As a rule, I generally don't start fantasy type series (especially series that aren't finished) anymore. I often find that the pacing of the stories are not as good as the series continues, and other books tend to catch my eye while waiting for the new book to come out. Yet, I have finished book 2 and am eagerly awaiting to see what happens to Lizbeth in book 3!

Since I received the ARC copy of "A Longer Fall," I decided to read "An Easy Death" (book 1) to have a better understanding of book two. I highly recommend reading book one of the series first- if you liked it, you will likely like this one as well! My favorite think about this series so far: I really like Gunnie Lizbeth Rose. She is tough, street smart, and has a unique point of view.

The Gunnie Rose series is set in an alternate world where President Roosevelt has been assassinated and the US has been broken up into different territories, ruled by different countries. Lizbeth is from Texoma, a nation created out of Texas and Oklahoma. She is a "gunnie"- often a hired hand that specializes in shooting/protection.

In book two, Lizbeth is reunited on a mission with Eli. Eli is a grigori, which is a wizard of the Holy Russian Empire (the territory that has taken over the West Coast). Their relationship furthers as they do a job together in a different town, which is full of interesting characters and mystery.

I would love to see a map of how the territories are divided- I have no idea if this will be published with one, but one was not included with the ARC copy. It's a little difficult to place everything in my head- even when I already know the general landscape and shape of the country! I also feel like there would be more tension between the various rulers/countries and hope to understand the relations between the territories a bit better in book three.

I really have enjoyed Charlaine Harris's writing style. The story is entertaining and fast-paced. Book one had the main characters going from town to town. The characters are more stationary in this book, but it gives the reader an opportunity to understand the world a bit better and enjoy the characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for an advanced copy of this book. I only wish there were more books already published for this series!

Thanks to Netgally, Simon & Schuster and Charlene Harris for this ARC. I’ve been a fan of Charlene Harris since her Sookie Stackhouse series. Yes, I’ve read all her series, Aurora Teagarden, Shakespeare, HarperConnelly, those are my favorites. And now Gunnie Rose. This character has guts, grit, strength, and at times, femininity. Love Eli and hopping to see where their storyline goes. If I had a negative, I’d say there was a bit of killing with little remorse from Gunnie. I’d like to see her with just a little of a softer side sometimes. But still5 star from me.

Ebook/ARC/Fantasy: I enjoyed the first book in the Gunnie Rose series a lot; as in probably the best book I've read all year. I did enjoy this one, but it took a while to read and didn't have the "umph" the other one threw at the reader. Our heroine, to me, was not as likeable as she was in the first book. There was also a better mystery going on throughout the whole book. I think I missed Paulina too much as she played against Lizbeth. Eli is back, but I wanted more of a timeline from the author on details of the world Lizbeth lives in.

Again, I have a problem with the fact there are not many children around and Lizbeth should not be an only child. If this book takes place between 1945 and 1965, there should be families, especially the poor, that have nine or more children as condoms are only available to the more affluent.

As for the plot, it more about Lizbeth and Eli's relationship than anything else. I want to thank NetGalley for letting me have an advanced copy of the book. I am looking forward to reading the next story in the tale of Gunnie Rose, but I want more details about her world. Right now, I picture all the towns like something out of the wild west movie. One thing about the Midnight series was that there was a map at the beginning of the book showing the reader the layout of the town.

While Westerns are not usually something I like to read, a CS book can't really be considered a true Western when the Wild West has a dash of magic in it. This latest installment of Ginnie Rose starts off with a bang. Because it's going to take magic and a gunslinger to solve this mystery and be successful. I adore Liz and her no non-sense attitude.
Where CS dealt with allegory in her prior books, there's no missing the in-your-face issues of racism that Lizabeth and Eli deal with as they travel through "Dixie" territory in this book. It's a different direction than the Sookie books, but the potential is there. With characters that can give it more depth.

** Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this ARC for my honest opinion. **

I have been a huge fan of Charlaine Harris for such a long time, and I really like her new series, so I was super excited when I got a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for a review. I picked up where the first book left off, so I would recommend to read that book first, just because it sets up all the logistics and dynamics of everybody. Our heroine is out to face an new challenge and is ready to take some action. I like the storyline and the chemistry between our main characters, and I can't wait to see what will happen next. Great fun and very entertaining.

