Bastard of Blessing

The Legacy of Lucky Logan #2

by J.R. Frontera

He may be ready to go to Hell...
... but he ain't ready to give up...

Van Delano is still determined to free his sister from the clutches of Nine-Fingered Nan, whatever it takes. So when the outlaw queen suggests an exchange, he’s all too eager to agree.

Doesn’t matter the stagecoach he’s supposed to find is traveling a route that don’t make no sense toward the one town he never wanted to step foot into again.

Doesn’t matter the lockbox he’s supposed to steal off it just might be Old World tech.

Doesn’t matter he’s now got a bounty on his head so high every fortune-seeker in the Territories will be after him.

If he don’t get that lockbox for Nine-Fingered Nan, his sister gets sold overseas and he gets handed over to Baron Whittaker’s infamous bastard son, who has a very personal axe to grind with the man who murdered his father…


For fans of The Coilhunter series, Make Me No Grave and the Red Dead Redemption games... mount on up to continue this gritty, action-packed, heart-wrenching tale.

Genres: Steampunk

484 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 26, 2020

About the author

J. R. Frontera has been telling stories in some form or another since she could hold a crayon and draw. Her love of science fiction and fantasy originated with her early exposure to the worlds of Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, and Dune. Exploring the potential and pitfalls of humanity in future or fantastical worlds is a temptation she's just never been able to resist. She writes dark scifi, funny scifi, weird westerns, romantic fantasy, and pretty much every other genre in-between under the same name.

She co-founded a local writing group known as The Wordwraiths and is co-owner of their publishing imprint Wordwraith Books. In January 2017, after noticing a lack of writing resources tailored to fit within the specific restraints of motherhood, she helped start the Writer Mom Life podcast alongside fellow author Daphne James Huff.

She has been writing and learning the craft and business of writing for over twenty years, and fully embraced indie authordom in 2013. She has taken writing workshops with Stephen Mertz, Angela James of Carina Press, and the late Ann C. Crispin. She has short stories published in five anthologies, and her science fiction and fantasy shorts have placed in three out of four years in the Story in a Bag contest at the ConQuesT convention held in Kansas City, Missouri.

When she's not writing, momming, podcasting, or working at her full-time day job, she's often horseback riding, playing videogames, or cosplaying. She lives in rural Missouri with her husband, son, four ducks, three cats, one horse and one dog. You can find out more about J. R. Frontera and her books by visiting her website at jrfrontera.com.

Reviews

[MLW · Rating 5 out of 5]

It only takes a few lines for author J.R. Frontera to remind you just how exceptional of a wordsmith she is (and to suck you into another book)! I enjoyed this one even more than Bargain at Bravebank. Again, there is action from the get-go and the stakes just keep ramping up (Poor Van!).

I felt that Bastard of Blessing offered a little more character development (with Van reflecting on the morality of his past and present decisions) and a glimpse of where the series might be headed... Will Van's quest to rescue his sister grow into a campaign to take down Nine-Fingered Nan's entire operation? I think he's made some promising connections (Sally and her ninjas) and interesting discoveries (regarding the capabilities of his metal leg). I liked so many of the novel's side characters (hope to see them again) and appreciated the consistent thread of humor throughout (more prominent than I remember from the first book).

I AM getting mighty tired of Nine-Fingered Nan giving Van (and the reader) the runaround. Even before the epilogue, I began to suspect she had no intention of handing over Ethelyn no matter what Van manages to pull off for her... I hope he wises up early in the next installment rather than endure another book-long, against-all-odds mission just for Nan to tell him he's been "outbid."

[Rob Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fast paced, easy read as Van Delano ricochets from one predicament to another in his attempts to secure his sister's release from the clutches of the formidable Nine Fingered Nan.
As with the first book in the series, I was deeply impressed with the standard of writing and editing in Bastard of Blessing. First person narration puts the reader in squarely in Van's head with an authentic western drawl that never feels unnatural or strained.
J.R. Frontera does a fantastic job of dropping Van into one dire predicament after another, with a ruthlessness that Nan herself would have been proud of!
Action, Old World tech and toe-curling violence - sign me up for book three!

[Amy Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 2nd book in the Legacy of Lucky Logan series follows Van Delano as he continues on his quest to free his sister from the clutches of fearsome outlaw Nine-Fingered Nan. Van has been forced into Nan's service in a bid to get his sister, and in this book he's tasked with bringing a specific lockbox back to the nefarious outlaw. But it's no simple task, and even with an assortment of colorful new allies it's a challenge at every turn. There's also the most wicked of villains, and there are some points that will leave you fearing that Van's dubious luck has run out...

[D. Howlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one more than the first. The stakes were higher and Van way more entertaining and faced with more unstable, jaw dropping situations. The story flowed like a well oiled machine and I loved the characters and belly shaking conversations between them. Top notch western, a MUST READ. I can't wait to dive into book 3. Frontera is the queen of the territories 😉

[Christine Chrysogonou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only thing I'll say, Van is one lucky sob having some terrific folk looking out for him. But the things he went through in this book, good god my heart really went out to him. And Nan? I'd gladly ring her neck myself in that final chapter. All in all a very satisfactory read and that epilogue is really setting up our expectations for the future 😉

[E J McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent sequel in this Steampunk Western series.
Funny, action packed and well paced.
Van's sardonic humour in his narration is similar to Chandler's Detective Marlowe.
If you're looking for a Western novel with a modern feel, read this series!

[Marlys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great continuation to Van's adventures. I enjoyed reading this book and I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
I received an ARC from the author for an objective review.