Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
I received this as an arc from netgalley in exchange for my honest reviews.
I didn’t care for this all that much. I couldn’t connect to the characters at all and the plot was a little boring for me. I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded amazing. Unfortunately it fell very flat for me.
I didn’t care for this all that much. I couldn’t connect to the characters at all and the plot was a little boring for me. I really wanted to love this book. The synopsis sounded amazing. Unfortunately it fell very flat for me.
I liked it, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I thought we would get action! Pirate lesbians taking over the seas! But it really was a bit boring if I might say that?
Mary was definitely the saving point of this story for me. I liked their journey accepting themselves, sometimes stories like this are very dismissive of trans characters but I feel like this book was careful not to do that. It was weird that they used female pronouns even until the end for Mary, when it was clear that they weren't comfortable being called a girl, but otherwise Mary's internal battle and journey was very interesting and I was glad to read it. I'm a cis girl though so I'm not sure how non-binary and trans people would feel about it, whether it was good representation or not I think whatever the case it's weird that it's marketed as a lesbian romance when I really don't think after reading this that Mary would call themselves a girl.
As for the romance, that was maybe the worse part of the book for me. Nat was an asshole, and Anne was a manipulative bitch. So I really wasn't rooting for any of them lmao. Not to mention it really was the worst case of insta love I ever seen.
So overall it was okay, I liked that it was original, but I guess I had high hopes for a different kind of book when I started reading this that's why it only gets 3 stars for me
Mary was definitely the saving point of this story for me. I liked their journey accepting themselves, sometimes stories like this are very dismissive of trans characters but I feel like this book was careful not to do that. It was weird that they used female pronouns even until the end for Mary, when it was clear that they weren't comfortable being called a girl, but otherwise Mary's internal battle and journey was very interesting and I was glad to read it. I'm a cis girl though so I'm not sure how non-binary and trans people would feel about it, whether it was good representation or not I think whatever the case it's weird that it's marketed as a lesbian romance when I really don't think after reading this that Mary would call themselves a girl.
As for the romance, that was maybe the worse part of the book for me. Nat was an asshole, and Anne was a manipulative bitch. So I really wasn't rooting for any of them lmao. Not to mention it really was the worst case of insta love I ever seen.
So overall it was okay, I liked that it was original, but I guess I had high hopes for a different kind of book when I started reading this that's why it only gets 3 stars for me
This book had a lot of aspects I love. (Especially the research that went into it was fun - loved reading the dialogue that way.)
All together though, it didn't really work out for me.
I expected more pirating, more romance, and perhaps less punishment for our main character.
I think that was the hardest part for me - Mary felt terrible, godless, and hellbound for being who she was. And the entire world around and the plot proved her right for it. The moment she rose against that was the best part of the book - but it came so late. I wanted more of Mary owning who she is, more of taking what she wants.
Besides, the romance puzzled me somewhat. Both Nat and Anne just seem so similiar. Two troubled people who are attracted to Mary but can't take her for who she is for lacking spine to risk it? Or to protect her? Overall, I sort of wish it would have either been a trans man falling for his best mate maybe, or focused on developing Anne's and Mary's relationship only. Both relationships were interesting, but both left me yearning and featured way too much betrayal.
It really, truly wasn't a bad book. It simply wasn't for me as much as I'd hoped, and that's perfectly fine.
All together though, it didn't really work out for me.
I expected more pirating, more romance, and perhaps less punishment for our main character.
I think that was the hardest part for me - Mary felt terrible, godless, and hellbound for being who she was. And the entire world around and the plot proved her right for it. The moment she rose against that was the best part of the book - but it came so late. I wanted more of Mary owning who she is, more of taking what she wants.
Besides, the romance puzzled me somewhat. Both Nat and Anne just seem so similiar. Two troubled people who are attracted to Mary but can't take her for who she is for lacking spine to risk it? Or to protect her? Overall, I sort of wish it would have either been a trans man falling for his best mate maybe, or focused on developing Anne's and Mary's relationship only. Both relationships were interesting, but both left me yearning and featured way too much betrayal.
It really, truly wasn't a bad book. It simply wasn't for me as much as I'd hoped, and that's perfectly fine.
The Unbinding of Mary Reade is a historical fiction standalone novel following Mary Reade, a girl who dresses as a boy to become a pirate, before and after she met Anne Bonny, a pirate girl Mary will fall in love with.
I didn’t have any strong feelings about this book. Nothing stood out to me, and the only thing I actually liked about it was the premise.
