The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent is the story of two young girls abandoned in the woods by their mother never having seen the modern world. When the girls attempt their own rescue they come face to face with modern amenities we easily take for granted. The story that follows entails their search for their mother and youngest sister. The story kept me interested from page one, and by the midpoint of the novel I was captivated. I loved how this story juxtaposed the setting of backwoods country with modern day suburbia. Additionally, I felt the varying viewpoints between adult and child was well-designed. The ending was a bit unbelievable, but I appreciated it, nonetheless. This was my first novel by Minka Kent, and I look forward to reading more. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first book by Minka Kent, and I really enjoyed the story and the writing.

The book weaves in the present day situations of Nicolette, a rich woman who feels her marriage to an artist may be in trouble, and Wren and Sage, two girls raised off the grid by their single mother.

Wren and Sage collide with Nicolette when the girls, who have been seemingly abandoned, must leave their home in search of necessities and safety.

I was completely entertained by both stories, but especially by Wren, whose voice is half the book. I loved how tenacious and strong she was as she cared for her sister and awaited the return of her mother and baby sister back to the cabin.

I will be picking up Ms. Kent's other books and awaiting future novels.

Thanks to Netgalley.com, the author and publisher for my advanced copy.

Wow. Wow. Wow. This is my first book by Minka Kent and I'm fully blown away! If all her books are like this, she may be my new favorite author! I read this book in one day and was totally shocked at the ending. The story was so interesting, especially with how many questions I had about where the girls came from, how the two storyline were going to connect, etc. Fantastic job! 5 stars!

I was able to read this ARC, thanks to Net Galley, but this is my honest review.

A mother and her three daughters live totally off the grid in the Stillwater forest. A place no one wants to go. The girls, Wren, Sage and Evie know nothing beyond their own one room cabin and the mysterious supply man who their mother meets in the forest. The world is dark and dangerous they are told. 

When Evie gets sick her mother leaves with to get help.  They never return. Months go by and Wren is sure they will die and then a mysterious man shows up asking questions and the girls take a chance and escape into the forest. What they will find on the other side will rock their lives.

The story is told from multiple view points and I was hooked from the first chapter! The author has a very engaging style and I was reading as fast as I could to see what happened. And at the end is when it all fell apart for me. It was so disappointing. I can suspend belief on a lot of things but this was just so real and raw and gritty up until the end that when the end came I couldn't make it sync with the rest of the book.

Solid 3 stars on this one.

NetGalley/April 9th 2019 by Thomas & Mercer

I didn't understand how the two strands in the book would merge but they do, and it's very skillfully done.
A tale of 2 sisters, alone and abandoned in the forest. Another tale of a woman who believes her husband is being unfaithful. Both tales amazingly entwine easily and believably.
Well worth reading, recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

I just love Minka Kent. This was well written, with well-woven small twists. It was such a quick read. Though, I do have to say, the ending moved a little too quickly and I feel it could have been handled a little better. It was a good twist, sure, but the coincidence a little unbelievable. I enjoyed how everything was nicely tied up, though. Overall, 3.5 stars, rounded to 4. I will continue looking forward to more from Minka Kent.

This is my first Minka Kent novel and I will deff be on the lookout for more! This novel was a fantastic page turner! I always love to hear a mystery from different views and seeing things through other characters eyes. It really adds a certain depth to the story, All the twists keep you intrigued and unable to put down! If you’re looking for a good quick mystery this is for you!!
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

WOAH! I really, really, really enjoyed this book. I didn't expect to like it that much either. With multiple POV's and something constantly going on and happening, I had a really hard time putting The Stillwater Girls down. If any one is looking for a quick read, mystery/thriller type book, this one is definitely for you!

I think what I liked about this was how outside of the box the plot-line was. It wasn't necessarily out there or something that is not likely to happen-- but it's still something that could still happen and something beautiful can come out of it. I think I liked that the most. Something awful happened to all of these characters, but the author still found some type of way to make things beautiful for them. That's an incredible talent in my opinion.

There were a couple of things that happened though that was just a little too far-fetched for even me. Especially with Nic. But, for the most part The Stillwater Girls was a superb mystery/thriller for me. I liked the continuing action and the way the story line was structured. It wasn't like anything that I have read before and to me that is a huge deal with as often as most thrillers these days all sort of sound the same.

I read this one in one sitting. The plot was quick paced, the writing smoothed along the pages very nicely, and I didn't find myself getting bored. Although a little of it was far-fetched, I still really had a great time reading this one! I hope that you do too.