I love this series! Great second book and I am definitely looking forward to another. I just love Lizbeth and how the series encompasses several different genres. Lizbeth is a badass gunnie and she’s becoming kind of a big deal. I can’t wait to see what this series has in store for her.

If you haven’t read An Easy Death, the first book in Charlaine Harris’ Gunnie Rose series, do. Set in an alternate history of the United States, magic is scorned and hated, while recognized as a power to be feared. In that first book we met Lizbeth Rose, a badass gunnie, which is a simple word for gun-toting security personnel, who got tangled up with some Russian grigori, their name for wizards.

As A Longer Fall opens, the hardworking Lizbeth has joined a new gunnie crew after the deaths of her old one. Hired to guard an old chest holding a mysterious, though obviously precious cargo, the crew is on a train heading out from Texas and going to a town called Sally, Louisiana. Just before they get there, the train blows up and the crew is involved in a raging gunfight. Someone wants that chest and will do anything to get it. Lizbeth has no idea what the chest contains, but it certainly appears a whole lot is at stake.

Once again most of Gunnie Rose’s crew is killed, some of them murdered after surviving the wreck and the gunfight. Lizbeth soon figures out the wreck was deliberately caused. When Eli Savarov, a Russian grigori whom she met in An Easy Death, arrives on the scene, the mystery deepens. The cargo the crew was guarding has disappeared, stolen from under their noses, and more than one group of fierce people is out to get it back. Lizbeth doesn’t know who to trust, although she really wants to trust Eli.

Falling again into their romantic relationship, Lizbeth and Eli, beating the odds, recover the chest and manage to resurrect a long dead God. Or did they? Turns out raising the dead may not solve all of their problems.

Aside from the Sookie Stackhouse stories, this is my favorite Charlaine Harris series. Everything a reader wants or can expect is here. Mystery, magic, romance, adventure, action, and best of all, a fascinatingly imagined alternate America peopled with intriguing characters.

I am loving this series!! Gunnie Rose is quickly becoming my favorite character and Eli is the perfect partner for her! The world Charlaine Harris has created in this series is so unique and even though things are kinda modern they are also in my opinion like the old west. I hope she continues with series and I can’t wait to read more about what Gunnie Rose gets into!! Highly recommend this book!!!

I don't know how Charlaine Harris does it but she always pulls me into yet another highly addictive series!  

This series follows Lisbeth Rose, a young gun for hire protecting people and property in an alternative history of a divided America.  Lisbeth lost her crew in book one and found herself in over her head with the Holy Russian Empire and a big secret.

In book two, Lisbeth has joined up with the Lucky Crew and they're on a job to transport a crate from Texoma (formerly Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and a portion of Colorado) to Dixie (the self-exiled former Southeastern U.S.) by train. This straight-forward job becomes complicated when their train is blown up and most of her crew is killed and the crate stolen.

Lizbeth goes undercover with an old friend to locate the crate and find out why it was stolen.  The truth could send shockwaves through both Dixie and the Holy Russian Empire and change the course of history.

I recommend this series to readers who enjoy cozy reads with a little paranormal fantasy thrown in to alternate history.

Thanks to Saga Press and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.  A Longer Fall is scheduled for release on January 14, 2020.

I love this new series. I was given an e-book by the publisher via netgalley in exchange for a fair review. Of course, I had to track down the previous book so that I could enjoy this to the fullest. I love this author's characters. This character is especially outstanding. She is totally bad-ass. She is a hired gun and has killer instincts. There is also a fantasy element to this because there's magic and it's speculative because it doesn't follow our timeline. There is a lot going on here, but it isn't distracting. I would definitely recommend it. But definitely read the other book in the series first.

I really enjoy the characters in this series. It was funny to see our Gunnie trying to be what the town of Sally expected for a women. I wish Lisbeth and Eli's relationship was easier for the both of them. Can't wait to read the next book in the series.

