Reviews

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

Only show reviews with written explanations

samburkhouse's review

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

leannanecdote's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

pizzaformunchlax's review against another edition

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I really thought I’d love this, but nothing much was happening. I loved the idea, but the characters weren’t enough to grip me when the plot had barely started.

mivones's review against another edition

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5.0

Confused gays. Evil gays. And just some girls ugh literature

kendragaylelee's review against another edition

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4.0

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens helped me linger in that cow(girl) state of mind originally inspired by Yellowstone–then continuously fed by a whole heap of country music and whatever spinoff the Yellowstone folks throw my way.

And while Bridget, the orphaned protagonist in Lucky Red doesn’t start with anywhere near the badassery of Beth Dutton, by the time it all winds down, she’s getting there. And that’s probably what’s endearing about Bridget: she’s an absolute trainwreck for a huge chunk of the book. But, like most of us eventually do, she finds her way.

I had the absolute pleasure of listening to Claudia Cravens talk about Lucky Red in a virtual event, where she reminded me that the “sporting women” (read: whores) in westerns don’t get to tell their own story (usually). And, honestly, in most people’s imagination, given how our society is so steeped in patriarchy, it’d likely be a story about a man riding in on his horse to save the lovely lady from the whorehouse and bring her, breasts heaving with love and gratitude, into respectable society.

That is not Bridget’s story. Could’ve been. But Bridget (and Claudia Cravens) have a better imagination than that. This is a queer, feminist western if there ever was one. With one hell of a flawed protagonist.

But at the end… well, there was a lot to love about the end.

You should absolutely read it. Preferably around a campfire, if you’ve got one.

Support Bookish (my indie bookstore in East Atlanta Village) by purchasing Lucky Red from Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/4334/9780593498248