I'm a huge fan of Anne Bishop's Others world and I was so excited for this book. Unfortunately, I had a hard time getting into the story and ended up putting it aside at the 45% mark. I'm hoping it was just a mood problem and I hope to pick this up again in the future. I did buy an ebook so I can try it again down the road.

Very original voice, this series has everything you could want in a fantasy series. Anne Bishop is a must read author!

Anne Bishop's books are always great. This was a great addition to her Others series and fans will not be disappointed. I'm looking forward to the next book.

Not sure how I feel about it. I'll need to reread before writing a review. I did love Joshua's storyline and the mixed family storyline. I liked seeing Jesse again and getting to know Barb and Jana better. But....it was darker and more depressing than the Courtyard books. I also can't buy into the whole stones business; it really pushed believeability. Yes, this is an urban fantasy and much of it essentially unbelievable but Bishop deftly made those elements work. Except for the whole stones thing,. That just...never came together

2/1/19 I liked it a little better on the second reread but it's definitely my least favorite of the series.

The Others series by anne bishop is one of my favorites. It defies many conventional genres, I wouldn’t know where to put it. This was a great installment. I hope she does more.

After Lake Silence, I was deeply unenthused to read Wild Country, but I had an egalley already because I was so sure I'd love these (oops), and I felt like I had to at least try. I did decide, however, to return to audio, since that's where I started on this series. Thankfully, Wild Country isn't bad; it's not as good as The Others (just slightly weaker than the concluding novel in the series), but it's okay.

Wild Country takes place over pretty much the exact same timeline as Etched in Bone, but it's set in Bennett, a frontier town that The Others had wiped out and is now rebuilding with good humans. A few humans and others moved from Lakeside, so there are some familiar people in the cast. That and some of them were in the earlier books, though not main characters, like Jessie Walker. It helped to have a basis in the cast, which the first book in the spinoffs did not have.

That said, one of the things still missing from even this book is that the characters are not as lovable as the original group. There IS a romance in this installment, and it's...fine? Jana and Tobias don't really have chemistry, but they're inoffensive as a couple. It's unfortunate that Jana has better chemistry with her boss, Virgil Wolfgard. But on the plus side, their dynamic is SO similar to Meg and Simon's that it would have been kind of awful for Bishop to do that exact thing again. Which is why I'm shrug about Tobias, rather than opposed.

The plot once again deals with evil, stupid humans coming in to try to defeat the Terra Indigene and take over. The evil guys (and they're always men) are, of course, patriarchal and sexist as hell. I mean, obviously, I totally believe in this, but it would be nice to see a plot where Bishop does something else? Maybe some actual dissension in the Terra Indigene or something? It's not that it's bad or unbelievable for the world, but the plots feel very same-y by this point.

Otherwise (lols), I do begin to tire of certain things. The female characters all seem to be either deeply virtuous or a stereotype of a mean, scheming woman, and if she's scheming, she dies. It's not nuanced. The exception is Terra Indigene women who can be as powerful and dark as they want. That said, there is actually sex in this book, and casual sex no less! So that was interesting, and the woman didn't get punished for it, so that's nice. There's also a gay couple that moves to the town in this book. It's not enough to make up for how incredibly heteronormative the series is, but it's something?

There's a tweeness to the writing that worked really well with Meg as the focal point, because she had a very understandable innocence, but that doesn't work as well with the main focal point being other humans. Jana's a cop (a shocking thing—I get that Bishop's making a point about how evil the patriarchy is and one way the Terra Indigene are better is that they're not patriarchal, but jesus why do even the nice humans have to be so gender roles-y?). She worked her way through a male-dominated program. She was bullied and persevered. But her segments are still just as cutesy as Meg's. Ditto for Jessie Walker. I'm grateful to see the focus be on human women with different traits, unlike what Bishop did in Lake Silence, but it still doesn't totally work.

Alexandra Harris again does a wonderful job with her audio performance. Overall, my feelings are somewhat mixed but, despite my complaining, I did like it more than I didn't; it's just that my expectations were high and they were not met. I wish she'd just go back to Meg and Simon, change up the narrative style a bit to match the lead, or leave this world alone tbh.

Returning to the world of The Others, Anne Bishop writes about this enticing world through the eyes of another protagonist. This time we have events that may feel familiar to readers who have read the previous book, LAKE SILENCE, as the timeline coincides with one another. I really love it when authors do this because it shows off their talent and expertise. Bishop pulls it off well, creating an interesting storyline that feels familiar yet different at the same time.

While some of the books have a lighter tone to them, this one has a bit of a darker, more serious one. I like the contrast because readers who prefer this style will also be able to enjoy the series. Bishop knows how to handle tone well and she is readily able to switch back and forth whenever she wants to. This is a trait that I admire and enjoy reading whenever she decides to change it up. WILD COUNTRY is another excellent installment to a series that I will never get tired of!

