Wow! This book was such a wild ride. I am so glad that I picked this one up. There was so much action packed into this story and yet the characters felt fully realized and solid. Such a great read.

I liked that this appeared to be a well-researched look at piracy in this time period. While I admittedly don't know a lot about this era, it was gritty and gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat. The only thing that fell flat for me was the main "villain's" motivations - they seemed like an afterthought and weren't terribly plausible, in my opinion. Perhaps if there had been a bit more foreshadowing in the middle section, it would have come together more for me. Overall, I will probably purchase this book as I do always have students looking for stories about pirates!

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a fun historical fiction romp that may or may not be the true story of Jacquotte, a female gay mulatto pirate who takes the Caribbean by storm and creates a name for herself and her crew. This book mainly focuses on Jacquotte's rise to power and her journey to become a pirate captain with her own formidable crew and powerful ship.

I enjoyed reading about Jacquotte and particularly her journey to become a pirate, however the timeline of the book left me wanting a bit. It moves quite slowly at the beginning, and then towards the end everything happens seemingly within an instant, to the point that it just unbelievable for so much to happen in such a short amount of time. The writing style also left something to be desired for me personally, though I imagine that many will find it fun. The scene-setting was very well done and atmospheric though. Over all, I thought this was a fun ride that told the story of a woman forgotten by history and I think it will be enjoyable for those looking for a fun pirate story.

I am not typically a historical fiction reader, but there is just something about the summary that tugged at me. This book is about a mulatto, female, queer pirate. We are able to follow her from her beginnings onwards to the various adventures that she has with a very engaging and diverse crew on her ship. I would give a moderate trigger warning for certain battle scenes that were described in a way that may be offputting to someone who isn’t used to reading graphic violence. I found myself very easily engrossed in the book, felt that the pacing was done well. The author was able to create a storyline that I think will overcome individuals like myself who rarely read historical fiction. I have not seen this book listed on the notable books for 2024 to look out for, but I see this doing very well despite that I almost feel like this is going to be a sleepy winner that people aren’t expecting.

4.5/5 stars

Thank you to netgalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read this book. The writing in this book was so beautifully done.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read. This was written so beautifully and I enjoyed this book and I would recommend.

I loved this book. As a gigantic fan of pirates, especially queer one, I had pretty high expectations going into the book, and they were not only met, but absolutely exceeded. The writing– intensely compelling and poetically structured. The characters– complex, dynamic, lovable, and queer. I don’t know enough about the time to judge on historical accuracy, but I didn’t see anything blatantly wrong (which is rare). Also the injuries and the action was just gross and gory enough to make you afraid for the characters without making you want to vomit– and although I like the occasional vomit-inducing gory horror I do not want that in my historical fiction. Speaking of historical fiction, this is one of the only recent historical novels I have read that was neither a fantasy, a horror or a rom-com, because I just felt I had to read it. And I was right. Would absolutely recommend this if you are considering it.

From even simply reading the author's note at the beginning of this novel I was hooked. The writing throughout the book has a way of pulling you in and keeping you engaged. Overall, one of the best books I've read.

The story follows Jacquotte Delahaye throughout adulthood, from her life as a shipwright in Hispaniola to her epic life as a pirate. We explore all of the factors that led to that moment of turning to a life of piracy. The story follows her, the found family she makes along the way, and all of their adventures. You truly come to love MOST of the characters.

The cast of the story is incredibly diverse and the author does an amazing job of depicting their experiences. Jacquotte is female, mulatto, and queer which impacts the way she experiences the world. Her friends and ultimately her crew are made up of people from all sorts of backgrounds, speaking all sorts of languages. Her brother, Marceau, is a constant character throughout the story as an individual with a disability. Not only is he essential to the story and her crew, he is able to bring unique perspectives to the story that truly benefit the story as a whole.

Throughout reading the book I was joyful, I cried, I loved every moment of this story.

The book contains a fair amount of battles which are described in a way that is beautiful but could be off-putting for some, please be cautious of content warnings before picking this up.

In summary, I'm obsessed with this book, I'm obsessed with this author. I'm about to pre-order the book and Briony Cameron has become an auto-buy author for me.

As someone whose sister wrote their undergraduate history thesis on the history of women pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy, I knew I would love this and I really did. The characters are bright even through their hardships and the plot is so interesting. I loved wondering where they were going to go next and what was going to happen. 100% recommend to anyone who has any sort of interest in pirates!

I enjoyed this story, though I found myself not connecting with certain aspects at times. The writing was clear and moving, and I’ll definitely be reading more from this author!

If you know me, you know I love pirates. To see a new book on a Caribbean black woman’s journey to become a famous pirate captain, I just had to get my hands on it. The ARC gods have blessed me with this one!

Jacquotte Delahaye is a shipwright in the town of Yáquimo, Santo Domingo, supporting her brother and nefarious French father. When trouble starts to brew, she enlists a crew of refugees and flees her home. As she struggles under a brutal pirate captain, and falls for a mysterious woman named Teresa, Jacquotte must find a way to keep her crew alive and secure a better future for her people.

