Thank you, NetGalley and Atria Books for this advanced reader's copy. This book was a wide ride about the infamous female pirate Jacquotte Delahaye. She fought against men to own her own ship and free women from the tyranny of men of the time and ran her ship with these women refugees. Jacquotte was fearless, did things her own way, bucked the system, and chose a woman for her companion and lover, and only used a man to have a child. This book was a fun tale of her adventures across the high seas and the battles she fought and escaped.

Was Jacquotte Delahaye real? The jury’s out on that one, but regardless this was a captivating tale. From start to finish, the story came full circle, through the struggles and triumphs of Jacquotte. Action packed to the point every time I picked the book up, I didn’t have time to wonder what would happen next.

I never thought of myself as someone who loved books filled with action and adventure, but The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye has me rethinking my stance (which says a lot!). At times I did find some of the language and themes difficult to read (however historically accurate), particularly around the view toward POC and women during the time setting. But both of these were important pieces to what makes Jacquotte, well… Jacquotte. Through each challenge, she prevails, creating a true hero’s tale.

And along with every hero’s tale, there has to be a suspension of believe to some degree. This is the main reason I had to subtract a star, as much as I loved this story. It feels too good to be true, a little less and less realistic as time goes on. As injuries and bodies pile up against the odds and a short timeline, it just didn’t feel as realistic as I would have liked.

Putting that aside, the writing, the action, the adventure had me hook. A very solid 4 stars for me.

It felt to me like the author had taken a couple of modern, progressive people and deposited them in Caribbean of the 17th century. The characters seemed either good or bad to me. There were not a lot of grey areas or character development which are the types of books I enjoy.

The violence is often very graphic so consult the trigger warnings on e.g. Storygraph if you'd like to avoid certain topics.

I liked how homosexuality and bisexuality were displayed in this book. Overall, I think I would have enjoyed the book a lot more if it were set in the present day and characters were more ambiguous.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for an advance e-copy of this book

the story was fascinating and the characters were so realistic. the world felt immersive that I felt like I was right there with them. some parts of the pacing was a little off for me but otherwise fantastic!

Briony Cameron’s queer, feminist seafaring romance debut begins in Yaquimo (now Jacmel), Saint-Domingue, in 1655. Jacquotte Delahaye works as a skilled shipwright, with a crew of four men whose intense loyalty to her cannot be questioned. When an incident at the governor’s mansion turns violent and her father is murdered, Jacquotte flees with her ship-building crew and her young brother, a talented doctor-in-training, on a barely seaworthy ship. As they search for safe mooring, they are overrun by pirates, and Jacquotte’s crew are forced into indenture under the brutal Captain Blackhand’s erratic and drunken leadership. In Port Royal she believes she has found haven, but all too soon discovers she will never be free of the intrigues and political machinations of Saint-Domingue’s new governor, who chased her into exile.

While I enjoyed the novel overall, some suspension of disbelief is required. Jacquotte’s liaison belowdecks, while the rest of her crew commandeers another ship and fights for their lives, is unlikely (and would surely raise the ire of her fellow pirates!). There is a bit too much last-minute lifesaving, as well, and the conclusion is unexpected. Jacquotte seems a Robin-Hood-type amalgam of many other historical peoples rather than a real person, but Cameron uses what little information there is to create a highly imaginative, swashbuckling thrill ride as the action sails from one dire event to the next. A stormy journey through Caribbean high seas, with a courageous heroine packing a berserker temper and long (too-often-mentioned) red hair, no doubt a godsend to an adversary in a fight. Sticklers for pirate historical accuracy might take exception to a few things, but set your credulity aside for a while and enjoy the fun ride.

This sizzling historical fiction blends passion with credibility. Piracy is often romanticized, but without compromising on the ugly truths of the danger this novel brings heart-pounding adventure, queer romance, and an era to life. You’ll want to heed the call of the sea and set sail with Captain Delahaye!

