Fascinating and modern retelling of a "western" with some nice LGBTQ+ representation going on. Overall, this was a very pleasant read and I enjoyed it immensely.

Bridget is an amazing character and I love the description of her life and the hard and harsh reality of what it was like to be a woman in that time frame in the USA.

I definitely recommend this novel!

I loved this so much! When I write these reviews I mostly talk about what I don't like, so how short this is is a good sign. There's so much I loved about this book that I don't know how to say it all, but what I thought might have been a silly story about the "Old West" was a powerful tale of a young woman trying to survive and love. I'm definitely going to watch out for anything that Cravens writes because this was a literary masterpiece.

This is an amazing first book and I look forward to more books from Claudia Cravens! This queer western is populated with great characters. The main character and narrator is Bridget/Red. Her life is hard with her ne’er-do-well father and that shapes her outlook on life and how she winds up “a sporting woman” in Dodge. I liked the wholeness of Bridget—she is flawed, making bad decisions in difficult circumstances, and she is doing her best.

The author has the narrator describe difficult circumstances in a matter-of-fact way. Combined with that straightforwardness were beautiful descriptions, especially of the plains. The author made me appreciate the harsh weather with almost lush descriptions of clouds, wind, and dried grass.

As expected with a new book, I needed to learn about the characters for a bit, the different personalities that were part of the whorehouse. Once there was some history and relationships were built, the story moved so quickly. I had that good/bad feeling as a reader … I’m going to finish this in no time.

Wow, a totally absorbing old western with a modern feel. Westerns are not my usual genre, but Bridget and her story really drew me in. When her ne'er do well father dies in a tragic accident, Bridget must fend for herself in Dodge City. With few options available, Bridget choses the best and winds up in a brothel run by two women. When Spartan Lee, a rare female gun slinger rides into town, Bridget falls head over heels in love. However, things in the wild west are never what they seem. This is a wonderful feminist twist to the traditional western.

Saddle up your horse and let’s ride! Ride into 1877 with 16 year old Bridget and her gambling, drunken dad that Bridget manages somehow to take care of….. until she can’t. A short time later she finds herself as a prostitute in Dodge City at a Brothel called The Queen. This is a tough time and place where hangings, gun fights, whoring and cattle rustling were part of every day life. Bridget adjusts to this life and life actually seems easier with a full belly and a safe place to sleep and friends she can trust. You can’t help but get invested and care for her new friends, all whores from The Queen. Constance, Lila, and Kate are all strong, intelligent, tough and caring women. I loved Constance, she had me routing for her sweet, caring ways.

Even if Westerns are not your genre, I think most would really enjoy this story of the American West. The story is told in vivid color with lots of details. I could almost smell the stale air after the rains as the cowboys all funneled in to the bar.

The ending left me wanting more, possibly a sequel?! I would pre order it now!!

Honestly I didn’t expect to enjoy this read as much as I did. Thank you Netgalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me the privilege of reading this advanced copy edition.

A good entry into the burgeoning western women’s lit genre, a genre I didn’t know I needed. A slow build with an ending worth waiting for.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Random House, The Dial Press, for allowing me to read Lucky Red early!

I had bad encounters with books set in the Old West, but Lucky Red was a happy exception! I enjoyed it.

I don’t even know where to start with this review. This story captivated me immediately. I will preface with the fact that I’m not a fan of westerns, which I’ve now realized, I just hadn’t found the right western story. This book is a wonderful, reimagined, emotional, Wild West ride through the plains. Bridget, a poor but beautiful red head loses her father and finds her way to Dodge City where she starts prostituting to be able to feed herself after having nowhere and no one to rely on. Bridget is a naive character at first, but learns quickly that the life she and her fellow working women live isn’t easy or respected. So much happens and there are twists and turns that break your heart and make you angry, but again, this is the wild wild west we’re talking about! This book had me in a choke hold as I was cheering on Bridget (and especially her bestie Constance!) and others on throughout and by the end, I was just enthralled with the story and the characters. The author really has a wonderful grasp of characterization and I absolutely loved so many people in this book (and hated some, but again, the author did so well with showing you who they were!). This story was a queer triumph and had so much heart! I am still here daydreaming and proud of Bridget, Constance, Lila, Kate, and the girls! Such a fun read! Don’t let this one pass you up!

This was a very well-written novel, although it wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Recommended for those who enjoy Western adventures. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Lucky Red" was a most interesting read about a young woman during a period when women accounted for little and were often considered chattel. If there was not a man around to protect and care for them, they were relegated to a situation that allowed only a few ways of making money.

In Red's (Bridget) case, she had lost her mother at her birth and had a father that, while he apparently loved her, knew next to nothing about helping her become a "respectable" young woman. He was a dreamer and an alcoholic, but he was not a direct abuser. After having lost his last money, they started westward from their Arkansas home with a land deed for 20 acres. Unfortunately, he had a accident along the way an\d now Red was left without that protective man.

She sold her last possessions - a rundown mule and her father's knife and lived for a fortnight in a flophouse in Dodge City, KS after having survived the trip alone through the prairie. She was eventually asked to leave her accommodations when her money ran out. She was approached by a kindly woman, who turned out to be a madam at one of the "sporting" houses. Thus, she began her life of earning money on her back!