I expect this book to be very popular once it’s published. The atmospheric writing, immersive descriptions, and heartbreaking imagery, I just couldn't get enough!

If you are a young reader, I urge you to read the content warnings, as this book gets very dark and painfully descriptive. I found myself taking breaks, it can be heart wrenching at times.

Nevertheless, I look forward to this release. My pirate collection has a new addition!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

I wasn't familiar with the story of Jacquotte Delahaye before reading the synopsis of this book, and I immediately googled her upon finishing the book. I know that there are many liberties taken with the story, but it was absolute perfection! From the beginning, this had that five-star feel.

This is the story of a woman who rose from total adversity and made not only a name for herself, but gave a haven to women in need, as long as they were okay with a life at sea and unafraid of a little hard work. She championed the downtrodden, the beaten, and the enslaved... and she did it all with a cobbled-together crew of amazing characters.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a story of triumph in the face of oppression, though it isn't without its devastations. Through loss, betrayal, and enslavement, Jacquotte and her crew pave the way for Black, biracial, and female pirates.

I wasn't familiar with the story of Jacquotte Delahaye before reading this book but as soon as i had finished i had to find out more of what the internet had to say about this story. Was very interesting.

The characters in this book are amazing to say the least. To have such triumph and accomplished so much with so many obstacles is amazing. There was loss, betrayal and was by far an excellent read.

I enjoyed this and would recommend to other readers.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Jacquotte Delahaye may or may not have existed. That has never stopped anyone from spinning a good yarn. Or in this case an average yarn but loaded with enough pirate pizazz to make you overlook its shortcomings. Almost.
I am being too critical? I don’t want to be. I LOVE pirate stories. And female pirates are a delightful rarity I’d read about any day.
But then as an author and a reader, I am rather fond of well written books, and it is impossible not to notice that this one could have used some more …well, at least editing. It stands to mention here that I read a Netgalley ARC, so it may not be the final version, but then again Simon and Schuster usually provides perfectly print-ready ARCs.
I mean, this book has been edited in a sense that there are no typos and grammar snafus. But there are a lot of repetitions, sentences like so-and-so felt they could not find the words that felt right or clunkers like father’s mother’s tongue. Or usage of the word Lothario in 1655, just ever so slightly nearly 50 years before it originated (based upon a character in The Fair Penitent, a 1703 tragedy by Nicholas Rowe, if you care, since the author, editor, and publisher do not).
This book had obviously taken a lot of work and research. It just needed more.
Also, it’s no ballad. Not poetic, no musical accompaniment. It’s a saga or a folk tale or a legend, but it isn’t a ballad. But then, this isn’t the one for details or definitions.
The thing is, it’s such a fun story. It has everything you want it a fun pirate book, all kinds of adventures. But the writing is so notably basic. Short simple sentences, nothing to dazzle you.
It reads like a book sold on a premise rather than style. And of course, it would sell: this book and its author check every minority representational box there is. I mean, it probably sold just based on “gay pirates.” For those who did not get enough with “Our Flag Means Death”, this is a real treat.
Except, OFMD is cleverer, funnier, and has Taika Waititi. This novel has a very young, very tough (almost unbelievably so) protagonist who gets a LOT done in a very (almost unbelievably so) short time.
Also, just so we’re clear: I’m all about representation in fiction. I love it. I think there should be more of it. Definitely more gay pirates of all races. I am absolutely all for it. I’m just saying one shouldn’t be so dazzled by it as to overlook mediocre writing.
Mind you, it is still fun. Oodles of fun. While dramatic scenes are a mixed bag, the action ones are great. It’s all wham, bam, kill it, ma’am.
So overall, the book is very entertaining. Someone should probably go make a movie out of it right now. It’ll probably make the story even less realistic and who knows what that writing will be like, but hey … pirates!
We may never know if Jacquotte Delahaye existed. But you kind of wish she did, don’t you? And now that there’s an entire book imagining her into existence … well, that’s sort of like a life, isn’t it? Books are magical like that.
Don’t go in expecting fine literature, just have fun with it. Thanks Netgalley.

Ebook recurved for free through NetGalley

I really enjoyed reading this book and appreciate having come across it. Written well, grabs you quickly, and you truly fall in love with all the characters. Amazing.

I wasn't familiar with the story of Jacquotte Delahaye before reading the synopsis of this book, and I immediately googled her upon finishing the book. I know that there are many liberties taken with the story, but it was absolute perfection! From the beginning, this had that five star feel.

This is the story of a woman who rose up from total adversity and made not only a name for herself, but gave a safe haven to women in need, as long as they were okay with a life at sea and unafraid of a little hard work. She championed for the downtrodden, the beaten, the enslaved... and she did it all with a cobbled together crew of amazing characters.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a story of triumph in the face of oppression, though it isn't without its devastations. Through loss, betrayal, and enslavement, Jacquotte and her crew pave the way for Black, biracial, and female pirates.