NetGalley ARC Educator 550974

Pirates, demons, the devil and magic powers. Oh my. This book was extraordinary. The handling of the gender breaking boundaries just superb. This is a one sitting read that you can enjoy time and time again.

#RepresentationMatters

I knew it! I just knew this was gonna be an incredible ride!

I was anxiously waiting for this pirate/deal with the devil Fantasy full of adventure and LGBTQ+ rep! And OMG did it give it ALL!

Found family, Magic, Pirates, a deal with THE DEVIL ( or not )

Mar is a 🏳️‍⚧️ Masculine teen pirate with the magia too fire and Ice ( they keep it a secret) and on their 16th bday, El diábolo comes to claim a deal he made with mat’s father and all hell breaks loose!

And so the story begins that I’m pretty sure you won’t be able to put down! ENJOY!

Gabe Cole Novoa presents The Wicked Bargain, a young adult story of pirates and devil's deals that puts a spotlight on identity. Readers follow Mar, a transmasculine nonbinary teen (they/them) who is a pirate on a ship captained by their father. When El Diablo comes to take his due for a bargain made sixteen years ago, Mar finds themself on a new pirate ship that is not their own with nothing and no one left of their former crew. While grieving their loss of their crew and father, Mar also has to hide their magia- power over fire and ice- which could result in their being killed should someone find out. El Diablo isn't finished with Mar, of course, and gives Mar of an impossible choice between their own soul and their father's.

Set in the Caribbean in the 1820's, Mar's world is during the heyday of piracy and the struggle for independence from the Spanish and other colonists for many nations. Mar's nonbinary identity is honored with gender neutral terms of address both in English and Spanish. Novoa also takes the time to point out that binary gender is a colonial view and features more than one potential matelotage (without using that specific term aside from the author's note) or otherwise queer pairing within the pirate crews of La Ana and La Catalina. A featured demonio, Dami, also showcased a very physical representation of genderfluidity powered by their magic. The author's note itself is a worthy read as Novoa explains some of the things he considered when exploring the historical aspects of a Latine pirate novel.

There are instances of untranslated Spanish throughout the book, but the language used is simplistic enough that a high school level Spanish student should find their way through the reading without difficulty. If not, there's always Google Translate. I found the inclusion of Spanish language to be natural and welcome. I am not fluent in Spanish, but was able to read without an app without issue.

Representation aside, though I loved those aspects of this book, The Wicked Bargain was a genuine just good read. The pacing was well done, the action and tension were present as well as quieter moments for character building. I felt this book was enjoyable the whole way through and perfectly appropriate for the target age demographic.

I was so happy to be able to read this book early and feel Novoa will certainly be an author on my watch list for the future.

4.5 stars

I am one of the biggest lovers of historical fiction and have been wanting more pirates in fiction for a long time. Finally having a historical fiction novel with pirates and a queer main character was a dream come true. Having the setting be in the Caribbean with Latinx characters was the cherry on top of this perfect sundae. From the synopsis you can already tell this book will deliver a story you will never forget. Start to finish I could not set this book down.

Mar is the perfect example of a character that is hurting but is also trying their best. They have suffered immeasurable lost and that showcases in how they present themselves and in their actions. The consistency of Mars pain throughout this book was incredibly well done. Too often do we see characters suddenly being okay with their powers or their trauma within one chapter. When that happens it doesn’t allow the character to fully grow or have proper development. It was immensely satisfying to watch realistic growth happen within Mar. And how the growth, or lack of growth at times, affected their relationships with everyone around them.Throughout the story you see their pain, their struggles, and most importantly how they grow from that.

I wanted to shake Mar at times but cannot argue with the fact they have my heart and soul. Along with all the other characters. Bas and Dami will live in my head rent free for the rest of my life. Dami is the demon of my dreams and I will cry into my pillow nightly they’re only a fictional character.

Overall, this was novel blew me clear out of the water. There are not enough Latinx stories out there and it is an extreme shame. This story delivered everything a fantasy needs. The range of depth these characters had will always have me clapping my hands. My biggest complaint I had was I wished I had read this book sooner.

