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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
Oh boy... where do I start with this novel? I so wanted to love it but it just did not work at all. I think the idea was fantastic. It just failed on execution.
I found the story to be quite boring, which is weird because this is a book about PIRATES. But it really just felt like nothing was happening throughout the story; at times, it even felt like a biography than an actual fictional tale. I think this can be attributed to the fact that the characters were very one-dimensional and were hard to connect with. It was hard to distinguish the different voices of the characters because they just didn't really have much of a personality. I think Anne Bonny was developed a little bit better than Mary Reade, but even that is a bit of a stretch. I also didn't love the writing as it was far too juvenile for this type of story. It read more like a middle grade book than a YA fiction novel. It also seemed as if it was just a draft copy and not a full-fledged book. It definitely needed a lot more editing for the story to really shine through.
I don't want to go on and on bashing this novel. Clearly, the author had a really great concept and just wasn't able to follow through with it. Suffice to say that it wasn't what I had wanted or expected. For those reasons, I'm giving it a 1/5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
I found the story to be quite boring, which is weird because this is a book about PIRATES. But it really just felt like nothing was happening throughout the story; at times, it even felt like a biography than an actual fictional tale. I think this can be attributed to the fact that the characters were very one-dimensional and were hard to connect with. It was hard to distinguish the different voices of the characters because they just didn't really have much of a personality. I think Anne Bonny was developed a little bit better than Mary Reade, but even that is a bit of a stretch. I also didn't love the writing as it was far too juvenile for this type of story. It read more like a middle grade book than a YA fiction novel. It also seemed as if it was just a draft copy and not a full-fledged book. It definitely needed a lot more editing for the story to really shine through.
I don't want to go on and on bashing this novel. Clearly, the author had a really great concept and just wasn't able to follow through with it. Suffice to say that it wasn't what I had wanted or expected. For those reasons, I'm giving it a 1/5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Other reviewers talked about the problems with this book, like the writing, the boring-ness, the barely perfunctory gender conversation, etc.
What I want to add is that this took a perfectly acceptable real time frame, where both (*cough*badass*cough*) women were in their 30s (with Anne probably younger than Mary) and came to a life of piracy through a succession of decisions and adversities including marriage for both, and turned it into a dramatic unhealthy story about two whiny passive teenagers with little agency who do everything in reaction to or for the sake of the men in their life.
Also, Anne didn't dress as a woman, it was a secret that only Jack and Mary knew (this is really the first thing that irked me right away in this book). Additionally, despite some (seemingly perfunctory) effort to pretend she had agency, the way Anne talks about being beat by her first husband and taking Jack as a lover feels much more like a damsel-in-distress/sinful adulterer position from the author.
People mentioned content warnings (including rape), so I decided to DNF at 30%, given the general lack of quality or nuance, which definitely pointed towards those topics ending up superficially handled and damaging.
What I want to add is that this took a perfectly acceptable real time frame, where both (*cough*badass*cough*) women were in their 30s (with Anne probably younger than Mary) and came to a life of piracy through a succession of decisions and adversities including marriage for both, and turned it into a dramatic unhealthy story about two whiny passive teenagers with little agency who do everything in reaction to or for the sake of the men in their life.
Also, Anne didn't dress as a woman, it was a secret that only Jack and Mary knew (this is really the first thing that irked me right away in this book). Additionally, despite some (seemingly perfunctory) effort to pretend she had agency, the way Anne talks about being beat by her first husband and taking Jack as a lover feels much more like a damsel-in-distress/sinful adulterer position from the author.
People mentioned content warnings (including rape), so I decided to DNF at 30%, given the general lack of quality or nuance, which definitely pointed towards those topics ending up superficially handled and damaging.
This review can also be found here!
1.5/5 – DNF at 36%
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy! This did not affect my rating/review.
Well, no one is more disappointed than I am. I thought that I would love or, at least, really enjoy this book. But I didn’t.
This book is a retelling of Mary Reade’s life. It’s well-known that she dressed as a male after her older half-brother died and her mother needed more income. This book takes that and then expands it to encompass a girl who is very masculine (in some ways, reminded me of my transman experience) discovering that the world isn’t accepting of her, along with discovering her sexuality.
It’s told through flashbacks to 1717 and further back to show what happened in Mary’s life. What brought her to 1719 where she’s on a ship and meets Anne Bonny where, obviously, a romance develops.
But… I didn’t like it.
