This book is based on documented facts of pirates at the beginning of the 18th century.
Mary Read is brought up as Mark, her older brother who died at a year old. Put into service at
twelve where she stayed until 16, when she joined the Navy, still as a boy. From there she joins the army. After a brief marriage she manages to get a job on a ship. After sailing to the Caribbean she eventually becomes a pirate..
A gritty tale of only one of two female pirates ever recorded.
I loved this book, a great historical novel.

The author sets out to recount the life of notorious pirate Mary Read and the author does just that, but whether the story is particularly gripping is another matter. I enjoyed aspects of this book, for example Mary's time at sea from her early days as sailor and how she builds friends within a cut-throat period of war. However, the first person narrative is written matter-of-fact without any emotion or attention to world building and scene setting. Considering this is a historical fiction, I would have liked more immersive writing that encapsulated the golden age of piracy. The writing and plot structure of following Mary's life from birth to death reminds me of Orlando by Virginia Woolf that explored similar ideas of the main character undergoing life as a different gender - from male to female in a way to highlight the gender gap in society.

The plot tackles Mary's life as a sailor, soldier and pirate as well as discussing gender, but the plot is too quick for readers to truly understand how this impacts the character. This book is fast-paced and crams a lot into the book, but bypasses important character development and plot points. I think this would benefit from focusing on a specific period in Mary Read's life such as her piracy with Anne Bonny and dive deeper into their relationship and piracy in general at the time. That being said, this accounts Mary's life as one of loss, love and isolation that does shed light on Mary's rocky life and her attempt to find where she fitted into a male dominated world. The narrative continues to question who Mary is as her identity is ever-changing. Her identity becomes more solidified when Anne Bonny is introduced.

Overall, a disappointing read considering the potential of exploring a time in history that was very dark, fascinating and home to notorious female pirates. I think the author has tried to do too much and missed the mark slightly.

I liked what this story was asking about identity but I was disappointed with it overall. I just didn't find it as exciting as I expected to

A really enjoyable book about complex family dynamics, queer identities, pirates and the lives of pirates within the 1700s. Mary/Mark is a really interesting protagonist who uses their understanding of gender to survive in a world not built for women. She faces trials and tribulations as she develops that really develop her in a unique way.
The pacing is a bit off in this book but I feel like it works well for the character. The first half of the book is so rapidly paced but does slow down by the time Mary meets Ann Bonny. Narratively I felt it makes sense though as she is no longer running away from everything and escaping conflict but instead pining and reflecting on her life.

An artful historical fiction debut, and hopefully one to usher in more books concerning the golden age of piracy. De Tores writes with such care for her characters, and the development of Mary, Jack and Anne’s relationship in such a cruel and harsh world is poetic and gripping to the last.

I need to stop reading books about Mary Read and Ann Bonny because they never live up to what I expect. I was unsure about some of the author's choices - what was left out for instance, which would have indicated that Mary Read thought of herself as female but wanted to earn a man's wage. (It was not unheard of and often women lived openly on ships as women under male names - it was how they got paid as sailors). Otherwise this was fine but dragged a bit in places.

AHOY MY LADY.

Ah yes nothing like a good pirate story published in 2024 to set the year off in the right foot! Saltblood is a fancinating tale of a young woman who from her childhood even is forced to take the appearance of a boy in order to secure hers and her mother's survival. That masking continues into her adulthood when she as the book title and cover make quite clear becomes captain of her own ship. This is a fancinating book filled to the very core with sadness and injustice along with social commentary on the fmcs loss of identity as she takes up the name of a man and the treatment women received in the older times.

This is a fascinating read and I did enjoy it for the most part. However, for me the pace felt slightly off and it dragged a little.

That being said it is a wonderful adventure and an interesting take on Mary Read’s life. It did feel like I was reading an autobiography rather than a work of fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Francesca De Tores and Bloomsbury Publishing

This is a fantastic story of the most captivating adventure, gender identity and pure survival. The story starts with Mary Read, also known as Mark Read. Born into a world who expected her to be a boy and therefore she was raised as such, setting the way for an incredible story that transcends societal norms.

For years Mary continued their life under the identity of Mark, while making their way through a variety of roles. From serving a French woman, to the Navy and onto the battlegrounds of Flanders; we see the history of Mark Read being built brick by brick.

Through a constant yearning to be back at sea with the love and loss of life, taking this time the ghosts of Mark Reads past, now as Mary she finds herself aboard a ship as a pirate. The adventures of this are woven beautifully with the questioning of identity and sexuality; what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a man. The poetic license shows that Francesca de Tores used the history of two female Pirates, Mary and Anne, making this story all the more compelling.

Tores’ writing is magnificently poetic, keeping you gripped to the page, and while it is not a particularly faced paced book, you cannot help but to keep reading. The exploration of gender identity is an absolute triumph within this novel, alongside the tales of grief and adventure makes the character of Mary Read one that you will never forget.

You know a book is good when you start recounting the plot to others. "Saltblood" by Francesca De Tores falls into that character. A very interesting historical novel about Mary Read who is raised as Mark Read and goes into service, the navy and then the army in the guise of a male but then goes onto become a female sailor and pirate. You encounter a few famous pirates along the way, get to know pirating from all angles and fall in love with Crow. Crow just makes this book. What a fab character.

