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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was written with so much passion and care. It had one of my favorite reading experiences in a while. I learned so much (plenty of sad but not surprising stuff) — I certainly hope Jacquotte Delahaye was real. If people cared enough to document the lives of anyone who isn’t a cishet white man we would’ve known. It is an epic story and I knew from the prologue.
The characters were the heart of the story. Jacquoette is the epitome of this. For the better or worse, she kept on fighting. She believed so heavily in her goals. She feels so strongly about people around her, thus the reader does too.. The girl she once met in the yellow dress Teresa, I would’ve liked more chemistry and yearning instead of affection between them but I still loved reading about them. There were so many other characters who were crewmates but I admired them all. I’ll also say I hated all those white men as much as Jacquotte did. She realized her dad was a slave owner and her mother was a slave :(.
The writing style was so vivid. It made me smell, touch, taste, hear, and see. Every description of the sea, ships, and people. The author is genuinely so talented that I’d read one of her future books if the plot didn’t hook me at all just for her prose. It's not anything purple prose but not just straightforward either. It’ll make you forget you are reading a book, or living a life.
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this historical fiction. The narrator was fantastic. It was interesting to read about women becoming pirates in the 1700s and see their great mix of cultures in the Caribbean. I enjoyed the LGBTQ and disability representation. Jacquotte is a strong character and her growth and personal discoveries over the course of this book were fun to read.
The found family at sea was another wonderful element. I really enjoyed Francisco especially.
The concepts this book explored around slavery, free blacks, body autonomy, and white men feeling they had ownership over women and people of color were all important.
The violence and injuries, while they may have been accurate to the time, were at times quite gory and difficult to hear. The amount of injuries and harm Jacquotte suffered made me wonder how on earth she was still alive.
In terms of parts I disliked: I know when authors write in this day and in a modern language for a modern audience, historical fiction can only be so accurate but there were a lot of modern terms, ideas, and concepts that felt so 21st century that it didn’t feel historical. Also, were folks in LGBTQ relationships, particularly women, able to be so open? Or is this an idealized version of history? I don’t know but would have appreciated an authors note or more information in that regard.
The found family at sea was another wonderful element. I really enjoyed Francisco especially.
The concepts this book explored around slavery, free blacks, body autonomy, and white men feeling they had ownership over women and people of color were all important.
The violence and injuries, while they may have been accurate to the time, were at times quite gory and difficult to hear. The amount of injuries and harm Jacquotte suffered made me wonder how on earth she was still alive.
In terms of parts I disliked: I know when authors write in this day and in a modern language for a modern audience, historical fiction can only be so accurate but there were a lot of modern terms, ideas, and concepts that felt so 21st century that it didn’t feel historical. Also, were folks in LGBTQ relationships, particularly women, able to be so open? Or is this an idealized version of history? I don’t know but would have appreciated an authors note or more information in that regard.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Should be something I'm into - historical fiction, queer, poc, pirates... Idk why but it just wasn't doing it for me. Maybe just the prose style? First half felt rather slow for all of the events transpiring. I'm sure some people will adore this.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall I enjoyed this; it was a fun romp with some great characters and themes. The story was gripping and delightful. Reminiscent of Our Flag Means Death but different enough that it didn't feel like a rip off. My main critique is the disappointingly bland dialogue at key scenes ("boss battles," or times when characters are telling some truths to loved ones). These conversations felt flat, forced, unrealistic, or came straight out of a bad soap opera in how melodramatic they are. But then once the scene ended ... it went back to the characters we know and love instead of "You'll never take the ship! Die, cur!"
Also the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly and perfect (minusall the maiming and death ) but does that say more about me than about the story? These characters deserve a happy ending, too, but again, just felt a little too forced.
I understand this is the author's first book, though, and I look forward to seeing more titles
Also the ending was wrapped up a little too neatly and perfect (minus
I understand this is the author's first book, though, and I look forward to seeing more titles
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail