I had not read anything by Sandra Dallas before, but because her books generally receive rave reviews, and I enjoy historical fiction, I was eager to read this. Set in the eastern plains of Wyoming in the early 1900s, the novel focuses on the relationship between Ellen Webster, a schoolteacher, and Charlie Bacon, a rancher. Talk about hardships they suffered — wow! The novel is very well-written and presumably impeccably researched, telling a story that is pretty dismal — one filled with many heartbreaking moments (perhaps way too many) — and may be one of the most depressing novels I have read. Nonetheless, I found it to be an interesting read and look forward to reading another by Sandra Dallas.

What is it about stories about strong females living in a barren, untamed land with no running water or electricity? I'm not sure but that is my jam! Where the Coyotes Howl scratched that itch for me and I enjoyed every page. I read it in 24 hours, It's not going to be a 5 star for everyone, but it was for me.
The story is mainly about Ellen finding her way in a new town in Wyoming in 1916 as the incoming teacher. Of course, she falls in love immediately with a lovely cowboy, but this is where our story lays its ground. Ellen becomes a rancher's wife and begins to form friendships with many of the surrounding women. This story is about friendship and being a friend even when it is hard. The story is about coming together when things are not going right. This was a story about saving each other when we can't save ourselves.
Another aspect I enjoyed was the incorporation of two characters with developmental challenges. These characters were loved and well-cared for by their families and another example of how love shone through the pages!
I really enjoyed it. Gave me vibes of Kristin Hannah's The Four Winds and Amy Harmon's Where the Lost Wander. (The cover is identical to Where the Lost Wander...coincidence?)

I have been reading so many WWII stories that it was very refreshing to read a story set in the American plains in the early 1900's. Sandra Dallas is a tremendous storyteller and this is not my first book by this author.

Ellen Webster comes to Wyoming in 1916 to serve as their town teacher. It wasn’t quite what she expected. Then she falls in love with a cowboy. Life isn’t easy on the land, but they love each other and the women of the town are there for each other.

This is one of those books that seems to exist for one reason: to rip your heart out. While likely an accurate display of frontier life in 1916 Wyoming, it is unbearably sad. You will learn a lot about a historical time period, and how women dealt (and didn’t deal) with it, but you will also cry buckets because it’s just plain sad. I loved how it was about the women of the frontier and how they support each other.

“Except for the way they loved each other, they were just ordinary, everyday folks. Just ordinary.”

Where Coyotes Howl comes out 4/18.

I love reading stories of settling the American West. In Where Coyotes Howl Sandra Dallas has done her homework and captured the beauty and satisfaction of settling along with the hard work and sorrow. As she remarks in the Acknowledgment, she’s written a story of the everyday life. The story of an ordinary couple in a hard place. Don’t look for a happy ending- this story is real life.

I’ve often considered the life of the woman who helped raise me into the woman I am today. That was largely my grandmother. She was born in 1895 and I in 1952. Nearly sixty years separated our lives and the world was vastly different, life easier by the time I came into the world. My life has been mostly in the Rockies or on the Pacific coast, hers almost entirely in Connecticut . I lived many years just south of the setting for this novel in Northern Colorado, and first encountered Wyoming at age 18. So much of Wyoming is Great Plains and so arid and desolate that the word that always comes to mind is “Lonely.” Wide open, windy, hardscrabble. I love to think about the lives of my ancestors and others who found ways to survive what I’m certain I could not have endured. Dallas brings the lives of women who eked out life, happiness, and tremendous tragedy is circumstances and times we perhaps find incomprehensible. Having known and loved my Grandmother who would have lived and started a family in the very times of this book, it comes a little easier for me and keeps me in awe of her. This novel tells the tale of Ellen Bacon who came to Wyoming shortly after World War I and found a rare man who would love her and her alone. A woman’s life has never been easy, but this novel shows us how hard it was for those who came before us. This is perhaps the saddest novel I’ve ever read, and yet, Dallas paints the picture as it was there in the time of my beloved Grandmother. Sad, but nonetheless an accurate rendition of time, place, and the people of Wyoming.

Thank you to Sandra Dallas, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!

This is one of the most depressing books that I have ever read. The setting of the high plains of Wyoming and the hard life was depressing. The lives of the characters were depressing. The plot was depressing.

Yes, the storyline was true to the time period, but it was just hit after hit.

LUKEWARM RECOMMEND - really only if you are a Sandra Dallas fan.
2.5 stars

Her novels NEVER disappoint.
Why do we read about such sad, trying times? I believe it's because we want to see how they not only filled their days before all the entertainment we have now BUT because we want to know HOW they survived.
Wyoming is an unforgiving landscape even today, let alone when it was being settled during the "old west." era of American History.
Ellen landed in a desolate place yet found her community and the love of her life. If that is not inspiration, I don't know what is.

*Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, Sandra Dallas, and Netgalley for my gifted eARC for an honest review. Publication date 4/18/23*

Set in 1916 Ellen moves to a small ranching town in Wyoming for a teaching position. Ellen meets some wonderful friends and also a handsome cowboy, and they fall madly in love. The story is about the friendships Ellen makes, her love story with Charlie, living on a lonely prairie, love, and a lot of loss.

Initially I thought I was going to rate this book 5 stars but then about 50% into the book it starts to get real sad and depressing. One terrible thing comes after another and it doesn't stop. I loved the writing of the book I just wish it had a little more happiness in it. 3.75 stars rounded up to 4.

