I’ve never heard of Victor LaValle before now, and I went into this book completely blind. I hadn’t the foggiest clue what to expect and I was deeply, pleasantly surprised.

The main character is an absolute flawed badass. I love her and would love to read more stories about her. She and other characters in this book overcome great hurdles, due to old western-times, rough weather, and other spoilery things I’ll leave out. The cast of characters are all interesting, unique and some are often frustrating.

This book was really well-written. I think my only complaint was that it was a little slow to start but that's very minor. I am really good at guessing what to expect next, but this book caught me off guard a few times.

The ending was completely unexpected and perfect, highly recommend this one.

“Lone Women” is a horror book by Victor LaValle. I found the idea of a Black female in the early 20th century out in Montana to be very attractive. While I tend to like some horror, this book at times felt like a combination of telling a historical fiction book with supernatural elements tossed in, but also some Wild West bits … and all together it didn’t always work. I would’ve liked to have read a bit more about how the main character was going to survive on the land, opposed to just bits of her life in Montana on the land. I think that if horror is your jam, this is definitely one to check-out as you may find this author (and this book) to be up your alley.

I'm not quite sure where to begin with The Lone Women by Victor LaValle. I was drawn to the book for its place and time—the American West, early 20th-century land claims in Montana. I liked that the book has an angle that you don't usually see in that period, namely a solo, female Black protagonist. Though I enjoyed reading Victor's prose and the twists and turns in the narrative, the story lost me toward the end when it unhinged itself from reality. Perhaps I don't fully understand the horror genre—which would be my bad, not Victor's!—but I would have liked to see this story stay a little closer to Earth.

This book is one of the most unique books I have read in a long time.
From the first opening scene of her starting a fire to destroy the house and her parents bodies, to the final scene at the Opera HOuse, I was hooked.
I could NOT put this book down. I wanted to know, no I NEEDED to know what was in that heavy crate.
I loved the different ways in which the title could apply to all of the LONE WOMEN on the Montana farmsteads.

This is one book that if I continue raving about it, I will give out spoilers.

Read this wonderfully unique book with a distinct voice.

Adelaide Henry is making a new life for herself in rural Montana, working towards claiming her own property as part of the government homesteading program of the late 1800s. She wants to make a new life for herself after the devastating loss of her parents, but she’s required to lug the family’s burden with her to Montana. Can she make a new life for herself, finally become independent and rid herself of this burden once and for all?

What a book! This was my first Victor LaValle book, and I will definitely be checking more of his work out in the future! I’m not much for horror at this moment, but this was just creepy and captivating enough that some gore here and there really didn’t bother me at all. LaValle incorporates the perfect amount of diversity to the characters and it really comes to life through them.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the free ARC to review!

Victor LaValle’s The Changeling remains a favorite of mine, a book that left me reeling years after reaching the end. I brought this excitement into his new book, Lone Women, but was left waiting for something that never came. Gone was his tight, thoughtful prose, compelling characters, and engaging story. LaValle remains an emerging literary voice, but I fear that Lone Women does nothing to help his meteoric rise.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Adelaide is traveling to Montana after losing her parents in California. She has luggage she carries with her that hides a secret that she has been hiding. Several people in her life have died because of this. I liked this book.

This book is a strange combo of historical fiction + horror that works. When I first started to read it, I was worried I had made a mistake since historical fiction isn't usually my genre of choice. I enjoyed the historical fiction, even before the horror aspect came into play. Mercifully, there wasn't an all consuming romance story - part of why I dislike historical fiction is because the ones I select are usually a romance set in the past.

Our main character is Adelaide Henry who goes to homestead in Montana. She is utterly unprepared, has some luck, makes some friends, and is working her butt off, all while hiding a dark secret (dun dun dunnnn). Adelaide felt like a real person and I was rooting for her. Her character felt very well developed. The author did a great job of developing the supporting characters who felt unique and differentiated.

We learn about what Adelaide is hiding in pieces and it kept me reading. The reveal was surprising and the more I think about it, the more unsettling it becomes. I'm still a little confused about what the thing actually was, which I both like and don't like. However, since it's horror, I'm giving it a pass for not 100% explaining it. (Trying not to give anything away.)

I appreciate how the author includes non-white, non-heterosexual characters. Adelaide is a person of color. There's a lesbian couple, neither of whom are white. We have some discrimination from the main (white) townsfolk against them. It was all handled and was nice to read more than straight, white characters.

I would have liked a little more time spent about how Adelaide works her claim. We get bits and pieces, but the author was focusing on other parts of her world. She was trying to figure out if she should hire a person to help her plant - I want to know what she decided!

This was my first book by Victor LaValle and I'm excited to read more from him.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

Adelaide has a terrible secret, a curse. She leaves her farm and family behind in California and moves to Big Sandy, Montana with almost no belongings to become a homesteader. Adelaide quickly finds that the hardships of Montana were vastly underrepresented in the railroad newspaper article she read, and she is surprised to find she needs the help of others for survival. Luckily, Adelaide meets Grace, Bertie, and Fiona, other lone women who have their own struggles.

I had no idea what to expect from this novel, but I was immediately sucked into Adelaide’s journey and surprised by where it went. Lone Women is a slow burn of a novel, ending in an intense conclusion with a tangible build up that makes it difficult to put down, even as really terrible things happen to the settlers of Big Sandy. Like all good monster novels, LaValle leads the reader through a blood-soaked story that leaves you pondering who the real monster is, and he provides many options to choose from.

Having just finished a historical book and it being rather lackluster, I was apprehensive to jump into another one. But the premise had me too curious to not give it a try, and let me tell you it doesn't disappoint.