For a book about pirates, it was so dreadfully boring. It was dull to the extreme. I was tired of reading about pirates not doing anything. Literally, any time in the present (aka 1719) was filled with Mary and Anne’s relationship, with basically involved hashing out the same things over and over again. Which got boring.
Then, the flashbacks were full of Mary pining after two people (one man, one woman) and trying to figure out who she is.
While I really enjoyed the discovery part of it — because, it reminded me of that conflicted feeling of being trans; which is why I’d call Mary queer with both her gender and sexuality — it got dull after I realized it was going to be repeated over and over again with the same things coming up.
It didn’t help that I didn’t think that Mary and Anne’s relationship was convincing. It sort of just happened after there was very little chemistry between them. The chemistry set in more after they were together. And, well, I didn’t think it worked.
The writing was bland, the characters never stood out, and I didn’t like the slightly anachronistic feel I was getting from it. Sadly, it felt like the book was going to get a bit better where I DNFed it, but I couldn’t bring myself to keep reading and trying it. I could barely remember what I read each chapter because they were so alike.
In other words, a book that wasn’t for me.
1.5/5 – DNF at 36%
TW: homophobia, transphobia, and sexism
Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy! This did not affect my rating/review.
Well, no one is more disappointed than I am. I thought that I would love or, at least, really enjoy this book. But I didn’t.
This book is a retelling of Mary Reade’s life. It’s well-known that she dressed as a male after her older half-brother died and her mother needed more income. This book takes that and then expands it to encompass a girl who is very masculine (in some ways, reminded me of my transman experience) discovering that the world isn’t accepting of her, along with discovering her sexuality.
It’s told through flashbacks to 1717 and further back to show what happened in Mary’s life. What brought her to 1719 where she’s on a ship and meets Anne Bonny where, obviously, a romance develops.
But… I didn’t like it.
For a book about pirates, it was so dreadfully boring. It was dull to the extreme. I was tired of reading about pirates not doing anything. Literally, any time in the present (aka 1719) was filled with Mary and Anne’s relationship, with basically involved hashing out the same things over and over again. Which got boring.
Then, the flashbacks were full of Mary pining after two people (one man, one woman) and trying to figure out who she is.
While I really enjoyed the discovery part of it — because, it reminded me of that conflicted feeling of being trans; which is why I’d call Mary queer with both her gender and sexuality — it got dull after I realized it was going to be repeated over and over again with the same things coming up.
It didn’t help that I didn’t think that Mary and Anne’s relationship was convincing. It sort of just happened after there was very little chemistry between them. The chemistry set in more after they were together. And, well, I didn’t think it worked.
The writing was bland, the characters never stood out, and I didn’t like the slightly anachronistic feel I was getting from it. Sadly, it felt like the book was going to get a bit better where I DNFed it, but I couldn’t bring myself to keep reading and trying it. I could barely remember what I read each chapter because they were so alike.
In other words, a book that wasn’t for me.
Pages: 340
Genre: historical fiction, lgbt
Synopsis
A romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny.
There’s two parallell stories told, the first in 1717 of Mary Reade trying to please her wealthy grandma, dressing up as a boy to have a claim to be her heir. Her childhood friend and love is Nat. In 1719 we meet her again as she’s on a merchant ship, still passing as a boy, until it’s raided by pirates and she manages to join them. She joins after seeing Anne Bonny, the girl of the captain Jack, and becomes fascinated with this female pirate, with a sword and a gun in her hands. Sailing with a crew on the verge of another mutiny, she has to decide if she wants to reunite with Nat, side with the captain or risk everything by going for Anne.
My thoughts
Rating out of five: three stars
This book is a romance, with little action. It has grime and darkness, but it feels like it’s put here obligatory to meet some minimum requirement of being a pirate novel. That said, one thing I found interesting about this book is Anne and Mary returning to Anne’s home, a settlement of religious people where her the husband she escaped from has gathered a lot of influence. Nat – Mary’s childhood crush – also have settled there and the two girls struggle under the mysogynistic principles and ideas of what a woman should be (definitely not a pirate and unmarried). They’re fighting for their independence, realizing they have little to stand up with and that they’re trapped. The hopelessness was so strong in these scenes and broke through the apathy I’d weirdly felt for the characters until that point.
the characters
Well, I didn’t feel anything for the characters except Anne. Mary first describes her as a independent and fierce girl standing on the deck with a sword and pistol in hand, being the only woman on her crew. She comes soon to realize she’s only there because of Jack’s permission, everyone on the crew apparantly dislikes her for being a woman. Anne doesn’t feel very thought-through as a character, she’s very girly and whiny, it’s like being relatively free on the ship after being beaten by her husband in the town hasn’t changed her at all. There’s no development, she’s uncomplex and flat like many of the other characters. I feel the author adressed this at one point, having Mary notice how Anne was manipulating Jack by being sweet and kissy when Mary was in danger from him.
