taylorreadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I need more Vengeful and Violent YA Westerns in my life!
erinarkin20's review against another edition
5.0
Loved being back with Kate and Jesse. I'm excited to dive into Retribution Rails now too!!
Merged review:
Welcome to the Wild West ala Erin Bowman! I admit it – I was a bit hesitant on this one only because Westerns typically aren’t for me but I wanted to give this one a try and boy, am I glad I did. I loved every minute of this one and as usual, I will try to do this spoiler free.
The book starts out with a bang and I was immediately pulled into Kate’s story. When her father is murdered, she goes on a hunt to find the men who killed him as well as the gold mine that seems to be the reason behind his death. To do this, Kate disguises herself as a boy and heads to the only place her father told her to go if something happened to him…Abe Wickenberg.
When Kate gets to Abe’s farm, she finds out Abe won’t be able to help her and instead of sitting around and doing nothing, she makes the decision to head out and find the gang who destroyed her life on her own. On her way, Kate is chased down by two of Abe’s boys, Jesse and Will. They have their own story and even though Kate really wants to be on her own, she sees the logic of traveling as far as necessary/possible with Jesse and Will. Kate tries to keep her distance from them because she is still trying to pass herself off as a boy (they know her as Nate) and she doesn’t want them to know anything different.
I liked Kate. She isn’t someone who will sit around waiting for things to happen to her and she is definitely willing to walk into danger if she thinks it will help her accomplish her goals. It also makes her a little reckless but don’t think that this in any way means she isn’t smart. She uses her head and even though she doesn’t always choose correctly, she is always willing to take action. And even though she can shoot and puts on a front like things don’t bother her and she doesn’t want anyone around her, it is clear that isn’t truly the case and that is just another of those things that make this character likable.
Jesse is the one that Kate is drawn to and he has a backstory that will make you want to hug him. As the oldest son, Jesse feels a lot of the pressure of making sure everyone is taken care of and he takes it personally when he fails. As the story progresses, this becomes very clear and some of the things that happen weigh heavily on him. This doesn’t mean he is perfect but he is someone who tries to do the right thing.
The secondary characters are well done too. Will is Jesse’s brother. He is the talker and adds a bit of levity to the story. He cares about his family but he wants what he wants and he also isn’t afraid to tell Kate things that will help her understand why Jesse is the way he is. Liluye (Lil) is the Apache that ends up traveling with the group – definitely not without a bit of anger from Jesse but in the end, she is a great (and important) addition to the group.
As they head out, they hit a number of snags and ultimately they all make a deal that will hopefully get everyone what they want – a bit of gold and some good, old-fashioned revenge. Things are definitely not easy and believe me when I say, this book is gritty and there is plenty of death along the way…as I imagine it would have been.
As usual, I don’t want to give anything away with this story so I’m not going to – hopefully this isn’t too vague for you. I will say that Bowman creates this world of danger and isolation and I felt it all. Even though Kate is with these boys, she is still very much on her own and as she begins to find out more about her family, it isn’t exactly what she expected.
If you are looking for a story has a lot of action, a bit of deception, and definitely some characters that will keep you turning the pages to see what is going to happen next for them, consider checking this one out. I couldn’t put it down and it has made me rethink saying I don’t like westerns because that isn’t really true now.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Merged review:
Welcome to the Wild West ala Erin Bowman! I admit it – I was a bit hesitant on this one only because Westerns typically aren’t for me but I wanted to give this one a try and boy, am I glad I did. I loved every minute of this one and as usual, I will try to do this spoiler free.
The book starts out with a bang and I was immediately pulled into Kate’s story. When her father is murdered, she goes on a hunt to find the men who killed him as well as the gold mine that seems to be the reason behind his death. To do this, Kate disguises herself as a boy and heads to the only place her father told her to go if something happened to him…Abe Wickenberg.
When Kate gets to Abe’s farm, she finds out Abe won’t be able to help her and instead of sitting around and doing nothing, she makes the decision to head out and find the gang who destroyed her life on her own. On her way, Kate is chased down by two of Abe’s boys, Jesse and Will. They have their own story and even though Kate really wants to be on her own, she sees the logic of traveling as far as necessary/possible with Jesse and Will. Kate tries to keep her distance from them because she is still trying to pass herself off as a boy (they know her as Nate) and she doesn’t want them to know anything different.
