I loved the alternating storylines and the characters in this one which created an intriguing plot .

Fast and easy read. I couldn't put it down! Loved the characters and storyline. Don't miss this one!

The Stillwater Girls by Minke Kent

This book had me intrigued from the beginning - I loved that the chapters changed between two different characters, Wren and Nicolette, and we found out about the lives they were living.

One storyline describes an isolated life in a forest, with a mother leaving two of her daughters behind as another becomes poorly. The other storyline focuses on another woman who is married to a successful husband but is longing for a child. Whilst reading these two storylines, I was kept guessing as to how they com would come together and when they did it didn’t disappoint!

This books kept me reading, and whilst I felt that the ending was a bit rushed, the rest of the book progressed at a good pace, with twists and turns along the way.
I would definitely recommend this to other readers, and warn them to clear their diaries as this books will be devoured in one sitting! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Disclaimer: Thank you to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for the complimentary digital copy in exchange for an honest review of this book.

Wow. You think you know but you have no idea.
So dark and twisted. Tragic and sad.
Just when you think you can put pieces of the puzzle together, more pieces are dumped on the table.
I couldn't put it down. It was amazing!

I volunteered to give my honest review in exchange for a free copy of the book. A mother and her 3 daughters live in a cabin in the woods off the grid. The girls are isolated, and they only know what their mother chooses to teach them. The youngest daughter becomes ill, and the mother leaves with her to get medical attention. After a few months, the girls must leave on their own, because they are running out of food. A man shows up before they leave, and they are terrified. He says he's going to take them. They escape him, and they run away through the woods looking for someone to help them. This book made me angry, sad, happy, and more. Just when you think you can guess what is going to happen, you are surprised. I can't wait to read more of the author's books.

I went into this book based on the recommendation of a fellow book blogger on Twitter. Word of mouth books are the best, aren't they? I hadn't read anything by Minka Kent in the past so knowing my fellow book blogger and I had similar tastes, and with a brief read of the blurb, I grabbed a copy. Going in, I expected a creepy suspense read and ended up with a hard-to-put down domestic thriller with a twist that I didn't see coming.

The plot has two, equally balanced, story lines. The first, has a creepy vibe as readers are introduced to two teenage girls, Wren and Sage, who have been abandoned by their mother in a remote cabin in the woods. The second story line has a very different feel and follows Nicolette, a young woman who is married to a successful photographer and longs for a child. As the book progresses, readers get the points of view of Nicolette and Wren and as these two stories merge together, pieces fall into place (although probably not where you thought they would) which result in an enjoyable, twisty read.

I read it almost in one sitting so prepare to get nothing else don't once you turn the first page. You have been warned! This is an engrossing read that handles two narratives well and while some aspects were predictable, the twists that Kent throws in made this an engrossing page turner for this seasoned suspense reader.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Thomas and Mercer for providing me with a complimentary digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Two girls are left to survive in a remote cabin after their mother doesn’t return from taking the youngest for medical attention. Wren and Sage are sisters or so they thought until a strange man appears at their door. After his arrival they discover part of the truth about their family and some of the lies they have believed. Terrified at contact with the first man they can remember seeing they plot to escape his control and find their family as they know it.
Nicolette lives out of town met and had thought she had met and married the man of her dreams. After a series of events she suspects he is having an affair and the suspicion threatens to occupy every moment of her day and destroy her marriage. She sets out to uncover the truth and it is far from what she imagined.
This story grabbed hold of me right from the start and I didn’t want to put it down. I even read in the bath (strange I know). Some readers might guess what is going to happen, but I certainly didn’t. In one sentence this is a fantastic story, loved every page and what a gripping storyline. Full marks to the author.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of the book in return for an honest review.

What an amazing read !
The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent is a full length, standalone romance novel with thriller elemenmts. A story that had me glued to the pages, made me, yes made me read it cover to cover in one sitting. I simply couldn't put it down. It was insta-love.
This author is new to me, but The Stillwater Girls 'll not be the last book I read by her.
Wren, Sage and Evie grew up isolated and sheltered. They know not much about the outside world. When they're forced to decide, stay and die or go out and look for her mother and little sister their big adventure starts. On the other side is a couple, Nicolette and Brant. Both are successful, but there are starins on their marriage. When the girls show up on Nicolette's doorstep everything is about to change.
The Stillwarter Girls is a story full of twists and unexpected turns. I was so sure knowing who's the villain and who's the victim. But in the blink of an eye everything changed and nothing was like expected.
This book is masterfully crafted, poetic beyond words, excellent written and beautifully thought out, beautifully told and beautifully everything. It's nothing like expected and much more I could ever had asked for. My favorite read in 2019 so far. I highly recommend this wonderful book and wish I could give more than 5 stars.