It’s this weird battle through the book of Anne wanting to be free and independent, not tied to any man, at the same time as she haven’t gathered any skills to make it on her own. Mary is sewing dresses, struggling as the town is considering her an unmarried whore who they need to reform. I so wish Anne had been written as girly, yes, but also a woman of skills and personality. If she was “broken” by her circumstances, make that something that lasts more than a couple paragraphs.
the romance
If you want your sapphic Mary and Anne pirate romance, my opinion is that the chemistry is barely there. Sure, it’s a lot of back and forth, proclaiming their love to each other, but I did not feel the romance. Protectiveness sure, towards the end.
their struggles
I’m seeing reviews that expected Mary to be trans, which I do not think was the intent of the book. She certainly struggles with her identity, trying to figure out what parts of her was acting. If you should expect anything from that part of the book, it is that Mary feels like something in between a woman and a man. Both she and Anne faces so much discrimination and little freedom, in different ways and I think the fact that they didn’t understand each other struggles were one of the more realistic things. One is claiming the other have it easier, until they realize they need to both escape.
The feeling this book gave me: it got an extra star for the fact that it made me shed a tear (it was 3 am and that’s my excuse) when it showed the hopelessness of the situation of Anne and Mary trying to be “correct” women and still being beaten for it. other than that i was bored much of the way through, considering to dnf it several times.
Thanks to the publisher for receiving this copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: historical fiction, lgbt
Synopsis
A romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny.
There’s two parallell stories told, the first in 1717 of Mary Reade trying to please her wealthy grandma, dressing up as a boy to have a claim to be her heir. Her childhood friend and love is Nat. In 1719 we meet her again as she’s on a merchant ship, still passing as a boy, until it’s raided by pirates and she manages to join them. She joins after seeing Anne Bonny, the girl of the captain Jack, and becomes fascinated with this female pirate, with a sword and a gun in her hands. Sailing with a crew on the verge of another mutiny, she has to decide if she wants to reunite with Nat, side with the captain or risk everything by going for Anne.
My thoughts
Rating out of five: three stars
This book is a romance, with little action. It has grime and darkness, but it feels like it’s put here obligatory to meet some minimum requirement of being a pirate novel. That said, one thing I found interesting about this book is Anne and Mary returning to Anne’s home, a settlement of religious people where her the husband she escaped from has gathered a lot of influence. Nat – Mary’s childhood crush – also have settled there and the two girls struggle under the mysogynistic principles and ideas of what a woman should be (definitely not a pirate and unmarried). They’re fighting for their independence, realizing they have little to stand up with and that they’re trapped. The hopelessness was so strong in these scenes and broke through the apathy I’d weirdly felt for the characters until that point.
the characters
Well, I didn’t feel anything for the characters except Anne. Mary first describes her as a independent and fierce girl standing on the deck with a sword and pistol in hand, being the only woman on her crew. She comes soon to realize she’s only there because of Jack’s permission, everyone on the crew apparantly dislikes her for being a woman. Anne doesn’t feel very thought-through as a character, she’s very girly and whiny, it’s like being relatively free on the ship after being beaten by her husband in the town hasn’t changed her at all. There’s no development, she’s uncomplex and flat like many of the other characters. I feel the author adressed this at one point, having Mary notice how Anne was manipulating Jack by being sweet and kissy when Mary was in danger from him.
It’s this weird battle through the book of Anne wanting to be free and independent, not tied to any man, at the same time as she haven’t gathered any skills to make it on her own. Mary is sewing dresses, struggling as the town is considering her an unmarried whore who they need to reform. I so wish Anne had been written as girly, yes, but also a woman of skills and personality. If she was “broken” by her circumstances, make that something that lasts more than a couple paragraphs.
the romance
If you want your sapphic Mary and Anne pirate romance, my opinion is that the chemistry is barely there. Sure, it’s a lot of back and forth, proclaiming their love to each other, but I did not feel the romance. Protectiveness sure, towards the end.
their struggles
I’m seeing reviews that expected Mary to be trans, which I do not think was the intent of the book. She certainly struggles with her identity, trying to figure out what parts of her was acting. If you should expect anything from that part of the book, it is that Mary feels like something in between a woman and a man. Both she and Anne faces so much discrimination and little freedom, in different ways and I think the fact that they didn’t understand each other struggles were one of the more realistic things. One is claiming the other have it easier, until they realize they need to both escape.