Sisters Wren and Sage have been living with their mother and younger sister, Evie, in a cabin in the woods. When Evie gets ill and needs medical attention, their mother and Evie leave Wren and Sage behind. It’s been over two months and their mother and little sister haven’t returned, leaving Wren and Sage to fend for themselves. Their mother told them never to go past the woods and never ever let a stranger into the house, under no circumstance. With the winter closing in and the food dwindling, their future is looking bleaker by the day. And it gets even worse when an unknown man shows up at their door, saying he is taking them elsewhere and that he needs to find their mother. He isn’t to be trusted and Wren knows that she needs to take her sister far away if they want to remain alive—she’s sure this stranger wants to kill them.

Nicolette has always wanted a child. But unfortunately it hasn’t been in the cards for her and her husband, Brant. They made peace with never having children—proclaiming their love was always enough—but Nicolette starts to question their marital happiness when she discovers incriminating evidence that her husband could be cheating on her or, worse, that he has another child out there. Nicolette isn’t sure what she wants to do about this newfound information, but before she can fully process everything, two young women—Wren and Sage—show up to her house one morning, needing immediate help. Nicolette knows that, in an odd way, this is her chance to help young women, almost be a mother.

As police are trying to track down Wren and Sage’s mother, Wren is having doubts about the life she led in the cabin in the woods for so many years. And what’s even stranger is Nicolette’s husband, Brant, looks oddly familiar. But how could that be, considering they’ve never even met? She feels safe within Nicolette and Brant’s home, but will she ever truly escape the stranger from their cabin and will they ever be reunited with Evie? The answers to these questions could solve years of unsolved mysteries and tear apart the only life these girls have ever known.

The Stillwater Girls is Minka Kent’s latest suspense/mystery publication. The synopsis of this story intrigued me and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found the book to read quickly and I was thoroughly enjoying the dual perspectives between Wren and Nicolette, wondering how the two stories would intersect. Like other reviewers have mentioned, I found the twist came from left field. It seemed a little too unbelievable, a little too convenient. Also, after the twist was revealed, there was a lot of “telling” and not enough “showing.” Things were just explained via dialogue, rather than action, which lessened the impact for me. An enjoyable, quick read, yes, but it lost it’s “thrilling” aspect three quarters of the way through. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Minka Kent for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had no idea what this book was about when I requested it, but I am very glad that I did. It was excellent. I thought I knew what was going on and I was totally wrong Lots of twists, turns and surprises. 2 girls left alone. a woman who thinks she's happily married but discovers her husband has secrets. And what about the husband ? Is he a liar and a cheat ? Or worse ? Or is he a good guy ? And how do they all find their way together ? Such a wonderfully written story. Minka Kent really knows how to tell a story.

The Stillwater Girls, my first book by Minka Kent, is a solid 3 star: a good read, interesting, but quite flawed.

Stillwater is a forest in upstate New York in which two girls, Sage and Wren, have lived with their mother and younger sister, Evie, for their entire lives. They, quite literally, have had no contact with civilization. There are no cell phones, radios, televisions, internet - nothing. They never have seen another human being outside of the women in their cabin. At least, not that they can remember. Their mother occasionally meets up with a "supply man" who sells their homemade soaps and brings them supplies but, for the most part, they are self sufficient and adequately living off of the land around them. Until the night that Evie falls ill and their mother leaves the cabin to take her to find medical help. Wren and Sage wait....and wait.... Wren carefully marking off the days on her homemade calendar, weeks, then a month and then two. Then a man arrives at their cabin and their lives change forever.

Stillwater Girls completely had me hooked for the majority of the book. Kent is an amazing writer and the story of these girls, how they survived, their meager happiness and their fears, were palpable. I absolutely loved them. Until the final stage of the book. It was as though I was watching a ball of yarn unraveling. The storyline itself began to come apart string by string. While I appreciate plot twists and surprises, those in Stillwater Girls, felt so contrived and unbelievable that I wanted to back up and re-read it all again hoping for a different outcome. Surely all of the great writing at the beginning couldn't fall apart like this at the end, could it? But, sadly, it did. That's not to say that as whole the book wasn't good because it was. It could have been terrific, though, and it wasn't.

I appreciate the advanced copy given to me by #Netgalley, #Thomas&Mercer and #MinkaKent. I have read such great things about Kent's books and definitely will read one of her other works.

I was admittedly excited to start this book you didn't know nothing about the description or anything really except bells ringing in my head that said it was okay I'm not upset I read it.

