The first of a historical Western series, Pistol Daisy is a short novel that gripped me from the opening chapter to the end, weaving the tale of Daisy Allen, which turns from sorrow to revenge. Natalia Leigh’s storytelling and writing skills have leveled up since Song of the Dryad, as I was immersed in a fast paced story and it left me wanting more.
Daisy Allen lived with her family on a Colorado farm in 1880 until the rest of her family is murdered on the night of her nineteenth birthday. I enjoyed Daisy here, she has a full character arc and makes a lot of mistakes, and she’s far from perfect. It’s clear that she’s new to the wild west outlaw lifestyle and has a lot to learn, and I felt Daisy all the way through as she changed to fit into the outlaw culture, yet still had a bit of her old care free self in there. Many of the supporting cast have good development as well and to an extent, stand out. My biggest drawback to this book is that I couldn’t get a grasp in some of the characters because there was so many of them in such a short amount of time that some of them got lost and I got confused about who was on what side. However, I know that some will get further developed in later books as it’s the first of the series.
As for the story itself, it’s really fast paced, it doesn’t spend a lot of time in one place. The plot is gripping and kept me on my toes on what was going to happen next. Even though I live the flat and tropical Caribbean, I felt like I was transported to 1880 Colorado with the mountains, countryside, horses and small towns full of saloons and brothels. Leigh incorporates all five senses in the writing process and she really dug in to give us very real characters, with Daisy having a unique voice, as well as a setting that had an actual sense of place, which is not easy to pull off.
Like Song of the Dryad before it, there are several illustrations at the start of several chapters, giving the book an extra amount of flavor and identity, and I really enjoyed the quality of the drawings. As a note, I would classify this as New Adult mostly because of the swearing and some risqué/violent content, but I think it’s suitable for an upper YA audience. I do think this will appeal to those looking for a female centered Wild West narrative, as it’s not an easy find.
Looking forward to Whiskey City and the rest of Daisy’s journey!
I received an ARC from the author for an honest review.