The review of Lone Women by Victor LaValle is in the June 2023 issue of SFRevu.com and is exclusive to them until July 1st, 2023.

Review link: <https://sfrevu.com/php/Review-id.php?id=20148>

An attention grabber from the start. Adelaide Henry is the main character, and we follow her through her journey from California to Montana in 1912. She meets strong women, develops friendships with her go it alone attitude but keeps deep secrets especially with that trunk of hers. I kept reading just to find out what happens to Adelaide and this trunk. The story develops well and the mystery is revealed. A bit history and I felt a bit fantasy as well. If you are looking for a book that is a bit out there, give this a chance. Highly Recommended.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and One World for providing me a copy of Lone Women in exchange for my honest review! I was contacted via e-mail to download this one, and was very excited to see it chosen as a Book of the Month selection!

3.5 stars rounded up for this one - I will say this one was pegged as a horror work, but I think I'd describe this more as a historical fiction with some very mild horror elements. I tend to like more "camp-y" style horror, and don't typically read anything *too* intense, and this one didn't bother me whatsoever. I'm landing middle of the road (plus a half star) because the first half of the book is amazing; you get to know Adelaide and her journey to Montana, and it's a really big character-building plot, which works because I was able to really connect with her.

The second half of the book felt a little off with the pacing, and all of a sudden we were hearing from all of these characters that felt strange and hard to remember. It was a shorter book and very easy to read, but I wish the second half would've matched the first half. Overall, I really enjoyed this work, and I'd love to check out LaValle's future works - I also like to see Book of the Month offering selections outside of the traditional thriller/contemporary fiction categories, and this was a great choice.

I don't know how to feel about this book.
Their review has a *spoiler*
I enjoyed the fictional history of the main character and the womennof thr Town.
However I didn't understand the point of her sister being a monster or that multiple people have delivered this being into the world. It felt out of place and included for the horror aspect of it.When the social horror of this book is already there. Bipoc women, single motherhood, and being trans in a small town in the early 1900s. That speaks enough for the story.
I am glad that though the women endured they were able make it on their own as a group.

I just reviewed Lone Women by Victor LaValle. #LoneWomen #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This is a quick, tense read about a really interesting period/place that I, a lifelong New Englander, never really learned about. It's not scary in the way I was hoping it would be, necessarily, but I liked that it reminded me of Mike Flanagan's Midnight Mass and I also really loved the style of the writing--it's funny and direct without detracting from the building dread.

This was not what I thought this was going to be, but in a good way!

Adelaide Henry burns her house down with her dead parents inside and flees California for Montana with a bigger secret.

While on her way to Montana she travels with a mother and her 4 blind sons, and one day they disappear.

While in Montana Adelaide works to keep her monstrous secret while homesteading and befriends 3 other women in the same town.

This seemed chaotic at some points but eventually it all comes full circle.

There’s a little history, monster horror, creepy small town, step-ford vibes going on here and I loved it!

I love a horror novel that layers on the haunting elements one after another. The seclusion of uncharted Montana, the nefarious people who roam that land, and the monster Adelaide brings with her, made it hard for me to put down this book. I just had to know what hell was going to be around the next corner.

If you’re in the mood for an atmospheric historical horror novel full of intriguing mysteries and compelling characters, I definitely recommend LONE WOMEN! LaValle (whose work I discovered with the excellent THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM) is a really excellent writer, and his skills are on full display here; this novel starts off with a bang, and as it goes on it combines historical fiction with horror and a delightful side of found family. It's a book about monstrosity, human and inhuman alike. The setting was almost a character unto itself: this is a trope which I really love in horror, and I thought was brilliantly done here.

All in all, a really good read, and worth picking up. Thanks so much to One World and Netgalley for the ARC!

Victor LaValle, you sicko!!! I love it. I did not see where this story was going. Or, when I did, I still felt like it was fresh and fascinating. Historical fiction is never really my jam, but when you're this good of an author, you can break all the rules.

“There are two kinds of people in this world: those who live with shame, and those who die from it.”

Lone Women is a mix of western and horror that tells the story of Adelaide Henry, a Black woman who leaves California after burning down her home. She is setting off to homestead in Montana in 1915. Adelaide is haunted by a secret that she carries with her in a locked steamer trunk, and she soon finds herself caught up in a web of violence and supernatural forces. The book explores themes of race, gender, and violence.

LaValle's writing is evocative. He creates a vivid portrait of the Wild West at the turn of the 20th century. My only criticism is the ending, which felt like a letdown after the excellent start. Overall, though, this is a worthwhile read.

Lone Women was one of the most unique and compelling horror stories I’ve ever read. I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly the plot moves along. Beginning with a truly disturbing event, Adelaide begins traveling with only the clothes on her back and a very heavy trunk, the contents is which no one knows except for Adelaide as she searches for a new start as a lone homesteader in Montana.

