This wasn't quite the book I thought it would be. I definitely understand why many people have issues with this book. There's a lot of homophobia which, at times, made me uncomfortable. My main issues are that both of Mary's relationship really aren't that healthy, that the start of the book might have warranted a bit more explanation or build up and the homophobia/sexism/rape. There were a lot of triggers here. But I did like Mary. She has issues, sure, but if you'd spent your whole life pretending to be someone else, you'd have issues too. Plus I really liked how her character developed. I would've liked an epilogue, to see where the characters were years later. And how hopefully some of them got what they deserved.

1.5. I was really looking forward to this but it was so boring. It hardly had moments of excitement and nothing that really qualified as swashbuckling.

I had high hopes for this one. I mean, when the synopsis promises me a "swashbuckling, smart novel" about queer lady pirates, how do you expect me to not prepare myself for a knock-my-striped-pirate-stockings-off read?? Unfortunately, it just didn't deliver for me. It's basically a romance, with very little swashbuckling and not a whole lot of anything else going on either. And that makes my pirate stockings sad.


Summary:
Mary has been disguising herself as a boy for most of her life, pretending to be her brother Mark since his death (at her alcoholic mother's insistence) so that she could inherit her grandmother's riches. No one but her mother knows her secret - not even her best friend (/her secret crush) Nat, who shares her dream of escaping their poor and rather terrible lives by sailing the high seas together.

The story is told in alternating timelines between Mary's present and her past, so without revealing too much of her past which is revealed as the story goes on, let's skip ahead to the part where she has made her way onto the high seas, but her ship is overtaken by pirates and she sees - gasp! - a lady pirate standing with the pirate captain, looking strong and beautiful and awesome. Mary shoots her ship's not-so-nice captain in hopes of gaining the pirates' favor. It works, and she's invited to become one of them. She becomes involved in their lifestyle, involved in their politics, and involved with the captain's mistress, Anne Bonny, the one she had admired when they took over her ship. She ends up on an island in the Caribbean with the pirates, and who should she meet there but Nat... So now she has to decide between Anne and Nat, between continuing to be "Mark" or becoming "Mary" once again...


What I liked:
I thought telling Mary's story in alternating timelines between her past and present was a great way to write this one. As some other reviewers have mentioned, it gets a little iffy towards the end when the past catches up to where the book began and it feels a little repetitive, but otherwise I thought it was well done. I had no trouble following along as the timelines switched back and forth, and it seemed to reveal key moments from her past at just the right times.

I am a cis person, so my perspective on this may not be worth much, but I thought the exploration of Mary's thoughts and feelings on whether to continue to be Mark or whether to become Mary again, whether to dress in "boy's" clothes (pants) or "girl's" clothes (dresses) was handled pretty well. She goes back and forth, feeling pressured by friends/society/religion to act and dress like a girl... but she seems to feel more comfortable and more herself when she's Mark, or at least wearing her "Mark" outfit... but could she be "Mary" and still wear "Mark" clothes?...... I felt like I had a good peek into her head about it all, anyway.


What I didn't:
The characters. Not a "didn't like" so much as a strong meh. There was no one that I really liked or disliked. They were all just... there... going about their business. I didn't feel particularly connected to any of them. Even Anne, who I expected to really like, came off as whiny and immature and, well, kind of annoying. So that was super disappointing.

The plot. "Swashbuckling," says the synopsis?? There is swashbuckling for about the first 10% of this, and then THAT'S IT. The rest is pirates talking about whether or not to keep pirating, sitting on one island discussing this, and then sitting around on another island later. ... I'm sorry, but personally, I need a bit more "swashbuckling" going on in a book for it to be sold as a "swashbuckling" novel.

Speaking of the plot, there are so many coincidences that I had a hard time accepting. The first one I was like, okaaaaay, I guess I can accept that the stars could align -just so- to make this one happen: (SPOILER: Nat *just happens* to be the one who attacks her on the beach as all the pirates are being raided. Alllll those raiders vs. alllll those pirates, and he somehow finds Mary on the beach?? *sigh* ok, I guess...) But then, Mary meets up with literally almost everyone from her past on the second island. Whoa, really?? All the islands in the Caribbean and they all happen to converge on this one at the same time? ... I don't know. Maybe it's just me. I just... argh, I have a hard time when things happen really conveniently for maximum dramatic effect.

