The Gunfighter and The Gear-Head (The Raven Ladies Book 1)

Based on the premise I assumed that this book was going to be a semi farcical lark. I figured it would be a fun, breezy, read that I would quickly forget about afterwards. What surprised me is just how strongly written and compelling it is. The story contains a surprising amount of realism and an even more surprising level of depth to its characterizations. Writer Cassandra Duffy has written a novel that expertly weaves elements of romance, erotica (including watered down S and M), steampunk, post apocalyptic Sci-Fi, Alien invasion, and the wild west into a coherent story that is funny and dramatic. This is a very tricky thing to do right. In a premise like this it is a requirement to strike the right tone between realism and farce. Write the characters and situations with too much of a tongue in cheek attitude and the book will evaporate from our memories without leaving any lasting impression and if you try to take the situation too seriously then the story collapses under its own weight of self importance. For the most part this novel walks that very fine line and gives us something that is fun and dramatic.Perhaps the aspect that I was most surprised and pleased with was how cohesive the narrative was. Events that take place in the third act are adequately set-up in the first act without drawing attention to themselves. Not only is the world fascinating and well thought out, but the characters drive the plot rather than the plot driving the characters. At no point did I scratch my head wondering why a character was acting in a certain way. This is especially impressive in the way that the author is able to add a strange logic to some of the more outlandish things that the characters do. One strong example is when Fiona, our intrepid gunslinger\former Victoria's Secret model, leads Gieo, the ingenious inventor, around the town with a dog collar and leash. Gieo suggests this because the idea sexually excites her and the author uses this as a way to give us a stronger insight into the two characters. Even more than that, Gieo uses a strong rational basis when she suggested Fiona do this and it actually makes sense in the context of their circumstances and the town that they are in. Fiona leading her new lover around the town on a leash not only adds some light kink to this story but it also makes sense on its own. If you were in the same circumstances as Fiona then the logical course of action would be to lead your girlfriend around on a leash.Speaking of, the characterizations in this book are very strong. Not only the two main characters but also every character that has any kind of substantial dialogue is a fully realized three dimensional person. The idea of a lingerie model turned gunslinger may sound ridiculous, but in Fiona, the author gives us a woman who seems believable as a pampered model chafing under the restrictions of her PR handlers or as a sharpshooter carving a life and reputation for herself in a laid to waste town at the edge of what passes for civilization. Gieo is simply one of the most delightful characters I've ever read. The scene in which she dresses in an old Halloween black cat costume complete with furry ears and tail in order to sneak into an enemy encampment is priceless. The interaction between these two is the core of the novel and the detail given to their relationship lends a strong sense of authenticity. Fiona acts as Gieo's protector throughout the novel and yet Gieo is frequently the dominant one in the relationship.Furthermore, a surprising amount of depth is added to the secondary characters via their words and actions. While there are several lengthy passages exploring and evaluating characters' feelings and motivations, some of the strongest character building moments are revealed simply through the characters' words and actions. When Fiona loses some of her friends, her reactions indicate that although she is ruthless she also has a strong sense of loyalty and a determined protection instinct. Furthermore, there is a tense confrontation in the book's climax in which one major character meets his doom not because he is incapable of prevailing but rather because he makes a fundamental misjudgment of Fiona's intentions and motivations. This passage is not only exciting but it reveals even new layers to both of these characters and their relationship.Cassandra Duffy's writing is fast paced and clear, doing a very good job of describing locations and actions without either getting bogged down into too much detail or without leaving things frustratingly vague. She shows admirable restraint in teasing us with the action (by action I mean the various shootouts, chase scenes, and also sex scenes) without giving it to us too quick and too early. The sex scenes by the way are erotic, dynamic, and dramatic, fitting perfectly into the narrative (with one exception). Also, the author makes the wise choice to focus primarily on the human society while keeping the alien invaders in the background.The book is not without its flaws however. As I wrote earlier, the author mostly does a good job of walking the tightrope between realism and farce, but there are a few times when she crosses the line. One example is Gieo's robot sidekick. It strains credibility that a woman in her early twenties in a post apocalyptic waste land could build a sophisticated robot with artificial intelligence that is more advanced than what major corporations can build today. Another example is when Fiona flashbacks to an instance when she had sex with her former leader Veronica in the middle of a battle. While this scene certainly is hot, it comes off as being too silly to be believable. Also, the writer has a tendency to end certain scenes sooner than she should. While the relationship between Fiona and Gieo is well developed, I feel that the author should have allowed some of the quieter scenes to go on longer rather than frequently cutting them short (This is a complaint I have with a lot of books). Also, the ending felt a little rushed. To be sure the major plot threads are wrapped in a satisfying manner, I just felt that the ending and denouement could have used some more breathing space.If it sounds like I'm nitpicking, I am. The flaws are relatively minor and the book only narrowly missed a 5 star rating. Overall, this is an exciting and fun novel with a great deal of intelligence behind it. I highly recommend it and look forward to what I'm sure will be a long and fruitful career from the author.