I did not read #1 so I was a bit lost with the setting/time period as well as some of the characteristics of it. I enjoyed Lizbeth and Eli's relationship for the most part. The romantic side of it was a bit wanting as if the story couldn't make up its mind if they were or just convenient bed partners. Lizbeth was a strong female character while Eli was the magical one. Liked this switch of roles. The mystery chest part of the story was not as developed as I would have liked and seemed to end with a whimper. This would have been a 3.5 star but due to the unique story line I bumped it to a 4 star.

Thanks to the publisher for an ARC to read and give my honest opinion.

Prequel to review: This is book two in the Gunnie Rose series, and I did not read book one. I had no issues reading this novel and felt that it could be read as a stand-alone.


The book starts off really exciting and full of action, as Lizbeth is aboard a train with other gunnies... protecting a crate. The crate contents are not revealed until almost the end of the book, but the story is still powerful and moving. Something to be said for gunnies willing to risk their lives to do a job, when they have no idea what they’re protecting. The book takes on a multifaceted historical look at an era of segregation, when the world was on the cusp of expanding with technologies like cars, and running water. It also enhances the story with a magical sense of wizardry like people called grigories.

What did I like? The story itself is completely engrossing, and the romance between Eli and Lizbeth was highly entertaining. Where most people shy from Eli being a grigori, Lizbeth takes a shine to him and they work well together as a team. I just love a good story, and this one was amazing.

Would I buy or recommend this book? Yes, most definitely. After reading many reviews of book one, I feel that people will be pleasantly surprised that book two turned out much better, and I am anxiously awaiting book three now.

Thoughts for the author? I hope you don’t have any other series on your plate right now cause I could seriously use more on Eli and Lizbeth right now. Now for the long wait.

I'm finding this series to be very intriguing. First, the heroine is kind of a badass. She's a gunnie who's starting to become famous with her ability to shoot and being the last one standing. Nothing seems to faze her. She has a good sense of right and wrong but she also has no qualms about killing people when they need killing. Lizbeth is only 19 years old and that girl is as cool as cucumber. She's the biggest reason I'm enjoying these books.

The storyline is just as intriguing. In the first book, I described Lizbeth's world as like an old western set in modern times with fantasy thrown in there. It's still the same in this book, however when her job takes her to the town of Sally, they are thrown back into the old ways. It's weird to say that when this already seems decades old as it is. What I mean is that the town of Sally has a certain outlook on gender and race that we all know was there back in our old western world. It's not anything Lizbeth is used too and it hinders her ability to do her job.

There's a lot of action going on in this book which means a lot of killing. The magic used in this series sometimes give me the heebie jeebies. They have a dark tone to it even when it seems to be used for good. All of these elements combines into one unique series and I'm hooked. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Favorite Character: Lizbeth and Eli as a team.
I loved them both in the first book, and I loved them even more in the second book. Both live by a strict code, will kill when necessary, and love complicatedly. Eli is a magician from the Holy Roman Empire (which used to be California), and Lizbeth is a gunslinger from Texoma (formerly Texas). Together, they make a different kind of magic. They solve mysteries together, and it takes both to be successful.

What I Loved About A Longer Fall

The setting is incredibly detailed. It is set in Dixie and holds many of the same features as the real deep south that the reader will recognize along with the unique twists that the story brings. It’s both relatable and disturbing, and I laughed when the main characters discovered the very southern ”one meat and two sides” meal and wildlife, such as alligators.

Book Two is still taking on bold subjects. With the setting being Dixie, it was no surprise to me that the bold issue in this story is racism and the inequalities that still existed once slavery ended. It’s an illuminating look at the history of racism in our society as well as the world in the novel.

I loved that the main characters grew from book one to book two. They have become even more complicated with their hopes, and dreams are starting to come out a small little bit at a time, particularly Gunnie Rose, who, by her very nature is pragmatic to a fault. You also start to see glimmers of the inner conflict of Eli, who is usually calm, relaxed, and together. They both have solid walls built up, and I loved that I witnessed some small breaks in both of their walls.

A Longer Fall is very fast-paced. I finished it more quickly than I expected because I could not stop flipping those pages eagerly and rapidly. There is a special something about the story that makes me feel like I do when I take the first bite of a delectable dessert. It hits just the right spot.

What I Wish About A Longer Fall

My only wish about the story is that it had ended with more loose ends tied up – not all loose ends – just a few more. I enjoyed the way Book One ended and was surprised that book two ended with so many questions.

