The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye by Briony Cameron is an action-packed debut!
I loved reading this queer female pirate story and the writing hooked me immediately!
This journey of self-discovery, romance and friendship was interesting and well written.
I was so engaged and the characters were very well written and entertaining.
I can’t wait to see what this author creates next!

Thank You NetGalley and Atria Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for allowing me to read this ARC!

Content Warning: racism, murder, death, sexual assault, racial slurs.

In Yáquimo, Santo Domingo, Jacquotte Delahaye works as a shipwright. Although she's not well-known yet, she dreams of bigger things, recognition and perhaps the chance to take to the seas herself, but finds herself constricted by her race, gender, and her selfish, drunkard French father. But when Jacquotte's childhood friendship with the Governor of Yáquimo's nephew forces her to choose between her future and her father, Jacquotte's world quickly descends into chaos, and her chance at freedom is stolen from her by the notorious Captain Blackhand -- a pirate who takes Jacquotte onto his ship as an indentured servant. As Blackhand hatches a dangerous, risky plan to steal Portuguese riches, Jacquotte must rely on her wits and her iron-will to survive, especially as she begins to realize that there may be room for her dream of a captaincy -- and that it will change her life forever.

The setting of this story was what captured me first. Haiti is rich in culture and history, and it was exciting to see a book set there, particularly one that starred a biracial pirate as its heroine. Jacquotte Delahaye is a Haitian legend, and while there is no tangible proof that she actually existed, she has lived on in the imagination of a people who have been through much suffering and tempestuous change. The idea of a book that tells her story from her perspective, and elaborates on her life as a woman of color, is refreshing and exciting. However, I can't say that this was the most enjoyable read for me, nor did I find myself ever truly captivated by what was happening in its pages.

The main issue I struggled with was Cameron's writing style. While I'm not terribly picky over writing, and I can read most anything as long as it's grammatically correct and well edited, this was too dry for me. All of the sentences seem to follow the same rhythm, and they're all short, without much emotion or depth to them. For example, in scenes where something frightening or traumatic is happening, it feels as if we're reading a screenplay rather than a novel -- and we never quite seem to get a real hold on what is going on inside of Jacquotte's mind. She remains strangely elusive throughout, and has no real discernible personality of her own, aside from caring about justice and being hellbent on revenge. Her relationship with Teresa, her romantic interest, is similarly dull, though there are some moments that shine through, like their interactions on Port Royal.

I've complained about this perhaps a hundred times now, but the romance has the same problem I encounter time and time again within books featuring lesbian or bisexual women -- there's no real connection or buildup; they simply fall in love immediately, and even if they have issues to work through (and Teresa and Jacquotte have plenty), it never comes off as having quite the emotional depth or impact it should. I don't know why this is so common, and I know it happens often with heterosexual relationships in media too (instalove is a trope for a reason), but it's as if most writers somehow feel that because these two women have found one another, and they're both interested in other women, they'll instantly connect and fall in love and live happily ever after. It's frustrating, because any complexity that might arise (and again, there is ample opportunity for it here) gets quickly and conveniently swept under the rug.

The rest of the characters all have the same issue. Francisco, Miguel, Blackhand, Mbala -- all of them are written as archetypes, with little else going on beneath the surface. There's attempts at adding depth to them, but it never quite works. On the other hand, everything comes off as just slightly corny and a little too perfect. It's never quite believable that Jacquotte's ragtag crew comes together so easily and is almost immediately fantastic at everything they do, and it's just a little boring, especially because it seems like everyone who likes each other just gets along so well all of the time.

I guess it'd be easiest to say I liked the concept of this book more than its execution. I wanted so badly to love it, but it just wasn't something I found myself able to really dive into. There are positive aspects, like Jacquotte's burgeoning relationship to her own queerness and blackness, and her discovery of herself, but most of it is overshadowed by the writing that tells us everything rather than showing it.

I will be intrigued to see what Cameron writes next, and perhaps most of these issues are merely a debut's tribulations, but The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye was a disappointment for me.

I think this is a story of two halves: the first half, a survival story rooted firmly in its time and place; the second more of a fantasy fulfillment that didn't follow the rules of the first half.

The delights, so to speak, of feeling transported to the slave economy of Santo Domingo, there to meet Jacquotte and see the milieu she was destined to live in...many. The characters, the situations, the atmosphere of the town, were all set up sufficiently clearly that I invested in them. That's most of the battle in my reading world. So I was rockin' along, expecting a five, or at worst high-four, star read.

Then came the twenty-first century.

