The Winter Family by Clifford Jackman

This book reminds me of Games of Thrones if it was set in a western setting. There's lots of death, and lots of interesting drama to keep you interested.

I'm not crazy into westerns, but I love reading in different genres so I don't get bored reading the same old, same old. So this read was refreshing, even if I'm not the typical "target audience".

The book's setting is around civil war time, which is not a setting I see often of (at least in the books I typically read). For me, this setting worked well within the story. I enjoyed reading all of the descriptions of the locations and people of the time and Clifford Jackman did well within this setting.

While this book is fictional, a lot of the scenarios that happen in the book (brutal, almost R rated scenarios I might add) were situations that happened to people. It was incredible to read, but it rips your heart out knowing some of this did happen to people back in this time. The history was on point despite being fiction. It's not totally Wild West fiction if my review makes you believe that, but it's a "western" style near the Civil War (not men on horses shooting everyone like those old movies).

I definitely want to see Clifford Jackman write more - I thought this book did well within it's genre and was a good read. He was skilled at writing blood and war without a hero or antihero. It was just a novel following someone's life in a dark western-esque era. It didn't knock my socks off and turn me to the western genre, but it was worthy read I'd recommend or suggest my local library pick up for other readers.

On point Clifford! Keep up the good work! I can't wait to see you grow as an author!

Three out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.