Minka Kent brings us an interesting and exciting tale told in the first person, alternating chapters, by 34-year-old Nicolette, wife of photographic artist Brant Gideon, and Wren, oldest of three girls being raised in upstate New York off the grid and in very primitive conditions by a single mother. Time is pretty modern, Wren is 20, Sage 18, and Evie is 9. None of the girls can remember even going to town. Their whole world is the homestead they inhabit, the goats and chickens that provide them with eggs, milk, butter and cheese, and the unseen man who meets their mother in the woods with the occasional order of supplies.

Until Evie becomes dangerously ill with a soaring temperature and difficulty breathing. Mama bundles her up and heads into the late night woods, looking for help. Sixty-three days later, Mama and Evie have still not returned. Food is running out, the chickens are dying and winter is just weeks away. And with the first light snow comes a strange man looking for their mother. His is big, mean, and dangerous - that man Mama has always warned them about, wandering in from that wicked world she has always protected them from. Wren sprinkles ground up sleeping herbs on his serving of the baby goat he killed and made her cook, and while he is passed out she and Sage take his well-equipped backpack and escape. The only problem is where can they escape too? Neither can ever remember leaving the clearing the cabin is centered in.

Luckily the first place they come across is that of Nicolette. And Nicolette, motherless since an emergency hysterectomy when she was 25 and home alone since her husband is off on a photo shoot in South America, has been getting set up to become a foster parent to needy kids. Wren and Sage in their threadbare homemade nightgowns and hunger-induced thinness with no knowledge of electricity or indoor plumbing or kitchen appliances very much qualify as needy. All three of them very much need each other. But where is their mother? And where can Evie be?

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Minka Kent, and Thomas & Mercer. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have voluntarily read and reviewed this novel. This is my honest opinion of this work.
pub date April 9, 2019

I absolutely loved this book. I found the story to be unique and the characters compelling. Thank you, Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful story.

I was intrigued by The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent. It had a great start that really piqued my interest. If only that could've continued throughout the book. The plot quickly lost steam, and by the ending of the book the "shocking twist" was, for me, more of an eyeroll as it turned out to be more of a soap opera-esque ending than a thriller. All-in-all The Stillwater Girls wasn't terrible, but really wasn't great, either.

WOW! Loved this book! From the very first page until the last. I couldn't put it down! Will definitely add Minka Kent to my list of must read authors.

The story opens with Wren's story - her mom and little sister have been gone 73 days leaving her and her younger sister, Sage alone in an isolated cabin in the Stillwater Forest. Her mother has isolated them from the world- warning them constantly about the dangers beyond the treeline.
The story switches to Nicolette - childless due to an emergency hysterectomy almost 10 years ago, a fragile person. She and her husband are applying to become foster parents but she senses her husband's resistance. And then she discovers something hidden in his sock drawer and various things in their life start not adding up - what secret life is he hiding from her?
I found myself immediately hooked with these two divergent story-lines. Wondering how they were connected; coming up with various theories as I read and discovered more information.
When the two stories connect its like the 1880's meeting the 2010's. And you simply can't put it down. The theories you developed earlier start multiplying like moths. Rapidly growing so that you want to hastily page through to find the answers, but you make yourself slow down; breathe and read every word on each page. And OH BOY!! It is worth it!
I loved how the story switches between the two women and the pace it moves at is astounding. Even though every chapter switches between the women, you don't loose the thread. Every chapter gives you just a few more of the pieces every-time to start putting things into place. The end brings all the pieces together and is so satisfying. The actions of each woman, even Wren's mother whom we never "meet" are explained in a sympathetic manner and you leave the book with a better understanding of grief; postpartum issues and how the human mind functions.
One of the most amazing stories I've read in a while. A satisfying read with a few tears here and there too. This is one of those stories that will stay with me a long time.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the opportunity to read this brilliant book.

