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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Charlaine Harris is such a good storyteller! Her protagonists are multi-layered and her plots are compelling. An Easy Death is the story of Lizbeth Rose, a gunnie (bodyguard with multiple guns) in an alternate history no-longer-American west. She's something of a loner, in the mold of Lily Bard, another Harris heroine. And she reminded me a bit of Lisbeth Salander - smart, supremely competent, not afraid to make hard choices, and mostly alone.
This is a story of a road trip taken by Lizbeth and her employers. It's also a journey of growth for her. It's a great start to a series and I'm looking forward to book number two.
This is a story of a road trip taken by Lizbeth and her employers. It's also a journey of growth for her. It's a great start to a series and I'm looking forward to book number two.
This was a difficult book for me to rate. I kept bouncing between 3 and 4 stars.
Unique and developed world. I've run into spaghetti westerns, but never a wizard western. The world is described in great visual details. It was easy to visualize the roads on the journey and the towns as well as the people.
The characters were nicely done. Lizbeth Rose was a bit of a dry sack, but she did fit the job and scenery. I knew Eli was good looking, but it really was never a focus until a bit towards the end, which was refreshingly nice.
Charlaine Harris is a master at creating believable, fictional worlds, although the story voice was very dry.
I was expecting more of a Sookie Stackhouse vibe but it wasn’t there. Although it was a decent read I’m not sure I’ll continue the series. You make your decision and read it.
Set in a dystopian USA of the 1960s where magic exists, Lisbeth Rose is a mercenary who gets roped into the political mechanisms of the new Holy Russian Empire that now resides in California.
This book is well written.
The worldbuilding, though questionable, is concise and the main characters are enjoyable.
I personally enjoyed Paulina a lot so
Lisbeth Rose, the protagonist, is a consistent character. She is a straightforward and honest person who enjoys her way of life and wants to keep it the same.
This book however is very much a whitewashed version of the Southwest, which is truly unfortunate because it has such an interesting story.
From my understanding this book mostly takes place is Texas,the southern part of it, and yet the Latinx representation was nonexistent.
I get that its dyspotain, but when things only got off kited 20 years prior to the start of this book, so what happened to all the Mexicans?
They were only mentioned a few times throughout the book but I can't recall any notable Mexican characters except
Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the Southwest isn't a new thing, they have been living there for generations. Longer than most white people and yet majority of the settlements portrayed in this book were dated stereotypes.
That prominent Mexican characters were illiterate, even though before 1940s there were plenty of educated Latinx within the United States. The El Misisipi, a Spanish newspaper that originated in the US, have been around since 1808.
And yet in this USA, this book only had Mexicans that were poor and they were all superstitious and religious.
I also thought it was a little odd that Harris constantly referred to black people as dark but I guess that's a style choice. I do appreciate that she didn't use stereotypes with those characters, although there were barely any POC in this book.
This book was obviously written through a white lense, but it was published in 2019.
I expected more out of this book when it came to diversity and was disappointed.
I would expect this kind of book, and excuse it, from the 1990s-early 2000s but a book published in 2019 I have different standards for.
I understand that Harris is a writer from an older generation but it's truly unfortunate that her writing isn't evolving with the times.
Although I enjoyed the story to a degree I don't think I'll be reading the next one.
This book is well written.
The worldbuilding, though questionable, is concise and the main characters are enjoyable.
I personally enjoyed Paulina a lot so
Spoiler
I was a little sad when she died.Lisbeth Rose, the protagonist, is a consistent character. She is a straightforward and honest person who enjoys her way of life and wants to keep it the same.
Spoiler
I don't think she had much character development in this book however. The only major development she had was that she opened up to Eli.This book however is very much a whitewashed version of the Southwest, which is truly unfortunate because it has such an interesting story.
From my understanding this book mostly takes place is Texas,the southern part of it, and yet the Latinx representation was nonexistent.
I get that its dyspotain, but when things only got off kited 20 years prior to the start of this book, so what happened to all the Mexicans?
They were only mentioned a few times throughout the book but I can't recall any notable Mexican characters except
Spoiler
Felicia. Which by the way, I think it's ridiculous that she's apparently the only Mexican in San Diego. San Diego, a city in South California. South California, where there is an abundance of Mexican Americans.Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the Southwest isn't a new thing, they have been living there for generations. Longer than most white people and yet majority of the settlements portrayed in this book were dated stereotypes.
