A Longer Fall by Charlaine Harris

This is an AU fantasy western. I haven't read the first book in the series but was able to figure most everything out and jump right into the story-- for what there was.

Rose is guarding a chest on a train with a bunch of other mercenaries. This being a novel, everything goes wrong, there's an explosion, a bunch of people die, and the chest disappears. Whoops.

While tracking the chest down, Rose encounters a Russian wizard prince with whom she's had a fling named Eli. Their search takes them to a fun (not) racist town where it starts to seem like the disappearance of the chest was part of a bigger conspiracy.

So here's the thing. The beginning of this book was great but the middle is slow as syrup. It's literally just Rose and Eli wandering around and talking to people and eating at all the diners. I lost count of how many times they stop to EAT. It's... a lot.

I really like the Sookie Stackhouse series and even though I can admit it's not the best written story out there, part of its charm was the action-packed storyline laced with tons of romance and erotica. This appears to be Harris's attempt to branch out and tell a more serious story and while I respect that, it's so dull and boring that I kind of wish she'd opted for trashy and fun instead.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!       

2 out of 5 stars