TL;DR: This was a reread for me but I read it back before I wrote reviews so despite giving it 4 stars I didn’t remember what I loved and didn’t love about it. I’m blown away by how much I enjoyed this especially because there are horror aspects in this that fall outside my usual reading comfort zone. Despite the stomach-turning moments and the fact that these pages are filled with a fairly depressing post-apocalyptic setting and dark mythology, I found myself being unable to turn away and I often didn’t want to stop reading even when adulting responsibilities called me back to reality. This review is a bit all over the place but that tends to happen with a book I’ve thoroughly enjoyed! 😂 

This pretty much had me hooked from the first sentence! Maggie is a complex and well-written character. She has experienced an unimaginable amount of trauma and was essentially cared for by the one known as the monster slayer. She is very powerful with both clan abilities she’s been bestowed and it makes her a fearsome woman with a deadly reputation that few want to mess with. It also makes her life a lonely one. I felt for Maggie! She’s standoffish and stubborn as hell but at no point did I stop rooting for her or wished she’d been softer. 

Then there’s Kai, a secondary but equally important character. I wish we got his POV but this was very much Mags’ story and I loved the role he got to play in it. As cliche as it sounds, he does bring out the best in her and manages to slowly chip away at her monstrous walls (no pun intended). He’s the sunshine to her perpetual grumpiness and he could charm the pants off everyone! Although he does remain a bit of a mysterious entity throughout the read, I loved learning more about his backstory and about his powers.

Mixed in with these two are a host of other intriguing, funny, and sweet side characters who bring more life to the story. All of this is also set against an interesting post-apocalyptic backdrop. Dinetah, the sixth world, is an indigenous native land that is literally walled off from the rest of what once was America, which collapsed during the Big Water alongside 80% of the world’s population. I appreciated how Roanhorse gradually incorporated world-building without being overwhelming but giving us enough to know how the world collapsed. It wasn’t difficult to picture Dinetah, with its heat, barren land, wild animals and even wilder settlements. It was all very Wild West but not cliché. I especially loved the mythology elements woven through the plot! I wished we got more of it because it was fascinating and the rebirth of monsters and powerful spirits like Coyote and many other evils made this world even more horrifying but endlessly intriguing.

I’m so glad I already have the next book lined up because this ends on quite a cliffhanger! I’m terrified, excited, and curious to see how the story continues. If the first book is anything to go by, it will be an action-packed and thrilling time, but it won’t be “fun times” in the sense that I’m sure a lot of bad will be coming their way. 😂 I’m equally anxious for and highly anticipating what’s next!

On reread I think I’m going to bump this rating up to 4,5 stars rounded up.

Have you read Trail of Lightning or is it on your TBR?

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