"Today, I am sentenced to swing." Kate Mosse (author) chose to start her latest novel, The Ghost Ship, with this sentence. Louise Reydon-Joubert states that she is innocent of the crime she was accused of. At the beginning of the prologue, Mosse grabbed me and didn’t let go until I had finished the book. Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two famous female pirates from the 18th century, partly inspired The Ghost Ship. They’re among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the "Golden Age of Piracy." The Ghost Ship is the third novel in a series that travels via Amsterdam and the Canary Islands from France in the sixteenth century to the Cape of Good Hope in the nineteenth century.
Louise’s greatest desire had always been to captain her own ship. As she grew to be a young woman in the 1600s, she became more aware of how impossible that might be, partly due to her female identity, referred to at that time as unnatural," and partly due to the anti-woman society that put women under the absolute rule of men. Even though her inheritance is substantial as a woman, she still has no power. It’s the texture of everyday life that matters. Kate’s scenery, historical world-building, and character connections—what people thought, wore, and ate and how they lived—are stunning. The texture of everyday life matters as much as dates and "real" history. In her forthcoming novel The Ghost Ship, set partly in La Rochelle and Amsterdam and partly on the High Seas (it’s a pirate novel!). She spent a lot of time researching 17th-century ships, seafaring, and what life on board would be like. The landscape is also essential. Louise is David to the legal system’s Goliath. She fights the impossible fight for justice in a system that seems determined to keep women subjugated to the whims and vicissitudes of the male upper class.
The Ghost Ship’s characters are fictional but inspired by real people: ordinary women and men fighting to love and survive amid religious turmoil and displacement. The author has immersed herself in the period’s history. Her historical world-building is believable. I recommend this book for mature readers interested in piracy on the Barbary Coast, lesbian romance, historical fiction, and women’s fiction. If the topic of lesbian romance offends you, you’ll probably want to choose a different novel. I thank St. Martin’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing the ARC for me to review. The opinions included are all mine.

I requested this book because I love leading ladies sailing ships. Pirate stories about women aren't necessarily rare, but they're usually less empowering and more about how a woman looks as a pirate, if you catch my drift. So I must admit that I was disappointed to find that this book didn't take place at sea for a lot of it. However, if you go into it looking for a historical novel about women that makes you proud of your gender, then this is it for you. The author did a wonderful job of setting the scenes and making you care about the characters.

Very few books written about women privateers. Gave the story a completely perspective.
The story follows two women and their very different paths to be a part of a crew and eventually to own their own ship at a time that is was a completely male dominated field.
I felt it was well written and had excellent historical research.

The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse

#NetGalley published 7/11/23
#historicalfiction

When I first requested this book, I didn't realize that it was number 3 in a series. I only skimmed the description. Didn't catch that part. 🤦‍♀️ I read it anyway. Tried it as a stand alone. The beginning of the book was a little tough to keep track of but I'm sure that if it was read in proper order, it would be getting a 5⭐ from me.

This book has a girl at 10 starting to live like a boy. She is not transgender. She has a nasty mother that forces her into it. But she seems to become or grow into the role. If that is a touchy subject, I recommend not bothering with this book. The theme is throughout the book.

I loved the story telling from another time I don't usually get to experience. The early 1600s. And pirates! And strong women! The female MC has great role models even though she was born out of wedlock. Great story. I might go back and read the first 2. If you like the sound of this one, you might want to go start with the first book of the series but you don't have to. This book certainly can work as a stand alone.

#stmartinspress #MinotaurBooks
#mystery #thrillers
#bookstagram #bookreview #bookrecommendation #booknerdsbookreview

An interesting novel on the age of sail and pirates. The book is the third in a series but stands well on its own. the story nis well done and contains plenty of action. Overall, a good read.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse is the third and final of a series, but I had no trouble picking up the threads of the life of Louise Reydon-Joubert and her lover, Giles Barenton. Both went through plenty of trauma before the story was over. Independent women were not thought highly of at this time in history when it was considered bad luck to have one on the deck of a ship, let alone as captain. Louise had always been mesmerized by boats and the ocean and now owned the Old Moon. She had taken over as captain when Hendrik Jost had died by accident after attacking her, determined to inherit what she had by marriage, however he had to make that happen. She relished her role as captain, no matter how long it had taken her to arrive there. One of the things she could not abide was slavery, in any guise, and determined it was her destiny to attack ships carrying slaves and release them and kill their captors. This eventually caught the attention of the authorities and she was tried and nearly hanged for murder.