I am a huge fan of Minka Kent and have devoured all her books. I was so excited to read The Stillwater Girls and it did not disappoint.
This is a wonderful story with great characters that kept me completely captivated.

The Stillwater Girls is a fast read. The chapters are short which makes the narrative flow quickly. Two young women are left alone in their remote cabin after their mother leaves with the youngest daughter who is ill. Months pass and they don't return. A strange man breaks into the cabin and desperate, the young women flee. They find refuge at Nicolette's house who has always longed for children. Secrets are revealed that are hard to bear, but the story comes together nicely. THe one aspect of the story that I found far fetched, even for fiction, is how one of the girls was taken.

This book was phenomenal. Told back and forth by a rich, trust fund wife trying to understand the changes in her life and a poor 18 year old left for dead in a cabin in the woods. The only thing they share is the fact that they live in Stillwater. This story is told so well and is woven beautifully. I ended the book perfectly satisfied!

4.5/5 stars

I really liked this book!

This book is a psychological thriller/suspense/mystery. It is my fourth book by this author. I have read: The Memory Watcher, The Perfect Roommate and The Thinnest Air. The author also writes under the name Winter Renshaw.

This book has two 1st person POVs: Wren (19 year old girl) and Nicolette (30 something year old woman).

The story starts off with what seems like two completely separate stories. We have Wren and her sister Sage living alone in a remote cabin. And we have Nicolette who desperately wants to have kids. She lives with her husband who is a famous photographer.

Both of these stories were compelling. And I was dying to know how the stories would become connected.

This story had some very interesting aspects. I was fascinated by Wren and her sister living in a remote cabin and being unaware of the rest of the world. I was captivated by Nic and her suspicions about her husband.

There were some very interesting twists and reveals. And overall I thought that this was a wonderful mystery. I really enjoyed this book!

Nineteen-year-old Wren lives in the woods with her two sisters, Sage and Evie, and their mother. They are living off-the-grid and are ignorant of civilization and taught that the world is full of evils. When the youngest, Evie, grows ill, their mother leaves with Evie to the nearest town to get help. They never return. Months pass and Wren and Sage have lost hope. They are running out of food and supplies and winter is coming. A strange man comes to their cabin looking for their mother and refuses to leave without the girls. If Wren and Sage want to escape, they will have to break the main rule and go beyond the forest. What they find will test their loyalties to their mother and discover secrets that have been hidden from them their whole lives.

I thought that the first half of this book was interesting but the second half, and the ending, were wrapped up just too perfect. It would have been interesting to read more about their mother and how they came to live in the woods but there was just a brief explanation for this. There were some parts of the story that I found hard to believe so it took some of the enjoyment out of the story for me. This was my first novel by Minka Kent but I'd be open to checking out more of her work.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC.

ARC provided generously by NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

Talk about a way to ruin a good book with a horrible ending. The twist...was absolutely terrible. It wouldn't even be that bad if it wasn't also entirely predictable. In order to truly enjoy a mystery/thriller nowadays, the mystery has to be pretty intricate or else I have a pretty good chance of unraveling it before the author does. Nothing ruins a mystery quite like figuring out the secrets on your own - it takes away the magic of the book. That is what this novel did for me, unfortunately.

Did you ever just want to throw a book against the wall in sheer frustration? That is how I feel now having literally just finished The Stillwater Girls. Starting off in alternating narratives between Wren and Nicolette, the book is gripping, engaging and fast moving. Wren and her sisters have been brought up in a remote cabin in the woods. When their 9 year old sister gets sick their mother is forced to bring her to town for medicine but unfortunately never returns.

Nicolette is a wealthy privileged upper class young woman who suspects her husband to be cheating on her.
When Wren and her sister, Sage escape the cabin and land on Nicolette's doorstep, the truth emerges.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book up to about 70%, in fact I was raving about it to my co-workers. Then at the 70% or so mark, a bombshell is dropped, something so farcical and nonsensical that I struggled to continue. I skimmed the last 25% of the book and characters I had previously warmed to, I was now completely disbelieving of. Unfortunately the outrageous explanations for everything ruined for me what had been a very enjoyable book

I really liked this book. There were twists that I did not see coming, which is great because I find a lot of things to be predictible

SPOILERS

I would’ve liked to see a chapter detailing the actual exchange when Nicolette gave away her child. Something that explains the very thoughts she had to get to that point. I also would’ve loved to see something from the kidnappers perspective-both the “mama” and brother. Especially brother because I wanted to see more motive for him.