Author Sandra Dallas shines once again as readers of Where Coyotes Howl follow the life-changing steps of Ellen Webster Bacon in a setting not for the faint-of-heart. What began as a wild idea to leave teaching in Iowa to fill a teaching position in a remote Wyoming town will show Ellen what she is really made of. Her relationships with the townspeople, especially those in poverty, give her the courage to carry on and flourish regardless of bad weather, bad crops, illness or death of a loved one.

Cowboy Charlie Bacon appears as Ellen's love interest, and together they will develop their own homestead, even as they lose two infants of their own. Their inner strengths and the support of the small community will see them through.

Also important to the story are the women who suffered not only the hardships of never-ending toil on the frontier, but the physical abuse of husbands who saw these women as little more than work horses, having a baby every year, suffering belittlement and never having anything to call their own. Ellen and Charlie will do what they can to ease the suffering of these women who have little or no recourse to stop the abuse.

Another strength of the novel is the Gurley family, who might be considered the "wealthy" family of the town. They may have more land and cattle than anyone, but they are just as hardworking and down-to-earth as those they employ on their ranch.. Their support of the townspeople is demonstrated in a myriad of ways without fuss or drama.

Sandra Dallas will, hopefully, continue on for many years to share this kind of story, and readers will continue to appreciate her sharp eye for life in the West.

Where Coyotes Howl
by Sandra Dallas
Pub Date 18 Apr 2023
St. Martin's Press
Thank you to NG and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I love Sandra Dallas's writing. She puts a lot of thought and research into her stories. This one is no different. I was so happy when I was approved to read this story. I'm glad I did. Talk about the hardships, sadness and pain so many went through to make a life at dry farming back in the early 1900's. This story has it all. Follows Ellen with her dream of being a teacher out on the prairie. Then she meets and falls in love with Charlie Bacon aka Fatback. Their love is true and inspirational that withstood so much as a newly married couple. Sadly (and I mean very Sadly need a box of tissues or two or maybe three as you read their story and the story of all their friends) the story does not end as a typical happily ever after. That's what makes this story so real. It's not sugar coated, it is bare bones true grit prairie living. There are times where the reader will smile (I did) and will definitely cry (my eyes were stinging). A very emotional moving story of love and loss. Highly recommend! I do have to add at first this book left me thinking What the!? But then I read the Acknowledgements and it fits perfectly.

Where Coyotes Howl painted a beautiful image of life in the West. The love story between Ellen and Charlie was full of emotion and events, highs and lows. Every character was relatable and the story was full of constant reminders that the “simple life” isn’t always so simple.

Thank you NatGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this beautiful story.

I’m so grateful to NetGallery for the opportunity to read this book. I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d like it when I started it because it was about cowboys and their lives in Wyoming, but I couldn’t put the book down. I laughed, I cried and then cried more. It was such a good book. I loved hearing their stories. I felt like I could feel the extreme cold during the winter months and dreaded the cold along with them. It was survival of the fittest for sure. I had no idea how hard life was for them and women going crazy doesn’t seem that far fetched because I may have gone crazy too. Between the harsh land, the extreme cold and loneliness, the terrible men it sounds like it was not a place for most women. It was a sad book but it had so much raw emotion which drew me into it more.

I received an ARC of Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas thanks to Netgalley.

I enjoyed this look at life in the west - in the early 1900s this was certainly a desolate barren place which could easily break someone. Ellen Webster certainly did not expect to find love when she took a teaching job in rural Wallace, Wyoming. The book easily moves through the years as Ellen and Charlie face many hardships. Ellen gets to know her neighbors and their families, she suffers a miscarriage, mourns the loss of frends and generally makes a life for herself and Charlie in the hardscrabble country.

“There is a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn’t that kinda the point”
I cannot think of a better line to sum up this beautiful book.
Life in Wyoming in 1916 isn’t easy. Ranch hand, Charlie, takes one look at the new school teacher, Ellen, and falls in love. As the years pass the couple and their neighbours try and make a go of life in an inhospitable but beautiful land.
Not dramatic, not over the top, just the lives of ordinary people.
My grandmother was raised on the Canadian prairies and this feels like the type of stories she or her family or neighbours would tell. This was a one sitting book because I could not stop.
Sandra Dallas has artfully captured a moment in time.
Thank you to Netgallery and St.Martin’s Press and Sandra Dallas for providing me with a free copy of this book to review.

Wow, I had no idea what to expect from this one, but it ended up being better than anything I could've dreamed. It was a heartbreaking exploration of life in the West, and every page hurt my heart. There were triumphs. There were losses (way too many). But I ended up connecting to every single character. I loved all of them. I wanted them all to end up happy, and even though that's not what ended up happening, I loved this. I'm so happy I picked it up, it was the perfect read.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Where Coyotes Howl
Sandra Dallas

This is the story of Ellen Webster a schoolteacher in Wallace Wyoming. The area and Charlie Bacon, a cowboy, stole her heart. The year was 1916. Ellen loved the life of a rancher’s wife even though there were many hardships. Charlie and Ellen faced everything together strengthening their relationship and their love for each other. Ellen and the other ranchers’ wives bonded and offered each other support during illness, harsh weather and tragedies. The wives of the other ranchers didn’t all have it quite so easy. Many the husbands were not supportive or so loving as Charlie. Many were forced to come to Wallace. The women share each other’s woes and help one another.
Author Sandra Dallas reminds us of what it was like to live in the early 1900s. Life was simpler, and the work was hard. Back then people took care of each other, they put their differences aside and stood together. While this is an entertaining book it could also teach people today more than one lesson. Help each other, stand beside each other, be willing to go the extra mile and work hard. Perhaps people today need to be reminded what life was like. Perhaps some harsh realities would benefit people today. Instead, today we are cruel to each other we search for differences rather than seek what we share in common. I will step off my soap box and continue with the review.
Author Sandra Dallas paints a word picture of life in the past. I found it easy to connect with the characters in this tale. I wanted them to survive, to thrive. This is the first book I have read by Sandra Dallas. I look forward to more.

