Wake of Vultures

I did not like this book at all. The “Western” style narration felt fake and annoyed me. Near the end there is a four or five-paragraph section that just lists all of the book's intended themes like you might not notice them. There are a lot of attempts at diversity but most of them wind up being kind of offensive (eg. The use of skinwalkers, the situation with Nettie's gender identity, food descriptors for skin colour, the depiction of the Lobos, the absolutely constant low-level misogyny, the way the main character thinks about and describes sex workers - even the one who tried to help her!). I hate sexual assault for shock value in YA and yes that makes an appearance here too.

If you want to read a cool fantasy western save yourself the trouble and read The Good Luck Girls instead.

DNF @ 38%

See, the thing is I really wanted to try finishing this book. I don't have much experience with Westerns and this book has quite a diverse cast (Native American/African American MC who is trans & bi, Native American supporting characters, etc.). Throw in the fantasy element that should have kept me intrigued, and I should have been able to read this one.

The thing is, I put it down. Now, I just really don't want to pick it up. Sure, if I was reading this as a group book or for book club I could do it, but I don't want to and at this point I know I won't be continuing the series, so I'm not going to.
Let me tell you what I feel about this book thus far....

The writing is very well done. Nothing feels awkward or choppy which is nice. It is a bit slow going, but anyone not minding the slow build, won't mind. I did just because I was expecting a monster-hunting book, but the real plot doesn't seem to get going until 20%... even at 38% Nettie/Nat is still fighting against her/his destiny. So, a bit boring for my taste.

I was going to bring this up later in the review, but I should probably mention why I put her/his yet also called the MC trans. I'm really not trying to be insensitive here, I swear. I'm confused though. See in a dream Nettie/Nat is told they are a boy – which is what they want I'm pretty sure because they dress up in pants and bind their chest. Yet, the writing and POV still uses “Nettie” and she/her which is frustrating. I'm pretty sure the MC is ready to be considered a guy, but the writing isn't?
At where I am, I'm uncomfortable criticizing this because maybe things change???

I also thought some scenes or actions were awkward. This isn't a spoiler because it happens way early on, but if you want no spoilers at all don't read this paragraph. The MC is a slave, but hangs out at a different ranch sometimes... ummm okay. Then one day decides to run away and just work at the ranch, even questioning themselves “why didn't I do this before?” while my question is “why now??” there is no reason for this besides moving the plot forward. Honestly, the book could have started with them at the ranch with flashbacks to their slave life and I think it would have flowed better.

In the end, I think I have a problem with the execution of this. Because of it's story and diverse cast I wanted to read it and possibly share it with others, so I do hope more people do read this – especially since it has almost a 4star rating on Goodreads.
This isn't a book I'd recommend people against, and might even point people too if they are interested in Westerns or diverse books. You never know what people's book tastes will be.

Wake of Vultures is certainly exciting. It's also gritty and gory and so deep into its desert cowboy setting, every time you put it down you're tempted to shake the dust out of your boots.

The story follows a young outcast named Nettie Lonesome, a teenage girl of likely black and Native American descent, living a depressing life of servitude, who one day is forced to kill a vampire and suddenly discovers that there's a whole lot of other monsters where that came from. I liked Nettie, but didn't love her. I liked her honesty, her grit, and her sincere confusion about herself and the world around her. However, the reluctant hero trope got a little old here. Everywhere she went she was being shoved along on her quest, one that she didn't ask for but rather stumbled into. She did well with what she was handed, but she was handed nearly all of it.

The setting, the monsters, harpies and skinwalkers in the Old West, was the most intriguing aspect of this premise, and upon reading it was definitely the strongest aspect of the book. There's also some entertaining action sequences, and gruesome battles, which I enjoyed. But for me the characters just weren't enough. Nettie is interesting, and could potentially become a much stronger character in the later books, but for this one my lack of interest in her kept me from getting really engrossed.

Refreshing to read a book that uses gender, race, and sexual identity ‘talking points' without being preachy, especially when it's a well-written supernatural western.

I am too excited about this book to properly review it, so I'd just like to say this: please don't let your existing genre preferences dictate whether or not you will read Wake of Vultures. Read it now, before the next one comes out. Read it now, before Netflix makes a perfect season out of it (if they aren't already talking about this, they need to get up on it immediately before Starz or HBO does.)

A perfect book.