To Read or Not to Read
This book and series will appeal to fantasy book lovers, mystery thriller book lovers, and even lovers of historical fiction, so everyone will find something they love about it! A must-read!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a tough book for Lizbeth. First off the job went to hell pretty quick, her crew in tatters, stuck in a town where life is so different from what she knows and where she can't trust anyone but Eli, who mysterious showed up right when she needed a friendly face. As Lizbeth and Eli try to get to the bottom of things they end up getting closer and crossing a line with eyes wide open, yet by the end of the book you can tell they both have regrets, not sure if those regrets are for the same reason though. And while Eli accomplished what he set out to do, it seems like things left with Lizbeth are up in the air in so many ways. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

This book is responsible for some groggy days at work due to lack of sleep, but that's okay. I did it to myself, really.

I was pleasantly surprised with this installment. Admittedly, I had forgotten many of the details of the first in the series, remembering only that I was a bit lukewarm about it. However, I had difficulty putting this one down.

It was full of action and political intrigue, with more layers to the plot than you'd expect from a quick urban fantasy novel.

I was disappointed by the cliffhanger ending, but I guess that just means I'll have to add book #3 to my watch list.

A great second book in the Gunnie Rose series! I don’t know how Charlaine Harris does it, but her story is even better than the last. It starts off with Lizbeth on a new job with a new crew., and everything going smoothly. Obviously that doesn’t last! Things go bad very quickly, but why? There are different groups and tons of suspects.
Lizbeth has to go way out of her comfort zone in Dixie, which was constantly amusing to read about. Not knowing who to trust, what will happen next, and the constant threat of looming death makes for a great adventure. As soon as I finished, I wanted more, please, please let there be more!

I have read all of Charlaine Harris’s books, so I was pleased that the publisher approved me for an advance review copy of this new one. I didn’t know it was a dystopian, which I maxed out on some time ago, but I like this author, so I figured let’s see what she does with it. Lizbeth is a Gunnie, a gun for hire, in the dystopian version of the USA. She’s from Texoma, and is traveling to Dixie, an amalgam of something resembling the Deep South in the 1950’s. This book is also presents an alternate history--the Romanov family did not perish, and Alexi became the Tsar. (Lizbeth’s ally is a grigori, a wizard in service to the Tsar.) Lizbeth is guarding a crate on a train with her crew, but someone wants what is in the crate, and will do whatever it takes, including blowing up the train and murdering whoever stands in their way.

This second book in the Gunnie Rose series takes off shortly after Lizbeth has recovered from her adventure in the first book. She has signed on for a new job to protect and deliver a crate to someone in Dixie, and it doesn’t take long before her new job and crew are in peril. The contents of the crate, which are unknown to Lizbeth, potentially could cause massive upheaval in Dixie and there are a lot of people who are willing to kill to control it. Lizbeth is not surprised to find her grigori lover Eli also is there and interested in the crate’s contents and they team up to find it when it is stolen.

Dixie is the country that encompasses the Old South of the former US, and people there have entrenched ideas about proper place and behavior for women and for people of color. Lizbeth is accustomed to seeing men and women of any color as equals and she bristles under the strictures placed on her appearance and behavior when she tries to keep a low profile while investigating the theft.

While the alternate history world Harris has created is very interesting, it is her characters and their interactions that really make this an enjoyable read. A lot of urban fantasy heroines tend to be similar: tough with a snarky or irreverent demeanor that supposedly mask inner turmoil or vulnerability, and often they sound the same, especially when written by the same author. While Lizbeth certainly is tough, her voice is distinct and unique. She is at once ruthlessly practical and unsentimental yet loyal with a strong sense of right and wrong. Her views on justice and especially on love and relationships have been forged by the very tough circumstances of her life. On that personal front, she obviously is strongly drawn to Eli but doesn’t allow herself to hope for a happily-ever-after that she believes impossible.

While the main conflicts of this story are (mostly) wrapped up by the end, we are left with some intriguing potential plot lines and conflicts with Eli, the other grigori, and with one of Lizbeth’s friends at home. I look forward to seeing how they play out in the next book.