Steeped in Western-genre tropes, the first 50 pages of Cravens’ novel will satisfy anyone looking for an easy read, but the book is so much more ... Cravens peppers the novel with enough foreshadowing that an astute reader could figure out the big reveal quickly. But it’s just as much fun to willfully ignore the clues and hang on for dear life.
A funny, sharp, subversive marvel: a queer Western that feels both fresh and timeless. With gunfights, gambling, mysterious strangers riding into town, criminal gangs and highway robbery, it has all the trappings of a classic Western. The plot takes off about two-thirds of the way through, and it delivers plenty of heart-pumping action and adventure ... A complicated and moving portrait of a young queer woman determined to take up space in a world trying to render her invisible.
...combines classic Western tropes with a fresh perspective and fine writing ... The author’s familiarity with the Western genre comes through in her setting and characterizations. Featuring gunslingers, gamblers, outlaws, madams and brothel workers, this story is fast-paced, racing to an explosive conclusion. Lesbian romance plays a definitive role, with complex characters whose motivations and desires are integral to the plot.
[A] welcome remix of a Western novel ... he world of the Buffalo Queen and its employees is vividly drawn, and there's a cinematic quality all the way through Bridget’s life, from the possum stew she cooks over a wood fire to the red of her hair and the scarlet dress that is her work uniform. Cravens shakes the dust off tired tropes and delivers a shining example of what an old-fashioned page-turner can accomplish.
