A bizarrely hopeful book about finding your power! I was intrigued from the start and uncertain what would come. As secret after secret was exposed, I continued to get sucked back in. What I thought would be a modern take on a Western turned into a band of misfits taking on their demons - both past and present. I would have loved more about Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Wong as they were very interesting characters! I also felt the end was a tad rushed but left me satisfied. Overall, a great read for many different genres!

Thank you NetGalley, Random House, and author Victor LaValle for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fast paced story with unforgettable characters. While Adelaide doesn't exactly arrive alone to her homestead plot in Montana, the barren, frigid landscape makes life difficult for a Lone Woman. Thankfully she soon makes friends with her neighbor Grace, her son Sam, Bertie the local moonshiner and her partner Fiona. Together these women struggle to survive in the Montana badlands. I don't want to give away too much so I'll leave the plot description there.

In the early 1900s 1914 to be precise, Adelaide Henry left California to homestead in Montana. A simple statement, yes, but it hides so, so much of the great storytelling here. Adelaide brought something with her to Montana, something other than pots or towels. A secret in a large trunk that she won’t, can’t talk about. Instead she begins her new life in the wide open lands, slowly meeting some people in this desolate area. Until things begin to go wrong.

The author blends historical fiction, western tropes and horror to make a very readable, interesting and compelling story that pulls you along, wanting to know what happens next. There are heroes and villains, and, for realism’s sake, many who combine some of both. Why have I never heard of Victor LaValle before? My oversight for sure! I will be looking at his back list now.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the paranormal, some horror without excessive graphic descriptions. The writing simply flows smoothly and the descriptions of Montana’s empty spaces are beautifully eerie.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book was excellent. It draws you in right away and just when you think you know what is going on it changes. Each part was it's own story but also part of a cohesive read. I really enjoyed it all the way to the end. The story is well written and keeps you both right there with the characters and wondering where it will go next. I can't say how much I enjoyed this book. I am going to look up the author's other work.

I'm always interested in historical fiction that highlight how life was for people of color during different time periods, particularly those that follow Black folk. This interest was served in Lone Women which infuses the horror in the main character's heavy family secret along with her lonesome journey as a homesteader in Plains region of the United States.
Overall, I found the novel did a great job in maintaining a desolate experience and atmosphere while also showing how important the few community connections she makes are for her ultimate safety.

Obviously Victor LaValle can write. That's not in question. But I do question whether or not he should be writing from the perspective of a female character. As a woman, I was so scared for Adelaide at every turn. Every time she was alone with a man (especially a white man), I held my breath, but she seemed unfazed by it. Was this the horror I was supposed to focus on in this book? I don't know. But a female character written by a woman would definitely have been more aware of the threat of physical or sexual violence.

This may be my favorite horror book this year - a delightful weird western, it tells a lot of stories very economically and with passion and verve. Elizabeth is a favorite.

I read this entire book, which is uncharacteristic for me because I usually abandon books that I dislike this much. I kept hoping that there would be a point to it. There isn’t. It is not horror. It is not historical fiction. The story of these women could have been told in a realistic manner (without the spooky thing in the trunk) and made a good story. But I just hated the way this was written. The author has gotten great praise. I don’t get it. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

This book wasnt anything like i thought it would be. It was sooo good. I thought it was a historical fiction book and it was sooo much more!

Lone Women is a western historical fiction and horror novel with a splash of WTF. Seriously you'll scratch your head wondering what you've read, but in a good way. I loved it so much! I had no idea that women could land without men around the 1900s. Set on the desolate landscape on the Montana in 1915 where you're miles away from your neighbor, Lone Women focused on women who set out to Montana for their own trace of land alone or ended up alone on their homestead. It's about so much more than that too.

I loved LaValle's writing and found myself transported into the Western landscape through his prose. While this is a very divisive novel on how many feel, I found myself unable to put it down and clamored for a time I could read more. LaValle is a new-to-me author, but I can't wait to dive into his backlist.

Defies description! Best and most original book I’ve read/listened to (audio version—narration was superb) in a very long time. 5 solid stars! I literally can't describe it other than to say that it is was brilliant...and different...and you should absolutely read it (do yourself a favor and get the audio version)! (Note -- I am not an easy grader...I generally give books I really liked 4 stars, because there's always room for improvement, right? Not this time.)

I was really loving the beginning of this story due to my love for historical fiction. And although I knew that something horror-like was coming, I was extremely disappointed once it did.

This is the second novel I've read by Victor LaValle. He is definitely a skilled writer however I felt as though the story could have been more intriguing. Once I got past 100 pages there still wasn't much going on that made me want to continue the novel.

Adelaide Henry burns down her home and flees with a large, heavy truck, heading to the empty land of Montana in 1915. She is there to take advantage of the free land, so long as she can survive long enough to claim a right to it. But in her trunk is her family's secret, one they have kept her whole life, and one Adelaide desperately needs to keep secret in her new home. Adelaide makes friends with the other lone women trying to conquer Montana, but the west is full of dangers beyond the one she is trying to keep secret in her trunk, and Adelaide and her other lone women will be tested in their fight to survive.

