4.5 mysterious western stars

This book is difficult for me to categorize, it’s definitely historical fiction and has mystery elements. It’s also labeled as horror, which usually doesn’t work for me. However, this book managed to check all my boxes and the horror elements were integral to the story. There is a great setting, terrific characters, and great writing.

Adelaide Henry leaves California behind with just a satchel and a steamer trunk. She’s 31 and still lived with her farming parents until they decided to confront a huge family secret. Now she’s headed west, lured to Montana by homesteading offers.

It’s 1914 and she finds that she’s not the only one making a new life. She befriends a few neighbors and works on making a homestead while a windy and snowy winter looms. All the while, she keeps the steamer trunk locked so that the secret stays locked away as well.

There are some shady characters in town, and we get to know some of them. As odd things begin happening, the town turns against Adelaide. This one builds to a chilling conclusion and ended very differently than I thought it would. I liked rooting for the lone women in the American West. I am glad that I went outside my usual comfort zone to read this one.

Okay so prior to reading I didn't realize this was not my usual genre. That being said the book description sounded like something I would enjoy. There was a LOT to unpack with this book. The beginning is a woman leaving her home in flames. And honestly from there things just get bizarre. The book kept me interested enough to finish but I can't say I liked the book. Again not my normal genre so please take that into account if you think you may enjoy this book.

The writing was done well, I just didn't enjoy the story. It seemed too much for me I guess. There were topics that seemed out of place for story set in 1915. (Again my opinion) I felt like the author was trying to cover too many topics at once.

Thank you to One World and NetGalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Blending historical fiction, shimmering prose, and inventive horror", this is my first read by this author and it won't be my last.

This story keeps the reader off balance and is one of those 'I can't go to sleep until just one more chapter' kind of books. Totally engrossing, hoping for the best outcome but not truly comprehending the full scope of the characters and their situation.

4.25☆

I think I expected this book to be more “historical fiction” than the fantasy it obviously was, but it was well written and worth the read regardless. Basic story summary is a young woman, Adelaide, is on the run with a big ass trunk full of calamity. Things happen, bad and good, characters are added and subtracted, often in a violent fashion. The ending was not a disappointment. As previously mentioned, this book was billed as historical fiction/horror and Mr. LaValle definitely has an interesting way with words and I appreciated the dialogue; it was quite contemporary which made it more relatable to current day readers, although it probably wasn’t especially authentic. Oh well. The story was interesting and entertaining enough to keep me reading to the end and even to seek out more works by this author. I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Interesting story of the trials and tribulations encountered by women trying to settle in Montana. A woman loses her parents and gives up their farm to buy a claim on a patch of land in Montana. She takes a very large and heavy trunk with her. And a secret.

Victor LaValle weaves a compelling narrative around the idea of homesteaders. He fills the early 20th century Montana landscape with characters that westerns don't always focus on, but who tamed the land all the same. Lone Women gives us historical horror in the vein of Alma Katsu, mixing authentic frontier characters with supernatural chills. Pull up a seat, prepare to invest yourself, and whatever you do, don't open the steamer trunk.

I just finished reading Lone Women and all I can think to say is, WOW! I very rarely read books in the horror genre, but this one slowly pulled me in before it grabbed me by the throat, shook me, and didn't let go. This is a story of destruction and survival, with the land and the weather being two of the most cruel and deadly adversaries. But, something even more deadly is lurking close by and treachery and danger hide around every corner.

In 1915, at the age of 31, Adelaide Henry leaves California under mysterious circumstances with one small travel bag, a large, heavy, curious steamer trunk, and a lot of secrets. She travels by wagon, ship, and train to begin a new life and settle outside a small town in Montana. Strange things begin to happen on those wide-open plains, and it is anything BUT Little House on the Prairie!

This book was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Fans of the horror genre will be sure to find this story gripping and compelling.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing - One World for giving me the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC of this book. I will be posting this review immediately to my Goodreads account and to Amazon and Barnes & Noble closer to the publication date.

Having read three books by VIctor LaValle before picking up LONE WOMEN, I had some idea of what I might find within these pages. But, as always, he continues to surprise.

LONE WOMEN is about the stories we tell each other, the histories we forget, and the folks who live on the outskirts of society. As I've come to expect, Victor LaValle creates sense of place with such ease, you can almost feel the gale force winds and see the big open sky of Montana. Adelaide, our main character, is running away from her former life, and bringing her "curse" along with her. In order to move forward, there are some secrets that need to be told, some burdens, lifted.

I hesitate to get much more specific because I find that LaValle's books are best enjoyed if one just goes along for the ride. I will say, he's never afraid to get weird, and for that, I will continue to read what he puts out.

This is a fantastic historical horror fiction.
This may be my first by this author but it won't be my last.

thank you to net galley for the chance to read and review this page turner!

