Book Review: Rattlesnake Road

I got an advanced copy of Amanda McKinney’s new novel Rattlesnake Road recently and could not put it down! I was sent the novel along with a little stay-at-home pampering care package including Godiva chocolate, tea, a lavender bath bomb (this makes a lot more sense when you read the novel!), and a small candle. It also came with a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies, which again makes a lot more sense once you read the book. This was seriously perfect for me because as you guys know I was sick with Covid at the beginning of the month.

Rattlesnake Road is a mystery romance that follows narrator Grey Dalton as she leaves her life behind in New York City and tries to start fresh in Berry Springs, a small southern town. But, moving to a new town doesn’t erase her past. She may be leaving behind a failed marriage, personal tragedies, and a traumatic and dysfunctional childhood but they are still part of her whether she likes it or not.

In her new cabin that badly needs renovating, she finds letters in the wall. Disturbing letters. They sicken Grey to read but she can’t stay away. Do they connect to her present at all?

And in the midst of all this is of course a steamy romance that we can all appreciate! Two new men enter Grey’s life – Lucas Covington, a rich, slick, handsome man in a suit that reminds her of her life back in New York and Declan Montgomery, a man born and raised in Berry Springs who may not be able to offer her all the riches of the world but perhaps understands her better than anyone ever has. Oh and he’s pretty hot too according to how he’s described 😉

The story is so good and engaging and will keep you interested the entire way, waiting to see what will happen next. And while there are a good amount of steamy, sexy scenes one of my favorites was one that was pretty tame comparatively, but for some reason I just found to be the best. Early on in the story, Grey finds herself in need of help with her car. She arrives at Declan’s shop and tries to play off the fact that her flip flop is stuck to the garage floor by a piece of gum. He walks over, lifts her foot out of the gum, takes her shoe to clean, and slips it back on her foot. I know that sounds like nothing, but it’s one of those scenes you just have to read for yourself!

There were two quotes from the novel that I noted because they really resonated with me:

“The reality is that our lives are not our own. Instead, our lives are a culmination of events, most of which are out of our control, governed by the ripple effect of our reactions to those events.”

“Loss makes us stronger, makes us see things we might not have otherwise. Sometimes loss leads us to what we really need.”

I mentioned at the start of this post that I couldn’t put the book down and that’s totally true. I would be up late reading and it’s one of those books where you keep telling yourself “just one more chapter”. I don’t want to give anything away in the book or say too much about the plot, but I really loved reading this book and need to check out more books by McKinney.

Rattlesnake Road is out on May 4.

*I received this book complimentary, but all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.*