And yeah, this should be billed as a romance rather than a swashbuckler, but even then, the romance was not my favorite. Or I should say, Mary was not my favorite in the romance department. She is totally into her relationship with one partner, lots of physical attraction and is-it-getting-hot-in-here-or-is-it-just-me, and then jealousy and hurt feelings when that partner pays attention to someone else, so like ok, she must be really into this person... But then as soon as she decides she's mad at that person, she's onto the other partner SO FAST and it's equally as intense and steamy... Buuuut then that partner makes her angry, so it's back to the first partner right away and all oh-no-way-you-are-my-one-and-only, don't-ever-leave-me... Buuut then of course she gets mad at that one again, so baaaaaack to the other one... I was just like, ugh, MARY, seriously girl, have some devotion. Like, I fully support your exploring your bisexuality but I don't support your bouncing back and forth between partners whenever it's convenient for you. Relationships take some work - pick a partner and try to make it work with them, and make a clean break with the other one. You can't have your pirate-lady cake and eat your handsome-childhood-friend cake too. (I... I don't think that worked out as cleverly as I wanted it to, so... erm... let's just... move on, shall we...)


TL;DR: Just... meh. I think I might have liked it better if I hadn't been promised a "swashbuckling, smart novel" in the synopsis. That immediately sets my expectations up for an adventurous, plot-driven book... and that was just not what this is. At all. This is a romance novel, but it is definitely not a swashbuckling novel. And that promise in the synopsis vs. what was delivered was just way too far off for me, unfortunately.


Overall rating: 2 out of 5 stars

At first look, an attractive YA read. It is a great idea to write a fictionalized account of Mary Reade's life, but sadly the story came across more fan-fic than historical fiction. Maudlin, superficial, but with great characters in Mary and Anne. The short chapters and jumping back and forth through time left an unresolved feeling after I finished the book.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This was my first book by this author, It was okay. It was slow paced but it was alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a
2 star rating!

I've spent some time mulling how on earth a wlw pirate book didn't do it for me, and this is what I came up with. This isn't an-depth intellectual or a sociocultural examination of it (I'm so not the right person for that); this a dirty, unrefined super-spoilery, "let's English major this up" breakdown of my own reactions that would appall my alma matter and my high school English teachers.

<b><u>[Spoilers, spoilers everywhere.]</u></b>

After some serious reflecting and analyzing (i.e. I tried to tell my bff about it and then I thought about it while waiting in line at jury duty for ages), I think it comes down to three things, none of which were appealing when combined for me. If maybe one of these three things had been different, I might've ended up liking or loving it. (I so wish it had been because I am still so in love with the idea of you, book. Only rating you two stars killed me a little.)

<b>Thing #1</b>: The plot falls into a consistent pattern, which is a repeated cycle of:
<blockquote><li>• Mary is hiding her true identity—what horrible, scary (and likely violent) thing will happen when the truth comes out?
<li>• Gee, Anne is so cute with her hair and her swishes and how she's a lady pirate in the way that she exists on a pirate ship in a dress, but she is also a horrible person who you probably shouldn't trust to watch your snacks when you go to the bathroom, let alone with a life-threatening secret or your feelings. Mary recognizes this, yet is shocked when she does something horrible. Mary continues to pursue her, anyway.
<li>• Mary's been used, abused, and defined by others all her life. Who is Mary really: a woman, Mark, or someone in between?</blockquote>
Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Now, those aren't bad plot points, necessarily. I would've loved an adventure pirate book that touched on these. I would've loved a book that emphasized Mary exploring who she was with a side of the others. A steamy pirate romance book with a morally ambiguous Anne, even if Anne weren't necessarily likable, sounds cool. Considering the time period, I expected at least some mention or moments of danger Mary would likely be in for not fitting into gender norms or if she were caught posing as a man.

But damn, the pattern in this was painful, because it felt like it was a constant pattern of threat to Mary because of gender issues (What will it be this time? Killed, raped, sent to prison, just plain killed?), with an unrewarding side of unhealthy romance and then a dash of interesting identity issues repeated in various degrees with different levels of effectiveness. Even that might've been okay, if not combined the others.