Sandra Dallas has been a favorite author for years. This novel proves her masterful storytelling. The novel takes place on the eastern plains of Wyoming, a tough place to live. Romance brews between the new schoolteacher and a rancher as the prairie comes alive in all seasons in the town of Wallace.

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas -I have read and loved every Sandra Dallas novel since I found The Diary of Mattie Spencer and this new novel is no exception. It reads like a novella, smooth and flowing with so much packed in. You get hooked and before you know it you have read for hours and are done. Ordinary people living in unforgiving Wyoming. They may have been ordinary but had to be tough just to exist there. I loved the characters who all lent to an outstanding read. Thank you Net Galley for the chance to read this book.

Where Coyotes Howl is a lovely saga about two pioneers that fall in love and remain devoted to each other their entire lives. Despite terrible loss and hardship, they support and work on their relationship at all times.

Ellen and Charlie meet when Ellen takes the position of school teacher in a small Wyoming town. Charlie is a cowboy on a nearby ranch and they soon fall in love.

This is my second book by Dallas and won't be my last. She has a gift for putting you right in the story and immersing you in the lives of the characters she creates. Such a dissolute landscape to try and make a living and raise a family, but many people try. Some make it, some do not and you feel the triumphs as well as failures in this incredible story. Have some tissues ready as you enter this world.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Where the Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas is a historical fiction novel. The story follows the lives and marriage of Charlie and Ellen Bacon. The couple met in Wyoming on the plains in a small town where Ellen was hired as a teacher. Charlie was a cowboy on a nearby ranch and courted her. Their love story was one of quiet constancy. Their life on the plains in a house where they were dry farming and running a few cows on their ranch was one of simplicity and hardwork. Ellen made friends with the neighbors and was strong in her desire to help others. Charlie was a hard worker providing for his family on an unforgiving land. Together, they seemed to weather the hardships and faced forward with hope.

To me, the book gave a beautiful account of life in the Wyoming plains. The harsh beauty of the place and the hard work and pride both Ellen and Charlie took of their lives. The book was well written and drew me deeper and deeper into the story. Where the Coyotes Howl required tissues so be prepared. Where the Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas was a good read.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Sandra Dallas has a way of writing stories that are historically acurate and draws you in from the very beginning. I stayed up late finishing this story. I was engrossed from the first page with the characters. I must say that it was a very sad story- I found to be a bit depressed at the end. Understandably the west was hard and life was hard, but I felt that the author could have given us a smidge more hope to be left with at the end. But overall I enjoyed reading the story. Thank you for giving me an advance reading version.

Another "winner" by Sandra Dallas. A young woman, Ellen, teaching in Iowa would like some adventure in her life. She sees an advertisement in the local paper looking for a teacher in Wyoming. Ellen decides to apply for the job, not believing she will get it, however, Ellen does. Nervous, excited she boards the train for Wallace, Wyoming. The adventure begins when a tall and handsome cowboy, Charlie, rides up on the pretense of getting one of the students and he immediately falls in love. Their life story is worth every minute of reading. You don't want it to end.

I really enjoyed and devoured this book!

I normally would never read a "western" story, but I had read a previous novel by this author, so was not surprised that I fell in love with living in Wyoming and these incredible characters in the early 1900's.
This time in history was not easy, yet people shared as best they could and were "true" neighbors.
This novel is heartbreaking, yet hopeful and so elegantly detailed that I now want to go to Wyoming for a visit in the Fall!
I encourage anyone who likes historical fiction to give it a try.
I am so glad I did!

Thank you to NetGalley and #St. Martin's Press for this ARC and allowing me to provide my own review.

I was excited to receive an ARC of Sandra Dallas’ upcoming novel Where Coyotes Howl to review. I have enjoyed her books before and get lost in her storytelling. Where Coyotes Howl is not only the love story of Charlie and Ellen, but a peek into the challenges of life on the Wyoming frontier in the early 20th century. Harsh winters, brutal summers, the “rules” of the wife in marriage, survival in all ways, shapes and forms. As different characters would pop into the story (or reappear), it felt almost like how audiences would cheer or jeer for plays and silent films of the time. You are rooting for the poor, hurt, or underprivileged. You are hissing “boo” at the ones who are lazy, cruel, and people you just wouldn’t want to be around. You will find tears in your eyes when death visits one household or another. You truly step into what life was like at the time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy. Opinions expressed are my own.

#netgalley #arc #sandradallas #wherecoyoteshowl #stmartinspress

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh, what a devastatingly sad little book this was. I don’t think anything good happens in the whole story, just one depressing thing after. I’m sure this was just how life was in that specific time and place, and it was well-written and entertaining, but I was not in the right headspace to read it.

This is a great book…fantastic historical fiction written by a talented and gifted author…I want more of these…I did not want it to end…I wanted to keep reading about this couple…this book was sent to me by Netgalley for review…thanks to the publisher for an electronic copy…I could not put this story down…it reminded me of my favorites, Little House books… not the tv show…the books…family and friends…teaching..love and romance…children…births…losses…living hard…loving well…no judging please…if I could give this book a ten, I would…I will reread it…I hope others don’t miss this journey with Ellen…cozy up in a comfy chair, grab a warm Afghan, a cup of herbal steaming tea…be transported back to the days of old…

I loved this story. Sandra Dallas has done a wonderful job of depicting what it must have been like to come to the west from a more civilised place. The dryness, openness, remoteness. Wonderful characters and a touching story. Well done.