This story told in two different timelines, was the first book I have read by this author and I enjoyed it.
I liked meeting the characters and traveling back in time to the 197os.
I loved the underlying theme of female empowerment but thought the story was a bit trite if not fun to read.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review,

What Wild Women Do flashes back to a story about an heiress feminist in the seventies--fine, but a little on the edge of "white feminism". The problem is the framing story, about Rowan and her boyfriend Seth. Both characters are frustrating, with Seth especially being very one-sided.

A wholesome read🫶🏻 Took me a while to get interested in Eddies perspective but by the end I loved all the characters (except Seth he was such a bum). Loved the two timelines writing style and 1970s feminist energy

Karma Brown is an author that grabs you by the hand and takes you on an amazing journey. What Wild Women Do is another one of those journeys. First you are introduced to Rowan, a modern day screen writer, who is traveling to the Adirondacks with her fiancée' Seth. When they arrive, they find themselves residing in a cabin in the middle of the no where. This vacation is supposed to be a restful retreat for her and Seth to help them reconnect and to help her find inspiration for her screenwriting. As she gets starts exploring what she finds does even more.

Seth is also supposed to be using this retreat to work on his creative writing but instead seems to be working on his creative YouTubing. Rowan decides to take a hike by herself and stumbles upon an abandon cabin. Intrigued, she goes inside and finds two things that start her on a life changing journey: an old handbook from 1975 for Camp Callaway's Wild Women, and a mysterious note tucked in a Nestle's Quick container. This is where Eddie Callaway is introduced.

Eddie is such a fantastic character. She is a 1970s divorced socialite turned feminist who takes over her family's camp and opened The Wild Women of Camp Callaway. Her camp is a free retreat and refuge for women in need of compassion and empowerment. Eddie introduces the women to the power of nature and encourages them to use it and not to be cage into the expectations of society. She keeps a small staff of only her most trusted friends and isn't afraid to defend herself from other camp owners around her. The more Rowan learns about Eddie the most she falls in love with her character and becomes desperate to find out exactly what happened to her. So did I.

There are so many good quotes through out this book most notably within the Camp Callaway handbook. Karma Brown has such a way with words and here I am trying to write this review and failing to find the right words. While I was reading, I could see the setting of the cabins and the nature surrounding them. There were times I felt like I was right there taking a deep breath of Adirondack air. So many emotions are stirred up while reading this book all of which are inspiring and empowering. I know I felt all of them and I believe that is also what Rowan felt as she was delving into the history of Eddie and Camp Calloway.

Eddie's words and the way she lived her life inspire Rowan to take a very close look at hers. Her new friend Jess and her partner Aidan also give her some inspiration for the type of relationship that is out there. I loved the character growth in Rowan and the way she finally stands up against people who do not have her best interests at heart. The mystery aspect of what actually happened to Eddie kept the both of us on our toes. I really wanted to see how everything was connected and it was laid out even better than I expected.

What Wild Women Do is a book I can see myself coming back to time and time again. It is just so beautifully written and the two points of views/timelines run seamlessly together. It also made me want to befriend a crow like both Eddie and Rowan do who will bring me special treasures if I leave some peanuts for it. I wanted to befriend each of the ladies as well. Their characterization is so well done. Major kudos to Karma Brown for continuing to keep me falling in love with her books. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

I had been waiting for quite some time for Karma Brown to publish a new novel under her own name again and What Wild Women Do did not disappoint.

This novel explores the lives of two women from very different time periods and brings them together in a unique setting. I liked this story and getting to know Eddie and Rowan throughout. I never knew what was going to happen from one moment to the next and there were a lot of surprises in store as a result. I also loved the Adirondacks setting and how serene everything felt in nature.

There was an element of suspense in wanting to find out how Eddie went missing, but I felt like it was anticlimactic when we learned what happened. The situation was tragic, but I was expecting something more from it.

Overall, an interesting novel and a worthwhile read. Well done, Karma!

Thank you Netgalley. I loved this book! I have found another automatic read author. This storyline perfectly blends multiple timeline and POVs perfectly. Great story about women, what we go through and self discovery. I want more!! Highly recommend

This book has everything I want in a book. A great feminist tale, mystery, and self discovery. When is camp taking enrollment? Please sign me up! I've recommended this to so many friends and loved every word.

What Wild Women Do has such a great premise. Rowan, struggling with her screenplay and relationship with her fiancé, takes a trip to the Adirondacks where she discovers the mystery of Eddie Calloway, an heiress who led wild women retreats and disappeared in 1975.

I want to be a wild women after reading this book. I loved the snippets of advice from Eddie's Wild Women Handbook, and the way she encouraged women to stop trying to please others and embrace their own inner beauty. And I loved that Eddie is over 50 and still vibrant and changing the world, a type of character we see too little of in novels.

The print version fell a bit flat for me, as the writing felt very straightforward. I switched to the audio, enhanced by two narrators, and enjoyed that version more. Even so, I still struggled with parts, especially Rowan's fiance. Their relationship never seems healthy, and Rowan overlooks so much (I know, that's part of the journey). But she also demeans his ambitions as something less than her own.

The ending is perfect, though. Especially the way the audio combines the narrators voices in the last chapter. 3.5 stars

Fans of Recipe for a Perfect Wife will enjoy this newest novel by Karma Brown as it follows a similar plot- younger, unmoored woman finds direction from a older, powerful and driven woman through found items that connect their stories and timeline. Very well done and engaging.

Ladies and gentlemen Karma Brown has another riveting book out! What Wild Women Do was amazing, the way Karma writes is sheer perfection and why she is on my must read list! I love the dual timeline. The way both these women’s stories are so beautiful and unique but when they intersect …. Amazing!

Another compelling book from one of my autobuy authors! I have read all of Karma’s books and they are all so different and unique. This is a dual timeline story around two fascinating women. We have a 1970’s feminist and a current day aspiring screenwriter and author. Both stories are interesting on their own and their intersection is what propels the story along. I enjoyed the atmospheric writing. The premise was interesting as were the strong independent women and the mystery element was perfect. Another wonderful book from this author.

WHAT WILD WOMEN DO by Karma Brown is an intriguing novel involving feminist philosophy, a treasure hunt, and two different time periods. One is the post-pandemic present day when screenwriter Rowan and her long-time boyfriend and YouTuber, Seth, decide that their creative efforts will benefit from time in the Adirondacks, closer to nature. The other time period is the mid-70s when socialite Eddie Callaway hosted empowering women’s retreats on a nearby property, sharing insights like Amelia Earhart's: "Use your fear. It can take you to the place where you store your courage." Rowan begins to learn about Eddie (who mysteriously disappeared) and is drawn closer to her insights on the importance of women taking care of themselves. The text effectively combines elements of mystery and a coming-of-age story. The characters are likeable and relatable, and the descriptions of nature are well-written. In fact, Brown says of her novel that it is "a love letter of sorts to my 1970s hippie childhood, and the forests of my youth..." 4.5 stars

This story of two female heroines who lived at different times and how their lives intersect is a magical one. I couldn’t put this book down and I loved both Eddie Callaway and Rowan, our modern day heroine. Rowan, a frustrated screenwriter, who isn’t completely satisfied in her love relationship with her partner, Seth, is in need of discovering a new part of herself that will make her feel alive again. Due to the pandemic and lack of restaurant jobs, creatives Rowan and Seth, an aspiring novelist, are priced out of LA living and into the woods in the Adirondacks to rent a cheap cabin for a temporary landing place while they write. What they discover there will be the story of how a woman can change the world and Rowan will learn what changes she needs to make to fulfill her own destiny. Entertaining, character-driven, and full of the appreciation of nature and what it has to teach us, this is a book for every woman seeking more adventure and agency in her life.

I'm an absolute SUCKER for a romantic/mysterious retelling and I am so thankful to Penguin Random House, PRH Audio, Karma Brown, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this behemoth before it came out on October 24, 2023.

Rowan is a struggling screenwriter who no longer seems to be on the same page as her youtuber fiancé. After Rowan publicly announcing to their followers that their videos are staged, they both decide to rent a cabin and take some time to work on their respective creative projects. Instead Rowan gets sucked into the mystery of the nearby camp, where the camp director disappeared in the 70's. The more she learns about the camp and their focus on helping women discovering their wildness, the more she wonders about the direction of her own life and what she really wants. Overall, an interesting dual-timeline story, told partly in the present and partly in the 70's. At times, the past timeline was more compelling than the present, but the book wrapped up both timelines well.

I really loved this book, especially because I found it to have a simple beauty in its pages. It was inspiring without being heavy-handed, and Brown manages to make the characters feel real and present without giving a ton of extraneous detail (which is hard to do)! Loved it and would definitely recommend for a weekend read.

I RAN to check netgalley when I saw that Karma Brown had a new book coming out. I LOVED her last book and she will forever be an autobuy author for me. This was so different from her previous books and I loved it all the same.

Edith and Rowan were so inspiring. The mystery surrounding Edith was compelling. I couldn't imagine it wait to find out exactly how or why she disappeared. Rowan is going through changes and is feeling some discontent with life. When she heard about Ediths story, she wants to find out what happened to her.

WHAT WILD WOMEN DO explores each woman's stories, their dreams, their and their aspirations.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

WHAT WILD WOMEN DO is out now!

I enjoyed this author’s last book, Recipe for a Perfect Wife, so was eager to read her new novel. Here is a dual time line story that takes place in both the present day and the 1970s.

Get to know Edith (Eddie) in the past and Rowan in 2021. Each is trying to find their way in life. Eddie faced a horrific loss which led her to upend a socialite life by starting Camp Calloway. Eddie’s s hope was to offer a safe space for women…but what happened to her? Why and how did she disappear? Who was responsible?

In the present, Rowan wants to be a screenwriter but has felt stuck both in her work and relationship. She and her partner have looked for escape in the country but all does not go well between them. One day Rowan learns about Eddie’s camp from a couple she encounters. She then wants to know more about Eddie and her story. What will she discover? How will this impact her work, relationship and life? Read this one to find out.

This title will appeal to those who enjoy novels that illuminate women’s stories. Readers will find that over a period of years what these women want(ed) can have remarkable similarities.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group-Dutton for this title. All opinions are my own.

I really liked Rowan and woman she was and becomes. I liked the intersection of the timelines.
The writing keeps you wanting more. It's a pretty fast read, a few sections were a little slow, but I kept reading to find out what happens.
A good book for book clubs, with lots to discuss.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

I've actually never read one of Karma Brown's books before, but was familiar with the author based on her bookstagram popularity. The historical sections of this story were compelling to me, but I did get bogged down a little bit when reading the spring/summer 2021 sections that seemed to reference as if the pandemic were over at that point versus still being very much in the throes of it.