Melinda West: Monster Gunslinger by K.C. Grifant

Melinda West and her partner and lover Lance have finally saved enough money to retire from monster hunting after their last hunt. Finding a weird stone in the mine the centipede infestation had been, they rush back home to Five Peaks and their family Abel and Aunt B. But the happy couple are barely able to finish a meal before they are attacked by a group of soul sucking archanids and while Melinda, Lance, and B survive the confrontation Abel's soul has been stolen. Devastated to learn that it was the very stone Melinda found that allowed the archanids to find them, her and Lance set out on what is hopefully one last ride to save the man who has been a father to both of them. 

I thought we agreed that if a book contained things like flaming cows that would be the first line of everyone's review? Alright, fine I know it was piggy bombs but I feel like flaming cows is up there with piggy bombs ya know? Okay seriously though I knew by page two this was going to be amazing because flaming freaking cows guys!

I am going to get this out of the way right now because I guarantee this will come up: You've read this book before, you've watched this show. Supernatural fans, fans of Stoker's Wilde you'll see them in here and ya know what that doesn't matter at all because Melinda West is a badass gun slinging monster hunter and Lance is well I mean he's 100% there. Kidding okay I liked Lance I really did. They are honestly such an adorable couple and I just liked Melinda way more. She was just one of those amazing female characters who does something even though it's hard because it's the right thing to do. Throughout the book, she consistently stands up for her own code of morals even if it's not technically by the book right. This is really shown at the end of the book. 

In terms of side characters, I really loved Aunt B. She'll be fun throughout the series. But Topaz and Eloise were absolutely my favorites. They were both just so quirky, just as badass as Melinda, and their personalities played off of each other so well. I really hope we run into both of them again!

The world building is awesome here as well, you've got a lot of allusions to some very serious historical happenings in the "Wild West" including forced labor (slavery in all but name) to build the railroads, post Civil War slavery in the coal mines and the brickyards of the Southeast, and the Native American massacres that took place as well. Grifant's descriptions of the Edge creatures that inhabit the world are detailed (especially the Ice Canines which are just as freaking cool as flaming cows) and she captures that feeling of an old western with all of the absolutely cheesy one-liners imaginable (many I will be working into my real life 😅). 

I've got book two and I will definitely be reading it sooner rather than later!

As always thanks to NetGalley and Brigid's Gate Press for the eArc!