Jacquotte and company all start having very modern conversations about rights and feelings and equality. I suspect this is not realistic not because we haven't seen it before...the cultural conversation has been dominated by the white oppressors for millennia, how would it get reported?...but because this woman and her cohorts have, until now, behaved and spoken more or less like the period demands. The shift was the jarring part, not what was shifted to.

There's action, there's love, there's a lot to like. When we go off into the second half's fantasia, it's still a good read with swashes being buckled and derring being done. It just wasn't congruent with the first half. They're both enjoyable, make no mistake. I'm glad I read the story. I'm glad to get to know Jacquotte.

Be better prepared to suspend disbelief than I was and get even more out of it.

4.5 stars rounded up.

What an interesting, fast paced book about a queer, black, female pirate! Jacquotte was fierce, strong and honestly quite remarkable and her growth was through this entire story.

We meet Jacquotte living with her father and brother, working as a shipwright. She has big dreams but in her current station in life, they are not likely. Then, there are big changes in Jacquotte’s life and world she must navigate. Following along in her hardships, mistakes and victories was an interesting ride.

Advance reader copy provided by Atria Books + NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The premise is really interesting; the execution less so. For me there was something really lacking in the prose; I never felt immersed or invested in the story. Most of the dialogue felt off as well, it had a sort of awkward quality that never quite felt like the way real people talk. I love both the history of pirates and fun pirate fiction, but this didn't feel real enough to be historical and the fiction elements were missing a certain spark to draw me in and keep me interested.

I think the only thing that kept me from really loving this book was the pacing. It had historical fiction pacing, even if there was fantasy-level action in certain scenes. When I realized that the whole book took place over the course of about 3 months, it kind of took the wind out of my sails like “wow, we really haven’t accomplished all that much, have we?”

Things I loved: main cast full of queer characters of color, found family, challenging racism and sexism even when it has only the briefest mention, brutal fight scenes.

Things I didn’t like: pacing/timeline (notable particularly when it comes to injuries that the characters sustain and seemingly shake off), Florián’s character, not really getting to know a lot of the cast (Lennox, Elizabeth, Anne, and more).

The first half pulled me with the lush and historical setting and promising plot. However, by the halfway mark, the story turned and started to meander and go into a direction that didn’t hold my attention. Many will probably enjoy this; however, it just didn’t work for me. Thanks to NetGalley for a chance to read and review this book.

4.25 ⭐️
🌶
Adventurous and violent, this story features a Black, queer woman who is determined to find freedom.

Jacquotte is a shipwright turned pirate due to some political machinations that she wants nothing to do with. She and her love interest Teresa and Jacquotte's friends escape their town and set course for adventure.

I loved the imagery in this novel. I adored Jacquotte's fierceness and values. She's far from perfect, but she cares so much. There are parts that dragged, though, and I was not throughly invested in the revenge plot. This book also dives into the racial tensions among French, Spanish, English, and the freed slaves and mixed race residents. Read this if you want a pirate adventure that does not skim over violence.

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I could not get into this one. It sounded great and it is good but just not what I thought. I have no idea what I was expecting actually.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! I usually read romance, so an adventure pirate story set in the 1600s was new for me, but I ended up enjoying this great debut. The main character Jacquotte is a young, queer, biracial woman, who is forced off her island into the hands of the pirate Blackhand, putting her on a path to also become a pirate, running a ship her own way. This book was fast paced and a great adventure for me to enter into the summer. BUT it’s not a light, breezy book, it definitely has content warnings for graphic violence, racial slurs, and it’s pretty heavy on the trauma. Saying that, I think the writing was well paced and kept the adventure story moving along well, and it’s a stellar debut. I definitely recommend this book for fans of historical fiction, adventure, queer love stories, and pirates!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. The synopsis of this book hooked me and Briony Cameron absolutely delivered with the whole story. Give me all of the Black, queer, female pirates! There was a ton of action, but also a good deal of nuance and I loved the love story between Jahquotte and Teresa. Someone make this a miniseries, so I can see it brought to life on screen.

My heart is full to bursting❤
Historically famous Female Pirate✓
Based on "true" Events✓
Queer protagonist✓✓

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye, by Briony Cameron. This book took me on an amazing adventure with the legendary one and only Jacquotte Delahaye. I don't want to give anything away, so I will just say this. This is the kind of book you keep, and like a good movie you will want to revisit this story again, and again.

The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye is a story that turns the typical "pirate" genre on its head by weaving in the real horrors of that time period and featuring a queer woman of color as the captain. The book follows Jacquotte and her friends as they escape a violent political overthrowal and join the crew of a notorious pirate as indentured servants. But Jacquotte refuses to be controlled by anyone; so begins her quest for freedom, romance, and revenge.

