Customer Reviews

Coyote Cowgirl

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Just read this book for the joy of reading! It is so great! You will have a tough time not reading it from cover to cover once you start it. The writing style is so darn enjoyable, the characters very real, even the talking crystal skull, Crane! Don't let this one get by you!

If you disregard the age of the heroine, you can give this book to your YA readers and they'll enjoy it. Consider it a late bloomer coming of age tale.

Jeanne La Flambeau is the daughter of a famous family of chefs who run a successful French-Mexican restaurant called Oui-Si. Sadly, Jeanne can't really cook and can't even eat in front of people.

When her boyfriend Johnny (also her adopted cousin) steals the ruby scepter that's belonged to her family for years. Jeanne decides to take the painted skull that fits into the scepter and make the recovery herself before she tells her parents the valuable heirloom is missing.

Jeanne's journey allows her to discover her resistance about food and truths about her own family as well as how they fit into the Native American mythos.

The story is well written. There isn't musch world-building for a fantasy, since the author is using New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico settings as a basis, but the interior connection to the myths is fascinating.

Like every family, the La Flambeaus don't just have a crystal skull, they have more than one skeleton in the closet. All is revealed by the end, setting the kindred on vastly different courses than they'd imagined.

One thing to note is this novel is a reprint. It would have been written vastly different if cell phones were more prevalent as they are today.

I think "Coyote Cowgirl" could have stood just one more editorial pass. The character Miguel gets a hilarious name change in the middle of the novel among other small issues.

I enjoyed this a while back when I read it on a friend's advice. I often think of it while I'm cooking something up, and recommend it to friends who love urban fantasy, native American mythos, cooking, or just stories about moving into an adult relationship with your family. I just picked it up on Kindle so I can have it in my traveling library.

Lots of fun, this book was. It gets better as you get into it, unlike some which start to fizzle, this one starts to sizzle. Reminds me a little of the Carlos Castenada books I read back in the 80's.

I loved every page of this book. It is full of great humor, fantastic recipes, exciting adventures, and wonderful descriptions of the Southwest. Once I started reading it I did not stop until I got to the end. I want to have my very own traveling companion just like Crane!