That prominent Mexican characters were illiterate, even though before 1940s there were plenty of educated Latinx within the United States. The El Misisipi, a Spanish newspaper that originated in the US, have been around since 1808.
And yet in this USA, this book only had Mexicans that were poor and they were all superstitious and religious.
I also thought it was a little odd that Harris constantly referred to black people as dark but I guess that's a style choice. I do appreciate that she didn't use stereotypes with those characters, although there were barely any POC in this book.
This book was obviously written through a white lense, but it was published in 2019.
I expected more out of this book when it came to diversity and was disappointed.
I would expect this kind of book, and excuse it, from the 1990s-early 2000s but a book published in 2019 I have different standards for.
I understand that Harris is a writer from an older generation but it's truly unfortunate that her writing isn't evolving with the times.
Although I enjoyed the story to a degree I don't think I'll be reading the next one.
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Listened via audiobook.
I enjoyed this book a lot! I loved the alternate history premise with a fantastical twist and the main character's hard wit. It was an engaging read that kept me relatively hooked. Ignore my read dates, I started the book and then got distracted, but I sat down and began to listen to it regularly.
Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie, a gun-for-hire mercenary living in an alternate history version of the United States, where parts of the country are territory for other countries. After completing a job that went haywire, Lizbeth goes home to find two Russian wizards--called "grigoris"--who hire her for a dangerous job. They travel across the territories of North America, looking for something very particular. I won't spoil past that, because part of the book's engagement was hearing things unravel and they went along.
I was legitimately very interested in this alternate version of the United States. The addition of magic was an intriguing twist. There's no explanation for the magic, though, so if you are coming in expecting a detailed magic system, you'll be disappointed. I wasn't at all bothered by it. The main character herself felt like someone who wasn't too invested in magic, so it made it feel authentic to her perspective. It's a relatively fast-paced book with great action and tense scenes. Lizbeth herself is a fun character to read about. She's no-nonsense, clever, and tough. My favorite thing about Lizbeth? She's the perfect example of a character who actually is badass. She doesn't need to tell the audience and try to convince them. It's painted clear as day with her actions, and I respect that so much. She doesn't undergo any significant character development during the story, but there wasn't a point in the book where she felt stale to me.
My main criticism of the book is that Lizbeth's narration could get a little too dry and could bog down the scenes with all of her clipped sentences, though that might be just how it felt with the audiobook narrator. There's a few scenes/developments in character relationships that felt like they came out of nowhere and it gave me a bit of whiplash.
All in all, a solid book and one that I enjoyed.
I enjoyed this book a lot! I loved the alternate history premise with a fantastical twist and the main character's hard wit. It was an engaging read that kept me relatively hooked. Ignore my read dates, I started the book and then got distracted, but I sat down and began to listen to it regularly.
Lizbeth Rose is a gunnie, a gun-for-hire mercenary living in an alternate history version of the United States, where parts of the country are territory for other countries. After completing a job that went haywire, Lizbeth goes home to find two Russian wizards--called "grigoris"--who hire her for a dangerous job. They travel across the territories of North America, looking for something very particular. I won't spoil past that, because part of the book's engagement was hearing things unravel and they went along.
I was legitimately very interested in this alternate version of the United States. The addition of magic was an intriguing twist. There's no explanation for the magic, though, so if you are coming in expecting a detailed magic system, you'll be disappointed. I wasn't at all bothered by it. The main character herself felt like someone who wasn't too invested in magic, so it made it feel authentic to her perspective. It's a relatively fast-paced book with great action and tense scenes. Lizbeth herself is a fun character to read about. She's no-nonsense, clever, and tough. My favorite thing about Lizbeth? She's the perfect example of a character who actually is badass. She doesn't need to tell the audience and try to convince them. It's painted clear as day with her actions, and I respect that so much. She doesn't undergo any significant character development during the story, but there wasn't a point in the book where she felt stale to me.
My main criticism of the book is that Lizbeth's narration could get a little too dry and could bog down the scenes with all of her clipped sentences, though that might be just how it felt with the audiobook narrator. There's a few scenes/developments in character relationships that felt like they came out of nowhere and it gave me a bit of whiplash.
All in all, a solid book and one that I enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Pregnancy
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Good book, good plot, it’s akin to firefly magical Wild West.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've always liked Charlaine Harris's books, however, I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. Everything seemed rushed. We never took a moment to pause and assess. I didn't have time to like the characters, nor was the plot paced well enough for me to be invested.