I always enjoy Anne Bishop's books so I don't know why it took me so long to read this series. The Others series is probably my favorite series by Anne Bishop and while I like this book in the series I miss Simon and Meg. As a whole though the characters are great and the world is fascinating. This series reminds me a bit of her Ephemera series mixed with Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series and Patricia Briggs' Mercy Thompson series. I am reviewing this book based on an ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

I love Anne Bishop's writing style and characters. This book was possibly even better than the prior books. The characters were so well written and the plot was intriguing and flowed smoothly. I am super excited to see what comes next and I'm not sure how I will manage to wait for the next book!

“Humans. Couldn’t live with them. Couldn’t eat them all.” Humans chose to begin a war with the Others but those Others that died in the first wave of human attacks were the shifters. They were the buffer between humans and the primordial beings who had never been tainted by human interaction. Those Elementals and Elders came out of the wild country of Thaisia and the other continents to cull the humans who had proven themselves too treacherous to live.

Like Lake Silence, the previous book in the World of the Others’ series, Wild Country is not set in Lakeside. It is set after the culling however and it features a new setting and new protagonists who are negotiating how to live cooperatively in this new frontier. Wild Country takes us to Bennett where we see the human, Intuit and Other residents of a frontier town face off Wild West style with the dregs of humanity when a grifter clan of murderers, swindlers and thieves decides Bennett will do for their home base of operations.

This is a gripping book that allows readers to see a different side of human and Other interactions. I highly recommend Anne Bishop and all of the books within the world of the Others’ to fantasy readers.

Solid world building from a first rate author. The continuation of the series does not disappoint. I would like some of the characters from the original series to return however.

I always enjoy returning to The Others world, and WILD COUNTRY was no exception. I especially enjoyed this look into a different town with new characters, but a few returning favorites, and that the timeline ran parallel to Meg's last book. Seeing things from a different perspective is always interesting. It added an extra element to getting to know all of the new characters. I particularly loved the dynamic between Jana and Virgil, and their little Wolfguard pack. Seeing Virgil the alpha Wolfguard trying to figure out how to navigate and deal with a female human member of his police pack was nothing short of hilarious. It definitely added the perfect amount of levity to tense situations in this plot.

It is fascinating just how incredibly stupid some people are in this world. The Others have proven time and time again they are top of the food chain, and yet so many idiots think they can run the show. While sometimes this series at a first glance may seem formulaic with new idiots trying to take things over each book, each new set of "idiots" brought an entirely new element to the series. I have to say the villains of this book may just take the cake in the stupidity, greediness, and absolute arrogance department. The world surely doesn't suffer fools. It was like a train wreck I could see coming a mile away, but I enjoyed every minute of seeing it unfurl.

Anne Bishop has done it once again, and WILD COUNTRY is another fantastic installment in The Others series that is not to be missed!

I love Anne Bishop and I loved the Others series but Wild Country didn't measure up. Much like the previous Others World novel, its a good book, a bit slow to start, and unfortunately there just wasn't any one character I really connected to.
I love the Others books because we fall in love with the people but Wild Country didn't grab me. Its beautifully written so if the description sounds like something you'd enjoy I'd suggest giving it a try, it just didn't hook me unfortunately and I found this installment too easy to put down.

Anne Bishop has done something a little different with this story. WILD COUNTRY is set in the world of the Others and if you’ve read the previous book, LAKE SILENCE, then I’m sure that you’ll recognize some of the events that happen in this book. The timeline coincide with one another and I personally really love it when authors do things like this because it shows off their talent as an author. It’s hard to keep timelines straight as it is but to have two books happening at the same time really gives the readers a different perspective on the world.

While I enjoyed this book, I probably enjoyed the previous book more. I felt like the narration of this book might be the reason. It was a little more serious and more straightforward than I would like. However, I think readers who may have thought that LAKE SILENCE was too much might enjoy this one more. So I guess it really depends on your level of taste for the protagonist.

I’m still not sure if I like this books over reading about Meg, but I do think Bishop has a very unique world here and I don’t think I will ever get tired of it.

I love The Others series and this one that's in the same world. I adore the original cast, but also enjoy getting to know this cast, as well. I love how it overlaps.

Wild Country is the 2nd book in Anne Bishop’s World of the Others series. Though it’s set in the same world as the Lakeside Courtyard, and features many characters we’ve come to know and love, it’s set in Bennett, which readers of the Lakeside Courtyard books should recognize. This is the book I thought we’d get after Etched in Bone, as it runs parallel to the events there.