This book is fantastic. I actually liked Adelaide & those who befriend her. For some reason most of the books I've read lately have unlikeable main characters.

It has mystery, supernatural elements, murder, corruption, family, community, brutal land, history, tenacity...

This book is very women focused & I appreciate it. They are written well. There are multiple characters under the lgbtq+ umbrella. There's a precious neurodivergent boy.

I cackled a few times. This book has my kind of humor. Paraphrasing: "I must have been BLIND!" & "I've wanted to do this my whole life, but it wasn't allowed."

This was my first Victor LaValle but it will not be my last! A page turning horror that kept me on my toes as it made so many bold moves, this has a lot going on thematically but still manages to entertain throughout. I think this would have been even better if it had limited its POVs, but still, very impressed and I think this will be a crowd pleaser

Sweeping, fast moving, spooky, heart warming. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and look forward to reading even more of the authors work!

Loved this so much! Shame is such a powerful emotion.

Already a Victor LaValle fan after reading The Ballad of Black Tom, but this new book is so good I'll be preordering all future LaValle books.

The story is part historical fiction, part horror. I loved both aspects and thought both were evenly balanced. Not too much horror and not too much historical fiction that gets bogged down into the minutiae the reader forgets the main story. But the creepy bits are creepy!

The writing is smooth, minimalist, and gets to the point. Not much waxing poetic about the landscape or detours into side storylines that go nowhere. Every scene and situation is there to build up to or place the ending into context.

The characters are hard and rugged, as you'd expect from pioneer women. But there's a shared pain that bonds. Something readers will empathize with and keep them reading, wanting more.

One word of caution: The opening page will grip you, but from 2% through 30%, you may wonder why you picked up this book. The story builds slowly. STICK WITH IT! Because at 31% your socks will be blown off, and you won't put it down until you finish.

I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Story: 5 stars
Character Development: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars

Review Copy

LONE WOMEN is how the west was won. By strong women, by women on their own, by women of color. This is the story of Adelaide Henry, who in 1915 left the family farm in Southern California to homestead in Montana.

That's all you get. That may seem pretty lame, but trust me, this ain't Little House on the Prairie. It's as far from it as you can get. Victor LaValle wrote like a demon a penned a story that was exceptional.

Part horror, part fantasy, part historical fiction, a bit paranormal thrown in LONE WOMEN should be pre-ordered and read cover to cover the second it's received.

I can't wait for his next book! He is awesome. An incredibly gifted writer. Five shooting stars for LONE WOMEN.

An amazing fantastic tale that follows a woman of color from her home in Southern California to a homestead in the prairie at the beginning of the 20th century. As many books I have read recently, this book touched upon some very interesting ideas - sexuality, race, differences, disabilities, and the behaviors of people. I greatly enjoyed this book because it took an interesting and new, fresh look at a time and place we have all taken in a lot of media regarding : the wild west. The writing and characters were amazing. We follow Adelaide Henry as she escapes...something. Or does she? The story was so relatable despite the fantastical elements, and I would highly recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed frontier writing but wants a science fiction or fantasy element added - you won't regret it!

This ebook was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lone Women is the latest novel from author Victor Lavalle, one of the more accclaimed - and deservedly so - writers out there over the last few years. His Lovecraft subversion The Ballad of Black Tom was a brilliant take on one of Lovecraft's more racist stories and his novel The Changeling was just absolutely brilliant in its dark modern fairy tale. That latter novel dealt not only with modern racism, but the refusal of society to listen to women in New York City, and Lone Women promises similar themes...except this time in a Western setting out in 1915 Montana.

And the result is similarly spectacular, even if it doesn't quite reach The Changeling's heights. Lone Women tells the story of women attempting to take advantage of the government's giving away of land to anyone who would grow on the land for a specific (3 years) length of time. More particularly it tells the story of women who are outcasts for various reasons, who don't fit in "normal" white cis hetero society, such as its main protagonist Adelaine Henry, a Black woman haunted by a monster she carries in a steamer trunk, but also a bunch of others. And the story really works as it combines its western setting with horror tropes to tell a story of racism, of hatred of those who are others that don't fit in, of found family, and more. It's another real winner from LaValle.



----------------------------------------Plot Summary---------------------------------------
Adelaide Henry spent the first thirty one years of her life on her parents' Lucerne Valley farm in California, the only land in which Black settlers were allowed to make a claim there. Now it is the year 1915 and her parents are dead, victims of the curse that had isolated them and Adelaide from their community, the curse that lives in the Seward steamer trunk in her possession. And so Adelaide sets fire to the house and sets out for freedom, following an idea put into her head by a letter titled "Success of a Lone Woman", whereby a woman moved to Montana and, taking advantage of a government grant of land for anyone willing to work it for three years, had made a free life for herself. Adelaide takes with her only her meager possessions....and the Steamer Trunk.

