Red-Haired Ash Reads

The United States fractured after the assassination of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Depression. The world has become a hard, lawless place, which is where gunslinger Lizbeth Rose comes in. Gunnie Rose has acquired a reputation of being a fearsome gunslinger and someone who you can count on to get the job done. Now she has to deal with guiding a pair of Russian wizards to locate a magical practitioner named Oleg Karkarov. 

It took a little bit for me to get sucked into this audiobook, but once I got the general idea of the world and Gunnie, I quickly was sucked into the story. This is a gritty, dark, and fascinating world and Harris doesn’t shy away from writing the realities of the dangers people face, especially the women. I wasn’t expecting such a dark world from Harris, but I really enjoyed it.

Gunnie Lizbeth Rose is only 19 years old but has had a very successful career being a gunner. She is one of the best and she always tries to fulfill the job, even when she is extremely injured. Gunnie was a fascinating woman and a great character. I was hooked to her story and the secrets she is hiding. 

The wizards in this world were interesting and while they are not trusted, they still have a whole empire with a czar and royal family. Ilya “Eli” Savarov was a surprisingly gentle man but also had no problems killing when he had to. While he and Gunnie end up having a relationship, it doesn’t overtake the plot, which I liked. Also I really liked that Gunnie walked away when she realized the truth because it made me like her even more. 

Overall, this was a surprisingly wonderful weird western. I loved the narration of the graphic audio and I am totally going to be listening to the rest of the series now. I can’t wait to see what Gunnie does next. 

TW: death (including of children and babies); on page rape and attempted rape; kidnapping; patricide; slavery mentioned; gun violence; on page lynching; loss of autonomy with mind control;

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