The Wicked Bargain is an awesome Latinx pirate historical fantasy featuring a nonbinary MC. The story is a fast-paced adventure set in the Caribbean in 1820 blending real life history with a fantasy romp. Mar's dad made a deal with El Diablo, though they never believed it. When El Diablo comes to collect, Mar's life turns to a quest for survival and revenge. Mar must learn to accept themself in order to save those they love. This is quite a beautiful, fast-paced story. Bravo on the diversity! The world-building is strong. The characterization is excellent. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out The Wicked Bargain asap!

Pirates, curses, stubborn and charming boys, deals, found family and love. This book is one of the best I've read in a very long time. Gabe Cole Novoa wrote a story filled with twists and Amazing characterization, mixing history and fantasy, demons and deals with a main character ready to do anything in order to save their loved ones. A queer story brimming with love and loyalty, found family and support and incredibly written.

I really enjoyed reading this book. My favorite things were the queer rep and the characters! I'll definitely recommend it to all of my friends!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Mar's life was saved by el Diablo when they were born, and in return their papa was given just 16 prosperous years to live. Sixteen years of pirating the Caribbean-- stealing from the Spaniards and returning the stolen goods to their people. On the night of Mar's 16th birthday, the devil arrives again to fulfill the bargain and take their papa's soul-- unless Mar will make a deal with el Diablo. When Mar refuses, everything they've ever know  is destroyed, and they are cast into the sea.

Mar is rescued by another pirate ship and accepted as part of the crew. While they do menial tasks and cater to the whims of the captain's obnoxious son, they try to figure out how to save their papa without relinquishing their soul. The story that follows is fast-paced and engaging, and it sweeps you right along.

Mar is a transmasculine nonbinary person, and it was really nice to see them treated with affection and acceptance by their family. While they certainly faced their challenges, it was nice to spend time in a world where being trans or queer doesn't immediately result in rejection or harm.

Overall, I think this was a really great read, and it was really refreshing to spend time with a MC and cast that are unapologetically Latinx, trans, and queer.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC one exchange for my honest review!

PIRATES!! I love pirate books. I have such a soft spot for queer pirates. This was probably one of the best books I’ve read as a whole. The characters, plot, action, and chemistry was just all there.

Mar is the non-binary child of a pirate captain who’s lived their whole life on the sea. After their father is taken by El Diablo on their 16th birthday because of a deal he made, they have to find a way to bring him back and control the magia inside them that they are trying desperately to hide.

This is a found family story where Mar’s originally family is ripped away from them and they are saved by another pirate crew. Bas is probably my favorite character here. I love golden retriever boyfriends he was so cute and wholesome. He was fiercely loyal to Mar and to his family and the scene in the bar when he was talking about Mar made my heart melt.

We see the struggle of a teenager figuring out who they are. Not only with how they look and how they identify, but with the abilities they were given that they think are a curse. We see character development through Mar where they find out what it means to really be in control of themselves and help the ones they love as well as help themselves.

There’s so much in this story I appreciated. The representation of Latinx characters, the non-binary/gender-fluid elements with Mar and Dami (who was another amazing character I fell in love with) and the pacing of the story and action. There were times I wanted to cry and times I wanted to cheer. Putting this down as one of my favorite books ever.

From the second I heard about this book, I was excited for it! I'm always a sucker for queer pirates, and this book did not disappoint!

Mar is one of those characters that the reader instantly starts to root for. They're very smart, not making rash decisions that could end up hurting themselves or those they care about (usually). As they work to stay alive, keep their magic safe, and figure out a way to get their dad back from El Diablo, they also have to keep both of their new (friends?), Bas and Dami from driving them insane.

This book wasn't as romance heavy as I was expecting when I started out, which I'll be honest, made me a little sad as I was reading it. (I lost count of how many times I yelled "just kiss!" at my phone.) But looking at the book as a whole, I'm glad it wasn't romance driven. I feel like if it was, it would have taken away from the main story. (And I wouldn't have been as excited when my patience finally paid off and they did kiss.)

Another thing I loved about this book. While Mar needed to keep the fact that they're trans a secret, being gay was not a problem whatsoever. There was not once a homophobic fear ever addressed, which is my favorite for fantasy books. It's refreshing, when the characters get to love who they love without it being a problem to anyone. There's no fear or need to hide for safety, which I can only hope will eventually be the reality in our world.

