Book Review: To the Uttermost by Kristina Hall

How far will he take his quest for vengeance?

Owen Lockart will track down and kill the man who murdered his three brothers and left him to die in the Colorado wilderness. And no one will get in his way.

Sally Reiner doesn't know a stranger. She thinks nothing of befriending Owen, her family's new ranch hand. Little does she know he's won her trust to gain information about her no-good murderer of a brother.

Will deceit and vengeance destroy Sally and Owen, or will they trust in the only One Who is able to deliver them?

Series: A Better Country, book #2 (can be read as a standalone; I did!)

My rating:

Well, this new-to-me indie author has definitely been a success so far! I might be slightly biased because I've loved westerns my whole life, but pfft, minor details.

The prologue was a fantastic way to open the book, and had me hooked from the beginning! An ambush, injuries (*smirks* if you know, you know), the terror of wondering if his brothers were alive or not...just yes.

The writing style really pulled me in. I was definitely invested in the story, and even though life has been insane, I found myself spending extra time reading it. Soooo...sorry to my epic boss for spending an extra long time watering the plants because I was reading. *grins sheepishly*

Owen's thirst for revenge, though I normally find that kind of thing highly annoying, actually kiiiinda had me on his side. Like, yeah, I knew it was wrong and everything, and I would've tried to talk him out of it, but I definitely understood why he was doing it and a tiny bit of me was like Mmm yes okay, go get 'im, tiger! But *cough* after Owen continually persisted for three hundred pages, it...kinda got old. Kinda.

Sally appeared to be your typical I'm-gonna-do-whatever-I-want-to-do-and-I-don't-care-what-you-think kind of female protagonists at first, but she wasn't, and I actually grew to love her. I loved how she was stubborn and determined enough to carry her weight and do what needed to be done when things got tough, but she also knew her limitations and listened to people's advice. I really loved Sally. (Though I'm sorry, I do. not. like. that. name. *cries*)

Doyle was definitely the sweet endearing man everyone wants as a grandpa. Rose was the sweetest thing. The kids were little terrors (honestly seemed like brats that needed some discipline to me, but I won't complain, as they weren't in the book a whole lot). Harry was incredible and the best character in the whole book.

The message of faith was strong—very strong. The message of forgiveness and leaving vengeance to the Lord was epic, and so was the salvation message, but...it was kinda...preachy. Okay, very preachy. I understand that Sally was just doing it out of concern, but in that one scene, I almost felt like I was reading a sermon, and it kinda jerked me out of the story. 

All in all, though, I would definitely recommend this book to someone looking for a clean western with a good message!

 

*I received an e-copy of this book from the author for promotional purposes. All thoughts are my own.

What's your favorite western?