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A review by yesrachishere
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman
3.0
Kate's Pa was killed by a gang because he had a secret. A secret that Kate never knew. He kept a journal with the whereabouts of a gold mine and the Rose Riders gang wanted it for themselves. So now Kate is on a mission to avenge her father. Along the way, she meets Jesse and Will and they join her on her quest but they think they are joining Nate, who is Kate dressed as boy. She cut her hair and wore boy clothes because she didn't think she would be taken seriously as a woman.
This is the first western that I have ever read. I really didn't know what to expect from it. I enjoyed the story for the majority of it but I found myself bored at times. I think that Kate is a good character but with lots of flaws. I really hated to see her risk the lives of Jessie and Will while she is on this conquest to avenge her father, when clearly she started this mission on her own and didn't want them tagging along. The Rose Riders are a very dangerous gang who kill people for no reason and most of the towns that Kate traveled into, were aware of who they were and wanted nothing to do with them. Nonetheless, they are a feared gang. I really loved the character of Jesse. He has been through so much trauma in his life but doesn't really seem to show it. Whereas, Kate, having just lost her father, is very angry and ready to take action. Will was a character that I wasn't that interested in the beginning but as the story went along, he was quite humorous. I still think that the character development for him and Jesse could have been better. The setting of the story was probably the best part. There was lots of description of the cactus and the saloons and the heat and it just read like I could feel and see all of those things. The dialog was hard to get into because of the western accent but after a few chapters, I hardly even noticed it.
Overall, for my first western, it wasn't terrible, but it could have been better. My expectations are low for any future westerns though, which is terrible but it is what it is.
This is the first western that I have ever read. I really didn't know what to expect from it. I enjoyed the story for the majority of it but I found myself bored at times. I think that Kate is a good character but with lots of flaws. I really hated to see her risk the lives of Jessie and Will while she is on this conquest to avenge her father, when clearly she started this mission on her own and didn't want them tagging along. The Rose Riders are a very dangerous gang who kill people for no reason and most of the towns that Kate traveled into, were aware of who they were and wanted nothing to do with them. Nonetheless, they are a feared gang. I really loved the character of Jesse. He has been through so much trauma in his life but doesn't really seem to show it. Whereas, Kate, having just lost her father, is very angry and ready to take action. Will was a character that I wasn't that interested in the beginning but as the story went along, he was quite humorous. I still think that the character development for him and Jesse could have been better. The setting of the story was probably the best part. There was lots of description of the cactus and the saloons and the heat and it just read like I could feel and see all of those things. The dialog was hard to get into because of the western accent but after a few chapters, I hardly even noticed it.
Overall, for my first western, it wasn't terrible, but it could have been better. My expectations are low for any future westerns though, which is terrible but it is what it is.