'Vengeance Road' by Erin Bowman

Revenge is worth its weight in gold.

When hers father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal.

Before Vengeance Road, I had never read a western, and honestly, I really never expected to. I haven’t read Erin Bowman’s previous books, but having only heard good things about her as an author, I decided I needed to give her YA western a fair chance. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it!


Vengeance Road is fast paced and action packed from the first page. Kate, the main character, is incredible in the lead role. Plus, she’s a total badass. I mean, right off the bat she shoots a guy through the head. The other characters are equally well written and support the story wonderfully, and some of the guys are quite swoon-worthy.


Bowman has done a terrific job of immersing the reader in the world she wants seen. Her writing seems natural and is easy to read, which I’ll admit, I really did not expect because as I said before, this book is a western! Vengeance Road isn’t cheesy though, like how I picture the western’s old men like to read(I don’t know, maybe they are amazing and not cheesy at all, maybe I should give them a fair chance as well!). It’s very fun and exciting to read, and Bowman did a great job of writing a believable story that I couldn’t put down.

I definitely recommend Vengeance Road, it’s unique in the YA genre and is a blast to read! I did NOT see this book coming and I can't wait to read it again, it's that good!