Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

An Easy Death is like Sookie Stackhouse in Stephen King’s “Dark Tower”. This world, where America as we know it, is divided between America, Britannia, Russia, Mexico and the timeline is somewhere between October Revolution in Russia, Prohibition in states and modern days. This world has magic and violence is an everyday thing.

It’s a wonderful NA dystopia - easy and thrilling read.

Absolutely loved this - could not put it down. As usual with Ms Harris she has created vivid characters and an impressive world for us to explore.

Can’t wait to read more about Gunnie Rose!

The final book I have to tell you about is by Charlaine Harris - An Easy Death which is the first in the Gunnie Rose series. The story is set in a post apocalyptic United States where magic is used but magic users are not trusted. Lizbeth Rose is a gun for hire with a fearsome reputation. When Lizbeth is hired by two Russian wizards to find a minor magic user who just so happens to be a relative of Grigori Rasputin she doesn't realise this might just be her last job. A perilous journey across the lawless southwestern States for Lizbeth and her two clients. Her guns have never let her down and she is determined to get everyone through this alive.

An Easy Death is an apt title for this story as there is a lot of death and the killing starts from the first few pages and continues all the way through. There isn't a lot of character development as the story focuses on the action rather than providing Lizbeth's backstory or a history of what happened to result in the States being a fractured collection of mixed colonies. Harris likes to put her heroine's through a lot and that is definitely the case for Lizbeth. She barely survives to the end of each chapter let alone to the end of the story. Did I like part 1 of Gunnie Rose? hmmmmm I am not sure. I didn't dislike it but I didn't really warm to Lizbeth as a character. This is one of the downsides of focusing on action rather than on the characters as it makes them rather one dimensional. I will continue to book 2 if I am able to source it from NetGalley but I don't think I would pay to read further in this series.

An fun blend of alternate history Western inspired dystopian fantasy. Perfect for holiday reading or a break from weightier or darker novels. I enjoyed it and would read the next one.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

Thank you to Netgalley, Charlaine Harris and Little Brown Book Group for my ARC of An Easy Death in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Lizbeth Rose is a Gunnie. It's her job to help her crew get people across the wild desert lands between Texoma and New America. But when she is unexpectedly employed by two Russian Wizards to help them find a man who could save the Tsar's life, Lizbeth's easy gunnie life changes forever.

I really loved Charlaine's True Blood and Midnight Texas series' and I was really worried that I didn't like the sound of this one, but it was so good! I loved the blend of Wild West and magic, the world building for the new America was fantastic and cleverly done while leaving us enough to wonder about and make us feel excited about the next book. Gunnie Rose's character was brilliant, sarcastic, strong, independent and just an all round fab character. Highly recommended!

This was a real mixed bag of a story. I liked the concept of an alternative history with a Dystopian element thrown in. I just felt it tried to cover too many genres all in one book.

However, I loved Midnight and Sookie so was determined to give this a good go. Lizbeth is a kickass heroine, no simpering damsel in distress. She make Clint Eastwood look like a wimp! Things aren't quite so rosy in this world. The USA has broken down after the Depression, parts of which have succumbed to UK and Russian rule. Oh yes the Russian Royal family made it out of Russia and they play an integral part in the plot.

Fair warning there may be triggers for some readers: Sexual Assault, Rape.

I'm not sure if I'd continue the series, just for me as much as I love all these genres, my head kind of span trying to keep them all in order!

4.5 stars
I LOVED this book! It is probably my favourite book by Charlaine Harris. I have never read anything like it so I found it really different and interesting.
It is a South Western American story with an absolute bad ass female character. Lizbeth was tough as nails and an absolute legend. What an awesome strong female protagonist! She is a "gunnie", a bodyguard for others to help them travel safely across this new broken world filled with bandits and wait for it...russian wizards!!
I loved the magical aspect, it was interesting and unexpected. The writing was seamless and the story didn't get boring at any point.
It is one big magical, mysterious and murder filled adventure!

Trigger warnings: Gun crime, murders, talk of rape.

I was gifted this book by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is set in a future USA which, due to influenza and other disasters, has been annexed, amalgamated or taken over. This is not a dystopian novel, but the US is no longer anything like the US of today and in Lizbeth Rose's corner of that world, life is pretty basic. She's a gunnie, a hired gun to protect people wanting to travel against the numerous bandits.

After an initial disastrous run, she's hired by two Russian wizards from the Imperial Russian enclave in the US. From there, things head off at a cracking pace.

Lizbeth's world is hard and she's a survivor, which I really liked about her. The writing reflects the grittiness of the world and is written very well. An interesting book.

An absolute riot, and a blood rushing return to form for the fabulous Charlaine Harris. I mean, can you really go wrong with a bad-ass, feisty female gunslinger who begrudgingly enters into a contract to protect some sexy, dangerous wizards? The answer is no, no you most definitely cannot.
Expect plenty of violence, sex and magic and throw in a rugged post apocalyptic landscape just for fun, a great read and thoroughly enjoyable. More please!

I love Charlaine Harris so I was really excited to get an Arc of this, it sounded so good. I found however I struggled to get into it the way I have with previous books of hers, that connection seemed to be missing for quite awhile. I think it took me about a third of the way in before she seemed to get her flow, it’s worth persevering as once I got there it was really good. It could be just it’s a new series and she had to set it all up, so I’ll forgive her that. In the end it has a great feisty heroine, it’s entertaining and I will definitely be returning for more.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group U.K./Piatkus for an eARC via NetGalley of Charlaine Harris’ ‘An Easy Death’ in exchange for an honest review. It is published in paperback on 30 July and available now in ebook and audiobook formats. I bought the latter narrated by Barbara Barnes.

This is the first in a new series by Harris featuring young gunslinger Lizbeth ‘Gunnie’ Rose. It’s a fantasy western set in an alternative North America. Harris gives tantalising glimpses of this alternative history and hopefully in future books in this series we will learn more.

After the events of the opening chapters sets the tone for this violent society, our narrator Gunnie Rose accepts a job offer from two Russian wizards (grigoris). They are searching for a man whose blood may save the life of Tsar Alexei Romanov. Yet Gunnie Rose has a secret of her own that she has to conceal from her clients.

During their journey they are set upon by various parties and it becomes clear that powerful forces do not want their mission to succeed. There’s plenty of violence and quite a body count.

While the date is never mentioned, we are told that the fracture of the United States followed the 1933 assassination of President-elect Franklin Roosevelt and other events that seriously weakened the country leading to other countries making land grabs. Who knew Canada could be so aggressive!

Given that Eli, one of the Russian wizards, tells Lizbeth that he was very young when his family left Russia in 1918, it likely is set in the late 1940s as that allows time for the new divisions of the country to become set. (As is probably evident my history buff self was quite keen to try and pin this down.)

Having enjoyed a number of Harris’ previous books I welcomed this new series and its feisty heroine. She’s clearly a survivor with plenty of sass. It proved a gritty, entertaining read.

I plan to be on the lookout for the second book, ‘The Long Fall’, scheduled for publication in early 2020.

I'm a fan of Charlaine Harris and liked most of her series but I found hard to connect to this book.
Maybe it's my mood or maybe it's the fact that the previous book I read was by a fantasy master I found this book confused, the characters a bit one-dimensional and the world building a bit disjointed.
Sometimes you can read parts that remind you her other works but that wasn't enough to made me appreciate this book.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.