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The Unbinding of Mary Reade
by Miriam McNamara
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