When I read a book about pirates, I hope to find interesting adventures and people exploring new places, not 300 pages of the main character trying to hide that she’s actually a girl.
This book was 90% homophobia and sexism, and while that’s not necessarily inaccurate, it made for a very boring read. I guess I just don’t like books in which the conflict is “the main character is a queer woman and people didn’t like queer women (or women in general) back then”.
The Unbinding of Mary Reade needs trigger warnings for: homophobia (there is a scene of people being executed for being queer), sexism (a lot of it), abusive relationships (Anne has an abusive husband), transphobia and sexual assault, because crossdressing plotlines always end with a scene of sexual assault (predictable).
For a book about pirates, it had very little action, and the action scenes were boring, but not as much as the chapters set in Mary’s past – I’m here for the pirates, not for her crush on a boy that isn’t going to end up with her anyway, as this is marketed as f/f pirates. The backstory wasn’t useless, but I didn’t need so many chapters of it. I did end up liking Mary and Anne as a couple, but there was a lot of miscommunication up until the last 10%.
When the good part starts – Anne and Mary are finally gay pirates together – the book ends. Because queer women can’t possibly have adventures that aren’t about them being queer women, even when they’re pirates.
Don't get me wrong, it's great that we're finally getting historical books about queer people, but this is just not the kind of story I'm interested in.
I didn’t have any strong feelings about this book. Nothing stood out to me, and the only thing I actually liked about it was the premise.
When I read a book about pirates, I hope to find interesting adventures and people exploring new places, not 300 pages of the main character trying to hide that she’s actually a girl.
This book was 90% homophobia and sexism, and while that’s not necessarily inaccurate, it made for a very boring read. I guess I just don’t like books in which the conflict is “the main character is a queer woman and people didn’t like queer women (or women in general) back then”.
The Unbinding of Mary Reade needs trigger warnings for: homophobia (there is a scene of people being executed for being queer), sexism (a lot of it), abusive relationships (Anne has an abusive husband), transphobia and sexual assault, because crossdressing plotlines always end with a scene of sexual assault (predictable).
For a book about pirates, it had very little action, and the action scenes were boring, but not as much as the chapters set in Mary’s past – I’m here for the pirates, not for her crush on a boy that isn’t going to end up with her anyway, as this is marketed as f/f pirates. The backstory wasn’t useless, but I didn’t need so many chapters of it. I did end up liking Mary and Anne as a couple, but there was a lot of miscommunication up until the last 10%.
When the good part starts – Anne and Mary are finally gay pirates together – the book ends. Because queer women can’t possibly have adventures that aren’t about them being queer women, even when they’re pirates.
Don't get me wrong, it's great that we're finally getting historical books about queer people, but this is just not the kind of story I'm interested in.
Apparently I got to 22 % percent while reading this, which probably meant I was a little bit bored reading this. Again, I’m sorry if you read this book and you really liked it, and once again, as mentioned earlier, that’s totally fine. But I didn’t enjoy it.
I’m that kind of reader where I pay attention to the characters, plot, and worldbuilding (if it’s a fantasy-type novel). But more often than not, I’ll focus on the characters. I want to like the characters I read, I want to root for them. I want see them achieve the goals they set for themselves. But for these characters, I could see they had goals and wanted to achieve them; I just didn’t feel the need to root for them.
Do I recommend this: If you’re interested in reading about pirates, f/f relationships or long hauls on the sea, then you might want to pick this up. Also remember that as I didn’t finish this book, I don’t know how the book ends or how specific events unfold.
I’m that kind of reader where I pay attention to the characters, plot, and worldbuilding (if it’s a fantasy-type novel). But more often than not, I’ll focus on the characters. I want to like the characters I read, I want to root for them. I want see them achieve the goals they set for themselves. But for these characters, I could see they had goals and wanted to achieve them; I just didn’t feel the need to root for them.
Do I recommend this: If you’re interested in reading about pirates, f/f relationships or long hauls on the sea, then you might want to pick this up. Also remember that as I didn’t finish this book, I don’t know how the book ends or how specific events unfold.
I was sent this book as an advanced copy by the publisher via NetGalley for reviewing purposes, but all opinions are my own.
3.5 stars
This book is perfect for those who are a lot into romance and not that much into action.
I personally love books with pirates in them, but I also admit that I’m not the biggest fan of action scenes and all of the things you would expect from a book where everyone is a pirate. So, this overall worked for me, but it won’t work for you if you’re going into it expecting a lot of pirate badassery. I would have certainly liked a little more of that but I didn’t mind it this way either.