I struggled with whether I could fairly recommend this book to other readers. It has flaws... serious flaws. But in the end, I enjoyed the story. I also paid close to $18 to get this in paperback (including shipping) and I don't feel ripped off. So that has to say something, right?A quick synopsis before I get down to the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly....Aliens have come to Earth. The Slark are four-armed lizards and they do NOT come in peace. They want to colonize Planet Earth, and they see us as tasty snacks. But they underestimated how viciously mean humans can be. To make all things equal, Earth's scientists set off an electro-magnectic pulse to wipe out the Slark's advanced spaceships and weaponry. This had an unforeseen side effect of blowing out every computer on Earth, and anyone who had a cell phone in their pocket got it too.So Earth is blasted back into the industrial age, all the smart people are dead, and a bunch of pissed-off lizards are stuck here with no way to go home.The story has two main protagonists - Fiona and Gieo. Fiona is an ex-underwear model turned gunfighter (yeah, I just typed that). She's completely narcissistic, which means she doesn't care about anyone but herself, so she never hesitates to clear leather. Since she never hesitates, she's fast. And anyone who confronts her is dead.Gieo is one of the smart people. She survived the EMP disaster because she was grounded by her parents or something... I forgot that part. But she survived, and now she's busy building robots and aircraft to fight the Slark. She's also cute, and Fiona has a weakness for cute. The story starts when Gieo's homemade aircraft gets shot down in the desert and Fiona is sent out to find her.*The Good*This story is original and fun. Aliens and cowgirls... yes, it's been done before (with cowboys). But it's still a rare combination in science-fiction and it was a freaking fun concept. That's the best thing I can say about this book - it's fun. It's also sexy. The sex scenes are hot and explicit and... explicit. Let's just say that there are no "fade to black" moments. These girls do it all with the lights on.I also liked how BADASS the characters are. There is no moralizing. Humans are violent. That's a fact. If you don't deal with it someone will come along and kill you (there is actually quite a bit of philosophical musing on the violent nature of humanity. It's just interspersed between Fiona shooting people).If the book just stuck with Fiona and Gieo having sex and fighting Slark and getting into gunfights with other disgruntled humans, I'd be a happy reader. But no, there's more.*The Bad*I didn't like the Raven Ladies. It almost seemed like there were two books here. Weaving the story of the Raven Ladies into the story of Fiona and Gieo was too much. There were too many characters. I can totally see how the Raven Ladies would be cool - but I didn't want to read about them. I wanted to stay with the main plot.The pacing dragged whenever the story moved from Gieo to the Raven Ladies. The plot would have been better if it had been more concise.*The Ugly*Flashbacks. God I hate flashbacks. Authors should be limited to one per book, and it should only be a page long. There is one flashback in this book that lasts almost a chapter. I would have skipped it, except it contained a CRAZY sex episode between Fiona and the leader of the Ravens. But while the sex was interesting, the flashback didn't really add anything to the story.So here's the deal - I read this book and enjoyed it, and I believe I got my money's worth. But other readers might not be able to look beyond the dragging plot and flashbacks. You are warned.PS: My copy has the old cover. The old cover is better.

***1/2Took me awhile to finish this one as I had it on my Kindle phone app and I'm not a huge fan of reading that way.Anyway, all in all it was a really fun read which pretty much worked on all the levels I was looking for. Sleazy, sexy, violent Sci-Fi fun ... with lesbians.A little messy over all with the plot often shifting gears making it feel like I was reading a series of short stories rather than one fully realized tale, but ultimately it was imaginative and well written with interesting, fun characters at its core making for a satisfying read.And sleazy. Did I mention sleazy.

I must admit that I came across this book without realising it was for "Ladies who like Ladies". Having said that I was impressed with the story line, a post apocalyptic alien invasion which left humans fighting aliens in a world where tech is defunct and an arms raced ensued. Set in a wild west environment this story has a lot, loyalty, love, jealousy, love triangles, people getting blown away and mutilated, and good old fashion `stabbed in the back' betrayal. Then there's the sex..... Overall a very good read

A decent same-sex love story with a plot that is actually quite well written! I think its the first one I've ever come across. The second book is great to, and the third is waiting for me on my Kindle.

Not well written a few times i wanted to just put it down and move on but i carried on.. unfortunately. Sorry i wont be reading more from this author.