While historians can't agree whether Jacquotte Delahaye was a real person, this novel brings her fully to life in all her swashbuckling glory. Forced into a life of piracy, Jacquotte escapes her limited life as a mulatto, a woman and shipwright, and finds her freedom on the open seas. it isn't an easy life and there are constant challenges and danger but Jacquotte stands firm through it all. A great adventure tale that also speaks to the challenges of women and people of color, no matter what century we're in.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a debut novel by Briony Cameron. This book is about Jacquotte Delahaye a shipwright in Yáquimo, Santo Domingo. Jacquotte is a mulato, her mother a free slave and her French father. Jacquotte is known for her trademark red hair. After the govenor's nephew overthrows the government Jacquotte and her friends flee Yaquimo. They are soon picked up by Blackhand, a pirate and become members of his crew. This book follows Jaquotte as she struggles to find herself and her desires to become the leader is born to be. This was a great book and I was hooked from the very first page. Her crew will follow her to the ends of the earth if she asks them to. This book is somewhat based on the real Jacqotte Delahaye and her time as a pirate on the Carribean Seas. I would like to think both NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me an advance copy of this beautiful book to read.

Thanks NetGalley for providing me this ebook.

I love the way it's written.
And I love the found family trope.
I didn't like how in some situations Jacquotte didn't take responsibility for her actions. But at the end she changed, and that's what matters the most.
There was strong character development and all characters were beautiful each with their own story. I don't think any of them felt flat, but i would've loved to see more of Teresa and Marceau.
It was adventurous and a little sad but it had a great ending!

amazing cover by the way!

Listen, you tell me "badass queer lady pirate" and I am THERE. And the cover? Gorgeous.

Unfortunately, I was also told "Ballad" and therefore expected a more literary, perhaps poetic writing style. What I got was short, simple sentences. Which is fine, but not what I was hoping for. The action scenes were well done, the emotion and character not as much. I'm a character reader so for me, it was lacking. Someone who cares for plot more than character will probably enjoy this more than I did.

The author said she wanted to feel out the story of a black woman who improbably won the hearts and loyalty of a pirate crew. Which again, I love the idea of, but there wasn't much winning of hearts in this story. Even the romance was barely there and happened without feeling. It was more winning of fights and having an opinion and then suddenly everyone was on her side. I don't know. I just hoped for more and feel a bit let down by the promise of such an exciting premise with a thoroughly mediocre delivery. I also feel let down by the listicle that got me super hyped for this book as an exciting upcoming release.w/show/6040164847

I tend to be a sucker for pirate tales with strong lasses at the helm. The story itself is a bit repetitive, but I found it quite the adventure. The protagonist took care of business, and is very efficient about keeping the story moving. I love pirate stories as a general rule, but it's always special when you unexpectedly find yourself immersed in a story that builds its world around diverse cast of characters on all fronts.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me entertained and I loved the storyline. Thank you for the ARC.

"Jacquotte, you in danger girl!" -This was basically me most of the book.

Thank you to Atria Books for an advanced readers copy of, "The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye" in exchange for my independent thoughts and feedback.

Literally, from pretty much the beginning of this dazzling and harrowing odyssey Jacquotte finds her self in mess after mess, by no fault of her own may I add. You see, there is this running theme throughout life about women's place in history and our society and well as hard she may or may not try Jacquotte will not have it and I lived for every second of it. Of her defying what was expected of her during the time of this story. She will do what she wants, live how she wants, and so be it. Now no one said it would be easy. But if Jacquotte has anything to do with it, it will be done!

This tale is set in the islands, seas and coasts of the Caribbean during the 17th century. You quickly learn about the different caste systems during this period and that between the Spaniards, French, and English, if you aren't European you don't have much of a say in the way of life.

I loved the premise of this book and the author did an amazing job with the Character development. Though as expected some artistic liberties appear to have been used overall it was a fun ride. For me the mark of a great book is when you can get lost and immersed in not just the story but the setting, the characters and for me I got that while reading TBOJD. I basically timetraveled to witness what a pirates life may have been and most importantly felt like. The narrative also provides a humanization of them that helps to maybe explain some of the reasons why some may have turned to this life of "crime."

I recommend this book to anyone who would like to try something different. I enjoyed it and felt like I learned something new. There are elements of history, suspense, adventure and romance. I would like to caution there are some gore elements as there are amazing fight sequences illustrated through the writing.

