5 out of 5 Stars
This. Book. Was. Excellent!
I had heard great things so I was super excited to get an early review copy (thanks Netgalley and the publisher for that), and I was not disappointed. Westerns aren't usually my thing (book-wise at least. Love western movies and TV-John Wayne, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Blazing Saddles, Firefly, Bonanza-my mom's fave, etc., but I don't tend to read many western genre books), but I really loved this one. The feel of it was so spot on, from the dialect (which can make or break a book and in this case it made it. Seriously just reading this book silently to myself had my accent getting thicker and more country all the time) to the descriptions (so unique and evocative) to the action (nail-bitingly good) to the characters to the plot to EVERYTHING!
I loved the push and pull between Kate and Jesse especially but also between Kate and Will and Jesse and Will. The twist at the end was one I did not really see coming but still felt like it worked overall (the hints, though subtle, were there so that when the reveal happened I, along with Kate, was like "oh and that's why...oh"). Also I cried at a certain scene mostly because of how sudden and unexpected it was (but it is a western so I should have been prepared for more carnage and destruction).
The resolution was good and satisfying, even a little sad, and I enjoyed it. My only complaint was one tiny thing at the end
. Otherwise I super loved this book and might just have to buy myself a copy.
Please, writers, bring me more westerns like this because I could be a western book convert easily with material like this to work with.