I liked Kate. She isn’t someone who will sit around waiting for things to happen to her and she is definitely willing to walk into danger if she thinks it will help her accomplish her goals. It also makes her a little reckless but don’t think that this in any way means she isn’t smart. She uses her head and even though she doesn’t always choose correctly, she is always willing to take action. And even though she can shoot and puts on a front like things don’t bother her and she doesn’t want anyone around her, it is clear that isn’t truly the case and that is just another of those things that make this character likable.
Jesse is the one that Kate is drawn to and he has a backstory that will make you want to hug him. As the oldest son, Jesse feels a lot of the pressure of making sure everyone is taken care of and he takes it personally when he fails. As the story progresses, this becomes very clear and some of the things that happen weigh heavily on him. This doesn’t mean he is perfect but he is someone who tries to do the right thing.
The secondary characters are well done too. Will is Jesse’s brother. He is the talker and adds a bit of levity to the story. He cares about his family but he wants what he wants and he also isn’t afraid to tell Kate things that will help her understand why Jesse is the way he is. Liluye (Lil) is the Apache that ends up traveling with the group – definitely not without a bit of anger from Jesse but in the end, she is a great (and important) addition to the group.
As they head out, they hit a number of snags and ultimately they all make a deal that will hopefully get everyone what they want – a bit of gold and some good, old-fashioned revenge. Things are definitely not easy and believe me when I say, this book is gritty and there is plenty of death along the way…as I imagine it would have been.
As usual, I don’t want to give anything away with this story so I’m not going to – hopefully this isn’t too vague for you. I will say that Bowman creates this world of danger and isolation and I felt it all. Even though Kate is with these boys, she is still very much on her own and as she begins to find out more about her family, it isn’t exactly what she expected.
If you are looking for a story has a lot of action, a bit of deception, and definitely some characters that will keep you turning the pages to see what is going to happen next for them, consider checking this one out. I couldn’t put it down and it has made me rethink saying I don’t like westerns because that isn’t really true now.
Thank you to the publisher for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
theawkwardbookw's review against another edition
2.0
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2.5/5 Stars
After the death of her father, Kate sets off in disguise as a male to have her revenge on the gang who killed him.
This was such a forgettable book for me, which was a bit disappointing as the premise sounded fun. I found myself getting bored very quickly with the story, which I was surprised by as I am usually a sucker for revenge plots. It was rather predictable and I didn't really care for any of the characters, which made it hard to keep engaged with the story. I did like Kate though. She was so determined and head strong, and I liked how she truly did not care about anything but her revenge. She and Will (one of the brothers travelling with Kate), are the reason this is getting 2.5 stars instead of a lower rating. The romance also was not my favourite, and the male love interest, Jesse, got on my nerves REAL quick.
Also the portrayal of the Apache tribe was questionable at best.
2.5/5 Stars
After the death of her father, Kate sets off in disguise as a male to have her revenge on the gang who killed him.
This was such a forgettable book for me, which was a bit disappointing as the premise sounded fun. I found myself getting bored very quickly with the story, which I was surprised by as I am usually a sucker for revenge plots. It was rather predictable and I didn't really care for any of the characters, which made it hard to keep engaged with the story. I did like Kate though. She was so determined and head strong, and I liked how she truly did not care about anything but her revenge. She and Will (one of the brothers travelling with Kate), are the reason this is getting 2.5 stars instead of a lower rating. The romance also was not my favourite, and the male love interest, Jesse, got on my nerves REAL quick.
Also the portrayal of the Apache tribe was questionable at best.
aomccourt's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t normally read Westerns but the cover of this book called to me. So glad I picked it up. This was a great story, I was interested right from the first chapter and I enjoyed every page. I’ll definitely be checking out other writing by the author.
fatimareadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
**I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
I gotta admit, when I first picked up Vengeance Road, I was pretty skeptical. I'm not a fan of Western stories but I just had to see what all this hype surrounding it was about. I dove in expecting some YA love story sprinkled with light, fluffy Western elements, but boy was I wrong! Vengeance Road is a gritty, action-packed story that'll keep you turning it's pages until the very end. It is the story of a young girl's unforgiving quest for vengeance.