It took me the entire week to read this book, which is completely unheard of for me. It jumped around quite a bit, so I think I had a harder time connecting with it than I did with the previous books in the series. Still, I love this world and I was glad to see some of my favorite characters return. Wild Country picks up about the time Cyrus Montgomery arrives in Lakeside in Etched in Bone. We see the events that happen in Lakeside from a different perspective and see more about the inhabitants of Bennett.

In the land of Thaisia, there are very few human controlled towns, and no human controlled lands. The Terra Indigene – The Others – control everything that comes from a natural resource. Shapeshifters live in Courtyards in human controlled cities to keep an eye on what the humans are doing, and to act as a go-between for The Elders – the truly terrible Others that live in the wild country. The Humans First and Last movement brought death and destruction to many towns by attacking The Others, thinking the shapeshifters were the only Others out there. Bennett was one of the towns The Others made an example of. Tolya Sanguinati agrees to go to Bennett to try to reestablish the town, with the help of Intuits – humans who have an overdeveloped sense of intuition and often “know” things before they happen – and shapeshifters. They agree to allow some humans into the town, but The Others are distrustful.

Wild Country follows Jana Paniccia, Jesse Walker and her son, Tobias, Barb Debaney, and Tolya Sanguinati, all of whom we were introduced to in the previous series. I was ridiculously excited to see how Jana would fare as the first female cop in Thaisia, and how Barb would do with all the animals in Bennett. The whole series is really dark, but the overall tone is still..hopeful, I guess. Like, all of this bad shit happens, and all these dark things are explored, but each book ends in a…not happy, but hopeful place. I didn’t really get that here. The world is very well drawn, I feel like I’m living in Thaisia with the characters, but I didn’t end it feeling super happy or glad for them.

There wasn’t as much humor in this book to balance out the darker aspects, so it didn’t end on the hopeful note Etched in Bone and Lake Silence did. The lack of trust the The Others have in the humans made perfect sense, but I wanted to think they’d realize some were different – especially those who put their lives on the line for The Others. I also thought Jana and Barb would have more common sense, or better intuition about danger. I was frustrated with them on a number of occasions.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book, because I did. I absolutely loved how Virgil Wolfgard came to see Jana as his pack, I loved the cast of characters and the way this story played out in connection to Etched in Bone. Bishop is a master at world-building, and like I said, I could easily imagine everything that was happening on the page. Though this isn’t my favorite in the series, I can’t deny it was well done.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

When Ann Bishop kicked off The Others series, I was so blown away by how much I loved Written in Red. As new installments published, I enjoyed some more than others. Generally, the earlier books were my favorites. While I think I liked this book more than I expected, it didn’t enthrall me quite so much as this series is capable of. Don’t get me wrong. It was good. It was just missing the kind of connection you get from a strong central main character.

I would say all of the Bishop of books I have read were ensemble pieces. But, I still felt like I knew who the story was mainly about. Generally, the first part of the series was about Meg. Lake Silence was primarily about Vicki. Here, I couldn’t tell you who the lead is. Maybe Jana (?) the new police officer who has come to the town of Bennett to serve under a wolf Sheriff. She’s probably the closest, although her POV scenes only make up a fraction of the book. The characters are interesting and eclectic, and they all weave together for a cohesive story, but I was missing some of my emotional investment.

This book takes place in a different town they open the first spin off does and is a little further back in the timeline of the series than that book is. If you go in knowing that, I don’t think you will be confused, but it is an interesting choice on the author’s part you go back and revisit the events of Etched in Bone from another perspective.

This is one of the towns essentially wiped away of humans by the elders and now Tolya Sanguinati is responsible for working out whether it can exist as a highbred place for humans to live alongside with the terra indigene. It features a wolfguard sheriff, Virgil, and his brother Kane, along with a new Harvester who is trying to control her powers while opening a frontier-style saloon. You may remember Barb, the sister of the cop from the original series who got placed somewhere safe. Bennett is that place and she is featured prominently. All these folks along with some Intuit people are just trying to feel their way through making a life together. The foil comes in the form of an outlaw group determined to make a haven for themselves.

There is a tiny romance thread, but it is indeed tiny. Because with so many characters taking a turn at the microphone, it’s a small piece of an already small piece of the pie. But what the book lacks in a deep connection to one character, it makes up for in it’s outstanding worldbuilding. We get such a great cross section of Others here and Bishop does an amazing job really fleshing out the various terra indigene. As always, their “otherness” makes the books sing.

Worth reading, for sure. But it for me, it felt like the one-off it is.

