REVIEW: VENGEANCE ROAD (Erin Bowman)

2019 really doesn't want me to have a good time, does it?

I was real excited to read Vengeance Road. I’m always in it for authors reviving dead genres and writing in a definitive voice. The first paragraph drew me in and promised something spectacular.

And, well… instead, Vengeance Road proved why the Western died in the first place. To be frank, the best part of this book is Kate’s voice. I hesitate to even say her narration on the whole, considering her annoying way of conveniently reading the minds of everyone around her whenever it suits the narrative, or how she repeats everything other characters say in italics so we know it’s important as if we forgot. Anyway, I’m a big fan of phonetic narration (the same reason I love Patrick Ness’ The Knife of Never Letting Go), but it can’t carry a whole ass book. I’ll also admit that I really liked the beginning where Kate was posing as a boy, but that lasted, like… well, not a long time. So.

I’m not feeling very nice today, so let’s get into what I didn’t like.

The Romance:

I literally could not care less about Kate and Jesse. The buildup was annoying and the payoff was weird. This was compounded by the fact that Jesse as a character was extremely inconsistent, so I couldn’t even tell where they stood at any given moment except for Kate literally telling me.

The Characterization:

Will and Jesse have no definitive character and kept shifting. Kate is annoying. Literally everyone else has all the personality of unsalted fries. AND LILUYE.

Liluye:

Did someone edit this book? Who let this weird, borderlineracist portrayal slip through? I know it’s a Western, but, uhhh… this ain’t it, sis.

The 'Surprise' Twist:

If you didn’t already see this twist coming from a mile away, fine. I’m not gonna knock the dead-parent-who’s-really-alive-but-evil trope, because I’m not out here to be a hypocrite. What I am gonna knock is that execution. It felt shoehorned in, even though it was inevitable. And Kate basically had no reaction to it! Alright. Cool.

Listen, Vengeance Road probably isn’t even that bad. I should have rated it a 3/5, but I’ve been so starved of good books lately (if you’ve been following my wretched 2019 journey) that I’m feeling especially spiteful.

You know what, 2019? I get it. I did something to hurt you, and now you’re hurting me. Are we even now? Can I just have one solid 5/5 read? Please?

(Originally posted on Goodreads: May 10, 2019)