Sunday, 13 September 2015

Vengeance Road Review and Giveaway by Amy at YA Under My Skin







Author: Erin Bowman
Publisher (hardback): Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: 1st September 2015

Keep reading to find out how you can win a hardcover copy of this amazing book!

I love Westerns, so this was an easy sell for me. A kickass heroine on a journey of redemption? Gorgeous cowboys tagging along to hunt for gold? Yes please! I was really excited about this one, and it didn’t disappoint.

A main selling point of this is how original the premise is. I love the idea of a YA Western, and the historical aspects were handled really well. I’ve read quite widely around this time period, and this book seems incredibly authentic and well-researched.

The plot of this book is really gripping too. Although it’s based on the revenge story arc, there are diverting romances and conflicts with Native Americans that keep it feeling varied.

Another strength is that the minor characters feel like heroes of their own stories. The Colton boys have their own motivations driving them forward, and are well-developed characters as opposed to tag-alongs for Kate.  They also meet a native American girl called Liluye, who is really likeable at the same time as feeling authentic for the time.

Only one part of it took some getting used to for me. Sometimes, especially early on, I found the ‘Western speak’ a little jarring. Maybe this was because I couldn’t get the accent right in my head, which left it ringing false on occasion.


Aside from that, I can’t recommend this book strongly enough. It struck me as very well-researched and authentic, and is a welcome new branch for YA.

If you liked the sound of this now try:

Deadwood - an awesome TV series that was made between 2003 and 2006 (though if you really don't like swearing you should steer clear)



For a chance to win, simply leave a comment below or retweet my twitter link to this blog (which can be found @yaundermyskin). Give me your email address or twitter handle, so I can contact you if you win!

The winner will be notified by Sunday 20th September. Good luck!

6 comments:

  1. This looks like such an amazing book! Vengeance Road has been on my TBR list for such a long time. Thank you so much for the giveaway! My email is 17awu.stem(at)gmail(dot)com.

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  2. I haven't read a lot of YA Western and I find the premise of this really interesting as well!! Thank you so much for the chance :) My email is smalfoys(at)gmail(dot)com & Twitter handle: @gracedcastellan :)

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  3. I've heard so many amazing things about this book and I would love for the chance to read it, so thank you for doing this awesome giveaway! My twitter handle is @talinaroma :)

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  4. I love the cover of this book.

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  5. Sounds interesting,unique,plus the cover is super cool!
    Thanks for the great review and giveaway :)
    Twitter/@Bube987

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