Rating: B

Thank you netgalley, for my copy of Wild Country in exchange for my honest review.
I read The Others series by Anne Bishop a few years ago and totally fell in loved. I loved her take one on of my favorite genres and I was more than happy to jump back into this world.
First, I would highly recommend reading the first books in The Others series before reading this.
After many humans in the world are annihilated in an act of retaliation , ghost towns are starting to be resettled. The others and humans are coming together, trying to reach a precarious balance and live in peace.
I enjoyed getting back to this world and catching up with a few familiar faces, but I did miss Meg and Simon lol. I definitely was happy that this book continued the storyline of the blood prophets, as I was very curious to know how they were settling in.
This was a very enjoyable read that I def recommend. But read the other books first!! Available now!

Four and a half stars: Another exciting and riveting read with a whole new group of The Others.

The town of Bennett was completely wiped out by The Others after the Humans First and Last Movement murdered members of the Wolfgard. Now the town belongs to The Others, and they have been allowed to resettle it with permission from the Elders. Tolya Sanguinati, the mayor, is in charge of selecting the right humans to fill the roles in the town. He has help from Virgil Wolfgard, the town sheriff, and his brother. Virgil struggles with his role of sheriff and policing the humans. Things get worse when Simon sends a human, Jana Paniccia, to serve as his deputy. Jana and Virgil tangle a few times as they both learn to deal with one another. Meanwhile, the humans outside of town are trying to recover from the devastating decimation. That means thieves and swindlers are hunting for new prey, and one of these gangs decides to make trouble in Bennett. Will this new threat break the fragile alliance between the humans and The Others?
What I Liked:
*I am always thrilled to immerse back into the world of The Others. This new book, The Wild Country, takes place in Bennett after the decimation by the Elders. The events in this book occur simultaneously as the events in Etched in Bone. I loved getting to know the new characters and the town. If you haven’t read this series, what are you waiting for?
*It was fun to see Bennett resettling and reorganizing. I liked seeing who was being let into the town, and what their roles would be. Many of the characters in this book mirrored the characters back in Lakeside. The leaders are a vampire, a wolf and a plague rider, just like in Lakeside. There are also many humans who are willing to work with the Others. I loved the diversity. There was even a male couple with adopted Other children including a young blood prophet. I am excited to watch this town grow, and get to know all the characters.
*It took a little time for me to recall the time line as it has been two years since I read Etched in Bone, but once I settled in, I had no problems. I would highly recommend reading the first series before delving into this one, I think you would be lost.
*I loved watching the relationships between the humans and the Others unfold. The working relationship between Virgil and Jana was hilarious. It reminded me of Simon and Meg, except that Jana has much more bite. I loved that Jana always had a chip on her shoulder as she believed she needed to constantly prove herself. She wasn’t afraid to go toe to toe with her big bad wolf boss. *There was plenty of struggles, misunderstandings, and then finally a hesitant friendship. I can’t wait for more.
*Just like with the first series, there is plenty of tension between the Others and the humans. There are humans who are willing to live amongst the Others and learn to work with them, and then there are the bad humans. I love the fragility of the relationships and the tension that arises when things go wrong.
*The world of the Others is captivating. I can’t get enough of this world. This is a fantastic series.
The book ends in a good spot after another cataclysmic human and Other confrontation. After the dust settles, there are losses and setbacks in relationships, but hope for the future. I cannot wait for more!
And the Not So Much:
*I still am on the fence as to how I feel about the town having so many characters similar to the ones in Lakeside. Even though I liked the similarities, I felt like this was Lakeside being reinvented. I am hoping for more diversity as this series progresses.
*I struggled with the Others letting the evil Blackstone humans come to town in the first place. They knew before they arrived they would cause trouble. Why did they let things get so out of hand? It honestly didn’t make sense to me. The threat should have been eliminated right away.
*I didn’t like what happened with the wolves. It shouldn’t have gone down that way, especially with the warnings.
*I have to admit, I was a tad disappointed that there wasn’t really any interaction with the Lakeside Courtyard. I wanted Simon and Meg and Vlad.....
*Even though this is a spin off series, I would not recommend trying to read this book without having read the first series of The Others. Several of the characters were first introduced in that series, and several of the plot lines intersect with this book. Start at the beginning and enjoy the ride.

Wild Country was a new and exciting addition to The Others series. I loved getting to know the new characters as the town resettled. There is plenty of action and tension in this book, just like in the other series. There is so much to love about this series from the characters, the world building and the action and danger. I am a huge fan of this series, and I cannot wait for more! Don’t miss out, read this series!

I received a copy fo this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for this review.
Posted@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Anne Bishop's series of recent novels slowly expand the world of The Others, drawing on characters who have appeared briefly in the series and following them onto new adventures and challenges. This one centers around another small community, a newly established one, and its occupants. As ever, she creates a well-rounded and multi-faceted look at what it means to be in a community of people whose differences can cause fractures as well as build bridges for connection. This world is comforting to me now, familiar and constant, and I struggle between wanting to devour and savor each one.