Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Review: Water Horse (The Nightmare Saga #1) by Katie Hanna

About the Book
A girl on the run. A rancher with a shadowed past. An immortal bent on magical domination.

Meg O’Shea just wants to escape the nightmares that have chased her across the Atlantic. After breaking out of the Colorado State Lunatic Asylum, Meg finds refuge in marrying a local landowner… but her new husband has his own ranch-load of problems.

George Calhoun is a rancher, not a detective. When one of his cowboys is murdered, he’s thrust into an unfamiliar world of danger and deception. Throw in a failed first marriage and a new wife with plenty of secrets of her own, and George is in way over his head.

Sigurd Mahres has one goal: to rule the world through nightmares. But his key source of power has just run off to the Wild West…and gotten married. To hunt her down, Sigurd calls on a reluctant ally: a band of Irish water horses freshly arrived in the Colorado mountains.

In this deadly chess game, the winner must unlock the secrets of the new magic seeping into the Wild West… before that magic consumes them all. If you love ancient Irish legends and rip-roaring Western adventures, you won’t want to miss Water Horse.


MY THOUGHTS

I absolutely loved this book! It’s one of the best I’ve read this year. The prologue instantly hooked me, and I was engrossed in this fascinating story until the very last word. I enjoyed the writing style. I was pulled right into the story, and the real world faded away. The worldbuilding was superb. Familiar, but so much more. Magical and terrifying and exciting.

I’ve never read anything like this. It’s an excellent mix of fantasy and western combined with Irish legend. I’m not usually a big fan of westerns, but I loved this one. It’s such a unique take on one, and I enjoyed every second of it.

The characters were intriguing and three-dimensional. The good guys were easy to like and root for, and the bad ones fit the role of villain to perfection. I liked the fact that there were three different POVs. And I loved that they were each so distinct. When I had to stop in the middle of a chapter to tend to real life, I was able to identify the narrator almost instantly, which isn’t usually the case, especially when they’re written in first-person POV.

I can’t say enough good things about this book. If you’re looking for a unique historical fantasy that will keep you glued to the pages, you’ll love this story. I highly recommend it!

I received a copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

FIVE STARS

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