A review by serendipitysbooks
Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

adventurous emotional 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

 Lucky Red is a female centred Western with wonderful queer representation. Bridget Shaughnessy’s mother dies giving birth to her, while a snake bite claims the life of her father when she is sixteen, leaving her homeless, penniless and totally alone in the wilderness. After making her way across the prairie she arrives in Dodge City and is taken in by the female owner of a brothel. Bridget doesn’t mind the work (no demure, puritanical reservations from her) but comes to suspect that her personal preference is for other women, something confirmed when Spartan Lee, a female gunslinger arrives in town. Bridget is a great no-nonsense, practical character, one who certainly has her flaws and blind spots, which unfortunately cause trouble for her and many of those she comes to care about. Yet, she makes a fabulous heroine and I found myself wanting to cheer for her at certain parts of the novel. The plot itself has got some interesting twists and turns and the author clearly had fun playing with some common Western tropes. The writing felt fresh - no tired done-to-death metaphors to be found. The setting and characters all came vividly to life, in fact everything felt effortlessly cinematic. This was a rollicking good read with an ending that left a smile on my face. 
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