The second intallment in a high stakes saga, Hettie and her sister seek refuge in Mexico and a way to break her bond to the cursed revolver. But trouble follows in this reimagination of a magical wild west!

The western story dozed with magic, of a gunslinger and her gang continues in this second installment in a different setting.

I was worried about the change of settings because rarely does characters in the books I have read have a complete change of scenery, but my worries were unnecessary. The change in setting gave our characters especially Hettie, a new set of problems to solve and deal with moving the story along without hindering the plot. 

The magic system set around the revolver was the most fascinating. Hettie is set to lose a year of her life every time she uses the revolver and it seems to have some sort of awareness. Not necessarily alive but awake. Knowing. 

Hettie and her gang are no heroes. Neither are they villains. They are good people who make questionable decisions as well as take questionable actions. They each have grown according to the harsh reality their world is. 

My sighs of bored increased because the pacing slowed which was strongly due to the change of setting, so readers may be allowed to get a feel for Mexico and the magic way things worked. However, I felt some parts were not needed allowing the book to be shortened by maybe twenty pages. 

Summary: a great read for people looking to step outside of their usual reading comfort zone and people who are in need of some adventure and action without the hindrance of kisses and declarations of love.

The Devil's Standoff by VS McGrath finds Hettie and her companions in Mexico, at the village of Villa del Punta. They've come at the behest of Walker Woodroffe, to return Diablo to its creator, Javier Punta. He wishes to unmake his deadly creation. But Punta is in a coma, and a vicious cryptid is stalking the area around the village, perhaps drawn to the magical energy node there. The longer Hettie and her friends linger, the more in danger they become. Her sister, Abby, needs training to control her increasingly erratic magical gifts. She begins to learn from Raul, Walker's brother, and the resident sorcerer in charge of training the Village’s gifted children. But the threat of the chupas is growing, and they have human stalkers as well, intent on acquiring both Diablo and Abby.

This sequel was a fast paced thrill-ride that left me craving more. I love this world McGrath has introduced us to. It's full of magic, blended with the tech of the time. This story brought us to the wilds of Mexico, and introduced cryptids in the form of chupacabra. I love when stories make use of the more unusual cryptids out there! The village itself is a fascinating place, sheltered by a strong barrier spell, and flush with trapped magic used to help crops grow and gather water. It seemed harsh, yet peaceful. A place I wouldn't mind living actually.

I admit, I'm growing to dislike Abby. I know she's young, but she's old enough to understand responsibility. Her magic is dangerous in its wild, undisciplined form, and Hettie's misguided act of love made her even more of a threat. As for Hettie, she's experiencing all kinds of uncertainty, partially stemming from her accelerated aging. She's gone from a teenager to a twenty-something adult, with no time to process or appreciate the changes in body and physiology. Walker's brother Raul turned into a favourite, despite some of his own rather misguided actions. He did what he did for his people, to protect them. We also get to learn more about Zavi, whom we met in the previous book. His history was rather unexpected, to say the least. Diablo has become more defined as a character in its own right. I'm interested to see its end game. Diablo chose Hettie, and listens to her, going against its nature. Yet, for all that, she still wants free of it, and speaks of destroying it. I kinda felt bad for Diablo, knowing it's sentience, and willingness to go against its nature, giving Hettie more than any other who has wielded it.

I want the next one now!!!!

***Many thanks to Netgalley and Brain Mill Press for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Reviewed for XPresso Tours.

Thank you Netgalley, Brain Mill Press, and V.S. McGrath for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved that this installment picked up right after the first "The Devil's Revolver"ends as we find the group still running for their lives and trying to come to grips with just happened to them as they are on the road to Villa Del Punta, a desert refuge, in hopes for answers but as we know nothing is ever as easy as it seems.

McGrath still managed to keep me entertained in this one as much as she did on the first and I think she might just have turned me into giving the genre a try as this is my second western book. I still loved the head strong Hettie, the smoldering Walker, the grumpy Uncle Jeb, and younger sister Abby that has a lot more going on than I can say without giving it away but the addition of new characters opens up for more of Walker's past and how it all ties into Diablo, the mage gun, that is still very much bonded and attached to Hettie.

I can only hope that there will be at least a third installment as this one had an open ending and still a very big arc to finish up which I will patiently wait for.

This is not my normal read, but I found it intriguing enough to read both books. Caught my attention, but I would like to see a bit more world building in the future titles.

I can’t not give 5 stars.

It’s not easy to find a fresh captivating book nowadays. This series is exactly that. I hope there will be at least one next book because there are so many things open and.. I just like more romance in books and here is definitely room for it.

Big thanks goes to Netgalley for this ARC.

Review for The Devil's Revolver: Not my usual fare - there are a few writers of westerns I frequent, but I find most westerns too moribund with clichés for me to enjoy. This series however definitely comes under the "weird western" category.. There's a steampunk feel about it - although magic substitutes as the power source of this version of the Wild West. There's magic, deviltry, and a wall across the Mexican border to keep the USA out! My only quibble is that there is too much reliance on plot complexity being generated by the over-used device of taciturn protagonists concealing information for no real reason. Apart from that, I liked the characters, and I liked what is, despite ostensibly being set within our geography, a pretty good job of world-building. Actually, the more I think about it, Hettie Alabama's little posse is really a fantasy quest group transplanted to the US/Mexico Borderlands as they might be if magic ran through the world.

The second book in the series has exactly the same virtues and vices (more of the former than the latter) as the first. As before, a few quibbles, but still an enjoyable read.