The feeling this book gave me: it got an extra star for the fact that it made me shed a tear (it was 3 am and that’s my excuse) when it showed the hopelessness of the situation of Anne and Mary trying to be “correct” women and still being beaten for it. other than that i was bored much of the way through, considering to dnf it several times.
Thanks to the publisher for receiving this copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
*eARC kindly provided by Skyhorse Publishing via Edelweiss*
This book was just so AWKWARD. The writing was not… good, and it didn’t always seem to fit in with the characters and time period. And oh god, the characters. Maybe it’s because I don’t know the history of Mary Reade, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack that well, but their story just never seemed to blend well together. I mean, they spent the first 50% of the book on one damned island, doing nothing but drinking, cleaning the ship, and getting into fights. And I thought the romance between Mary and Anne developed fast and didn’t feel very organic, and there was a lot of drama created because of it with Jack and the rest of the pirates. The book was weirdly paced in general, and I didn’t think it needed the past chapters with Nat at all (though if this is part of Mary’s true-life story, then I guess, but I wouldn’t know that). The confusion Mary felt over who she was felt realistic given that she’s lived as a boy since she was a kid, but I can’t speak on whether it was problematic or not. So yeah, there was just a lot about this that seemed off, and while I loved that ending, I was wholly hoping to love this f/f story but didn’t. The Unbinding of Mary Reade was one of my most anticipated novels of this year, and boy did it disappoint me greatly. I’m so SAD.
This book was just so AWKWARD. The writing was not… good, and it didn’t always seem to fit in with the characters and time period. And oh god, the characters. Maybe it’s because I don’t know the history of Mary Reade, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack that well, but their story just never seemed to blend well together. I mean, they spent the first 50% of the book on one damned island, doing nothing but drinking, cleaning the ship, and getting into fights. And I thought the romance between Mary and Anne developed fast and didn’t feel very organic, and there was a lot of drama created because of it with Jack and the rest of the pirates. The book was weirdly paced in general, and I didn’t think it needed the past chapters with Nat at all (though if this is part of Mary’s true-life story, then I guess, but I wouldn’t know that). The confusion Mary felt over who she was felt realistic given that she’s lived as a boy since she was a kid, but I can’t speak on whether it was problematic or not. So yeah, there was just a lot about this that seemed off, and while I loved that ending, I was wholly hoping to love this f/f story but didn’t. The Unbinding of Mary Reade was one of my most anticipated novels of this year, and boy did it disappoint me greatly. I’m so SAD.
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.
To be honest, I don’t even know where to start.
Probably why I really wanted to read this book. I mean, female pirates? f/f romance? Based on historical events? Basically history fanfiction? Hell yes, sign me up for that.
Sounds awesome, right? That’s what I thought. Unfortunately, it turned out to be not that awesome. This sounded so interesting and good and don’t get me wrong, the thought behind it actually is pretty cool. I just did not like what was made with this idea. It just felt… unfinished.
First off, I needed ages to get into this book. The reader gets thrown right into the story and I was constantly confused about what was going on. There are so few explanations. For anything. There is only a bit of world building, just the tiniest bit. The majority of the book is set in the Carribean in 1719 but we don’t get to see much of it. Yeah, there’s the sea and some beaches and of course Nassau. But what else is there? Are there other animals except for fish and tortoises? Are there plants in those jungles? How does the society work, other than men are powerful and own their wives? What does this society mean to the characters who have to live in it?
I just have so many questions. True, since it is historical, I could just go ahead and read everything up, but that is not really how reading a novel works, is it?
If there is only so much worldbuilding, what does the book focus on? The characters? Not so much.
We have our main character, Mary. She has disguised herself as a boy (Mark) for most of her life. It was easier for her that way, though she fell in love with her best friend who did not know she was a girl. We do not know much about Mary’s thoughts. Because somehow she always talks and never thinks much. The actions she takes in certain situations are discribed in two sentences, probably a half sentence of thought. And that’s it. I can’t really put her character into words, mostly because she is very indecisive and never really sticks with an opinion. She says one thing, then the complete opposite 5 sentences later. And what made her change her mind? I have no idea. I really can not tell you, sorry.
