Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Outlawed

Sort of an Old West Crucible; as described on the back. I've been in quite the reading slump recently and this was the perfect book to get me out of it. It was well paced and action packed. It features a diverse cast of characters centring around queer people and women. Ada is also an incredibly endearing protagonist forced to swiftly grow up. The world is wonderfully built and lets the reader escape to the world of cowboys and outlaws. Definitely worth the read!

Content Warnings

wizardingwisteria's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I initially rated this at 5 stars because of how much I loved the world building, but after taking some time to process I think this is closer to a 4.5. The world building is immaculate. This author nails the western vibe right on the head, but looking back I wish the characters were a bit better

The world in combination with the writing style and plot made this such an enjoyable read for me. At first the writing style seemed meandering and slow, but as the story began to pick up I started to appreciate Ada's perspective a lot more. The plot kept me entertained from start to finish. I loved seeing the gang execute their plans in such an organized fashion. It reminded me so much of Red Dead Redemption with the leader of the gang, the Kid, giving me flash backs to Dutch van der Linde at some points

Loved all of the representation in this book, but it could have been improved. The main character is cis and hetero but almost every member of the gang is gay and/or non-binary. There is a moment where one gang member asks Ada if she likes men and Ada considers the fact that she never saw women as an option for her. She basically shrugs and thinks to herself "maybe I like women, idk, haven't tried." Beyond that thought Ada doesn't attempt to explore her own sexuality further. I think that was a missed opportunity

A lot of the characters felt underdeveloped. Even though this book is on the shorter side, I found myself wishing that the author took more time to make the characters, the gang members specifically, more complex instead of giving them a paragraph or two of backstory and then putting them on the shelf. Ada's love interest ended up feeling flat as well which made their relationship more difficult to believe

Despite it's issues, I could see myself re-reading this in the future

Content Warnings

raemcma's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

3.5

Content Warnings

growplantsreadbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

I was very impressed by this! I was burned by the last "feminist western" I read, but this was great and I'm looking forward to recommending it to a few friends.
The characters felt real, the plot was high-stakes, but grounded and there were some excellent pieces of writing throughout.
Points off because

I didn't like that Lark, the bi eunuch king, was introduced just to die

and I'm not sure how much I'll think about this now that I'm done with it.

Content Warnings

sbaryluk's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense medium-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

4.25

Content Warnings

More...