Novels and Necklaces: ARC Review: An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1)

About The Book:

Title: An Easy Death (Gunnie Rose, #1)

Author: Charlaine Harris
Pub. Date: October 2nd, 2018
Publisher: Saga Press
Pages: 320

Genre: Adult, Thriller, Urban Fantasy

Rate: 5/5 stars

Synopsis :

Gunnie Lizbeth Rose has been hired by a pair of Russian sorcerers as both their local guide and muscle through the small towns of East Texas as they search for a distant relative of an infamous sorcerer whose bloodline can help save their emperor-in-exile as an ever increasing number of assassins tries to stop them.

After the assassination of FDR in the 1930s, the US collapses and is picked off by the UK, Canada, Mexico, and Russia. We find ourselves in the southwestern states now known as Texoma. It is here that the gunnie Lizbeth Rose tries to piece out a life, running security on runs from Texoma, across the border to Mexico where work and prospects are stronger. When two Russian magicians come looking for a man named Alex Karkarov, they hire Lizbeth to find him or his family, but there are problems: The man they're looking for is dead, but he has a daughter they now need to find, as an ever-growing set of sorcerers and gunnies do not want them to succeed. It’s a good thing Lizbeth is a deadly gunfighter; too bad she hates sorcerers, even the ones she has to learn to rely on.

Review:

When I found out Charlaine Harris was releasing a new fantasy series, I literally could NOT contain my excitement. I am a huge fan of her work and cherish both her Sookie series and Midnight Texas series. An Easy Death takes place in an alternate history where the Holy Russian Empire is still ruled by Tsars (THE ROMANOVS, EVERYONE!) and the US is no longer United. Our main character, Lizbeth Rose, is a gunnie in the Southwest (now known as Texoma) and she is tasked to find someone who could save young Alexi Romanov's life.

A major theme in this book are the Russian wizards. Outside of the Holy Russian Empire, citizens aren't a huge fan of them. In the book, you'll see themes where they are not widely accepted and even banned from some restaurants, hotels, etc. Lizbeth is obviously cautious when these two wizards hire her to be their gunnie, but she's not about to turn down their money. I look forward to learning more about the broken US and Holy Russian Empire in the future books. There is a lot of world building going on. We have territories New Britannia (the original colonies), Dixie (current southeast of US), The Holy Russian Empire (modern California and Oregon), New America (Canada Controlled), and Texoma (southwestern US). It's a lot to come to grip on for a 320 page novel, but I definitely feel like we will learn more of the HRE in the next book because of that ending!

Lizbeth is a great main character. She's tough, snarky, and doesn't care what people think of her. Unlike a lot of fantasy heroines, she actually has flaws and isn't annoying. She is definitely the type of heroine who can drive a series. I can't wait to read more involving her!! The other two important characters in this novel are the two Russian wizards who hired her to be their Gunnie - Eli and Paulina. From the Holy Russian Empire, they are mysterious and have lots of secrets they don't want to reveal. Paulina reminds me of Pam from the Sookie Series! She's funny with that dry sense of humor. Eli, is a hot Russian wizard that reminds of Eric Northman. Ok - I'm reaching here a bit, but I LOVE Charlaine's characters!

Ultimately, An Easy Death is something new and fresh from seasoned author, Charlaine Harris. I'm not sure how many books are going to comprise this series, but I can't wait to see what comes next for Gunnie Rose. Sex, magic, and adventure - you can't go wrong with this novel. If you are a Charlaine Harris fan or love Urban Fantasy novels with magic, I hope you'll give this book a try.