<b>Thing #2</b>: The overall tone and how disproportionate the struggle/empowerment ratio was:
<blockquote>I don't think I really had a solid "Oh, hell yeah, Mary!" moment until about the 93% mark (I literally went back and checked, because I marked it), and even then, I had my reservations—it was more like a "Well, there you go, Mary. That's better, I guess."</blockquote>
Before the 93% mark, however, it was a great deal of pain, cringing, and brief moments of "Well, maybe Mary finally has the upperhand... A little? Nope, not at all. Screwed again."

In most of these cases, that meant: maybe Mary will be killed or raped or thrown into prison or forced to live a miserable life. In some of the cases, it meant that Anne was the one causing those circumstances (yet Mary was still like, "oh, I wish she wasn't so cute because that betrayal kind of dampens the mood.") or Anne was throwing a tantrum or just being mean. Speaking of which, then we have Anne. We're introduced to her as this dynamic, striking lady pirate whose mere existence is a game changer for Mary, and then you discover that she's less "lady pirate" than she is "pirate's girlfriend on a pirate ship." Which, okay, major disappointment, but life's complicated, right? She should be a very sympathetic character, who's trapped in this horrible predicament where the only weapon she sees herself as having is offering her sexuality to men, and the only way she'll ever be safe is to find a man. That could've been really interesting to explore. Instead, she comes off being... kind of cruel, shallow, and flat all at the same time?

The weird thing is that I love angst. I'm ridiculous about it. You can throw all sorts of obstacles at a character and I'm into it; I'm huge fan of painful, uneasy stories without much reprieve. But I think having the plot element and this ratio combined, plus almost no actual pirating or Mary kicking ass otherwise in a pirate book, snuffed all the enjoyment out of the book. You're introduced to Mary/Mark, the "boy who shot the captain," and then nothing else happens to empower Mary until the very, very end. The few gains, minus Mary finding a job (which I did like), are mostly people having mercy on or saving Mary.

Then, at the end, you Mary running off with Anne and hoping that Anne doesn't end up betraying her or leaving her for something better or she's just using her, or they don't run into the same damn problems they did for the entire other 97% of the other book. So, you finally get Mary the Kick Ass Pirate and Anne the Pirate, maybe? at the 97% mark. Woo-hoo?

<b>Thing #3</b>: There is no fail-safe.

Even with the first two things, I might've liked it with the right narrative voice, a rich setting, nuanced side characters, or the vivid details, but those were all nopes. Initially, I liked some of the side characters, but Jack just fizzled out, Paddy (who is maybe the only decent person) dies, the villains sucked, Nat turns out to be a douche to no one's surprise, and dude, everyone is an absolute ass to Bill. Like, seriously, maybe he's not the most sunshine-y sweet of people, but can no one stop and empathize for a minute that maybe the dude is concerned about being kidnapped against his will and enslaved into bondage again, and that's understandable?

As far as the pirating goes, I'd have to go back and look, but I think there were two barely described raids, they go to an island, they have some meetings, Jack and some others do some stuff off-page, they describe maintaining the ship, and then they decide to take advantage of the pardon being offered, and that's it until Mary and Anne steal a ship at the end. So, you have this static plot and stale setting without any real motifs working. You could've had Mary posing as Mark, a worker at a shipyard and basically had the same book.

As far as narrative voice goes, I felt for Mary. I really did. But she wasn't a particularly captivating narrator. Mostly, I felt like sitting Mary down for a long talk over some hot beverages and talking about life choices, especially in regards to cutting poisonous people like abusive mothers and manipulative love interests out of one's live.

<b>Pros</b>: Paddy (before he dies), some of the time jumps were good, I still really love the concept and the fact that it was done, and I did enjoy some things about it, honestly. Most of all, I love that it was actually published. That sounds stupid, I know, but I love historical non-fiction and non-fantasy historical fiction and it's so hard to find anything that isn't about cishet white people and the same stories you've heard a million times before. I hope there are tons of writers out there busy at their keyboards, notebooks, typewriters, chalkboards, or whatever, getting busy writing realistic historical fiction stories that are about the people who never are mentioned in any history books, because historical fiction needs it, both with YA and adult fiction and non-fiction.

<b>Neutral/Possible Con</b>: Some of the gender thoughts and non-binary musings—some of Mary's thoughts in general were interesting and I think you could possibly identify Mary as genderqueer in today's standards, and I do like the concept that maybe what started out as a practicality is now more about Mary's actual self to Mary. As a cisgender woman, however, I can't talk about how well everything was portrayed. With all the violence and danger associated with it and the violence, I don't know how a non-cis person would feel about this book.