I really liked the concept behind this book. It was a decent story, and elements of it were well done. However, I didn't really vibe with the writing or the pacing. I hate saying this, but it felt almost "amateur"? Not necessarily bad, just not very remarkable? I didn't feel connected to the characters or particularly interested in the plot. (Also. a warning to my romance friends: the romance plays less of a role in the plot than the summary makes it out to.) I'm fascinated by the fact that this book was based on real events, and it makes me want to dig deeper into the story. But, unfortunately, on it's own, this book was just fine, and not much else. Good for those in the mood for an easy-to-read, historically-intriguing pirate story.

This was immediately dark and stayed in a place of emotional struggle & violence in a way that felt well researched for the time period. Jacquotte's life is so incredibly hard, yet she continues to fight and come out on top in a very unconventional way. I appreciated the subplot of the relationship between her and Teresa, as well as some of the other side characters. I also felt that the main villain throughout was realistic and I believed his motivations. However, I did find that the pacing of this dragged, especially in the middle. The number of violent fights, torture, Blackhand being awful, etc was really high and I'm not sure it helped the development of the plot or the characters. I really wanted more development of the relationship between Jacquotte and the rest of her crew, and would have loved if we had focused on the building of her town a little more instead of some of the earlier plot points.

Content warnings for so much violence, physical injuries, racism, sexism, threatened SA, slavery, miscarriage.

Shipwright Jacquotte escapes the turbulent island of Santo Domingo along with a band of refugees. They soon become indentured to the ruthless pirate Blackhand. As she develops a passionate bond with the enigmatic Teresa, Jacquotte uncovers a sinister plot. Forced to rely on her wits and her friends, Jacquotte must decide the price she’s willing to pay for a better future.

This is a gripping, immersive novel with a strong voice and well-developed characters. It’s fast-paced, adventurous, and intensely violent.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

My interest was piqued immediately upon reading the blurb for The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye. Queer Black pirates?! Yes please! Jacquotte Delahaye being a figure who is alleged to have existed only enhanced the appeal, as I’m always on the lookout for women and marginalized folks lost to history.
And given its theme, it’s as action-packed as I expected. There’s epic adventures and while the harsh realities, both for people of color at the time and regarding life at sea, are depicted, I loved the general themes of hope and love.
Jacquotte herself is a wonderful character to follow on her adventures. While I did feel at times that the third person POV felt a tad detached, it also fed into the idea that Jacquotte Delahaye is this legendary figure that we’re hearing about in a new iteration of the legend about her, hence the title including the word “ballad” in it.
The book covers the peak years of Jacquotte’s life as she’s said to have lived it, and there’s rarely a dull moment. As such, the book was largely unputdownable, and I remained engaged throughout the book.
This was an engaging read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in a historical adventure with Black and queer pirates.

This was a terrific fictional account of a black female pirate! We need more stories like these. For me, however, the story felt like it was written for a younger audience and I was not a fan of all the fighting. I'll admit that I started skimming over those sections. A reader that is more interested in that aspect of the story will probably enjoy the book a lot more than I did. I also wanted more character development, which again made me feel like the intended audience was a bit younger and more action seeking than plot/character seeking. So, depending on what you are looking for, this could be a really good read for you!

Thanks to Atria Books for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

Jacquotte, a young mulatto shipwright and her friends flee a coup on their home island to become pirates. There's lots of swashbuckling and the violence definitely increases as the book progresses, but there's also heavy accents of romance. Jacquotte is a fierce and ambitious woman determined to fight for what is right and a home for her friends.

Anyone who knows me knows that one of my favorite shows of all time is Black Sails. So, I was immediately interested in Ballad, seeing as it too promised to blend history and fiction together and that it featured a main lead of color. The beginning gave me what I was after: a morally gray character charting her path through the narrative. However, it quickly started losing steam as the book went on. Not only do no historical pirates appear in the novel, we're given a sort of weird discount Blackbeard in Black Hand who's flat and uninteresting. The romance between Teresa and Jacquotte begins promisingly, the sparks and tension immediately flying between them, however that too quickly goes flat. Everything felt convenient, and Jacquotte does very little campaigning, her crew just becomes her friends based on her speeches, even though none of them are linguistically powerful.

This book was such a fun and interesting read. I was most intrigued when I saw that it was a historical fiction about pirates. It was so different than anything I've ever read and out main character was a badass. It did feel slow at times, but I contribute that to the story being different from what I'm used to even for historical fiction, but I still had fun. The writing was fine and it was pretty easy to follow along with the story.