Well yes, there are throwbacks to two years earlier when she was still poor and living in London with her mum and/or her Granny. But this really only explains why she disguises herself as a boy and how she came to be where she is now.
You see, that was the protagonist. You can guess how well we get to know other characters. There’s Anne, of course. The piratess Mary falls in love with. Or not. Or does she? Anne appears to be strong and independent, what she wants most is her freedom. But then she makes herself dependent on men, on the other hand. And then she suddenly gets all angry and weird and back to nice and flirty. I just can’t tell what is going on inside her.
And Nat? Childhood best friend/love of Mary’s? He likes her or has a crush on her, he defends her, but only so that is is barely enough. He makes advances, but then he draws back. He does what everyone his age and profession does, he’s not even having a character really. Nat is just doing what people tell him to do and I spent most of the book wanting to punch him in the face.
What is said about Calico Jack, famous pirate captain? He likes women, breaks promises (or not?) and gets angry very easily. And that is what I can tell you about the leader of the crew.
That said, I can’t say I enjoyed the writing style much. Everything was just too short, any details were amiss. It just seemed very unfinished and off. And some of the words the characters were using feel to modern to be used in 1719.
To sum it up, the idea is brilliant. How it turned out, not so much. Unfortunately. I really tried to enjoy this, but I just did not. Though it had bi (?) pirates. The book read like it was nowhere near finished.
To be honest, I don’t even know where to start.
Probably why I really wanted to read this book. I mean, female pirates? f/f romance? Based on historical events? Basically history fanfiction? Hell yes, sign me up for that.
Sounds awesome, right? That’s what I thought. Unfortunately, it turned out to be not that awesome. This sounded so interesting and good and don’t get me wrong, the thought behind it actually is pretty cool. I just did not like what was made with this idea. It just felt… unfinished.
First off, I needed ages to get into this book. The reader gets thrown right into the story and I was constantly confused about what was going on. There are so few explanations. For anything. There is only a bit of world building, just the tiniest bit. The majority of the book is set in the Carribean in 1719 but we don’t get to see much of it. Yeah, there’s the sea and some beaches and of course Nassau. But what else is there? Are there other animals except for fish and tortoises? Are there plants in those jungles? How does the society work, other than men are powerful and own their wives? What does this society mean to the characters who have to live in it?
I just have so many questions. True, since it is historical, I could just go ahead and read everything up, but that is not really how reading a novel works, is it?
If there is only so much worldbuilding, what does the book focus on? The characters? Not so much.
We have our main character, Mary. She has disguised herself as a boy (Mark) for most of her life. It was easier for her that way, though she fell in love with her best friend who did not know she was a girl. We do not know much about Mary’s thoughts. Because somehow she always talks and never thinks much. The actions she takes in certain situations are discribed in two sentences, probably a half sentence of thought. And that’s it. I can’t really put her character into words, mostly because she is very indecisive and never really sticks with an opinion. She says one thing, then the complete opposite 5 sentences later. And what made her change her mind? I have no idea. I really can not tell you, sorry.
Well yes, there are throwbacks to two years earlier when she was still poor and living in London with her mum and/or her Granny. But this really only explains why she disguises herself as a boy and how she came to be where she is now.
You see, that was the protagonist. You can guess how well we get to know other characters. There’s Anne, of course. The piratess Mary falls in love with. Or not. Or does she? Anne appears to be strong and independent, what she wants most is her freedom. But then she makes herself dependent on men, on the other hand. And then she suddenly gets all angry and weird and back to nice and flirty. I just can’t tell what is going on inside her.
And Nat? Childhood best friend/love of Mary’s? He likes her or has a crush on her, he defends her, but only so that is is barely enough. He makes advances, but then he draws back. He does what everyone his age and profession does, he’s not even having a character really. Nat is just doing what people tell him to do and I spent most of the book wanting to punch him in the face.
What is said about Calico Jack, famous pirate captain? He likes women, breaks promises (or not?) and gets angry very easily. And that is what I can tell you about the leader of the crew.
That said, I can’t say I enjoyed the writing style much. Everything was just too short, any details were amiss. It just seemed very unfinished and off. And some of the words the characters were using feel to modern to be used in 1719.
To sum it up, the idea is brilliant. How it turned out, not so much. Unfortunately. I really tried to enjoy this, but I just did not. Though it had bi (?) pirates. The book read like it was nowhere near finished.
