Genre: Historical, Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Lesbian
Reviewer: KA
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About The Book
A tale of mystery, treasure, magical creatures, secrets, sea monsters, and high adventure. And it’s all true. You have this pirate’s word for it.
Molly McCormick never set out to be a pirate. But when her family tried to marry her off to a wealthy old man to settle their debts, she resolved to strike out on her own. Taking a job aboard a handy ship disguised as a boy, she soon found herself on the other side of the world: the Caribbean. Desperate to keep her identity secret, she fell in with a lot of pirates, a decision that would change her life. From then on, she lived a life of intrigue and adventure. Forbidden islands holding magical relics. Ghost ships with undead crews. Long-forgotten colonies trapped in time. And beneath it all, a secret buried beneath the waves for centuries is about to return…
The Review
Scallywag! tells the story of Molly McCormick, a teenage girl who runs away from home in order to escape an arranged marriage and, through a series of fantastic events, falls in with a band of pirates. Her adventures are narrated in an 18th-century first person style, with spellings and mannerisms authentic to the time period.
Along the way, her adventurous tales dip into the realm of supernatural and fantasy genres, including merfolk, curses, a village frozen in an endless time loop, and a mysterious amulet whose powers drive both the protagonist’s journey and the plot of the book.
I really enjoyed reading this book, and appreciate the author’s bold risk in exploring a niche genre. Usually, K. L. Mitchell does fun, adventure-driven sapphic fantasy, and although this novel also has a sapphic protagonist, there is less romantic development in this book compared to her previous novels. Instead of her usual protagonists who strengthen their romantic relationship with their partner by working together to solve conflict, this book’s sapphic protagonist felt more introspective, and spent more time in the narrative building relationships with her pirate found family instead of the woman she ultimately falls in love with.
There are romantic elements and a sapphic relationship in this novel, but ultimately the book aligns more with a 18th century adventure novel than a modern romance. The author took a risk in modeling this novel after 18thcentury adventure novels of Daniel Defoe, and although the premise might scare off some readers looking for a quick read, those who take a chance on it will find why K. L. Mitchell remains steadfastly one of my favorite fantasy authors.
5 stars.
The Reviewer
KA Masters [she/her] is an ace author who writes queer fairy tales and historical fantasy. Although she believes that every good story needs elves and / or explosions in them, her most recent publication, “Sappho in Violet and Gray,” sadly does not include either. You can read more about her on her Goodreads Author Profile K_A_Masters.