LaValle has crafted a great combination of the horror and western genres. He assembled a fantastic collection of outcasts and memorable villians to face off against each other. Presenting a more diverse and progressive version of the West is a lot more fun to read. The tension escalates constantly throughout the three sections of the book. The setting of 1915 Montana is so richly detailed despite the vast nothingness of the character's world. My only complaint is that the ending is a little shorter, but its only because I wanted to spend more time in this world with these characters. I could not put this book down once the twists started coming, and they didn't stop until the grand finale of the book. This book will be great for fans of the horror or western genre who want to explore a little of the other.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for a copy of this great book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to love this but it was a disappointment for me - and maybe that’s on me. This book just left me feeling super confused? Like did I miss something in there? Also, despite being just over 250 pages, this was a slow, hard to get into, read and took me longer to finish than some 400+ page books. I enjoyed the main characters and I was definitely along for the ride trying to figure out just what was in the trunk. But there were a lot of side stories that didn’t feel necessary and ultimately the big reveal just left me more confused on what exactly was going on.

Of note, this is horror coupled with mystery coupled with historical/Western fiction. But it didn’t quite coalesce. Points for originality, but overall a let down.

LaValle's story of monsters and the different ways they can manifest was truly engaging. Staging it on the frontier in the time of homesteading was clever and served the setting and plot very well.

The title too played a major role in the structure of the story. Women on the land, by themselves, working and supporting a family or going it alone, forming queer relationships, and coming under scrutiny of acceptance; before overcoming violent persecution to form a community of like minds and experiences.

It was really interesting to see how he used hierarchical control to ensure a kind of sheep like obedience, how this one couple used their riches and overtly influenced the members of the town with promise of prosperity and belonging, closing out anyone who did not meet what their requirements were.

Seeing Adelaide finally come into her own and face this secret that her parents forced her to carry with shame and denial was satisfying. Forming bonds with women who made decisions that went against the grain for themselves and the ones they love was also appreciated. His choice to also include the queer relationship between two women at a time where they could very well be put to death shows that women have been loving for themselves within restricted and bigoted societies for ages.

Lone Women was a really interesting novel with a unique storyline. This book was not quite what I was expecting, but I still found myself intrigued and ended up reading this book in a day to see what was going to happen. It was a bit more supernatural for my taste, but others will likely really enjoy!

My favorite books are those that evoke a unique vibe and setting in my mind, and Lone Women is one of those stories that will be living rent free in my head.

This story follows Adelaide Henry who is fleeing to Montana in the early 1900s with a trunk that carries her secret, her burden. Her goal is to survive this brutal landscape as a homesteader to eventually prove up and gain ownership of a claim of land.

At times isolating, this story created an uneasiness and a feeling of impending doom in me as I read. I was scared for her both from what she lived through and what she will go through as a lone black woman in the wide expanse of land that is Montana. All in all, this was a dark and exciting tale with important discussions of race, family, womanhood, sisterhood, LGBTQ+, and life.

Normally when I write reviews, I try to do it the same day I finish a book, while my opinion is passionate and the information is fresh in my mind. However, this one I had to sit with a bit, and to be honest, I still don’t know how I feel about it. Don’t get me wrong, I thought it was a great book. I loved the characters and the story line, I loved the various different genres combined together in a way I have never seen before, and I loved how the book made me think. However, I’m still thinking, and I don’t think I’ll stop anytime soon. There’s so much symbolism in this book, and coming from the perspective of a white female, I can see some symbolism from a feminist perspective but of course I can’t relate to the BIPOC characters so I’m letting their experiences linger for a bit so I can learn from them. I think this book has a lot of potential to be a book people will continue to read and talk about for years to come. I’d be very interested in hearing more about the authors thought processes and ideas as he wrote this book. I’m sure I’m not grasping all the messages he put into it but I’d love to expand my horizons and learn more. I’ll be looking out for future interviews he may do to help me have a better grasp, but in the meantime, I’m going to let my mind continue to digest.

I spent a large portion of this book thinking WTH is in the trunk!! I was obsessed with knowing. So it definitely had a hold on me.

Adelaide Henry makes her way from California to Montanya, along with her huge, heavy steamer trunk. She's looking to start over with her new land she got through a government program and will be one of the "lone women" cultivating her own land. Her parents have died (and that's a whole story) and she felt she needed to leave California. She gets set up in her new home, along with that dang steamer trunk. A trunk that has to remain locked at all times, for safety.

I don't even know what genre to classify this one. But whatever, I enjoyed it. I went in blind and I'd suggest that as the way to go.

This book had a good mix of likeable and unlikeable charcters, and each made me feel some kind of way about them.

This author did an amazing job of settting the scene in this dark and creepy story, and you will feel like you are a part of it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House, One World and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.