Grace and the Guiltless (Wanted)

by Erin Johnson

In one devastating night, Grace Milton's peaceful life on a horse ranch outside Tombstone, Arizona is shattered. Grace's family is brutally killed by the notorious Guiltless Gang, leaving her the only survivor. Alone and desperate, she sets out into the wilderness on her trusted stallion, Bullet, with burning thoughts of revenge. But when she falls foul of the elements, a young man called Joe saves her life by taking her to an American Indian camp to heal her body and spirit. She begins to learn their ways and despite all her heartache, she finds herself beginning to fall for Joe. Then she comes face-to-face with one of the Guiltless Gang, Doc Slaughter. Can Joe persuade her to start a new life with the tribe or will Grace stop at nothing for justice?

• ISBN10: 163079001X
• ISBN13: 9781630790011
• Publish Date: 1 July 2014 (first published 13 February 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Switch Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English

Reviews

[jeannamichel]

Welcome to the Wild West. The beginning serves as a rather rude welcoming for readers when Grace’s whole family is murdered in cold blood. Grace is left all alone. She doesn’t know much about surviving in the wilderness or shooting a gun but she does know that she must seek revenge for her family. She embarks on a journey to find the Guiltless Gang—the people who killed her family—and find the justice she deserves.

In truth, I have never read a western before Grace and the Guiltless. Something about the setting, the horseback riding, the cowboys—it never really appealed to me. However, it is always good to try new things and when I picked up Grace, it was a pleasant surprise. The novel had all the ingredients for a perfect Western: the cowboys, the Indians, the guns, the horses, and even the ranch away from town. However, Erin Johnson brought a non-stop rollercoaster ride that does not give readers time to breathe. The show starts from page one, with Grace’s family being murdered, and the action doesn’t end until the last page.

Grace follows in the footsteps of books like The Hunger Games and Divergent with an incredibly strong female protagonist, taking both the figurative and literal reins of her own story. Grace has guts and is driven on her journey by her family’s deaths. Readers may find her want for revenge, and the mention of her journey, a bit overplayed in the novel. The constant action keeps the plot moving and keeps readers from being too annoyed. I do understand that Grace has lost her entire family; it is extremely natural to seek revenge. Still, Johnson could have withheld the repeated mention of “my family’s dead, got to avenge them” and “can’t be happy, got to go and get revenge.”

Despite the repetition of the main goal of the novel, Grace is a never-ending adventure that everyone can enjoy. From younger YA to adults, readers will not want to stop reading this fantastic thrill set in the Wild West.

And what would a novel set in the Wild West be without romance? Yes, there is romance! I wasn’t expecting it. Erin Johnson cleverly draws her romance which leaves readers wanting more. It is the sort of romance that gradually becomes more beautiful as more pages are turned. It is both realistic and so natural.

I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Her Cold Revenge, to find out what happens next. There wasn’t as much as a cliffhanger as I would have hoped but, in this case, it was better to end the way it had been. Johnson created some suspense, while still keeping within Grace’s character.

Erin Johnson’s Grace and the Guiltless is a continuous horse-back ride through the Wild West that will keep your heart pounding way past the last page.

[Angie]

I wasn't sure what to expect going into Grace and the Guiltless, but I wound up enjoying it. Westerns are a new genre for me, but one I'm excited to try more from since I've had a fun experience so far. This one starts off with a bang! In the opening chapter, Grace's whole family is murdered and their house is set on fire. After burying them, Grace goes to town to find the sheriff. Unfortunately, he's being payed off by the gang who killed her parents and siblings, so she decides to take justice into her own hands. She overhears where the gang is camping out, so she heads out into the desert, where her survival skills are severely lacking. Luckily, Joe finds her and takes her back to the Ndeh tribe who has adopted him as their own. There Grace learns some essential skills for her mission, while also trying to be deferred from it for her own sake.

After those first chapters, I was excited for a fast paced, gun-slinging tale, but Grace and the Guiltless was more about Grace's personal journey. She is dead set on killing the entire Guiltless Gang, but that's put on hold as she heals within the Ndeh's camp. There she learns a bit of their language, culture, and some of their skills. Grace knows she has to be smart or else she's going to get herself killed, so she learns everything they're willing to teach her. She also grows close to the people, almost like a new family, despite vowing to never love anyone again. This part was slow, but interesting.

I really liked the direction Grace and the Guiltless took at the end. Everyone has been telling Grace to let go of her vengeance, and settle down. That killing all of those men will change her, and there will be no coming back. Well, Grace wants her revenge and she's going to get it! It was kind of nice to see a protagonist not be deterred, despite it being the wrong decision. Even that didn't play out how was expecting! Grace has gotten herself into something, and if she keeps going, she will be lost. It was a great twist, and I'd love to see where it goes in the next book!

In the end, Grace and the Guiltless was pretty great. I may not have been fully into the middle portion, but the beginning and the ending are completely engaging.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.