Calamity Cooper is a wanted man. To avoid capture by the U.S. Cavalry, he exiles himself to No Man's Land, a lawless and untamed territory home to paranormal happenings.
As the age of gunslingers comes to an end, Cal refuses to adapt to quiet life in Hexed Springs, a sprawling boomtown of humans and supernatural beings. He works as a ranger-a monster hunter for hire-but finds the job far deadlier than he expected. An exposure to raw magical energy during a job gone awry awakens Cal's spell-slinging abilities, attracting unwanted attention from mortals and immortals alike.
Cal becomes a pawn in a scheme fueled by humankind's greed when a wealthy financier blackmails him into hunting a vampire, one that happens to be connected to a prominent family. Little does Cal know, but a blood feud is brewing in the shadows, one both ancient and modern, that threatens to destroy supernatural society.
Haunted by his past and conflicted with his identity, Cal must decide between saving his own skin or protecting supernatural civilization. - from Goodreads.com
Thank you to Booksirens and the author for allowing me to read this book and share a review.
Finding this story was a bit of a surprise for me. I started reading it, waiting for the story to fizzle out, or characters lose focus. I was in for a treat! This story is one I instantly jumped into, and each page turn had me actually wondering where the author was going to go with the events happening. The story idea in itself, of a wild west gunslinger, and a supernatural community/environment was quite entertaining, and did not take away from the basic tale of personal redemption.
Character building was pretty decent - there are some places where the story breaks to go back to a memory to help explain characteristics, or references that come up. Side characters did not have much background or it was thin with no extra information. Worldbuilding was bit off - there is not much to add to a desert, old west-type town based in the 'wild west' era of the US after the Civil War. Not much was described in regards to the supernatural city except it was mish-mash of different architectural styles that spanned ages of the world. Wording was easy to understand and wasn't a strain on my vocabulary.
Overall this was a great read that reminds me quite a bit of the PI Garrett series by Glen Cook, or even somewhat of Robert Parker's Spenser for Hire books. There is quite a bit of dry humor and sarcasm throughout the story and I found myself snickering every once in awhile. Young Adult and higher would enjoy this tale.
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