Louise was a determined woman who took care of her own. Her mother had been murdered by her father when she was ten years old and it shaped her view of men and of marriage. A single, wealthy woman was an object of scorn, but she didn’t really care what others thought. She had her great-aunt and that woman’s companion, and her secretary Giles Barenton, and that was enough for her. She was willful and independent, in other words, a woman for the modern world, forget this was the 1600s. The story was magnificent, a true saga, which took her to many part of the modern world. It was challenging and interesting. An excellent example of historical fiction.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Ghost Ship by St Martin’s Press, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #KateMosse #TheGhostShip

The Ghost Ship traces the path of Louise, grandaughter of characters from The Burning Chambers and The City of Tears as she comes into her inheritance, and dares to become captain of her own ship. Much of this book is prelude to her adventures as a captain, growing up haunted by the deaths of her mother and father. This is a leisurely paced historical novel. I found it too slow at times, but the ending was rushed, and for the third novel in a self-acclaimed trilogy, somewhat of a cliff-hanger.

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

3rd and final installment of a series. Can be read as a stand-alone but definitely recommend to read them in order. Enjoyed reading about women challenging society standards of the time but wish more time was spent at see. Thank you netgalley and publisher for this arc.

A sweeping historical epic of adventure as more than one woman challenges the role that society dictates she lives. This is the 3rd in a series and while you can understand most of what is going on without reading the others (which I haven't) you definitely get the feeling that you are missing some emotional context.

I was a little disappointed from the description and the cover that more of the story doesn't take place on the ship and ocean but there is still plenty to keep you captivated. The author has done a lot of research and creates very good characters. The ending did feel a bit abrupt to me and a bit of cliff-hanger. I'm sure there will be another book to continue this epic.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. If you are in the mood for a good historical epic that takes place in a number of places, a big cast and a rousing tale this may just be want you want. An excellent read for the beach or a summer vacation.

The Ghost Ship is a captivating story that breathes life into the realm of historical fiction. As I delved into the pages, I was transported aboard the enigmatic ghost ship, sailing alongside its crew. This remarkable tale unfolds on an epic scale, captivating readers and leaving them yearning for more. From the beginning, I was completely engrossed, unable to turn the pages quickly enough to discover what awaited me next. The vividly depicted settings immerse readers in a world of unparalleled beauty, while the characters and their exploits are masterfully portrayed, leaving an indelible mark on the reader's imagination.

Kate Moses has written another wonderful book of historical fiction.A tale that takes place on the open waters.Mysterious haunting a book that kept me guessing from beginning to end.A unique original story.#netgalley #st.Martin

Amazing details, great plot

I love Kate Mosse 's books, and have read them all. This one is no exception to her intricate plots, interesting characters and amazing historical details. The present series about the French Huguenots highlights a less well-known story of religious conflict. I would recommend reading the first two books in the series before this one, not entirely required but IMHO advisable. I also love her series about the Cathar wars.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me a time limited e-arc via netgalley with no obligation. This review is optional and my own opinion.

Adventure on the high seas, secret love, and so much more. Kate Mosse has produced another fantastic story that follows the next generation in the Reydon-Joubert family.
It started off slow but always had that underlying sense of threat which Mosse drips throughout her novels so well. Louise is headstrong, unconventional and brave. And we are introduced to a new character Gilles who has a secret they must never share. Together they forge their own path to defy the norms of their society.
You should definitely read these books as a series rather than stand alone. I have read the previous books but struggled to remember some of the previous storyline. Knowing the story of Louise’s mother would be useful for this one,
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. I am excited for the next one in the series.

Having read the previous books in this series I was looking forward to The Ghost Ship. Mosse has outdone herself with this story. Louise Reydon-Joubert has always dreamed of going to sea despite the restrictions placed on the women of the 1600s. At the age of twenty-five she receives an allowance that allows her to buy one of the ships in her aunt’s trading fleet. At a dinner for the ship’s retiring captain a wine merchant is murdered and his nephew Gilles is wounded. Louise takes Gilles on as her secretary and sails home from France to Amsterdam, giving Gilles a chance to experience life at sea. Gilles and Louise are both strong characters and an attraction develops between them, but Gilles is harboring a secret that could ruin him. When they are forced to leave Amsterdam they sail in Louise’s ship. A mutiny and the death of the captain sees Louise take command, a role she had always imagined.

