Fleur has the skills to swab the deck with any sailor who claims girls have no business being at sea.
This book is more mature than anything my daughter has dealt with before. Fleur doesn't start out as an orphan, she becomes one in the first chapter when her father is murdered before her terrified eyes. The pirates use some salty language and the atmosphere is harsh. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger than 8-9. On the other hand, the less than realistic plot and some inconsistent elements might start to bother readers over 12. Starbuck, whatever her real name is, is no Stevenson. But she has a skilled, brave, and compassionate female protagonist and she has clearly done an amount of research that it is rare to find in a book for children. And this research makes the story come alive where the somewhat underdeveloped side characters and plot falls short. We are looking forward to starting the second book.
This book is more mature than anything my daughter has dealt with before. Fleur doesn't start out as an orphan, she becomes one in the first chapter when her father is murdered before her terrified eyes. The pirates use some salty language and the atmosphere is harsh. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone younger than 8-9. On the other hand, the less than realistic plot and some inconsistent elements might start to bother readers over 12. Starbuck, whatever her real name is, is no Stevenson. But she has a skilled, brave, and compassionate female protagonist and she has clearly done an amount of research that it is rare to find in a book for children. And this research makes the story come alive where the somewhat underdeveloped side characters and plot falls short. We are looking forward to starting the second book.
November 26, 2014
I first read Dread Pirate Fleur and the Ruby Heart in year 4, when my teacher said to choose a book and we would vote on which book to read that term.I have loved this book since then. When we finished i went out and bought it. I have loved reading it over and over again. I love how Sara Starbuck creates the scenes so vividly through how she describe different people through out the book.
June 15, 2020
Dread Pirate Fleur and the Ruby Heart by Sara Starbuck opens with Fleur learning her father's true identity moments before he's killed. She's then taken onto her uncle's pirate ship where she has to pretend to be a boy and earn her keep.
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...
http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...
April 9, 2011
Absolutely fantastic. I already ordered the sequel.
January 16, 2013
Amazing...Love it!! A must read!
October 14, 2014
The fast pace adventure in the book is absoulutely thrilling, and I enjoyed reading this book over and over again. :D
January 21, 2015
A rollicking fun adventure!
September 19, 2015
An exciting tale of pirates and a young girl's coming of age. Plenty of adventure and good characters
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews