Title: Where Coyotes Howl
Author: Sandra Dallas
Narrated by: Stephanie Németh-Parker
Publisher: McMillian Audio
Length: Approximately 9 hours and 14 minutes
Source: Thank you @netgalley for the audiobook review copy. Sadly, only about half of the book ended up working on the NetGalley download so I purchased the audiobook from Amazon.com to listen to the rest of the book.

What is the saddest book you’ve ever read? When Coyotes Howl is on my list of saddest books I’ve ever read. I don’t know if I’ve ever cried as much reading a book.

Ellen Webster answers an ad to become a schoolteacher in Wyoming. She meets Charlie Bacon and is swept off her feet. The two work to make a life together on the high plains, but life in Wyoming is very difficult.

My thoughts on this novel:
• This novel was the September pick for the Kewaunee Library Page Turners Book Club. I sadly missed the meeting due to a work meeting.

• I listened to this audiobook from NetGalley, but tragedy struck as it only had half of the story! The audiobook wasn’t available from the library, so I purchased the rest of the story from Audible.

• I liked the framing with someone that knew Ellen and Charlie telling their story in 1945 when they are showing a friend their empty homestead.

• This story was set in 1916, which seems late for a pioneer homestead tale, but there were still parts of the west being settled at that time. My great-grandma used to show me a picture of her father’s homestead in Montana in the 1920s. It was stark.

• I loved Charlie and Ellen’s romance and pure love for one another. They have their down times, but their love remains strong.

• This novel was beautifully written.

• The audiobook had great narration and was easy to listen to. Warning – do not listen to the last half of this book while you are driving!

• This novel had many strong women who helped each other. Ellen helped her friends, and they helped her.

• This novel really showed the harshness and loneliness of settling on a ranch in Wyoming in the early 20th century. The tragedies that the women and children faced such as fires, insanity, depression, poverty, and more brought tears to my eyes. Just when I thought the book couldn’t get any sadder . . . it got sadder.

• This pioneer tale is perfect for fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Willa Cather, and Bess Streeter Aldrich.

• I liked that there was an auction for picnic baskets in this book and that is how Ellen and Charlie got together. It reminded me of the musical, Oklahoma, and of So Big by Edna Ferber. It leads me to believe the auctioning of baskets was a common entertainment back in the day.

Overall, Where Coyotes Howl is a beautifully written tale that shows the harshness and the beauty of homesteading in Wyoming in the early twentieth century.

Where Coyotes Howl is only the second book I have read/listened to by Sandra Dallas, but I will be checking out her backlist. She writes beautifully descriptive books with well developed characters that I have grown to love. In this book Ellen and Charlie are the main characters, but there are so many others that play a huge role in this story. 1916, when this story is set, the west is still largely uninhabited. Finding a doctor in a small town is almost impossible, which is why the mortality rate is so high, and indiscriminate. Mothers die in childbirth, children die young and accidents kill others. This book gave a realistic look at what our ancestors went through to settle the west and farm land that was not always hospitable. I loved Ellen's character. Heading out to Wallace, Wyoming to be a teacher took a lot of guts, and strength. Once she fell in love and married Charlie Bacon, her love was unwavering. With tragedies in their lives, and those they came to care about, it was their love for one another that held them together. If you enjoy a good Western story, (not a shoot em up one) about the settling of the west and normal everyday Americans, then I recommend you pick up this wonderfully written story. If you enjoy audiobooks, then this one, narrated by Stephanie Nemeth-Parker would be a good choice. Her voices make it sound like there is more than one narrator and her expression was spot on. A book I definitely recommend.

I’m officially hooked on the beautiful writing of author Sandra Dallas. What a beautiful and rich story set in 1916 Wyoming.

WHAT TO EXPECT
-a heartbreaking story of hardship
-themes of family, loss, friendship and love
-frontier life

*many thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas is a richly imagined novel set in 1916 in Wyoming. It is the story of Ellen, a young woman who accepts a teaching position in Wyoming and her chance encounter with Charlie Bacon who she falls in love with and eventually marries. This is the story of the hardships they face living in rural Wyoming and how, through it all, their love sustains them. Many of their neighbors and friends are not as fortunate as they deal with issues such as sickness, death and abuse.

This novel is an accurate portrayal of how hard life was living in the western plains during this time period. I absolutely loved it and will be recommending it to all of my historical fiction readers.

I definitely recommend having lots of tissues handy for this tragic story. I loved the characters. I loved the narrator of this story because they were able to convey when the characters were happy and when they were sad. I loved the story even though it was very tragic. I received a copy of the audiobook from the publisher for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

BOOK REVIEW: Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Audiobook Narration by Stephanie Németh-Parker- this was a great listen. I thought she did a great job and really enjoyed it.

Book Moods: Wyoming frontier, hardship, loss, love, family, friendship

"Except for the way they loved each other, they were just ordinary, everyday folks. Just ordinary. " There was nothing ordinary about the way of life in Wyoming in the early 1900s. This is an extraordinary story about love, sacrifice, and friendship. I loved it!

Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillan.audio for this advanced copy! You can listen now. This was released 4-18-23

I can definitely push it to 4.5 stars. A bittersweet novel depicting the difficulties of settling in the sometimes barren prairie in Wyoming in the early 20th century. It took strong and determined people to endure the hardships to survive there. It definitely was not an easy life. The narrator did a wonderful job with the story. Thanks to NetGalley I was able to enjoy the book.

I kept waiting for something happy to happen and it just didn't. I listen to books to brighten my day, and while this one told a good story it did not fill that purpose in my life. If you're looking for a realistic story about how bad it could be to live in the old west, here's your book, if not, pick something happier.

I think this book did a good job of describing the harsh life of the Wyoming frontier. This book was sad. I liked that started the book in the 1940's and went back in time from there. Thank you Net Galley for the an arc audio copy.

This story was inspirational,, sad, suspenseful. The author transported me to that time in history and showed how hard life was. We have so many resources in our modern times. Hard to imagine how people survived. So inspirational to see neighbors helping neighbors.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sharing an ARC with me in exchange for an honest review*

As a whole I did enjoy the story but it was so depressing! I had so much hope that there would be a happy resolution in the end... but it absolutely did not have one. I feel like every redeeming character died... which I understand happened a lot during the pioneering days but STILL. Why couldn't we have a little bit of happy after so much sadness???

Even though I am still sad, I think the author did a great job and making the reader feel something for her characters. So if that was her goal, she succeeded!

Parts of the story did remind me of Fried Green Tomatoes with a dash of Redeeming Love, so if you have enjoyed either of those stories, you may like this one!


Just be warned.. it is SO SAD!

Heartbreaking story of the hard life of ranch life. Ellen a city girl came to Wyoming to teach. She fell in love with Charlie the handsome rancher, whom she married. The story was filled with too much sadness for me. The narration was done well. The writing made the story come to life.

#NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio, #SandraDallas, #StephanieNemeth-Parker and #WhereCoyotesHowl for the advance audiobook for my honest review.

This is the life and love story of Ellen, a school teacher who moves to Wyoming and Charlie, a rancher who lives on the plains. Ellen and Charlie are a beautiful couple and this really is their love story. The softness between them and the love, true deep love, was just lovely.

One of the strengths of Sandra Dallas is her way of engaging readers and immersing them in characters and scenery. Readers are given the true experience of being a woman on the plains- from drunk and abusive husbands, too many children and not enough food, to the constant fear of fires or blizzards; but also, the strength of character and beautiful community built among these women to persevere.

Each character has a purpose in their backstory, current circumstances, and characteristics to demonstrate the harshness of living on the prairie during this time.

The settings are described so intricately, the reader can see exactly what the characters see and feel and experience the dryness, or the coldness, or the heat.

My heart aches for all of these characters and the realities they had to endure in their lives. Although these were facts of living on the plains, it doesn’t diminish how raw and real my sadness is knowing there were real people who dealt with many of the same situations Ruth, Ellen, Margaret, Julia, and Gladys lived through.

This would be enjoyable by anyone who loves historical fiction!

Where Coyotes Howl is a beautifully told story about the trials of living on a ranch in 1916 Wyoming. The story surrounds Ellen, the new school teacher in town and her battle to find her way to fit in and thrive. 
This book is hard on the heart, there are parts that are so incredibly sad, but this story is told elegantly. 

Some days were very bleak on the ranch, but Ellen found comfort in the women in the community. She sees these women suffering from the treatment by their husbands, and Ellen tries to be there for them. This story is truly heartbreaking, especially when we learn of the children that are in violent, neglectful households. Ellen and Charlie's relationship was so beautiful. He loved Ellen and backed her up in any way he could. He knew that she needed a true partner and he was there for her. 

This story left me in tears but this raw novel will be unforgettable. 

As far as the audiobook goes, it was beautifully done.

I will need to check out Dallas' backlist because I know I want to read more by her.

I enjoyed the setting and the characters in the book. The troubles they encountered felt real and the relationships were drawn out well.

This was a refreshingly different from the thrillers that I usually read. Sandra Dallas is an excellent writer and skillfully portrays the hardships of Wyoming prairie life. The narrator was perfectly cast and very easy to listen to. The whole book had a nice flow and my mind did not wander once while listening. The characters, both good and bad, were well-drawn and authentic. The descriptions of the hardships endured will draw readers in. This will appeal to a wide range of readers.

"Where the Coyotes Howl" is an ode to 1916 life on the prairie. Seeking a better life, people moved westward with hopes of living the American dream.

Synopsis: 1916. Seeking adventure Ellen Webster accepts a teaching position in Wyoming. Life is not easy in the flat, brown corner of the state where winter blizzards are unforgiving and the summer heat relentless. It isn't long before she falls in love with the high plains, the sweeping skies and the broad open spaces.

Ellen finds happiness in Wyoming, marrying a cowboy named Charlie. The novel follows their trials and tribulations as they build a home, start ranching and living off the land. Ellen is a lucky in her marriage compared to other couples nearby - some of those stories were absolutely heartbreaking. Ellen and Charlie face it all together, their relationship growing stronger with each shared success and each deeply felt tragedy.

Those who have read The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah or Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon will absolutely love Sandra Dallas's Where the Coyotes Howl.. She gives us a glimpse back into our past where anything was possible and early settlers faced challenge after challenge. It truly was a man's world - times were very difficult for women. It's amazing how far we have come since then.

Dallas's writing is powerful and vivid. Her characters are resilient, devoted, and strong. And her plot is a harrowing tale about life, loss, hope and family. We feel the wind and hear the coyotes howl in the vast unforgiving landscape where neighbors live miles away from each other and need to rely on each other to survive.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of the book and audio for review and both are equally wonderful. Stephanie Németh-Parker (narrator) made the characters come alive. If you are looking for a read or listen book that has you feeling all the feels this is it! I can't imagine living back in 1916 on the prairie. These people had grit, determination and were tough.

Many thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio and St.Martins Press for the opportunity to experience the westward expansion complete with frontier life, female friendship, community, hardships, grief and love.

This was a great book if you're looking for something well-written, rich with emotion, and set in a beautiful landscape. I enjoyed this quiet novel.

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas was sad, good but sad. I chose to listen to this book and it was narrated by Stephanie Németh-Parker. She did an amazing job. I highly suggest listening to this one.
I was warned of the heartache of this novel and decided I would still listen to it. I’m glad I did. I want to say right here that I’m not crying or sad after this it just wasn’t the HEA I’m use to. I would call this realistic historical fiction.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

When I hear the coyotes cry at night, I cry, too. It is the saddest sound in Christendom. I fear I will spend eternity in a grave on the prairie, attended only by those dreadful beasts…You don’t know what it means to be out here. It’s the worst life you can imagine for a woman. And the best. You fight blizzards in the winter so bad you can’t see a foot in front of you. You can freeze to death walking from the house to the barn. And in the summer, there’s the heat. They like to tell about a man that went to hell and asked for an overcoat because he came from Wyoming and was used to real heat…You do whatever your man does–ride herd, brand, castrate…And you do the cooking and birth the babies, too.

It was the best life…There’s nothing like sitting on the veranda…in the evening, watching a sunset like God’s set the sky on fire, listening to the cattle, looking out over your land, and knowing you did it all. Oh, your husband did his part, but you were right there. He couldn’t have done it without you. He might not admit it, but you know, and down deep, he does, too. Likely, he’ll be a good man. Cowboys are something special. There’s times Wyoming’s the most beautiful place in God’s kingdom. Sometimes I think He calls the toughest of us to Wyoming, because if you’re not tough, you don’t make it.

Schoolteacher Ellen and cowboy Charlie were an ordinary couple with an extraordinary love story. What struck me about the small volume was how ordinary the couple’s life was. Theirs was the story of so many settlers in the West. They were decent people who worked hard to scratch a living from the land, but in the end, they died or moved away, leaving behind little to show they had ever been there.

While able bodied pioneers demonstrated resilience, Sandra Dallas spotlights the tenacity of special needs characters. She never viewed Margaret as a trial but rather as a gift…I think she is the Lord’s doing, for she is the dearest and most helpful of all of them. I should not say so, but I believe I love her above the others. Likewise, Where Coyotes Howl is one of Dallas’ favorites–perhaps the favorite–of all her books. She likes writing about the women who settled the West. Ranchwomen supported each other in good times and bad. They would not have survived the prairie hardships without each other.