Lots of other adventures befall Red before she meets what she thinks might be true love. The book is interesting to read from a male perspective with all of our male privilege, even today. It caused me to consider how and why these "sporting" women did what they did. It certainly added to my understanding of what an unattached woman of the time had to do to keep body (and soul) together,

The book has a bit of raunchy language from time to time and this might be off-putting for some readers; but I believe the history of time makes the language relevant and the understanding of the women very important. It was a quick read that was well written, and I enjoyed it very much.

This was pitched as “True Grit meets Sarah Waters,” which on some level tells you everything you need to know. If that sounds like something you would enjoy, then you will probably enjoy this! Overall it was a really good time — I want to describe it as “fun,” even though it’s also quite violent and not very happy. I’d love to see a movie of this (even though, yes, it would be yet another white lesbian period piece).

That said, it wasn’t quite what I was hoping for. I don’t think this is necessarily an actual flaw with the book — it’s more just that the book wasn’t exactly what I wanted. This is mildly spoilery, but I thought the book was going to be more like “Bridget joins a gang of gunfighters and they ride around the prairie gunfighting for justice,” but in fact the vast majority of the book takes place in one building, like a chamber piece, which isn’t what I expected from a western. There are parts where the main character gallops across the prairie with a gun on her hip, but not nearly as much as I expected.

I also thought it was going to be more of a romance than it was. I actually love when books are more focused on friendship and community than on romance, but since that was the case here, I wish the other whores were more fleshed out as characters. There’s Constance the bookworm, Sallie the theater kid, and Arabella and Henrietta, whose personalities I cannot describe at all, despite having just finished the book and having taken detailed notes while reading it.

My other complaint is that the book seems to have a somewhat confused relationship with the concept of criminals. Most of the characters speak of “outlaws” as the bad guys who should be punished by the criminal justice system, while people who catch “outlaws” and turn them in to the cops are seen as the good guys. This was interesting to me, since most of the characters are whores and would be considered criminals themselves in many places, but the book doesn’t much address this tension, which seems to me like a lost opportunity.

Okay, complaining over. This has adventure, a vibrant historical setting, a hot butch gunslinger fucking a lesbian whore…your hot butch gunslinger girlfriend putting her arms around you to teach you how to shoot a gun…there’s a lot of good stuff here okay!! Even though it wasn’t quite what I had in mind, I’d still recommend it.

THIS. BOOK.

Going in, I had no expectations and I wasn't really sure what to expect based on I have never read a western before, I was initially interested because it is queer historical fiction. From the very first chapter, I was super hooked. I love Cravens writing style, it was so gripping and I was really able to feel immersed in the world. The plot and the characters were really well thought out and developed as well. I feel so emotionally attached to the characters, even the secondary characters have me in a chokehold.

Overall, I have nothing but love for Claudia Cravens and this book. She has easily become an author that I will read anything she writes, I would do anything for a second book to read more about Bridget and where life takes her.

It's really early in the year but I will be surprised if I read a book better than this one all year.

I read this in one day. “Who cares,” you may be thinking. “Lots of people read lots of books in lots of just one days.”

Okay, but hear me out: I really, really, really hate westerns.

And what a western it is! Prairies and rattlesnakes and saloons and hangings and gun fights and horses and and and—

—and elaborate imagery that sits you right at the bar of the Buffalo Queen, that has you following the curves of creeks with a mule, that makes you huddle against the harsh wind in alleyways so desperate for fresh air.

—and inside the mind of Bridget Shaughnessy, a selfish, hardened teenager who makes foolish decisions over and over again. She goes through so much, but she feels fundamentally the same person by the end. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if that’s a good thing or not. I don’t mind it, actually. Feels more realistic this way.

—and a plot that might be a little predictable but here I mean that as a compliment. In my old age, I grow weary of shock endings and surprise twists. Give me breadcrumbs to nibble thoughtfully throughout the story so the freshly baked loaf at the end is a treat. Cravens is an expert baker and I felt fully satisfied.

Lucky Red is a delightful novel to lose yourself in for a day or two. Go back in time to the Wild West. Fall in love. Punch an outlaw.

Discover that maybe you don’t hate westerns.

An author to watch. The writing was gorgeous although I couldn't connect with the main character. May work for other readers. The premise was fantastic, it just missed the mark for me. In conclusion, I don't think Western gunslinger books are my type of book.

This Western was written for women who like the thought of a gutsy, working girl in a brothel rather than the typical woman making her home on prairie. Lesbian romance is a large thread throughout the story.

Don’t read a synopsis of the book before reading it! The ones I read after finishing the book definitely give too much away.

Luckily, although I must’ve read the NetGalley synopsis when I requested this book, thankfully I'd forgotten it by the time I started reading. So I found more of the plot surprising than I would have otherwise.

All you need to know is that it opens in 1877 in the American West, where 16 year old Bridget takes care of her alcoholic father. Given that setting, you’ll no doubt have some expectations — which means that Cravens will dish you up some tasty surprises.

It was wonderful to read this so soon after finishing the brilliant classic Western, Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry. Terms I’d heard first in that book — from quirt and remuda to poke and sporting girl — resurfaced from a different angle in this unconventional take on the Western genre. So did places like Ogallala, Dodge City, and the endless Midwestern prairie.

Even if you don’t normally like Westerns, there’s a good chance you’ll like this book, so long as you enjoy literary fiction and/or historical fiction.

If you enjoy literary fiction, you’ll be rewarded by beautiful writing that’s brimming with fresh, creative similes.

If you enjoy historical fiction, you’ll be rewarded by how evocative of time and place this novel is.

And everyone will enjoy Bridget — a well-crafted protagonist I fell in love with.