Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman

Title: Vengeance Road

Author: Erin Bowman

Series: Stand Alone

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

Source: Netgalley

As far as I can recall, I have never read a Western before, so this was my very first one.  I don't even typically watch Westerns on T.V.  So, needles to say, this was a whole new story type for me to venture into.

This story is about Kate.  In the beginning she discovers her father dead, hanging from a tree and her home burning to the ground.  A gang of robbers, known as the Rose Riders, had attacked while she had been away from the house.  She had no idea why they attacked her father, for as far as she knew, he had never done anything to anyone.  All she knew was that she was going to find them and make them pay.  She was going to avenge her fathers death at all costs.

Along the way she meets Jesse and Will and a few other characters.  She wants go on her journey alone, but they won't let her for various different reasons (that we wont get into here!).

Kate learns a lot of things about herself and her family along the way and not all of them are good.

The pacing of this book is fantastic.  Every time you think it is starting to slow down something new happens.  It keeps you on your toes.  You never know what is going to happen to our cast of characters next.

This particular story takes place during the time when everyone was after gold and I think it depicted that time well.  People were willing to do anything and everything to get at it.  It also showed the distrust between the "whites" and the "Indians" at the time and the distrust that existed between the two groups.

Something I really liked about the book was the way it was narrated.  It was written in the way Kate would have spoken to you.  The narration really helped me immerse myself into the story and feel as though I were riding along with Kate, Jesse, and Will on their journey across Arizona.

While I enjoyed this one, I don't think I will be making Westerns a part of my regular reading repertoire.  It was good, but it wasn't exactly my thing in the long run.

My Rating

4 of 5 stars

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

This review is based on an eARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.