First of all I love the cover of the book. It has the Crow and the sea the biggest love of Mary Read. The story was interesting and I really loved her obsession with the sea and the fact that she was a woman on board of a ship to work there like a man and the struggles she had to go through as a woman when other men underestimated her.
I wasn't that involved in her relationship with Anne, so I couldn't wait for more action with other pirates or the governor Rogers. I wanted more of this action and not that much of Anne.
I loved the introduction of Crow, that added a nice touch to the story.

I don't really want to review this book, because doing so means I have to finally admit I've finished it!

I loved this, I'm queer, I'm pirate obsessed, I've been craving something like this since I realised girls could be pirates too.

Some have struggled with the pacing of the book, but it read to me like a deathbed recollection, when some parts would be hazy, others more indepth. I would have loved to know more about some characters, and feel this could easily be made into a tv series, where they could be expanded upon. But it also felt like the more important parts of Mary's life were the ones that were deeper

I received an advance copy for free from NetGalley, on the expectation that I would provide an honest review.

What a fantastic historical novel. This is set in the early 17oo's and follows Mary where she is mostly Mark for the earlier years of her life as she joins the Navy and eventually ends up aboard a pirate ship. This is based on true historical events and I loved the two female characters Mary and Anne who certainly live a life of adventure. I loved the ocean based book, the water and salt and blood. The writing was tremendously atmospheric and at times I felt I was aboard one of the ships with the crew. A great deal of research has gone into this and I loved the story and magic of the seas. I will be recommending this to others and looking out for more from this author.

I am aware that this book is historical fiction but reads like a textbook which didn't make this read enjoyable. As much as the writing was good and easy to read the plot didn't have a flow to it.

Enjoyed this very much. I was swept along with the story of Mary/Mark and all her adventures - what a good film this would make! I thought it was very well written and felt that Mary was a lot tougher than she made out. But I liked her the more for her modesty. That it's based on true characters makes it a very interesting read as well.

Fantastic book!! I loved this take on Mary Read- the historical details were perfect and the exploration of gender felt very true to the time and nuanced in a way that I wasn't expecting. I really liked the way the book took Mary's interiority and showed how her conception of herself was developed in a really thoughtful and evolving way. Plus, I'm a sucker for well done sea books.

Read it!!!

This was a very different choice of book for me, but I was intrigued by the description. I thought it was pretty good ,and I enjoyed stepping out of my usual comfort zone of thrillers and sci fi. the main character was interesting and it was a great read.

Mary Read is born in 1685 at the same time that her brother, Mark, is dying. In order to continue collecting Mark's inheritance money, Mary must become Mark, and live as a boy. From there, Mary joins the navy, moves to the army, eventually becoming a pirate.

I absolutely loved this book! It's based on the story of a real female pirate called Mary Read and offers a unique look at the Golden Age of Piracy. Much of Mary's life is spent under a male name, with all the privileges and safeties that this affords, before she's able to break free of her secret. I enjoyed the fluidity of gender in Mary's life; she doesn't feel that she 'belongs' as either as a man or a woman, having lived as both, and she comes to accept that she doesn't have to define or label who she is in order to be happy. Her relationship with and yearning for the sea seemed symbolic of her own life; tempestuous, unpredictable, unable to be defined or contained, and the camaraderie and freedom she finds as a pirate contradicts the stifling secrecy of her upbringing and early life in the navy.

This was a really fascinating book and I loved knowing that it was based on a true person. The themes of gender, identity and sexuality explored in the book are very timely, but it was really interesting to read about them against a backdrop of a world over 400 years ago.

Would highly recommend for lovers of historical and adventure fiction!

Thank you to @netgalley and @bloomsburypublishing for the arc.

Saltblood by Francesca De Tores

A gripping read from start to finish and once read , I felt that it had educated me also.
Mary was raised as a male and given the name of her deceased brother Mark.
Once into the world of work Mary/ Mark starts off as working as a footman before discovering the open seas and takes to live upon the water.
There Mark has to deal with the French war and comes close to dying , sees death , and has to fight for survival.
The next journey is as life as a pirate on the high seas in what was known at that time as the New World.
An enjoyable read that showed women were able at that time ( although partly due to portrayal as male ) to lead an exciting life , living their dream .

Saltblood is a brilliant fictional account of the real life pirate Mary Read. To know that there is even a snippet of truth to Francesca de Tores tale is extraordinary.
Mary is fascinating throughout, she is full of depth, and her character continues developing as the story unfolds. She is the perfect female protagonist, fearless and strong, staying true to herself to the end. With the exception of Dan (who I struggled to picture) all other characters were unique, interesting and well imagined.
I particularly enjoyed the way the author described the sea, the boats, the creaking, the ropes, the flapping of sails-for me it created an audio track that was constantly present even when Mary was on land. This really set the scene and enabled me to feel the strength of the sea, always drawing her back.
I would recommend Saltblood to anyone who enjoys a book with an atypical, strong, female protagonist. It is an easy and enjoyable read without skimping on detail. There is plenty of pirate action too! What’s not to like?!