Devil's Ballast is a historical fiction story about the life of Anne Bonny.

Anne Bonny is fierce, brave, and never backs down from a fight. She knows her strengths and her flaws and doesn't really care what you think of her. Anne Bonny is one of my favorite women in history and I was happy to see that her character (from can be confirmed from records) was done so great on the page. Devil's Ballast takes place with young Anne and her life as part of Calico Jack's crew after she fled from an abusive husband. With revenge on the mind, her husband hires someone to hunt down his ex-wife and drag her back to him. Little do they release that Anne Bonny will not go without a fight.

I would say that while this book is pretty historically accurate in a way that warms my heart, it was not the Anne Bonny read that I was hoping for. I found the writing to be quite dull and didn't really build up the character's relationships in an enjoyable way. I only really cared about the interactions between Anne and Martin. The story does have trans male representation in that famous pirate Mary Read is trans in this story and is Martin Read. I didn't find the two different POV's to really add anything interesting to the story.

For me, this was an ok book overall and I hope it introduces more people to Anne Bonny..

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title Devil’s Ballast

Author Meg Caddy

Description from Amazon

Anne Bonny was 18 when she ran away from her violent husband, into the arms of pirate captain Calico Jack. Now, aboard Jack’s ship, she’s part of a ruthless crew bringing mayhem and murder to the Caribbean. But James Bonny is willing to pay to get his wife back. And pirate-hunter Captain Barnet is open to all offers.

Release Date July 14, 2020

Initial Thoughts

I was excited to read this one. It’s been a while since I read a good pirate story and this one sounded really interesting.

Some Things I Liked

Anne’s wit and sass. Anne was hilarious and I loved her dialogue. She was a fierce main character and I loved seeing her interactions with everyone.
Calico Jack as a more romantic Jack Sparrow. Jack gave me such Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow vibes and I really liked that. Albeit, a more responsible and less selfish Jack Sparrow, he felt like he gave off similar eccentric pirate energy.
Dark themes. This book didn’t shy away from some of the dark themes that were prevalent at the time. Anne ran away from an abusive husband, she was conflicted over her pregnancy, and murder was a regular occurrence. This story didn’t sugar coat any of that and I respected the plot for its honesty.

One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About

I wasn’t totally sold on the twist with Martin. One of Mary Read’s claims to fame was that she had a stay of execution because she was pregnant (like Anne) so I was surprised to find that she would never really be in a position to get pregnant. While I understand this is a work of historical fiction, I thought this aspect strayed from the truth a smidge too much. However, I will say that I liked the character very much. My issue is with the changes from the real story.

Series Value

I’d love to see a sequel to this story. Anne and Martin were such fun main characters and I’d really enjoy a sequel / spin-off about Martin. Despite what I know about Anne, Mary, and Calico Jack’s fates, I’d still like to see more of their adventures as written by Meg Caddy.

Final Thoughts

I enjoyed this book. I liked the romance, the references to history, and the plot. I would like to see more from these characters but I am also satisfied where everything ended.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace – if you liked the idea of pirates with a lot of sass, try this book that came out in February.

My Rating: 3.5

I love pirates. Always have since I was a kid and this book is great because:

1. Obviously pirates
2. Badass female character, Anne Bonny
3. Bonny and Calico

In this version of Meg Caddy we follow historical character Anne Bonny (how awesome is the fact that this woman actually existed and she was a great pirate, one THE best. And everyone should know that she existed) aboard captain Jack Calico's ship. So pretty much the making of the one and only true pirate Anne Bonny.
Bonny escaped her violent husband and decided to become a part of Calico's crew and join the pirate life. Not everything goes as planned, she's a woman pretending to be a lad that is favored by the captain a few times and that brings trouble aboard the ship. But that doesn't stop Bonny from achieving her goals and she keeps looking forward and fighting for what she believes.
I loved Bonny and Mary Read's friendship and how it was developed, it was truly wholesome.
But as mentioned above one of the true relationships that shinned for me in this book was Bonny and Calico, even though they didn't have that many moments the one's they had were perfect. I wish there had been more romance since I'm a sucker for it.
I loved this reimagination of Bonny's life and adventures.

Devil's Ballast was a highly enjoyable read. It was nicely paced, with plenty of action, as well as some good drama and emotion. Anne was an absorbing character and I loved reading of her adventures and her interactions with those around her. The LGBT content was presented in a natural manner, without sensationalising it, and overall this was a delightful read that kept me well entertained over two nights. I recommend Devil's Ballast to YA historical fiction fans and those who enjoy YA stories with feisty heroines and plenty of action.

I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher, Text Publishing, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Devil’s Ballast by Meg Caddy is a retelling of the life of female pirate Anne Bonny and her lover - the infamous pirate captain, Calico Jack Rackham. Living in Nassau and married to a monster of a man, Anne absconded with Calico and set sail disguised as Andrew Bonny. However, the pair find themselves the target of not only Anne’s husband, but also the ruthless pirate hunter, Jonathan Barnet. Will Bonny and Calico be able to escape capture, and more importantly, the hangman’s noose?

There a quite a few things I really liked about this book including the well-written action scenes, LGBTQA+ representation, and the characters - and I don’t just mean the daring and tenacious Anne Bonny. The author also created some excellent secondary characters in Isaac, Old Dad, darling Darling, and Read (based on Mary Read).

Where the book lost me a bit, was that it was more action than substance. The story opens with Bonny and Calico already trolling the high seas and secretly seeing each other when they can (since she is in disguise), but there is no real merit given to their “love story”. We are simply told they are in a relationship so they must be in love. Without this context established up front, actions taken later in the story don’t carry as much weight or risk, which could’ve built more anticipation/emotion for me as a reader. The action is great, but I would’ve like to see this relationship developed a little more to really invest in the story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and was glad to see a reimagined version of this fierce female pirate brought back to life.

I was hooked from the first sentence. Historical fiction is always a favourite of mine specially when it involves actual events/people. Anne Bonny is a very interesting historical figure and I love this interpretation. She's a complex individual and I loved having her as the main character.
It felt so real, it transported me to that time. Not only because we had known figures as Mary Read and Calico Jack but because the author did her reasearch and obviously knew what she was talking about.
I just had a lot of fun. It's based on true events but, of course, the author took some creative liberties, which managed to be informative and entertaining at the same time.