My Salty Mary Series: Mary #3 Published by HarperCollins on August 20, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Action & Adventure / Pirates, Young Adult Fiction / Historical / General, Young Adult Fiction / Mermaids & Mermen, Young Adult Fiction / Romance / Historical
Pages: 448
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My Lady Jane fixed Jane Grey’s tragic past—and now My Salty Mary will do the same for the infamous pirate Mary Read!
Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, New York Times bestselling authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows are back with a fantastical, romantical, and piratical historical fantasy remix that marries the story of The Little Mermaid with the life and times of infamous lady pirate Mary Read.
Don't call this mermaid "little"—call her "captain," unless you want to walk the plank.
Mary is in love with the so-called prince of Charles Town, except he doesn't love her back. Which is inconvenient. Since she's a mermaid, being brokenhearted means she'll—poof!—turn into sea-foam.
But instead, Mary finds herself pulled out of the sea and up onto a pirate ship. To survive, she joins them. But Mary isn't willing to just sing the yo-ho-hos. She wants the pirate life, all of it, and she's ready to make a splash . . . by becoming captain. But when Blackbeard dies suddenly, Mary has a chance to become so much more: Pirate King . . . or Queen. She won't let anyone stop her—not Blackbeard's cute son, not her best friend from back under the sea who's having a bit too much fun with his new legs, and certainly not everyone who says she can't be a pirate just because she's a girl.
She may not be the best man for the job, but she'll definitely prove that she's worth her salt.
And don’t miss the Prime Video streaming hit My Lady Jane!
Review:
All aboard for a rip-roaring, quirky, adventure-filled retelling of The Little Mermaid with pirates! Arrrrrrr. Like the previous books in the series, my Salty Mary takes a Historical Mary and puts a twist on it. The Mary for this one is about the infamous Pirate Mary Reed. Mary Reed left the mer world behind to live among humans and be with the man she loves until he invites her to his wedding to another woman. What’s a heartbroken woman to do? Become a pirate, of course.
All three points of view in this book were wonderfully and hilariously done. There’s an unexpected musical number, an angry chicken, and a half-mer half-human mama’s boy who wants to marry the girls of his dreams and is the perfect cinnamon roll addition. You wouldn’t expect a woman’s rights campaign to be one of the main plots of a novel about pirates, but what a lovely inclusion. I loved that Mary’s family called her Littlest (even though she hated it), her annoying sister was Karen, the evil Sea Witch wasn’t cruel, and Blackbeard had more than five dozen kids. My favorite parts were the pop culture references: from Captain Crunch to Captain Underpants, Princess Bride references, and Taylor Swift lyrics uttered by a pirate appropriately named Swift. If you’re looking for a fun read where you’re just along for the ride, My Salty Mary is for you!
I’ve really got to get going with these! I read the first Mary and enjoyed it, so I know I need to read the other two, especially this one! Great review!