I highly recommend this book! One really can't go wrong with queer pirates. Make sure to grab yourself a copy when it's released on February 27th, 2023, and and fall in love with Mar and their magic!

15 swears, 0 fs. This was very cute, and a perfect wish-fulfillment kind of fantasy romp for any nonbinary or queer kid. Overall I definitely recommend it as a read and a purchase for libraries. One of the things I loved about this the most is that Novoa crafted a story with tension and romance without using the main character's identity as a plot point. Similar to A Lady for a Duke, I never felt worried as a reader about Mar being outed or maliciously exposed for their identity. Being able to be fully invested in the story while also knowing I wasn't going to be blindsided by that sort of trauma is such a relief. I also liked that the book didn't include a coming-out scene, because nonbinary people don't need to tell everyone their birth sex to have romantic entanglements or friendships or simply exist. An enjoyable fast-paced adventure.

What a fantastic adventure this is! The Wicked Bargain is sure to become a beloved novel among teens—the kind readers are eager to share with their friends and stays on their mind for years—and I already know of two students who will be so happy to read this. Mar is an incredible MC who is resilient and authentic in ways that is very hard to articulate in writing, but Gabe Cole Novoa is an extremely talented storyteller who delivers. I am looking forward to whatever they publish next.

If I could read about magical non-binary pirates all the time, I would be ecstatic! I loved Mar and I had so much fun reading about them!

I loved that the story was mostly focused on Mar, and also Bas, trying to save their families and crew and while they're relationship was cute, I'm also glad it wasn't the focus, which is just a personal preference.

The support of Mar's papa's crew, for both their magia and their gender, was so heartwarming and it was pleasing to me that there wasn't any out right homophobia or transphobia, while still having a discussion about dysphoria.

Having the book be in both Spanish and English was fun and a good test to see how much Spanish I've actually been picking up. I did utilize the translate tool when I came up on words or phrases I didn't know which was incredibly helpful, but there are enough context clues from the rest of the story that you can keep reading without knowing exactly what was said.

There were only two things I wasn't a fan of and one doesn't really count which was that I was a little worried about running in to the typical "love triangle" plot line that's in a lot of YA books, but I was happily proven wrong. The second was about the back and forth between Mar and Dami and making a deal. To me it felt like they recycled the argument of Dami teasing Mar with the fact that they could help and Mar refusing to make a deal so many times that it was just frustrating because I could tell that Mar was going to have to give in eventually.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

Queer Latine pirates!! The wicked bargain is very adventurous and pretty fast paced. Although I saw some plot twists coming, others took me by complete surprise. Mar’s development with their magia and accepting themself was very sweet. I really loved Mar and Bas and their whole banter, as well as Mar and Dami’s banter. I do think it wrapped up a little too quickly for my liking, but overall I enjoyed it and would recommend to others.

A pirate fantasy featuring a transmasculine nonbinary teen who is on a mission of revenge, redemption, and revolution. On Mar’s 16th birthday... el Diablo has come to collect on their contract with Mar’s father... 16 years of prosperity and. legacy in exchange for Mar’s father’s soul. Mar was left in the dark until this very moment... and now their entire world has been blown upside down. Mar is dealing with a lot, from hiding their magic that seems to always go wrong and take lives to the fact that they must now find a way to save their father’s soul. Mar is left the only survivor of their ship while the rest of crew was taken by el Diablo and now they find themselves a crew member aboard a new ship with a arrogant and handsome pirate who just happens to be the captain’s son Bas, and Dami, a gender0fluid demonio who wants to make their own deal with Mar. Mar refuses to make deals or bargains but with the impossible task of facing off against el Diablo to save their new crew and the lives of their old crew, they just might have to take a risk, face their magic, and make an impossible deal. This was an interesting take on a pirate adventure filled with magic and deals with the devil. Mar was a good protagonist, and I always appreciate more representation in the protagonist of stories. Mar’s fears and past traumas are very real, and the way they feel about their identity was touching to read. Mar just wants to be safe, accepted, and be freed from the fear and to stop hiding who they are. Throw in a dash of romance, a touch of magic, and lots of action and you get a pretty fun read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Random House Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I really said sign me up when i saw queer pirates! This was such a fun fresh read. I was so excited when i saw the premise of this book and i was surely not disappointment! I highly recommend!