⚓️ What I liked:
• Basically, all the “good” characters were bisexual or potentially bi.
• The two timelines showed the different struggles Mary faces,from when she’s forced by her mother to become “Mark” to when she’s forced to be Mary again.
• I really liked the romance taking place in the first timeline and the trope of “forbidden love”
• I think the MC had enough depth and was well rounded.
• The happy ending.
🛳️ Stuff I’m not sure what to think of:
• There’s a lot of bad stuff in here. Homophobia, transphobia, sexism, abuse, sexual assault. I didn’t really love reading about that, but I also understand why they were there. Historical realism and all that. But… I just can’t help but wonder whether all of that was necessary. I think there should be a way to keep it realistic and accurate while not focusing the major part of the book around those things.
• I also don’t know how trans and genderqueer people are going to feel about the whole forced crossdressing thing. I legit don’t know, so I’m adding this point here. I’ve always enjoyed stories where the main heroine had to fake being a man but I’m a cis person and while I do think that this book had some depth when it comes to both gender and sexuality, in a few cases I wondered how a not cis person would feel while reading this.
⚓️ What I didn’t like (some spoilers ahead):
• I found that there wasn’t actually that much romantic chemistry between Anne and Mary. Sexual, maybe, but I wasn’t 100% on board with the romance itself, and I didn’t like how Mary was shown to up to the very end still have feelings for Nat. It’s kind of dangerous territory for bi representation and while I wasn’t hurt by it because I understood Mary’s feelings, I can’t tell whether it won’t bother others.
• I felt like the last few chapters in the past were unnecessary. I don’t know if I’ve missed something, but I could have done without the story ending right where it began, since I don’t think this full-cycle thing added anything.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018 and while it didn’t fully deliver I did enjoy reading it, and the main reason I did is because it used a lot of tropes that I’ve always enjoyed that kept me hooked to the page. If that sounds like something for you, you’ll probably enjoy it too, as long as you don’t expect too much action and are aware that the pirate theme is mostly in the background.
_____
I have this new rule that if someone learns about a wlw pirate book and doesn't tell me right away they're not my friend anymore
3.5 stars
This book is perfect for those who are a lot into romance and not that much into action.
I personally love books with pirates in them, but I also admit that I’m not the biggest fan of action scenes and all of the things you would expect from a book where everyone is a pirate. So, this overall worked for me, but it won’t work for you if you’re going into it expecting a lot of pirate badassery. I would have certainly liked a little more of that but I didn’t mind it this way either.
⚓️ What I liked:
• Basically, all the “good” characters were bisexual or potentially bi.
• The two timelines showed the different struggles Mary faces,
• I really liked the romance taking place in the first timeline and the trope of “forbidden love”
• I think the MC had enough depth and was well rounded.
• The happy ending.
🛳️ Stuff I’m not sure what to think of:
• There’s a lot of bad stuff in here. Homophobia, transphobia, sexism, abuse, sexual assault. I didn’t really love reading about that, but I also understand why they were there. Historical realism and all that. But… I just can’t help but wonder whether all of that was necessary. I think there should be a way to keep it realistic and accurate while not focusing the major part of the book around those things.
• I also don’t know how trans and genderqueer people are going to feel about the whole forced crossdressing thing. I legit don’t know, so I’m adding this point here. I’ve always enjoyed stories where the main heroine had to fake being a man but I’m a cis person and while I do think that this book had some depth when it comes to both gender and sexuality, in a few cases I wondered how a not cis person would feel while reading this.
⚓️ What I didn’t like (some spoilers ahead):
• I found that there wasn’t actually that much romantic chemistry between Anne and Mary. Sexual, maybe, but I wasn’t 100% on board with the romance itself, and I didn’t like how Mary was shown to up to the very end still have feelings for Nat. It’s kind of dangerous territory for bi representation and while I wasn’t hurt by it because I understood Mary’s feelings, I can’t tell whether it won’t bother others.
• I felt like the last few chapters in the past were unnecessary. I don’t know if I’ve missed something, but I could have done without the story ending right where it began, since I don’t think this full-cycle thing added anything.
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018 and while it didn’t fully deliver I did enjoy reading it, and the main reason I did is because it used a lot of tropes that I’ve always enjoyed that kept me hooked to the page. If that sounds like something for you, you’ll probably enjoy it too, as long as you don’t expect too much action and are aware that the pirate theme is mostly in the background.
_____
I have this new rule that if someone learns about a wlw pirate book and doesn't tell me right away they're not my friend anymore