THE PLOT: ‘Saltblood’ by Francesca de Tores is a historical novel about female pirates. In Plymouth in 1685, young Mary is forced to impersonate her half-brother Mark in order to collect his inheritance. Thereafter, she lives a dual existence, pretending to be Mark to make a living. From employment as a footman in a grand house to joining the navy, she finally reveals her disguise when she finds love in the army. But, after tragedy strikes, Mary is drawn back to the sea. This time, she knows being a woman aboard a ship is a dangerous thing. But she wants to become something more dangerous than a woman making her way in the world alone. She wants to become a pirate.

SUMMARY: This novel is based on the true story of Mary Read, one of the most documented female figures from piracy’s Golden Age. Despite the gorgeous cover and interesting premise, this novel falls a bit flat. You expect a pirate novel to be full of up’s, down’s and derring-do. But this book tries to be faithful to historical accuracy and ends up being rather boring. The problem is that pirates spend a lot of time sailing around, swabbing decks and generally taking care of the ship. Altercations and taking prizes are few and far between, but it’s mostly an existence of evading the law. Coupled with the fact that the main character doesn’t even become a pirate until page 200, this book limps along without much action. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the writing style and world-building, and there are some moments of interesting swash-buckling. The writing is lyrical, atmospheric and beautiful, and the premise of sapphic pirates is inherently interesting. But I got so bored with this novel, I lingered over it for weeks and couldn’t wait for it to end.

GOOD BITS: I love historical fiction and this made me feel like I was walking through history. The scenes in the Army felt like I was watching Barry Lyndon, and I was educated about the relationship between the Netherlands and England during this time period. The backdrop of the Hanoverian Kings and Jacobites gave some interesting context and the writing style was atmospheric, particularly with the imagery of the crow. Mary’s friendships in the Navy and relationships with Anne and Jack were the most entertaining bits, but I don’t feel like they all fit together well.

NOT SO GOOD BITS:  There’s not much to say other than this book is rather boring. It needs to focus on Mary’s time as a pirate and needs to have a central storyline or goal or something other than Mary pining for the sea. Each part of Mary’s life felt too disparate and it was a story of ‘this happened and then this happened’, rather than dominos tipping over or events escalating towards a climax.

OVERALL:  I’d recommend this book to fans of ‘Burial Rites’ by Hannah Kent, ‘By Any Other Name’ by Jodi Picoult and ‘The Marriage Portrait’ by Maggie O’Farrell. I’m not rushing to buy other books by this author, but I’d encourage you to make your own mind up.

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