<b>Cons</b>: Um, well, if you've made it this far, I think you probably got the gist of it.

<b>tl;dr review</b>: This was in no way the kick-ass pirate adventure story I hoped it was going to be, or even a steamy pirate romance or an identity story with pirate adventuring on the side, and some things bothered me a lot.

I was so excited for this book! Pirates and a f/f romance! What could go wrong?.. Well.. a lot apparently.

Frankly there were very few things I actually enjoyed about this book. I liked Mary and her backstory had a lot of heart. It certainly made me feel closer to her than I did to any other character. However, that doesn't mean that the I actually liked her. She was weaker than I expected, which in itself isn't a negative thing, it's just that when you take her situation and her past into consideration you'd want/need her to show that she's learnt from past experiences and show how she's managed to overcome issues. Basically she lacked growth, which made her weakness frustrating.

I also did NOT like Anne. At all. She needed to be tougher, stronger and more hard. I couldn't understand her and how she'd managed to make it so far.

My dislike of these two characters leads then to the other great disappointment of this book, which was the romance. It was.... bland and boring. The characters had no real connection and I never once really rooted for them.

Overall, I am disappointed that this didn't book didn't do it for me. I so badly wish that it had.

I really love pirate stories and this one was no different. Though I felt as though it was lacking in the ploy and I was expecting a little bit more.

[Deep sigh] This had so much potential, and there were parts that were quite good. But, mostly not.

I really do love that there's a book about these girls and that they fall in love, just like in real life. But really the premise only goes some way to save it. Overall I just don't have any overhwhelming feelings, just vague annoyance.

The writing style was at times very descriptive and lush, and then at other times it was sparse and filled with dialogue. I started off liking Mary and Anne's characters but by the end they just got annoying. Mary would jump to assumptions which caused a lot of drama. I appreciated the attempt at making Anne feminine and a badass - Always a plus, and I totally understood why she felt reliant on men and the point the author was making. It was an important point to make. But Anne ended up being a bit of a drip really. There's a line between being reliant on men because society has made it so and then not really standing up for yourself and she crossed it a couple of times. I just didn't actually find the girls that likable in the end if I'm being honest.

It was ok, and I love that more diverse books are coming out, especially historical lgbt stories. This had the right sense of hope and had bright girls at the centre. It just didn't quite have the energy to pull it off.

I want more books like this.
I want more pirates. I want more ships. I want more ocean.
But most importantly I want more exploration of gender and sexuality!!

I will not say this book is without flaw, but I will say I think McNamara went about the harder topics of homophobia and sexism in a way that would be true to the time (the 1700's), AS WELL AS gave our main character so much strength that the message of that prejudice being okay would ever come home with the reader.

The element of self discovery and self exploration was probably my favorite part of the book. Our main character has my entire heart and being with her as she is learning about her mind and her body and how they coexist was really interesting. I will critique that she came into herself quite suddenly, but I personally like having that aspect of a story that has been building with momentum and then all the sudden there is this moment where fireworks go off and doves fly and everything is climactic and almost theatrical in a way. I like how Captain Kirk survives off dumb luck. I like it when I love a character so much I follow them blindly. Even when they are impulsive or dramatic I want to be with them during the crescendo of words painting their journey and making me CRY!!

I will admit I am sick of having to watch and read about women clawing at any scrap of power and I wish that it was more common in fiction to write about worlds of equality, but the way I see it is that I read for two reasons: 1. to learn and 2. to see myself, my friends, and the strangers I see walking beside me in my real life on the pages.
I can step back and realize this is historical fiction about two women who lived this life and I can feel hopeful for their ending. But more importantly I can feel happiness in knowing that someone who is struggling with their gender/sexual identity is going to come across this book, and see so much of themselves in the story.
I like to believe that more stories like this will lead to more stories with more diversity and more unquestionably equal societies instead of the ones we live in today or our ancestors have endured in the past.

I loved this book for a lot of reasons. It tugged at my heart, it made me cry, it made me fist pump in moments of victory,and by GODDESS I fell in love with Mary. Absolutely fell in love. I could have read this in one sitting if It wasn't so terrible to my emotions and I was put off about crying in front of my new roommate.

