Review Detail

In MY SALTY MARY by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadow, the authors take a new historical figure, in this case, Mary Read, an infamous female pirate, and turn her story on its head. In their version, Mary is a mermaid, who comes from Underwhere, and in order to stay on land, she’ll have to become the Pirate Queen, proving to her father that she can do it, and to the other men of the seas that women can be pirates too. To do that, she embarks on a journey to accumulate the most treasure but needs the help of her cousin Jack, his lover Anne, and Mary’s best navigator and ultimate crush, Tobias. Together, they fight the law, the waves, and time itself.

As a major MY LADY JANE fan, I could not wait to read another book in this series! What the authors do so well is blending historical fiction with more contemporary witticisms and anachronisms. It didn’t work quite as well in this novel, but I still appreciate that the tone and voice are unique, fresh, and distinct to this team of authors. What I especially enjoyed in MY SALTY MARY is the weaving of The Little Mermaid lore into the plot. I like how they utilize the sea foam rule from the original fairytale, as that keeps us on our toes as the readers, and how they gave the mermaids the ability to talk telepathically between one another, as well as with the creatures of the sea.

Sometimes it feels as though there are too many elements thrown together that some details may get lost. For instance, some of the characters feel too nice to be pirates, Mary especially. While I understand some of her motivations, it was hard to believe that she was okay with robbing and killing just for the sake of it. I do wish we got into that a bit more. That said, the other peripheral characters, such as Anne, seem natural-born swashbucklers, and I would not want to meet them out in the ocean!

Overall, MY SALTY MARY is an entertaining romp around the Caribbean and I’m excited to read more from these authors.

Also, #SaveMyLadyJane!