But after the difficult journey, Adelaide makes it to Montana to find a cold harsh land sparsely settled, with only one other black person nearby. The white community she finds there is oddly supportive...but Adelaide refuses to keep her guard down, knowing what could happen if the Steamer trunk is ever opened by a curious neighbor...and knowing just as well how White people can be. And yet, Adelaide can't help but feel some kindred spirit to some of the more oddball people in town - single mother Grace and her son Sam or fellow Black woman Bertie and her Asian companion Fiona most of all.

Still, when a prospective suiter gets too curious and a con-artist family of outlaws get their eyes on Adelaide, it becomes clear that Adelaide's status quo cannot hold, and the curse cannot be kept locked away. And though that may give Adelaide a sense of freedom for a bit, once people in the area start dying, it will become clear that she must make a choice about how she can confront the monster of her past so that she can possibly have a future.....
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Lone Women is sort of a combination of a Western and a Gothic Horror to a certain extent, and like with such novels, it's tricky to describe the plot summary without spoiling. The novel is largely told from Adelaide's point of view, as its lead protagonist, but it jumps around at times, with certain chapters told from the perspective of other outsider characters and a few told from the perspective of others, most notably one antagonist character who undergoes a bit of character development throughout.

In Adelaide the book finds its exemplar: one of the titular Lone Women who has set out because something about her sets her apart from "normal" society and keeps her on her own, even when she doesn't like to be. For Adelaide that is two things: her skin-color and the monster she carries with her locked away, a monster that she refuses to accept for much of the book. One thing the book makes quite clear is that in the rough atmosphere of Montana, her differences are things that are looked past for quite a while - after all, in this cold dangerous land, everyone needs to stick out for each other. And yet, as things start going wrong, those differences come back to the fore, as Adelaide sort of expected, leaving her in danger. But there are other Lone Women and people the book introduces. So there's Grace, the single mother who is ostracized for how she elects to raise and teach her son (rot13 spoiler: gur fba vf genaf) in ways that don't fit what is accepted in white norm society. There's Bertie and Fiona, the black woman who earned her claim through 3 years of work and now has converted her land to a pub essentially (just prior to prohibition led by the white women in town) and wants to live in peace with her lover, Fiona, the Asian Laundress who is even more discriminated against than the two blacks in town. All of these women have something that sets them apart, from their skin color to their queerness, to how they treat the others they care about, and that prevents them from fitting in with the society that seems "normal around them".

And yet their otherness, once they each learn to accept it, stands in sharp contrast to the others who are supposedly normal in town, who limit themselves and seem in the book to be well just kind of awful. There's the rich couple who runs the town essentially, with the man liking to play cards and drink but figuring himself better than admitting it and better than anyone else, valuing himself above all else and not really caring for anyone who is hurt (and who leads a posse to strangle anyone who could threaten their lifestyle). Then there's his wife, the true leader of the town, who tries to insist to those in town that they are special for braving the cold but really is just a domineering woman who refuses to accept things that aren't normal...even if they're people or things close to her, and is revealed to be traumatized from something from years ago. And then there's a family of a mother and four boys who are con artist theives who try to take advantage of how far apart everyone is, who are utterly selfish and use as an excuse their struggling for taking things from everyone.

This contrast between the Lone Women and between the normal society works really well, as the story uses its horror and western setting to tell a story that is INSANELY suspenseful, such that I had to hold my breath while reading. The themes work really well, and the ending, as Adelaide and the others band together and learn to accept their own bits of strangeness, and the stragneness of those around them, works extremely well. There's one major subplot which I didn't feel worked quite so well - featuring a character who is antagonist who makes a surprising decision to turn things around in the end - which just felt off and way too abrupt to work for me.

But otherwise the suspense, the thrilling plot, and the excellent themes and characters really work damn well here, and I strongly recommend Lone Women, like I have all of LaValle's work.

This book was excellent. The story was gripping, gritty, relatable. I loved the complicated characters—Adelaide and her parents, Grace and Sam, Fiona and Bertie and the Reeds. Highly recommend!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 4.5
I loved this book. It was atmospheric and creepy. The writing may have been the best part. It was so well-written that it made it easy for me to picture everything happening. It felt like a little too much was happening at the end, but other than that I would definitely recommend this.

I’ve been talking about this book for a week! Captivating from the first page, I could not put it down even when it got a little wonky with what was in the trunk. The characters are fascinating and the setting/premise -western pioneering- one of my favorites. I enjoyed this book very much.

Lone Women by Victor Lavalle was the perfect read for the isolation of winter. The setting (homesteads in Montana) was lonely and desolate, but I was able to see the beauty in the isolation and the freedom it offered the main character, Adelaide.

First Impressions:

The beginning of the book put the reader smack into the middle of chaos. I was hooked from the first few pages wondering what exactly Adelaide was hiding.

This was a blend of historical fiction, family drama and the supernatural. I loved Adelaide for her imperfections and her strength.