This book was a very fun read we get to follow are main lead Mar who is a trans masc latin pirate who goes on the journey of devil deals and magic to save their family. It’s fast paced with a sweet love story as well but I would say it’s more plot driven then romance driven. I really loved Mar and how brave they were at some moments the dialogue could be really cheesy but not enough to call it quits on such a fun story, I also really loved all the side characters I thought they were a lot of fun and loved how they contributed to the story.

Thank you Netgally for giving me an arc of this book for an honest review

Mar Leon de la Rosa arrived in the world on a stormy night, bearing magical markings on their skin and the magia of fire and ice in their veins. They've lived their life sailing the high seas with their father, the most successful pirate in the Caribbean, and they've had to hide their magia and keep it under control to avoid being condemned as a bruje or demonio. But on Mar's sixteenth birthday, the crew of La Catalina encounters a raging storm, and when Mar tries to get their father to sober up and take charge of the ship, the captain tells Mar that he made a deal with el Diablo at Mar's birth -- and now el Diablo has come to collect.

In the wake of the storm, Mar is the only survivor, and they find rescue from the crew of La Ana, a rival pirate ship, and help from the captain's flirtatious son Bas. Mar struggles to hide their magia from the crew, but they soon realize they have an even bigger problem: el Diablo offers Mar a deal to swap Mar's father's soul for Mar's, or Mar will lose their father forever. And an attractive demonio named Dami, who has been watching Mar, offers their own deal: they will help Mar get their father back if Mar kills el Diablo.

This was a wonderful, fantastical adventure story! From the storm raging on the first page all the way to the end, I was invested in Mar's story and seeing them come into their own power and thrive. The combination of Mar's magia and their transness (described as mostly transmasc but with nonbinary pronouns), especially in contrast to Dami's fluidity with power and gender-shifting, highlights Mar's growth as a person through the book: struggling at first to accept and find comfort in who they are when they mostly have to hide, but eventually claiming their power and their identity with their entire being. I loved seeing how Mar found more and more support, even in unexpected places, as the story progressed.

Other characters were wonderfully drawn, too: Bas comes across as a carefree flirt but holds greater intelligence and depth than first seen, the pirates (all Latinx and fictional, though somewhat inspired by real historical pirates of the area) have radical purpose behind their piracy, and the political rebels they meet offer insight into the actual historical context of Spanish-controlled Caribbean islands in the early 19th century. (Be sure to read the Author's Note for more information!)

The story moves quickly -- I devoured it in one day -- and while the ending is just a shade unbelievable (mainly because the magia presented in the book felt a little TOO magical and unexplainable), it's thoroughly satisfying, especially for anyone who wants to see young trans people fully embrace their identities and their power and WIN.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Read this if you love: pirates with a Robin Hood-esque philosophy, trans joy, deals with the devil, Caribbean or Latinx history, queer-normative communities, fighting the oppressors

Thank you, Random House Children's Books and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

Overall, an enjoyable read. I always enjoy when a queer character is allowed to be queer without the story revolving around said queerness. Mar being non-binary is an important part of their character, but the story itself revolves around their fight for survival and revenge, as well as the mystery of the magic they hold. Their non-binary identity does not play into the larger conflict nor is it a particularly strong theme in the book.

While it didn't hold my interest enough to completely finish, I did make it quite a ways through, and I can see myself picking it up again when I can get the physical copy in my hands.

A pirate fantasy featuring a Latine transmasc nonbinary person? Yes please! This was a fun YA historical fantasy set in the Caribbean, Mar is part of the crew of the pirate ship La Catalina on the night El Diablo comes to collect on a deal he made with Mar’s papa. Mar then has to find a way to save their papa’s soul while also adjusting to life as part of a new pirate crew after La Catalina is sunk by El Diablo.

This book features anti-colonial themes with rebellion against the Spanish, a queer normative society without homophobia or transphobia, and a lot of adventure. Genderfluid demons! Fire and ice magic! A slow-burn romantic subplot! My only complaints are about Mar’s lack of emotional maturity. As so often happens in YA (and real life), teenagers have emotional outbursts and make poor choices when upset. That can be frustrating to read as it produces unnecessary conflict