This book read as an adventurous historical memoir filled with dramatic twists and turns. We follow the many lives of Mary Read, as she grapples with her own complicated identity, gender and sexuality while surviving in a man's world. 

"The navy is full of boys pretending to be men. Is it such a big difference, one girl pretending to be a boy?"

Towards the middle mark of the book, I'd almost given up on seeing a single pirate. They didn't appear until 54%. Before then, we spent most of the time wading through the muddy trenches with Mary/Mark as a soldier, then in the infantry. Although they had started in the Navy, it felt like a long time until we returned to the sea to find adventure. Mary/Mark really did live a thousand lives, I just wish we were able to connect with some of them in a more meaningful way as they often felt like fractured parts of the person but never the full picture. 

"I could pass again as a woman. And may yet in years to come. But I will never not be a sailor."  

I'll admit, I was expecting more pirating. Perhaps it's a repetitive line of work that doesn't translate well to storytelling but I must say that I envisioned much more of the book to take place upon a pirate ship. I expected Mary would rise up the ranks of pirate kind, perhaps captain her own ship of multiple female pirates. However it seems Mary was one-of-a-kind female who seized her chance to jump aboard a sinking ship during the decline of piracy, never advancing beyond a shipmate. Could well be that I am just unappreciative of what is a realistic and factual retelling of history.. however, I can't deny that it was a bit of a reality check for a reader expecting female pirates galore embarking on bountiful swashbuckling adventures.

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing & Francesca De Tores for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.