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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
very month the members of the #SagaSaysCrew get to request books from a curated list. A few months back, there wasn’t anything on the list that I had heard of before/hadn’t already read, so I just picked the book that had the most interesting cover. And that happened to be An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris. I had absolutely no idea what to expect, particularly since the premise of this book is kinda wild. This takes place in an alternate history southwest United States. After the assassination of FDR shortly before he was supposed to take office, the United States collapses, splitting up into multiple countries. Lizabeth Rose lives in Texoma and makes a living helping former American citizens leave what is now Mexico due to the persecution the face there. After one particularly disastrous trip, she is trying to figure out how to get her life back on track when she is approached by two grigoris—Russian magicians—to be their bodyguard. This seemingly straightforward assignment becomes increasingly complicated particularly as it gets more interwoven with Lizbeth’s personal life. I had no idea how all of that was going to come together, but it really did in a fast-paced and well-constructed way. Lizabeth is such a realistic character; the choices she makes are logically and concretely informed by her past, her personality, and her current circumstances. She always felt like a real person, and she is the driving force of this book. Don’t get me wrong, the other characters, particularly her grigori employers, were also engaging and three-dimensional by Lizabeth is the heart and soul of the book. I will definitely be continuing the series, and I would recommend you pick this up if you are looking for something gritty and dark but the main character is quite likable and has a compelling narratorial style.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I had a good time with this book! I found the voice of Lisbeth, the first-person narrator, to be strong and enjoyable. I love a main character with extremely strong opinions that are perhaps not the most sensible. I also thought that the worldbuilding was very interesting, if a bit sparse. I think this novel works better as a thriller than as a fantasy novel, but I still had a great time with both aspects. I would be interested to see how Harris expands upon the world and the magic system in future books, as this first book was primarily focused on Lisbeth's entry into the world of magic as a gunslinger. That said, I enjoyed the time I spent with Lisbeth in this world enough that I will definitely be reading the next book in the series to see where it goes.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Another summer distraction. Maybe I'll read another in the series. Gunslinger in an alternate world wild west.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a fun read but I don't know if I'll finish the series.
Certain turns of phrase pulled me out of the story. The first and most memorable example of this was a description of the outfit a prostitute was wearing as "low cut in order to show off her boobs," like a 15 year old boy had written it. It yanked me out of the atmosphere, which was scant to begin with. When I start re-composing certain passages in my head as I'm reading, that's usually not a good sign, and I was doing that a lot with this book.
Also, I was a little bit frustrated thatthe only named black character, supposedly the main character's best friend, dies in the first chapter? For... tragic motivation? That comes up occasionally but is never fully processed?... It felt unnecessary, and this character could easily have been swapped with a different minor character who lives, and the tragic motivation would have still done its job.
Certain turns of phrase pulled me out of the story. The first and most memorable example of this was a description of the outfit a prostitute was wearing as "low cut in order to show off her boobs," like a 15 year old boy had written it. It yanked me out of the atmosphere, which was scant to begin with. When I start re-composing certain passages in my head as I'm reading, that's usually not a good sign, and I was doing that a lot with this book.
Also, I was a little bit frustrated that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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.