The combination of the uneasy moments that arise during travel paired with the ominous mood made this book a complete page-turner from the get go! What in the world was in that trunk?! I just had to find out! I felt this dark and haunting feeling from the first page and it never let up. For those wondering, the answer is yes, you will find out what is inside the trunk.. and it’s well worth the wait to find out.

While Lone Women is technically my first book by this author it is definitely not my last.

If you love horror, or if you’re interested in trying horror for the first time, this would be the perfect choice for you.

Lone Women by Victor LaValle is unlike any book I’ve read before and I mean that as a compliment. I knew a little about the book going in but it took me by surprise at every turn. This book follows Adelaide and her mysterious trunk as they flee from California to Montana to become a homesteader. The thing about this trunk is when it opens people disappear and it is up to Adelaide to guard this secret with her life. As I was reading I tried to predict what could be in this trunk that would cause such pain and destruction and when I finally discovered what was inside I was completely shocked. I think the author did an incredible telling such a mysterious and unique story. I enjoyed getting to know Adelaide and the women she meets in Montana. I was surprised throughout and captivated by the story. This was my first books by Victor LaValle but it won’t be my last. 4⭐️

This was an incredible read, scary and femme and sharp as a knife. I'd recommend Lone Women to afajs of Alma Katsu or Rachel Harrison. I went in blind which I highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review. Lone Women started off with a bang. but after a while, the pacing slowed to a trot. I loved the opening of the book, the characters and the storyline but then somewhere along the way it got weird. While I finished the book, I did not like the ending and would not recommend this book.

Lone Women is a historical fiction novel with a good dose of magical realism about a young woman named Adelaide Henry who claims land in Montana after her parents’ mysterious death. However, she is not travelling alone: she is carrying a deadly secret in a locked trunk, and she hopes that Montana will be wide and empty enough that no one will bother her or her secret. However, Adelaide quickly makes friends and enemies in Montana, and her secret cannot stay locked way for long.

I was quite impressed with the worldbuilding that the author has done in this one. The main character, Adelaide, moves to a particularly desolate spot of Montana with winter quickly approaching. The dominant feature of the landscape is ultimately a lack of dominant features, and the author has done an excellent job of painting that emptiness and isolation. Much of the rich description is spent on the characters’ travels across the landscape, emphasizing the space beween houses and towns. It makes me really feel that distance. I also appreciated the time spent on the cultural landscape of Montana. It’s clear that, given Montana’s limited resources, the powerful and dangerous often take advantage of the less powerful. That dynamic makes the moments of neighborly kindness even more valuable.

This book is a little more magic realism than true fantasy, and the supernatural elements of the book were fascinating. This is one of those books where the rules are not clearly laid out, leaving the reader guessing about context along with the main character. It worked here about 90% of the time, but I still had questions at the end about exactly what was happening. I think a little more fleshing out would help land the ending.

I have to admit, I struggled with the pacing on this one. There is a lot of time spent on character development and worldbuilding to the deficit of the plot, and sometimes I was tempted to skip ahead to see what happens. However, a lot of the real details of the plot are buried in those moments, so you really do have to pay attention. It still worked out in the end, but I wished there had been a little more brevity in some places.

In all, I’ll give Lone Women an 8 out of 10. It’s a well-developed historical fiction with an interesting twist rooted in magical realism. I think that readers who have the patience to wait for the action will get a lot out of it, but readers who want something fast-paced might lose interest.

This is not something I’d normally picked up but it peaked my interest and I ended up enjoying it. I loved the way horror and historical fiction was weaved together. I’m interested in what this author has planned for the next one.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review

This book was incredible! A unique tale of a woman discovering herself while hiding a secret, I was spellbound from the first page. LaValle tells a harrowing, beautiful story filled with magical elements that do not distract but instead improve the story. I loved it and am recommending it to everyone!

I wish I’d enjoyed this more. I enjoyed a lot of LaValle’s other writing, so I was looking forward to this one. Ultimately, it was just kind of forgettable. There’s the bones of a good story, but it never formed together cohesively. I was disconnected from the characters and plots the entire time.

Adelaide Henry is fleeing to Montana from California after her “sin” killed her parents. She Carrie’s a mysterious locked steamer trunk wherever she goes to keep her “sin” locked away.

Lone Women were offered free land by the government if they are able to work the land an make it prosper. Adelaide meets lots of people in this new territory; some good but more of them are bad. Her “sin” could be her ruin or her savior.

This was a really different story of women trying to tame the land in the Midwest with a bit of horror thrown it. A really entertaining read.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Adelaide sets out to Montana to start her own homestead, determined to make a place for herself after the grisly death of her parents. But she can't quite leave everything behind...

I enjoyed this book! It was creepy and had a strong cast of diverse, complex female characters. As a history nerd, the incorporation of Chinese and Black history in the U.S. was well done and created a full, layered landscape for the narrative. My one gripe is that is does jump POV a lot, which could be a little disjointed at times.

If you like historical/Western horror, or just horror with strong, well-written women, try this one out!