{"id":248,"date":"2024-09-02T13:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=248"},"modified":"2024-09-02T13:39:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T13:39:00","slug":"book-review-sarita","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=248","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Sarita"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sarita<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Natalie Musgrave Dossett<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Historical Fiction \/ Western \/ Thriller<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9798891323131<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 366 pages<\/p>\n

Publisher:<\/strong> Atmosphere Press<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/span>Buy from Amazon<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen<\/em><\/p>\n

Western frontier meets Prohibition America in this action-packed adventure with a sprinkle of suspense.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Life on a cattle ranch has always been tough, but, with the onset of Prohibition, it\u2019s become even harder. Tequila smugglers have been passing through South Texan properties while doing their runs, and violent crimes have been occurring more frequently.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Javier Salsito de Ortega stops by Sarita Gibson\u2019s father\u2019s ranch intending to steal the horses and ends up killing her younger brother in the process, Sarita is shattered. Even more so when she and her father realize that the Texas Rangers are spread too thin to spare anyone to track JJ\u2019s killer.<\/p>\n

The moment that news of JJ\u2019s death breaks, a smarmy oil prospector who has long had his eye on the ranch shows up to make Sarita\u2019s heartbroken father another offer. Having already lost her mother and brother, Sarita is determined to save the ranch she loves and bring her brother justice. But with JJ gone, it seems her father has lost any hope he had of passing the ranch on. The only way for Sarita to prove to him that she\u2019s capable of running a property in a man\u2019s world is to trace JJ\u2019s killer down herself and bring him to justice.<\/p>\n

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Sarita<\/em> is a standalone historical novel that shows a different side of Prohibition era America than the big city mobster narratives. It delves into the hard work, sweat, and blood that went into getting liquor across the US into the speakeasies when alcohol was banned. While the novel is set at the tail end of the Western frontier era, it still uses imagery and themes heavily associated with the time. There\u2019s enough horse rustling, gunfights, and outlaws to keep any Larry McMurtry fan happy. This is a refreshing take on both genres.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Women make up the backbone of this novel. Often disempowered and struggling just to survive in the harsh world they find themselves in, they nevertheless manage to carve out spaces for themselves and make spaces for each other where they can. There\u2019s a lovely sisterhood between the women in this story, even the ones who barely know each other. What makes it more poignant is that they are all quite different to each other in manners, class, respectability, and morals, but they still hold together on this one point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The thing that bothered me most about this novel initially ended up being the thing that ultimately made the book more substantial. At the start, the novel falls into the trope of having a main character who flails her way blindly through the dangers around her. She doesn\u2019t seem to move except when pushed. As the story progresses, she gains traction on her own. And as everything unfolds, it becomes clear that, while green, it\u2019s Sarita\u2019s ethics and determination that make this story, not her skill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sarita <\/em>is a harsh, gritty novel in many respects, but it\u2019s also an adventure that drags you along until the final, bittersweet sentence. It\u2019s a thoroughly satisfying journey; simultaneously dark and entertaining.<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Joelene Pynnonen\u2019s book review of Sarita <\/em>by Natalie Musgrave Dossett! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post Book Review: Sarita<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarita by Natalie Musgrave Dossett Genre: Historical Fiction \/ Western \/ Thriller ISBN: 9798891323131 Print Length: 366 pages Publisher: Atmosphere Press Buy from Amazon Reviewed by Joelene Pynnonen Western frontier meets Prohibition America in this action-packed adventure with a sprinkle of suspense. Life on a cattle ranch has always been tough, but, with the onset […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}