As soon as I'd read a sneak peek of this book online, I knew I had to read it! Wild West meets YA fantasy meets dystopian feminist tale in this awesome book about five girls fighting for their freedom. I loved every part of the book and have to give it 5/5 stars!
The book follows five 'Good Luck Girls', girls sold into prostitution as children by families who were promised a better life for their starving daughters, as they make their escape and fight their way to freedom in a country determined to oppress them. The story is full of wild-west adventure, friendship, family and romance, but also carries powerful messages.
I loved the world this book was set in - I'd never read a wild-west themed YA fantasy which focussed around girls, so this was completely unique to me and introduced me to a genre that I hadn't had much interest in before! I also loved the subtle use of magic throughout - with ghosts, those who could control minds, magical tattoos and a whole race of people with no shadows - but that for most of the book the girls used their own strength and intelligence rather than relying on magic.
I liked the characters themselves too. I was concerned that five main characters would be too hard to follow, but it actually worked really well with the story told from Aster's point of view. Aster and Clementine have a great sister relationship, with Aster the older protective sister, and Clementine a little naive at times but at others being the loving and trusting person Aster cannot be. Violet, Tansy and Mallow are also well-developed characters with their own backstories and relationships, but not so much that it took away from the main story or made it difficult to follow.
All in all, I thought this was a unique and well written YA fantasy with interesting themes and world-building throughout. I liked the plot throughout and I thought that the ending was realistic but still satisfying, and rounded up all of the loose ends.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes YA fantasy or wild-west themes!
Trigger warnings: there is sexual and physical abuse, but this is not graphic and is mostly just in the prologue.
The book follows five 'Good Luck Girls', girls sold into prostitution as children by families who were promised a better life for their starving daughters, as they make their escape and fight their way to freedom in a country determined to oppress them. The story is full of wild-west adventure, friendship, family and romance, but also carries powerful messages.
I loved the world this book was set in - I'd never read a wild-west themed YA fantasy which focussed around girls, so this was completely unique to me and introduced me to a genre that I hadn't had much interest in before! I also loved the subtle use of magic throughout - with ghosts, those who could control minds, magical tattoos and a whole race of people with no shadows - but that for most of the book the girls used their own strength and intelligence rather than relying on magic.
I liked the characters themselves too. I was concerned that five main characters would be too hard to follow, but it actually worked really well with the story told from Aster's point of view. Aster and Clementine have a great sister relationship, with Aster the older protective sister, and Clementine a little naive at times but at others being the loving and trusting person Aster cannot be. Violet, Tansy and Mallow are also well-developed characters with their own backstories and relationships, but not so much that it took away from the main story or made it difficult to follow.
All in all, I thought this was a unique and well written YA fantasy with interesting themes and world-building throughout. I liked the plot throughout and I thought that the ending was realistic but still satisfying, and rounded up all of the loose ends.
I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes YA fantasy or wild-west themes!
Trigger warnings: there is sexual and physical abuse, but this is not graphic and is mostly just in the prologue.