We start out thick in the mystery of Adelaide's life. The chapters keep you in the dark of her secrets but keep pulling you forward with the introduction of live in no where Montana. As she settles into the community and makes friends I almost forgot about the trunk she drug from California along with her so when it finally opens the contents it blind sided me.

As Adelaide's secret unravels, so do many secrets around her. The book moves from just her 3rd person POV to chapters featuring the 3rd person POV of other main characters in the tale. While it some of the switches were abrupt, they all added secrets to the plot.

By the end I could not predict where the story was going, but was extremely happy with the outcome. This story deals with mob mentality, being scared of our own 'worst fears' based on assumptions, and the strength to carry on even when the cards are stacked against us.

The book breathes 1914 Montana. It's well researched and the world building is beautifully done.

You'll enjoy this story if you love historical reads, that dabble in supernatural themes, with a helping of strong female characters, and the tyrants around them.

Features: LBGTQIA+ characters
Triggers: Child death, infant death, descriptive murders.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book.

What a rare and unique find this is. I can't say I've ever read another book quite like it.

The opening chapter is masterful and instantly pulls you in. You likely won't be quite sure what's going on, but I guarantee it will make you want to keep reading.

Then, the book goes off in unexpected directions.

Without spoiling anything, I guess I would say that I would have found this book fascinating if it had only been about a Black woman homesteading alone in Montana in 1915. (In fact, I wished the book had leaned just a wee bit harder into that part of the story. Racism is barely touched upon once she arrives in Montana, and we spend little time with the basics of cooking, farming, etc.)

Between Adelaide's hardships staying alive and making friends, there is also a memorable villain(s) who stands in her way. So, this lone woman, bands with other lone women to find her community and build a home.

This spine of the story is solid, admirable, and well executed. If that was all there was, I would have probably still been a happy reader

But, of course, that ISN'T all there was.

This particular woman is hiding a whopper of a secret that turns up the heat on the entire story. Not everyone will dig that secret (personally, I thought it was great.) Those people might enjoy this tale being told in such a way that is strictly historical fiction and nothing more. And, like I said, I get that instinct and on some level share it, but I do love some bonkers secrets and this one is a humdinger.

Overall, this was a refreshing, bold, genre-defying book that breaks the mold. It's not a perfect book, but it sure was a cool read. Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

First off, thank you so much to #Netgalley, the publisher and especially the author for this ARC!

This is my first book by this author and it won’t be my last! This book sucked me in from chapter 1 and I couldn’t stop. I literally inhaled this book, the short chapters made reading a breeze. This was so fantastic I plan on picking up a copy for my collection when it’s released. At 240 pages, this book packs more story into it than pretty much every 350+ page book I’ve ever read. There is no filler at all, nothing to skim over and the historical setting was *chefs kiss*. This book got me out of my reading slump; highly highly recommend! Now to go read all of the authors previous works ☺️

4.25 stars

This was my first taste of LaValle’s work and certainly not my last. I went in blind and I’m glad for it. It had me pretty much hooked from page one, and I loved the unexpected (to me anyway) genre bending elements. The story was so well crafted that I just kept reading and lost track of time, and all of a sudden the book was over and I was left breathless. I highly recommend this book.

Get this one on your TBR lists and place your pre-orders now! It's that good.
Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

This one blew me away. I enjoyed The Ballad of Black Tom and some of LaValle's short fiction previously, but this was a true page turner for me. I sat down to read and then realized suddenly it was 1am. This book even made me run to research Montana and homesteading, and I'm so grateful I had the chance to read it via Netgalley.

Abigail Henry hitches a ride to California of her burning home, family dead, with just a travel back and a steamer trunk that holds... something. Visceral, immersive descriptions of the vast unsettled wilds of Montana and vivid characters drew me in, and didn't let me go. The plot moves at a solid clip and never slows, the creeping dread doesn't either.

Highly recommended.

A really strong concept and execution. The blend of genres and horror elements were so fun to read about. The world and characters were exciting. From the first page of was hooked and the slow born was forth it!

*this review goes live on my website 10/26/2022*

Lone Women was my first Lavalle read. But it definitely isn’t my last. I have actually had The Ballad of Black Tom kicking around my e-reader since *checks notes* June of 2020. Gods, what is wrong with me. Why do I buy so many more books than I can possibly keep up with?!

I was absolutely hooked from the opening paragraph. If this is the caliber of writing Lavalle normally delivers, then I have been seriously missing out. The opening sequence had my curiosity piqued so hard I thought I was gonna die if I didn’t soon discover the why. But he keeps that delicious little chestnut very close to the vest for the exact right amount of time. A single sentence further and I would have exploded all over everything.

Lone Women is one hell of a folk tale. It has a strong feminist backbone, and excellent lessons on loyalty, forgiveness and fortitude. This story is so expertly written that at points I actually forgot that I wasn’t a part of the story. I was fully immersed.

I really enjoyed this novel for the first half. Once the contents of the trunk was revealed I lost interest. It was a very creative and original concept but veered way away from my normal genre preference.

The cover and description of this novel drew me in right away. I was thrilled to start this novel! The first half was absolutely amazing. In the second half, the POVs would change frequently and the perspectives were from characters I didn't much care to read about. If the POV had stayed consistent from start to finish, I would have easily rated this 5 stars. I loved the creepy element and the setting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are completely my own!

This is a fascinating book, and, as much much of LaValle's work, it blends genres and themes/ideas in a truly staggering way. His writing is, as ever, truly immersive and beautiful to watch unfold on the page.