Yellowthroat

by Penny Hayes

Margarita, daring woman bandit, has discovered her sexual attraction to another woman. A fascinating tale filled with authentic and colorful detail of everyday western life- and of how independent women lived in the Old West.

Genres: LGBT, Historical Fiction, Westerns, Romance, Lesbian, Fiction, Historical

Paperback

First published April 1, 1988

About the author

Penny Hayes grew up on a farm near Binghamton, NY. She later went to school in Utica and Buffalo, graduating with degrees in art and special education. She has made her living teaching most of her adult life in both West Virginia and New York State. She currently lives with her partner in Ithaca, NY.

From the publisher's website: Penny Hayes is credited for single-handedly creating the genre of the lesbian western, starting with her 1986 novel The Long Trail. She is the author of The Long Trail, Grassy Flats, Yellowthroat, Omaha's Bell, Kathleen O'Donald: A Novel, City Light, Country Candles, The Tomstown Incident and Now and Then. She is currently at work on Gloves. Bella Books is proud to re-release the early work of this pioneering author!

Reviews

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been consistently impressed with Penny Hayes' historical works and I really wish she had more of a modern-day following. A lot of authors from her time period have either persisted as authors of lesbian classics or continue writing today, yet Penny Hayes seems to be largely forgotten. Sadly, I can't seem to find much about her on the internet or social media, so if anyone knows what she's currently up to, I'd be glad to see an update!

Despite some trailing off at the end (which is common in her books), this is probably my favorite of hers so far. It's a rich historical look at ruthless, boom-town life in the 1880's American West right after Garfield was assassinated. Main character Margarita Sanchez is traveling with a few gross dudes who she pretty much manipulates into doing the dirty work of coach and bank robberies while she saves up enough money to start over after the murder of her husband. She's cagey and aloof, never letting her guard down, and she's especially distrusting of white people, who killed her husband.

After a well-planned but poorly executed bank robbery goes haywire, Margarita takes local pharmacy worker Julia Blake as a hostage back to their desert camp to hide out and try to nurse the injured men back to health. But Julia, a strong and fiercely independent woman who has no interest in men or marriage, awakens Margarita's attraction, and the two women soon band together, ditch the dudes, and head off to another town to make a living as local bakers. What a lesbian utopia, right?.

I love all the little details put into this book. This is firmly in the time of the Old Outlaws, with Belle Starr named by Margarita as one of the only other female outlaws, and everyone is heading towards the mining towns to make some money. The bank plot is set in the town of Colter--I'm actually not sure if that's a real place or not. There was a Colter, Arizona that may be the inspiration, or it could be entirely fictional. Either way, I did a lot of research on the area because it is so unfamiliar to me, and I got a really clear picture of those long, dusty travels they had to trek to get anywhere interesting. I don't read a ton of Westerns, but this was certainly a good one.

Though Margarita and Julia had a lot of "will they, won't they" and "oh I simply can't" stuff going on, I liked them together and liked the progression of their relationship. It felt natural, especially for the time. Margarita seems to be bisexual, so she struggles with finding Julia attractive while still longing for the stability of a marriage to a man. Julia seems to be a lesbian, and her struggle to make her own way in a time that was not very kind to independent women really resonated with me. Not everyone will like their romance (Julia could be a little pushy, Margarita a little stand-offish), but I enjoyed it.

The main thing this book (originally written in 1988) suffers from is a dated approach to a "happy" LGBT ending. While Margarita and Julia are reunited at the end and vow to spend their days as one another's partners, Margarita's original ease at leaving Julia and insisting life without a men is not worth trying comes off as horribly dated to modern readers. Since this is re-issued as an ebook through Bella Books, I can imagine some modern lesfic readers picking this one up and getting pretty frustrated with Margarita's mindset. She may come off as prickly, cold, or even heartless at times--but in the end, she is a bandita whose husband was viciously murdered by white men, and she must live a careful existence to avoid the same fate. She's a hard character to love, but I loved her nonetheless.

This is a great lesbian historical read with awesome detail and a well-written main character. Just keep in time when it was written and how far we've come!

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was 20 years old. I loved it, if I read it again now I am sure the rating would be different so I am going to let the feelings I had when I read it, remain

[Archer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible! The synopsis on this book is very misleading. FIrstly, Margarita is anything but ruthless. She leaves all the killing and robbing to the men and simply sits back on her horse watching with a gun. Her main role is to scope out towns as a 'proper lady' and gain information for the next robbery, using her body as a bribe for anyone who needs shaking down. I have no problem with women using their sexuality however they want, but the synopsis led us to believe Margarita was a fearsome bandit but she is shown nothing but disrespect from her male counterparts just for being a woman.
Next there is the extremely concerning relationship with Julia Blake. Margarita continuously insists she wants independence and to be free of all men and never be hurt by them again. She hates the idea of being controlled and feels trapped by Julia and her love. This is not healthy! Whats more, Julia rapes her. It is never mentioned as a rape but what I read was definitely forced sex and it was very uncomfortable. The fact that the 'happy' ending was these two ending up together forever was awful! I was really hoping the end would be Margarita finding someone who respected her and her boundaries but it wasn't to be.
The plot fell flat not long after the bank robbery. Characters did things that seemed very out of character and for many things there was no explanation. The 'romance' was rushed, its only saving grace was the sex scenes (besides the rape) which were definitely good and exciting.
After that it became a story about struggling to make money as bakers, which was fairly boring.
Unless you're really desperate for a western lesbian book because you've read all the rest, don't bother with this one.
Try The Long Trail, instead, much much better than this drivel.

[Lo'Ren A Mayler · Rating 3 out of 5]

i was so excited to pick this book up. The writer does a fantastic job of making you feel like you are in the old west. There is so much description that it takes a few chapters to get any real story line started, not unusual for a book set in the past. And just as you are getting into the story, half way through the book, Margarita gives up being a bandit. The pair become bakers and try to make a new life for themselves.
I feel like the romance portion of the book was rushed. I understand the writer was trying to show the slow progression of their relationship but it just didn't feel right. I love the ending. It was absolutely perfect and I'm so glad it ended that way.
It was a well written book and an interesting take on how to earn a living in the west as an unwed woman, but the cover just talks about her being a bandit and that really only took up a couple chapters in the book. It wasn't about her being an outlaw really. half the book was overcoming being an outlaw and working honestly. a little disappointed.

[Patti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This historical novel is really very good. We have a female bandit and a woman who works in a mercantile. Circumstances bring them together and they face harrowing adventures. I was worried about how this would end, but I was happily surprised.

To much pride and stubbornness is not a good thing.

[Michael J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping characters

You feel the main character's doubts with her, and even until the very end you don't know if the couple will end up together or not.

[Alexandra Kasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an entertaining read. I love a good western! Even better if it’s gay. I didn’t care for the ending, though. It felt a little rushed … too quick to tie things up neatly.

[Grace Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

this book is not very good per se but it was interesting to read and i thought it was neat that the author was able to publish this queer romance in the ‘80s!

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

third act breakup made no sense and came out of nowhere like girl get it together

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was a fun read. It's about a female outlaw who took a woman hostage to help her tend to a friend who got shot during a bank robbery. The women become close and travel to a mining town to start a business that thrives. Margarita gets restless and scared and runs, her trail taking her back to Julia once more.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time loving a woman romance. Pretty good.