Rating: 3.5 stars (please Goodreads give me half stars)
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
review to come on the 9th of July
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
review to come on the 9th of July
Disclaimer: I received a free copy via Edelweiss for review purposes.
trigger warnings: abuse, sexual assault, homophobia, transphobia
I will admit that I had expectations when I went into The Unbinding of Mary Reade. I was so excited about this book. Sapphic pirates? YES! That is probably the only plus that I can find in this book. It could have been so amazing, especially because it’s by an #ownvoices author.
If you’re looking for a cute, fluffy or even a happy f/f romance, I wouldn’t look to this. There is a lot of abuse, sexual assault, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia (and not all of it challenged) throughout the novel that I just couldn’t enjoy this book.
There is very little about this I enjoyed. Mary herself was not a bad character, the world-building and historical atmosphere were decent, and I kind of did enjoy the pirate dynamics though I was hoping for a lot more swashbuckling and action. All in all, this was also a pretty boring book. Which is not what I have come to expect of pirate books. More of a romance than a swashbuckling adventure…
Like I said, this book is rife with sexism, sexual assault, abuse, and homophobia and you’re constantly reminded how much women and queer people were hated in the past and, even for the sake of historical realism, can we not? Especially to the extent it was present. It was just not a pleasant read. There is definitely violent content I would warn queer readers of.
Could we not have had a happy historical f/f romance? Please? (And on this note, if you’re looking for positive and happy LGBT+ historical fiction, I would totally recommend ALL OUT by Saundra Mitchell!)
Additionally, I would caution genderqueer and trans readers because Mary crossdresses and I’m not sure how well this was handled, but there is definitely some triggering content regarding sexual abuse, homophobia and transphobia surrounding this.
This one just really missed the mark for me. If you’re looking for an f/f romance and don’t mind the rampant homophobia and sexism the two have to battle through, then you might enjoy this book a lot more than me.
trigger warnings: abuse, sexual assault, homophobia, transphobia
I will admit that I had expectations when I went into The Unbinding of Mary Reade. I was so excited about this book. Sapphic pirates? YES! That is probably the only plus that I can find in this book. It could have been so amazing, especially because it’s by an #ownvoices author.
If you’re looking for a cute, fluffy or even a happy f/f romance, I wouldn’t look to this. There is a lot of abuse, sexual assault, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia (and not all of it challenged) throughout the novel that I just couldn’t enjoy this book.
There is very little about this I enjoyed. Mary herself was not a bad character, the world-building and historical atmosphere were decent, and I kind of did enjoy the pirate dynamics though I was hoping for a lot more swashbuckling and action. All in all, this was also a pretty boring book. Which is not what I have come to expect of pirate books. More of a romance than a swashbuckling adventure…
Like I said, this book is rife with sexism, sexual assault, abuse, and homophobia and you’re constantly reminded how much women and queer people were hated in the past and, even for the sake of historical realism, can we not? Especially to the extent it was present. It was just not a pleasant read. There is definitely violent content I would warn queer readers of.
Could we not have had a happy historical f/f romance? Please? (And on this note, if you’re looking for positive and happy LGBT+ historical fiction, I would totally recommend ALL OUT by Saundra Mitchell!)
Additionally, I would caution genderqueer and trans readers because Mary crossdresses and I’m not sure how well this was handled, but there is definitely some triggering content regarding sexual abuse, homophobia and transphobia surrounding this.
This one just really missed the mark for me. If you’re looking for an f/f romance and don’t mind the rampant homophobia and sexism the two have to battle through, then you might enjoy this book a lot more than me.
This book was amazing. Possibly my favorite of the year. The chapters are short but after every one I stopped and went holy s*** I didn’t see that coming. The lgbt rep is amazing and I love it so much.
13/20. What I wanted from this book was "book that wasn't going to be even close to as good as Black Sails but that would vaguely give me Black Sails vibes." That was what I got, so I'm happy. This was no literary masterpiece, but I really enjoyed its take on tropes that have been done to death, such as "girl disguises herself as a boy." It subverted that trope and discussed its implications in what I thought was a pretty well rounded way. I would have liked some more time actually at sea and some more piratey action. The majority of this book was spent on land, which was sad.
Characters were not super well developed, but enough so that I liked them and was able to become invested. Overall, I was satisfied with this book. It wasn't super well written, but its takes on gender roles and sexuality were pretty complex and interesting. Plus I love pirates.
Characters were not super well developed, but enough so that I liked them and was able to become invested. Overall, I was satisfied with this book. It wasn't super well written, but its takes on gender roles and sexuality were pretty complex and interesting. Plus I love pirates.