I will state this is heavily a romance, fueled by characters who are realistic, and also a dream, and sometimes a nightmare. I loved the way it was written. I (yes I) felt beautiful, like I was bobbing in the ocean, sitting on a mast, entangled with the ropes around me, smelling the sea, and hearing sounds I haven't heard in years. But I am a sucker for ship settings. I love the language and the life. I always wish for more of it, but the story captured me so much and the description had me there in my mind so vividly that I was content.

I just want anyone to be talking about this story. i could dissect it and discuss it for days. There are so many scenes and so many quotes that I will have with me now forever.

I want books like this, and I want more books better than it, because reading about Mary was an experience I will never forget and I want MORE!!

Mary Reade has been passed off as boy since she was a child, pretending to be her dead mother Mark and even going by his name due to her mother’s wishes. The disguise works well for her as a sailor and eventual pirate, even it poses some danger, as well. But then she meets the irresistible Anne Bonny. Anne is the captain’s girl and therefore off limits, but neither Mary nor Anne is able to resist the pull between them. And when Mary is forced to reveal herself to save Ann it changes her life for good. Now she has to wear skirts instead of trousers, and her former best friend, Nat,—the one she was heading to Nassau to find—is starting to see her in a new light. But is any of that what Mary really wants?

The story is told in alternating timelines, jumping between the past events that led Mary to become a sailor and the present in which she has just shot her captain and joined up with a pirate ship. There were some things I really loved about this book: lady pirates! And queer lady pirates! But there were also some things that I didn’t love so much. In particular, the overly frequent references to queerness, crossdressing, etc. as a perversion / sin that, in addition to being inexcusable, could lead to jail (“gaol”) or even hanging. I get that sexism and homophobia were even more prevalent then than now, and I get that those things can be an element of historical fiction, but there is still some choice in how it’s framed and how often it’s shown. This story chose to show it a lot. And in the context of the story (especially considering it was written by a queer woman about queer women) it didn’t turn me off entirely, but it came up with such frequency that it did detract from things and I thought was certainly worth noting.

I enjoyed the story overall, but I think I was really hoping for something that was a little more adventure on the high seas and self-assured and independent lady pirates being badass—and that just wasn’t really what we got. Between that and the frequent sexism / homophobia, it just wasn’t quite the book I was hoping it would be.

When I think about pirates, I imagine a story involving adventure and lots of time spent on the sea, pursuing some exciting goal. This didn't fit along those lines. And while I am all for looking at well-known elements in stories from different angles, making them feel fresh, in this case the result wasn't entirely fortunate. The book ended when it felt like what I was expecting and desiring was finally going to happen: two independent women, in love, conquering the seas together.

Despite a lackluster plot, a romance that could have been much better and characters who were hard to root for, the author succeeded in realising an interesting depiction of the society of the early 18th century. It offers insightful commentary on gender roles and on double standards, through the eyes of a young girl, Mary, who needs to pretend she is a boy in order to support her poor family. In times heavily ruled by patriarchy, we are introduced to courageous women who stand their ground, not letting themselves be brought down in the face of inequality and injustice. Without possessing a fully-extended freedom, there is an account of how far they had to go to create a good life for themselves, renouncing their identities and stifling their inner desires or ambitions. Mary observes with frustration how different her situation is from the one of her mate, regardeless of their common leaving point and similar capacities. The only aspect setting them apart is their gender, but it is enough to determine Mary to take shelter inside an abandoned whorehouse, barely getting by, while her male friend has a prosperous existance.

"Good thing you didn't grow up a girl, then. That's nothing but wanting things you can't have."

Many times, marrying someone was the only solution and that turned quite often into disrespectful, abusive relationships as it's the case with the union between Anne and her husband. That quickly deteriorates into domestic violence and the wife is powerless, helpless in defending herself against the ridiculous claim that she is her husband's property. The blame is put exclusively on her. It's her fault that she left a toxic household behind, she is supposed to come back and be a good, submissive wife.

"Jimmy gets the power of law and I get the power of prayer. (...) I knew it. Me only choice is to go back to James and pray to bloody God he doesn't kill me one day, as is his bloody right."