July 18, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on April 18th, 2022

Sandra Dallas does a stellar job at evoking the historical West — in this case a small town on the prairies of Wyoming in the early 1900s. This is the story of two “ordinary” people of time — an imported schoolteacher and the cowboy she falls in love with. It’s a hard life and frankly that makes for a hard read. The tight friendships and support structure formed by the women who often live up to an hour by horse from each other can help but not quite overcome the relentless tragedies that occur — from weather, illness, starvation, and from (some) husbands that are just plain bad. Dallas never resorts to melodrama but then she doesn’t have to — the real life stories are (mostly) pretty awful. I’ve read every book that Dallas has written and will continue to do so, but I admit that this book left me pretty depressed — her depictions so vivid that (being the emotional sponge that I am) I couldn’t help but feel sad for all my new found fictional friends.

A great page turner…Dallas has succeeded in painting a picture of this era in the Midwest.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love Sandra Dallas books! Having said that this was not my favorite.

What I loved:
1. Sandra Dallas writing style - I feel like she is telling me the story personally.
2. Historical fiction about the development of the West (Wyoming in this case).
3. Loved celebrating the grit and determination of the characters - you had to have it in order to survive the challenges of the times.

What I wished was different:
1. The romance between the two main characters fell flat to me - could be that it was historically accurate but just didn't buy into it.
2. It's a sad book - and I wasn't clear on it when I started....you need to be prepared!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The book will be published on April 18th, 2023

I enjoy historical fiction and looked forward to reading Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas. Ellen moves to the Wyoming plains to be a school teacher in the early 20th century. I haven't read anything about this era and didn't know what to expect. I was instantly drawn into her story. Life on the frontier (even at this time) was rough for women in general. From not having a safe place to live when she gets there to lonely life on the frontier once they are married. This is the story of how Ellen and many real-life women managed to survive on the frontier and the many hardships they endure.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Im torn on this book- this book is well written and I really enjoyed the day to day details of life on the prairie of Wyoming during the turn of the 20th century, but jeez this novel is BLEAK!!!
The main characters are two young people- Ellen a naive city girl seeking adventure who answers a newspaper advertisement to be a school teacher, and Charlie Bacon, a lonesome yet earnest cowboy who dreams of owning his own ranch. They don’t have a single flaw between the two of them, and fall madly in love. Charlie buys the ranch and together they make it a home. The antagonist in the book is the brutal prairie weather, and the toll it takes on the lives of those who settle there. The newlyweds have one good year then its nothing but heartache and suffering for them and all their neighbors. So many children die.
3 stars because I really hated the ending- I really felt the reader deserved better.

Where Coyotes Howl, by Sandra Dallas, is an interesting story, but I found it difficult to make a meaningful connection with the characters. While the story was enough to make me want to finish, it is not a book that will stick with me. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Another great story by Sandra Dallas!

This is a beautiful story of love, even through the tough times. It's about friendship, forging a life even when times are difficult, seeing the best in people and beyond their appearance, perseverance, faith, and forgiveness.

The cast of characters vary, but Ellen and Charlie are likeable as the main ones. There are enough characters to dislike and just as many to like. The author did an excellent job creating the people of Wallace, Wyoming.

Descriptions are peppered with detail, making it easy to imagine the settings and what's going on in the story.

Where Coyotes Howl isn't an easy read though. There are a lot of difficult circumstances that Charlie and Ellen face - ones that are a challenge to read (like child loss, domestic violence, natural disasters, death). Yet, somehow I think the author captured the hardships that people endured at the turn of the 19th century.

I received an ecopy of the book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

A new teacher in town.

Will she stay since none of the other teachers last a year?

They don't last in Wallace because it's so small, and the winters and summers are brutally cold and brutally hot.

Ellen wasn't sure how things would work, but she was willing to give this small Western town a try.

When she met Charlie, a handsome cowboy, she decided to stay no matter what.

It wasn't an easy life for her or any of the residents of Wallace.

She and Charlie made it through all the difficulties because of their love for each other.

WHERE COYOTES HOWL was a sweet but tragic, sad read.

Despite all the hardships, I enjoyed hearing the characters say they ordered from Montgomery Wards.

If you need something different with genuine characters and would like to learn of the difficult life on the prairies of Wyoming, give WHERE COYOTES HOWL a try.

You will not want to have to close the last page because of the characters. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Where Coyotes Howl is a historical fiction story set in 1916 Wyoming of the lives of two ordinary people who fell in love and endured the difficulties of life on the open plains. Strong friendships and community are essential support in this novel about the hardships, tribulations and death. This is not a feel good book. Dallas shares the reality of life out in the middle of nowhere where you are at the mercy of the weather of the plains. It’s hard to get through, seemingly unemotional and raw.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Such a captivating story! Sandra Dallas did a remarkable job of portraying what life was probably like for the homesteaders. The characters were well developed, and each so different. The plot read smoothly from scene to scene. It had it all - friendship, family, sweet, and a lot of sorrow. The author did not sugar coat the harshness of life back then, nor did she exaggerate it. The main characters, Ellen and Charlie, were young, in love, and determined to survive against all the harsh elements and obstacles. The book did not have a happily ever after in the traditional sense, but rather a realistic one. Highly recommend!
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.