Kate Thompson, A.K.A. Nate Thompson, comes home one day to find that her father had been hanged and the house burned down by a gang of notorious cowboys called the Rose Riders. She buries her father, cries, counts to ten, then wipes away her tears before saddling up and arming herself to go on this vengeance road - as a boy. However, along the way, she makes some unexpected 'allies', uncovers secrets about her father, and gets swept up in an intense and possibly treacherous quest for gold.
The storytelling here was fantastic, although - at first - I did get thrown off a bit by the Western dialect. Gradually, I eased into it and reading the story became a breeze!
Another thing I loved about this story, was Kate. Her lust for revenge felt very real, unlike other YA heroines who usually lost track of what they were doing as soon as a male came strollin' in. She felt neither guilt nor remorse for murdering her father's killers; she was tough and I liked it. And in the instances when Kate actually cried? Give her 10 seconds and you'll find her wiping her tears and already scheming her enemy's downfall.
Everything about the romance in this story was just perfect - especially it's pacing. It crept in slowly, weaving itself into the story by building their relationship from witty banter to something else. All without detracting anything from the story. It was gradual, not too fast and not too slow, which was ideal.
If you like a vicious Western story filled with conflict, then Vengeance Road is the one for you. It's very unique and it's bound to make you snort once or twice somewhere along the way.
I gotta admit, when I first picked up Vengeance Road, I was pretty skeptical. I'm not a fan of Western stories but I just had to see what all this hype surrounding it was about. I dove in expecting some YA love story sprinkled with light, fluffy Western elements, but boy was I wrong! Vengeance Road is a gritty, action-packed story that'll keep you turning it's pages until the very end. It is the story of a young girl's unforgiving quest for vengeance.
Kate Thompson, A.K.A. Nate Thompson, comes home one day to find that her father had been hanged and the house burned down by a gang of notorious cowboys called the Rose Riders. She buries her father, cries, counts to ten, then wipes away her tears before saddling up and arming herself to go on this vengeance road - as a boy. However, along the way, she makes some unexpected 'allies', uncovers secrets about her father, and gets swept up in an intense and possibly treacherous quest for gold.
The storytelling here was fantastic, although - at first - I did get thrown off a bit by the Western dialect. Gradually, I eased into it and reading the story became a breeze!
Another thing I loved about this story, was Kate. Her lust for revenge felt very real, unlike other YA heroines who usually lost track of what they were doing as soon as a male came strollin' in. She felt neither guilt nor remorse for murdering her father's killers; she was tough and I liked it. And in the instances when Kate actually cried? Give her 10 seconds and you'll find her wiping her tears and already scheming her enemy's downfall.
Everything about the romance in this story was just perfect - especially it's pacing. It crept in slowly, weaving itself into the story by building their relationship from witty banter to something else. All without detracting anything from the story. It was gradual, not too fast and not too slow, which was ideal.
If you like a vicious Western story filled with conflict, then Vengeance Road is the one for you. It's very unique and it's bound to make you snort once or twice somewhere along the way.
girlwhoadventures's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 rounded up. I liked this book as it was short and sweet and a decent Western. I did think the plot was a little uneventful in that I wasn’t really attached to the main characters motive or that of anyone else. I also thought the book could use more imagery to ground you and the end had a plot twist but I didn’t like how it fit. Still 4 stores cause it kept me engaged.
arte's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
2.5
This wasn't my kind of book, sadly. I lost interest half way / somewhere towards the end and mostly forced myself to finish it because it wasn't a bad book per se. I just had a bit of a hard time with the western theme and especially the way they talked. I appreciate how strong Kate was as a character though. She carried the book for me.
mikrokosm0s's review against another edition
3.0
3 or 3.5. I didn't find this too engrossing - took me forever to finish it. I'm glad there are more westerns in YA though! I did enjoy how this wasn't fluffy and cutesy - very brutal in some parts. Overall a good read and the cover is GORGEOUS.
emilygaynier's review against another edition
4.0
Such a good book! I can't wait to get the next one!
I really appreciated that even though Kate is as tough as nails, she isn't the best shooter when it comes to pistols. I prefer range weapons in video games so I like it when character like those weapons too.
I really appreciated that even though Kate is as tough as nails, she isn't the best shooter when it comes to pistols. I prefer range weapons in video games so I like it when character like those weapons too.