I am thrilled to be a stop on the book tour for Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto, hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! I have a review and interview for your reading pleasure, but be sure to check out the tour schedule below, or click the banner above, for more!
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Series: Genre: Publication.Date: February 2, 2016 Pages: 384 (eARC) Published By: Balzer + Bray Website: Michelle Modesto Revenge and the Wild on Goodreads My review copy:
Where to get:
The two-bit town of Rogue City is a lawless place, full of dark magic and saloon brawls, monsters and six-shooters. But it’s perfect for seventeen-year-old Westie, the notorious adopted daughter of local inventor Nigel Butler.
Westie was only a child when she lost her arm and her family to cannibals on the wagon trail. Nine years later, Westie may seem fearsome with her foul-mouthed tough exterior and the powerful mechanical arm built for her by Nigel, but the memory of her past still haunts her. She’s determined to make the killers pay for their crimes—and there’s nothing to stop her except her own reckless ways.
But Westie’s search ceases when a wealthy family comes to town looking to invest in Nigel’s latest invention, a machine that can harvest magic from gold—which Rogue City desperately needs as the magic wards that surround the city start to fail. There’s only one problem: the investors look exactly like the family who murdered Westie’s kin. With the help of Nigel’s handsome but scarred young assistant, Alistair, Westie sets out to prove their guilt. But if she’s not careful, her desire for revenge could cost her the family she has now.
This thrilling novel is a remarkable tale of danger and discovery, from debut author Michelle Modesto.
(Goodreads)
Quotes obtained from an ARC copy and are subject to change.
When she was young he used to sit in that very chair, crossing his legs just like he was doing right then. His stories were always about the things she'd loved: castles and dragons, slaying evil with broadswords. Though she loved the medieval subjects, Nigel was a terrible storyteller. His characters were flat - the maidens were always beautiful, helpless half-wits, and the heroes handsome and perfect, when she knew darn well that after traveling for days to rescue the princess from her tower, they probably stank like pigs and were in need of a good shit.
Costin appeared above her. His face went in and out of view, the lights flashing as she blinked.
His hands clutched the sides of her face. "Westie, my love, stay with me," he begged. His voice was a high tremor.
A frightened vampire, now there's a first, she thought just before she blacked out.
"Alley!" She touched the scars on his neck, his jawbone, ears. He grabbed his wrists, holding her hands in front of him. She could've easily slipped out of his grip, but the way he looked at her, his lips parted, eyes focused, made her want to be exactly where she was.
There was another hiss and then another as torches ignited, stripping the wide cave of its mysteries. Westie squinted as her vision adjusted to the light, and when it finally did, what she saw brought new and improved kind of fear, bigger and more special than anything she'd ever experienced before.
This book has a lot going on - fair warning. It takes place in the old west with elements of Steampunk and Paranormal / Fantasy. Westie lives in Rogue City, a town placed under a protective dome by the Wintu - a Native American tribe with magical abilities. We are made aware, early on, that Native American tribes have the ability to use magic and that over the course of people taking their land and massacring them, their powers are becoming more and more limited.
The reason for this magical protective dome? Fairies (albeit they are extinct), vampires, trolls, goblins, elves, and all manner of paranormal creatures are real and this dome allows them and humans to live (somewhat) peacefully as if a creature were to harm a human, they would disintegrate into nothing.
Having grown up together for a number of years, Westie and Alistair have a strong friendship and their stolen glances, along with Westie's longing, make for the perfect slow burn relationship. They trust one another and look out for one other both physically and emotionally. In a time when Alistair could easily be the big strong man and Westie the weak little woman, they view each other as equals in all aspects.
Michelle does an amazing job of taking elements from many genres of fiction and creating a solid story. The story flows, there's no drag to the narrative, the writing is strong, and the characters unique. I enjoyed this story and there is a part of me that wishes Revenge and the Wild was not a standalone as I could easily spend another novel or two in the confines of Rogue City.
Interview with Westie
Hi, Westie! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me today. What's something we should know about you and your world prior to reading your story?
It ain’t for the squeamish. All the things that go bump in the night are out there roaming the forest, and will probably try to kill you should you decide to trek outside the perimeters of the magic dome. If the monsters and cannibals don’t get you, the terrain surely will. But at least the scenery is pretty.
If you could describe your perfect day, what would it be?
Spending time with Alistair and Bena in the woods, or in town, causing all kinds of hell.
I love your stubborn and wild attitude - and your foul mouth. Where do you think these character traits came from?
When you’ve grown up on the prairie, fighting creatures, drought, and the Undying, you have to be tough in order to survive.
You're surrounded by a wide range of characters and individuals. What is your favorite memory from growing up in Rogue City?
There are so many good memories in Rogue City, but my favorite would be spending time with Alistair, learning sign language, when the world went silent—if only for a moment.
Nigel has made you quite a few trinkets - from your arm to a parasol gun. What's your favorite invention that he has created for you?
It would have to be my mechanical arm. When you have the strength of a hundred horses, not a whole lot scares you. There’s no better feeling than a fearsome creature tucking tail and running at just the sight of me.
Michelle Modesto is a writer, hockey fanatic, lover of most art forms, terrible cook and her social skills aren't that great either. Her debut YA novel, REVENGE AND THE WILD comes out from Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, early 2016. She lives in Northern California in a double-wide mobile asylum with two mastiffs who don't listen to her and two teenagers who also don't listen to her.
Michelle Modesto is represented by John Cusick at The Greenhouse Literary Agency.
Tour Schedule
1/25/2016- IceyBooks- Interview
1/26/2016- Book Briefs- Review
1/27/2016- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post
1/28/2016- Novel Novice- Review
1/29/2016- Good Choice Reading- Interview
2/1/2016- Brooke-Reports- Review
2/2/2016- The Irish Banana Review- Guest Post
2/3/2016- Bookish Lifestyle- Review + Interview
2/4/2016- Supernatural Snark- Interview
2/5/2016- Ex Libris- Review
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