I think this book is for a lot of people, but ultimately it just wasn’t really for me. I actually didn’t manage to finish this, I only got about 40% of the way through before my NetGalley ARC expired. To be honest, I think a lot of that is just the genre. I enjoy historical fiction, I just realized reading this that I don’t really enjoy the kind that has like, sword fights and treason. If you are someone who enjoys your historical fiction with a side of action, and is intrigued by the concept of a biracial lesbian female pirate, I’d say you should check this out! Be warned that it takes awhile to get to the pirate part though (I stopped reading before any real pirate exploits began).

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

At no point in this book did I know where it was going, in the best way. Historical fiction is not my comfort genre, so I was a bit unsure going into it, but the book did an excellent job keeping me engaged throughout. Loved the found family aspect -- the characters were a lil Mary Sue at times but very likeable and easy to root for.

Retelling real people's lives can feel iffy sometimes, but this story felt more like it was borrowing from Jacquotte Delahaye's life than trying to rewrite it. Overall, a solid debut!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a swashbuckling adventure. I like the fact that it is based on a real woman and appreciate the research that was done. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a wild adventure of pirates in the Caribbean like no other with a captain that is strong, brave and daring.

Jacquotte, a shipwright from Yáquimo, Santo Domingo, had been living a peaceful life with her French father and little brother. Her Haitian mother passed earlier from health issues. Jacquotte was dark-skinned mulatto that was looked down upon like a slave. Yet, she was free and hadn’t valued it until she found out the background of her parents.

In the mid 1600s, there was a battle for control and her once childhood friend took over as governor. She had to escape as he was ruthless killing her father in front of her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to become property of a man. Afterall, she was in love with a woman. With her skills, she could be a crew member of a pirate ship. She had to act quickly.

The author, Briony Cameron, knows how to tell a good story. She has a vivid imagination that brings characters to life in the days when pirates were known to attack ships and take the treasures of gold and silver after deadly sword fights. While the pirates could be merciless taking off limbs and fingers, it’s not too gruesome to stomach. Parts are a little hard to believe but it’s fun with a strong female presence. It wraps up with a satisfying ending.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of June 4, 2024.

Briony Cameron's The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a brutal, beautiful, brilliant what-if historical novel about the mythical queer disabled Black female pirate Jacquotte Delahaye. I'm not sure there's any greater selling point than that fact. There's never been a novel like this before. And it's clear Cameron takes that seriously. Cameron's interpretation of Delahaye's story takes place in three parts, all of them full of action, intrigue, and romance — but, wonderfully, Cameron doesn't shy away from the misogyny, racism, and homophobia Delahaye personally encounters. She also doesn't shy away from the horrors of colonialism. There are also lifelong repercussions to Delahaye's lifestyle; this isn't a high seas fantasy book. Cameron's aims so high with her debut novel and she accomplishes basically everything she clearly set out to do.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this book and provide an honest review.

Well done if disturbing & violent. They’re 1700-century pirates, what you gonna do?

The novel is based on a historical character; god rest her soul. They were violent times especially for a Black lesbian woman; yet Jacquotte, she fights, she conquers.

Yes, you can count this as an #ownvoices by a queer, disabled author. Check, check if you try to keep track of those things.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a fictional interpretation of the life of a relatively unknown female pirate of the mid 17th Century. The book opens on her life on Hispaniola as a shipwright, but things quickly go awry and she ends up fleeing the island with her brother and friends, and becomes indentured to a cruel pirate, Captain Blackhand. The book follows how she becomes a pirate Captain in her own right from there.
For me, I'm honestly having a difficult time rating this one because I just didn't like this book, but it feels a bit unfair to rate it 2 stars. Right off the bat, this title is a misnomer, as the writing was neither lyrical nor all that poetic. The writing itself would be my primary complaint as it just felt choppy, uneven, and undeveloped. From there, the premise could have been interesting but it just didn't feel authentic to the time period and verged more on fantasy than history. I'm typically a very fast reader, but this book took me 5 days to finish just because it did not hold my interest long enough to become invested in finishing it.
So, with all that in mind, I do feel I have to rate it 2.5 stars but will round up to 3. It's possible that I went into reading this book in too critical a frame of mind and others may enjoy it, even knowing that it's not accurately portraying the time period, etc.
Thank you to Atria books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.