Spoiler-Free Blog

This dystopian western is like a combination of The Handmaid’s Tale, The Crucible, and True Grit. If that’s your jam, this may be for you.

What’s Outlawed about?

Ada’s life of “wild wild west” crime begins after she fails to conceive a child, is accused of witchcraft, and runs away to a gang of non-conforming outlaws.

I liked it, but it wasn’t life-changing.

The beginning immediately drew me in. Seeing Ada’s life and dilemmas was intriguing enough to hook me through the first act. I actually hovered around a four-star rating through the first seventy or eighty pages.

After that, the pacing slowed down a bit, and it felt like Ada couldn’t catch a break, which I found a little exhausting to read. I had to put it down for a little while and come back. I really enjoy stories where the main characters face challenges but also have little wins throughout that keep them going. This lacked the little wins. But to each their own; this may not necessarily matter to you as a reader.

But then around the last few chapters, I was hooked again. The ending was a bit open-ended, and I liked it that way.

The writing style was also more on the expository side – but in the way that it felt like someone telling you the story of their life from far in the future. It was reflective. Though I will say there were times when the action was just heating up, and there’d be a long-winded passage or two trying to sound deep or heighten the emotions of the moment, but really just bogging the scene down.

Overall, I think I just expected a little more Kissin’ Kate Barlow. But instead, we spent more time on things like surviving winter and interpersonal conflict.

Should you read Outlawed?

I recommend Outlawed to anyone who enjoys feminist literature, wild Western settings, and gunslinging gals.