This is the first book I read by this author but it won't be my last. This book grabs you right from the beginning and doesn't let go. This book surpassed my expectations completely. I couldn’t put it down even though I thought I had it all figured out, I was of course wrong! It pulled me in almost right away and kept me interested until the very end. I would highly recommend this book to my friends and followers!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and #NetGalley for an advance copy of #TheStillwaterGirls in exchange for an honest review.

Three sisters live off the grid with their mother in a little cabin in the woods. Not a single modern convenience in sight. Until one day the two older sisters, Wren and Sage, are left to fend for themselves. Their mother has taken the youngest daughter, Evie, to town to find a doctor to get medical attention.
They don't return.
After months of living on their own the girls are forced to leave the cabin to find help. They show up on Nicolette's doorstep looking cold and hungry. Nicolette is having her own problems with all the signs pointing to a cheating husband that may be about to leave her.
This is where everything you thought you knew unravels before your eyes.
I have to admit that I guessed a good part of the ending but just couldn't see how the author was going to tie it all together. Minka Kent did a great job of entwining the stories of the sisters and Nicolette together and giving the reader just enough information to lead them on a slow reveal to the truth.

This book was a surprised. I found it less "mystery" and more just drama- until the story got going. It's two POV's - One is Nicolette. A wife who wants to be a mother. However, an emergency medical situation and a hysterectomy at a young age has left her looking for options like adoption and fostering. But with each discussion she has with her husband about her hopes and fears, the more he pulls away. She wonders if there is more there and she is ready to find out what it is.

The other POV is Wren, a young girl living in an isolated cabin with her sister. Her mother left with her sick younger sister and has not been back. And as the days go by, Wren's food is dwindling and the weather is only getting colder. She's running out of options and ways to keep her and her sister a live as they wait for their mom to come back.

It's hard, at first, to see how these two stories are related. It's an interesting tale that held my attention and kept me wanting to know what happened. But I didn't find the "mystery" or the "thriller" part compelling, more of my interest lay in the family drama aspects and how resilient Wren was. It was good and I'm glad I gave it a try.

This is the first Minka Kent novel that I've read, thanks to an advance readers copy from NetGalley. I enjoyed it, even though it wasn't what I expected. The publisher's blurb for The Stillwater Girls uses the phrase "chilling psychological suspense," and I don't think that served the author well.

Yes, the story is filled with suspense and there are several mysteries to puzzle out. But the tone of Nicolette, one of the narrators, is at times almost chirpy, and felt more suited to a romance than a thriller. Nic was otherwise likable, but her circumstances were a bit too close to perfection: no money struggles; a handsome, famous husband; a dream home. The only things that mar her life are her longing for a child and her suspicion of her husband, Brant.

The other narrator, Wren, is a young woman who is thrust abruptly into 21st-century life from a close approximation of 19th-century existence. Wren's combination of practical intelligence and naivete won me over, but it seemed she transitioned a bit too quickly. Just days after first encountering electricity, television, etc., she comments in her first-person interior monologue, "Now I've been granted an all-access pass by Grant himself." A few other such false notes of sophistication dimmed my pleasure in the story.

A promising start, intriguing middle, and weak ending...

My first thought after beginning The Stillwater Girls was that the synopsis was a bit misleading, as starting in chapter two, there is an entire dual storyline narrated by a woman who isn't even mentioned in the synopsis! However, the feeling that I was reading two different books didn't last long, as the connection between the two became quite obvious the further I read. In fact, being able to easily figure out where the story was heading was a common theme for me while reading this book--which was not a positive. I was expecting to be in suspense with this book, eagerly anticipating every twist and turn, which was sadly not the case. Despite that, I was interested enough in the plot and characters to keep reading and see how the story ultimately unfolded. Although I didn't see the final reveal coming, the fact that it was so unbelievable left me skimming the last 25% as my interest waned.

Ultimately, I was entertained by the characters and their unique situations, but ended up hoping for a little more suspense and a more realistic ending.

I was captured from the beginning of this book and wanted to keep reading. There is a dual perspective so you just have to remember whose perspective you are currently reading but I became attached to this characters and the situations they were going through. The twist that came at the end was something I never would have guessed. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

WOW what a thriller! The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent was WOW everything you could ever want in a book!
The Stillwater Girls is two stories that weave together throughout the book while uncovering more parts of the two stories! And lets talk about this ending….ok no I will def not be talking about the ending but one word WOW!!!
This book is a must read and I really look forward to reading more from Minka!