Another topic that's taken into account is the extensive homophobia. As too many people are still taught nowadays, having those "unnatural feelings" is only a reason to be ashamed. Because, apparantely, love is a sin. And we are all gulity of it, but just some have to be pentient when in reality no one should feel bad for truly loving another human being and being loved back. Mary has to learn and to accept who she is and what she really wants, getting over the unhealthy feelings of remorse and self-doubt. She doesn't abide by "what's appropriate". Mary can't force herself to adjust to the definition of a woman because that would mean to get rid of important parts of who she is. In the end, she lives her life unapolegetically as her true self, loving fearlessly and not looking back. And I respect her for that.

Sometimes I need books like this to remind me how far we came as humans in being more open-minded and understanding, even if we still have a
LONG way to go, so I can matain my faith and keep reaching for a better future. Overall, I'm glad I got to read this book for the look it offered on those times, but I'm going to continue my search for the one that will manage to deliver what this didn't.

I really wanted to like this book. However it’s just not cohesive enough for me to enjoy.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

DNF the copy that was sent to me was formatted very weird and made it hard for me to read

So Mary Reade is a young lady who learns to disguise herself as a boy as she joins a ship crew. During her time at sea her ship is attacked by pirates, and being so impressed by a lady in the pirate crew, she takes out her own crew's captain with a single shot. She is taken as part of the pirate crew still under the guise of a man. She becomes fond of the lady, Anne, she was impressed with while she still yearns for the boy she loved back home.

Throughout the book, every chapter or two, we get a look back at Mary's past and why she even disguised herself in the first place. Her mom was a poor, drunk woman who used Mary by dressing her up as Mark, a son who passed. By doing this, Mary was forced in to deceiving her Grandma in to seeing her as her heir. This was a nice way to keep the reader engaged with the present while letting them in on Mary's background, without the massive information dump that hinders many other books.

Mary is a girl who yearns to be what she believes is right. She wants to be a woman and with her childhood love. She is tired of deceit, and yet when she is outed, everything changes. She realizes those who considered her opinion as one of a man's now cares not about hers as a woman. We also see how Mary is divided within herself over who she loves, and whether it is acceptable or not within herself. You can feel her pain as she can't seem to understand her, just as much as Anne is in the same predicament. What I loved about this was in the end she realizes it is okay to love whom you want, regardless of what anyone else may think.

This book made me think about a lot of social issues when it came to love, the lack of equal standing with men and women, and how people are looked down upon for being outside of the norms. I thought about how much things have changed since the 1700s, and yet how much things haven't in many ways. I can look at current politics in the U.S. and see how many wish we were headed back to the way many think and lead back then.

My only significant gripe about this book was the lack of Pirate adventure and action. It had some, but kind of leaves that desire a bit unfulfilled in the grand scheme of everything that happens. The way some of the early moments of this book play out, you almost expect a bit more, but it never comes. Overall I really enjoyed The Unbinding of Mary Reade and how it touches upon social aspects like feminism and LGBTQ in an older setting. Any book that has me sitting back in and giving serious thought to topics present after I'm finished is doing a good job.

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.

oh boy, i've been waiting for this book for like 5 months!! i was so excited!! i mean, come on, it doesn't get better than gay pirates. it can get worse, tho.

if u've ever read even one sapphic book abt pirates - especially if it was published a few years ago - u know this very particular feel they have. it's kind of hard to describe in a single word but it pretty much boils down to choppy, rushed writing, making sure everything is properly gritty & bloody and putting in sex scenes straight from a harlequin. the unbinding of mary reade gives off that exact vibe from the very first page.

so i was wary of this right from the start. unfortunately. but then we finally meet anne bonny!! if we can call her that... listen, the anne we see here? she runs around the ship in a dress with laces, claps her hands & laughs when she's excited abt something, specifically asks for romantic stories bc she apparently loves hearing them, drapes herself all over jack for the whole crew to see... i know black sails isn't exactly the holy bible of characterization of real ppl but at the same time - this anne is literally the polar opposite of what we saw on the show. it's so hard to take seriously the image of anne this book is trying to conjure, i rly had to give up on it. (maybe it would be easier if the writing was Great but it's barely mediocre)

and one last thing bc it's so absurd i can't not talk abt it. the narrative is in the present & in flashbacks and we get a chapter of each intertwined for the whole book. now the thing is, they rly used a whole different font for the flashbacks... i guess in case we forgot what it is we're reading? thanks for that vote of confidence.