Mosse’s trilogy began with the story of Minou and Piet, Louise’s grandparents. Their story ends in The Ghost Ship, but Minou always kept journals that Louise hopes will hold answers to possible claims against her fortune. While this is the third book in the trilogy it can be enjoyed on its’ own. With murder, secrets, a love story and adventures on the high seas , this is a story that will keep you engaged from the first page to the very end. I would like to thank NetGalley for providing this book for my review.

Let me start with a thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC of The Ghost Ship. I can honestly and happily recommend this book as a 4 star read. I would have given it 5 stars but I did not realize that this book included a lesbian relationship, which I don't really relate to. This is book three in the series but it could be read as a standalone. If you haven't read any of the authors other books you will want to pick them up after reading this one. Well written, historical fiction that seems well-researched with a good flow.

I ended staying up most of the night twice in order to finish The Ghost Ship . It’s a big book and not a quick read. Oh no, no, my friends. You will have to put a bit of effort into this story, but it is worth every brain cell. You will be richly rewarded, if you like fascinating stories. I can not tell a lie; this is the third book in the Burning Chambers series; but this does NOT matter.
The book is set in the early 17th century, in The Netherlands, France, The Canary Islands, and the open sea. Time and places for which most readers won’t have a great familiarity.
Main part of history to know, it was a time of great butchery between the Catholics and Huguenots, also know as Protestants. Both religions, especially in France took their turns massacring thousands in the streets of various towns. Readers are spared scenes of this, only seeing the results.
In The Ghost Ship , the center of the story is Louise Reydon-Joubert, she is a member of a prominent shipping and trading family. Louise and her grandparents are once again living in France, but Louise is again forced to flee to the Netherlands, where many years ago the family established a shipping company.
From the time Louise was ten years old, she wanted to be a ship’s captain. After turning 25 and inheriting a very large fortune from her late father, Lousie buys her own ship and joins the family shipping company.
By a series of events, she becomes Captain of the ship she owns, the ship that becomes known as the Ghost Ship. The ship that plies the waters in search of pirate ships.
This book is rich in fascinating historical details, while the story is still mostly action packed. There are murders, murder trials, adventures at sea, strong family love, fascinating historical details of both time and place, clever stratagems to fight pirates, a strong vibrant woman and finally a tender love story.
I keep using the word ‘rich’. I can think of no better word to describe The Ghost Ship . Let me repeat myself, you will be richly rewarded for reading this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC for review purposes.

" She was, indeed, notorious, feared over sea and land. She was the one they did not believe could exist. The commander of the Ghost Ship ".

First, I dived into this book blindly. I didn't know it was the third book in a series. I just saw that it was a book with piracy and a woman who was a captain and I signed up. But, as I found out, I realize that you can read this book as a standalone.

This book follows Louise Reydon-Joubert, the granddaughter of Marguerite (Minou) Reydon-Joubert and of Piet Reydon, her grandfather.

It's an historical romance book with LGBTQ representation. The women figuring this book are so strong, authentic and brilliant. It was absolutely amazing to read about them and how they evolved in this difficult time where men could do everything while women had to fight for themselves.

" She was the she-captain, the hellion of the high seas, as the common people had taken to calling her".

The part on the boat was the best. I actually devoured those pages. The piracy, the commander and the romance were intricate and really well-written. It's like you're in another universe. The boat became a different country where the rules change.

The history and all the details are really well researched and I really loved to learn about the Huguenots. I can already say that I'm going to read the first two in the series to learn more about Louise's grandparents. It looked like their love story was grandiose too.

I am so happy to have read this as my last book for June. It was the perfect book for the month of Pride.

If you love historical romance, you're gonna love this one.

To begin, I want to thank NetGlley for the ARC of this book, not to be insanely excited but it’s my very first one!

Here we go! All i needed to see was the name and the promise of pirates and I was sold. This took me a bit longer to get though than others just based solely on the rich and deep history that the author was able to include in the book. Being the third book in a series, and not reading the first two, I found that it was still quite easy to follow. It is the perfect way to be introduced to the characters in a way that makes you want to read the first two as I discovered they seem t b following one families chronology.

While the first few chapters were slightly confusing, it smoothness out by the second part and the narrative was quite easy to follow. Choosing a female main character for this time period is an incredibly difficult feat and Mosse not only rose to the challenge, but she succeeds in creating an emotional attachment to not just Louse but also Gilles.

Louise comes from a long line of incredibly strong omen, whose stories I cannot wait to read, and her drive to do more, to be more, then the limits of what women at the time can do id inspirational in itself. Gilles story is as heart wrenching as it is powerful, not giving to much away, but the struggles he goes through by being forced by his own mother to be someone he isn’t and seeing the character rise from that and take control of their own agency was just a delight to read.

