Reviews

Heresy by Melissa Lenhardt

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hannahjsimpson's review against another edition

3.0

What a fun adventure book! What brought it down to three stars was (1) the narrator who voiced Hattie and (2) the constant reiteration of how hard it is to be a woman.

The narrator used a lot of vocal fry in order to imitate a 90-something woman and it was hard to listen to that for hours.

The whole book was about how women are equal or superior in morals and criminal activity, and the author showed this! She didn't have to literally tell readers constantly.

But it was so fun to read about a women's western gang. It would be a fun book club read.

laura_marie's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

This book is incredible. The characters are alive and incredibly well developed. The setting of the Wild-West makes for a fascinating backdrop as you get to know this team of outlaws who by literally no accounts ever existed. This was a great concept, beautifully executed. Highly recommend to all people everywhere.

novelesque_life's review against another edition

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4.0

RATING: 4 STARS

I loved [a:Melissa Lenhardt|8993208|Melissa Lenhardt|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1574950380p2/8993208.jpg]'s western series, [b:Sawbones|31423216|Sawbones (Sawbones #1)|Melissa Lenhardt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1478725000l/31423216._SX50_.jpg|47209500] so when I saw there was another historical fiction I had to read it! This book is a standalone (so far), but it does have some small cameos from previous characters (from Sawbones). As soon as I started this novel I was hooked. I loved the characters and the story, and that it doesn't shy away from being a western.

The novel is set post-civil war in America, where a "family" of women turn to a life of an outlaw gang to survive. A British widow (Garet), a former African-American slave (Hattie) and two uneducated young sisters running from their former life make up this family of outlaws. On their last job they pick up a woman (Grace) traveling the West to write about her adventures...but not everyone agrees to this newcomer joining them. They have managed to avoid the law because no one wants to admit they have been held up by women. When an another outlaw group returns to town, after escaping to Mexico, the gang might just have to pull off one more heist before retiring...but at what cost.

The novel is narrated by a three of the women - Hattie, in 1930s, as an old woman tells her story to a research assistant, Margaret (Garet) in 1877 through a diary, and Grace also in 1877 through her own notes. Each woman brings insight of the time, place and social norms and pressures. Despite this being a fictional account of women who become outlaws, this is also a realistic stories in a lot of ways. It is told with compassion, humour and action. I read this one slower than I would have liked as I wanted to live in this world for awhile. It was bittersweet finishing the last page. I really hope Lenhardt does another historical fiction as I am officially hooked.

readingwithhippos's review against another edition

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5.0

Finally, a Western that centers women throughout--and not just one woman, but a whole gang of them, tough and imperfect and rebellious and loyal and just gosh-dang realistic. Former slave Hattie LaCour and widowed white woman Margaret Parker are partners in crime--they and their gang of mostly female outlaws rob banks, stagecoaches, and mining offices, and they never get caught because no one believes women capable of their exploits. Lenhardt tells their story through artifacts like newspaper columns, interviews, and journal entries, which made me feel like a detective historian combing through the archives (but without all the work). I absolutely fell in love with these characters and was blown away by the breadth of diversity represented among them. How amazing to read a story that is in some ways so familiar yet centers people who are usually erased from narratives of this kind. This is the Western the canon has been missing, and it’s the perfect book to pick up if you need a hit of female badassery right about now.

ldyluck's review against another edition

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5.0

It's been awhile since I've read a book that I don't want to put down.

I'm a fan of westerns and now, after reading this book, a fan specifically of female-driven westerns. I loved the premise, the character development, the manner in which the story was told...the whole thing was a fantastic escape for me. JUST what I needed.