The history, politics, and romance of this books gives the reader a great ay to learn about this very complex religious and political conflict in such an interesting way from the viewpoint of women was a great way to dive into it headfirst.

I know four stars may not seem like enough based on my review but for me it is a definite reread and there will be a physical copy with lots of notes and annotations in my future.

The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse is a historical fiction story about Louise Reydon-Joubert, a modern woman in 1600s France. This is technically the third book in a series, but it can easily be read as a stand-alone novel, which is how I read it.

I love, love, loved this story about a woman boat captain at a time when to have a woman on a ship was considered bad luck. Modern women in historical books are my favorite characters, so following Louise on her adventures made me a happy reader.

I loved the amount of suspense in the novel. Even though I usually avoid historical fiction because it tends to be a slower, drier read, The Ghost Ship was nothing of the sort. It went from adventure to adventure, with lives often at stake and boundaries broken.

I've only read Mosse's fantasy series before this. Still, I loved that she brings the same immersion and engagement to a wholly historical fiction story. It pulled me in from page one and didn't let me go even after there were no more pages to read. And boy, did I want more pages to read!

Also, the historical elements of the story – even the ones that were a bit of a fictional stretch – felt authentic and genuine to the time.

My only issue was that I wanted more time with Louise and Gilles on the boat. I would have loved to have less of the buildup and more ship time, especially their trip to South Africa.

I love a modern woman in a historical world, and Louise is just that. She is fiercely independent and confident in that independence. She is rebellious with a keen sense of adventure that allows her to experience much more than the typical woman of that period.

The narration is in the third person limited. It is mainly limited to Louise, but a few chapters focus on Gilles. This works well to give it a more personal touch, enhancing the story's emotional aspects.

The pace never slowed, and I loved that. It's mostly a medium pace but speeds up during highly tense situations. It was a page-turner from start to finish.

The story is set in the early 1600s – mainly in France, with some time in Amsterdam and the Canary Islands. This was a contentious time in France with Catholics versus the protestants (Huguenots) and the beginning rumblings that fueled the French Revolution almost 200 years later.

Read if you're in the mood for:
A historical fiction novel that is adventurous, emotional, mysterious, and tense
A largely character-driven tale set in the early 1600s.
A story about a woman ahead of her time and not afraid to be that.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Ghost Ship by Kate Mosse from Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books in order to read and give an honest review.

"…multiple storylines all weaving a rich tapestry combining loss, heartbreak, adventure, intriguing history, and forbidden love…"

Continuing the saga of the Joubert family we follow the life of Louise Reydon-Joubert, granddaughter of Minou Joubert and daughter of Marta who was brutally murdered in book two, City of Tears. When Louise receives her inheritance from her father at the age of twenty-five, she knows she will not be content to live a “normal life” instead she dreams of breaking stereotypes by becoming a ship captain one day. Ten years later she is the owner of the ship the Old Moon, but she battles with superstition and misogyny having to hire a captain to sail her ship, always being a mere passenger. At a dinner party for the retiring captain of the Old Moon a wine merchant is murdered, his apprentice and relative Gilles in inconsolable a feeling Louise knows all too well having witnessed her mother’s murder. Feeling protective, Louise begins an unlikely friendship, taking Gilles under her wing as her assistant. They travel to Amsterdam ready to sail the seas on the Old Moon. When at sea the new Captain has designs on Louise his jealousy sparks his cruelty towards the crew but in particular Louise. When the captain is murdered while trying to force himself on Louise, the crew rally around her. While at sea without the captain Louise realizes her dreams and with the support of the crew, she breaks with tradition and becomes the captain. The story continues with the crew traveling to Las Palmas, crossing paths with a ghost ship, with a sole survivor, a slave whom they offer safe harbor to and who inspires Louise to carve a new life’s mission for herself.

With multiple storylines all weaving a rich tapestry combining loss, heartbreak, adventure, intriguing history, and forbidden love, Mosse has out done herself again. Each carefully crafted vignette features authentic, beautifully written, intriguing characters and I especially love the way Mosse features brave, strong, capable, and intelligent women all of which have a unique grace and strength.


I am a fan of Kate Mosse as she has a talent for bringing her beautifully written, well-researched historical stories to life through vivid description and interesting characters. The only negative is that sadly I will have to wait to read the continuation of the Joubert family saga. Definitely a fantastic read that I highly recommend.