This story revolves around a community called Pastoral founded in the 1970s by people looking for a simpler life. As the community grew and times changed, they became increasingly reclusive and as a result almost unknown in the present day. Travis Wren has a gift for tracking missing people and he's hired by the parents of Maggie St. James - a children's book author who disappeared 5 years prior. Using his gift, Travis is led to the gates of Pastoral. Years later, Theo (a member of Pastoral) finds Travis's truck in the forest and starts to investigate who Travis is and what he might have been doing in Pastoral since Theo has no recollection of anyone new coming into the community for many years. Theo, his wife Calla, and her sister Bee each hold their own secrets and only when those secrets start to come out can they piece together the truth of Pastoral and the darkness hiding inside the pristine community.

My favorite part of this book, hands down, was the setting of Pastoral. Each of the characters has a really complicated relationship with Pastoral and we see that range in our three POV characters. I think the background and lore of Pastoral was really well integrated in the story so we didn't need a big info-dump history lesson. I really liked how our POV characters could recognize the pros and cons of living there so it didn't feel like a complete brainwash-y cult situation, but there were certainly cult-like aspects to the community. There were a number of aspects that reminded me a lot of the movie The Village - isolated community, mysterious danger in the woods that keep the community members inside, even a blind main character. The characters are constantly weighing the dangers of staying in the community (lack of medicine, for example) with the dangers of leaving (mysterious illness that lives in the forest). I also liked the choice to not make it clear right away when, exactly, this Pastoral timeline was in comparison to Travis's timeline. Since the community is so isolated, it very much felt like we are stuck in time and thus the story could have been either years before or after Travis found them (the synopsis does give away this answer, but I didn't pick up on that until after I was done reading the book). I think this is an excellent example of the setting being its own character, of sorts. Especially with it being, at times, in direct opposition to what the characters want and standing in their way of reaching their goals.

The multi-POV was fantastic. When we get into the meat of the story in Pastoral, we are pretty frequently switching between Theo, Calla, and Bee's POVs. I really liked how short most of the chapters were (maybe 5-10 pages) which really helped keep me engaged in the story. Each of them had their own plot lines that we explore as well as giving us different view points of different aspects of Pastoral. I also thought the interpersonal tensions between the characters were really well developed and the switching POVs was done to really heighten and explore those aspects. We see one character knowing the other isn't telling the whole truth, then we switch POV and see that other character's reasoning for that choice. I do wish we got a more interactions between our main 3 characters and the other members of the community. We get a few, and we see some of the weekly community meetings, but our main three characters felt very isolated and I wanted to see them with their friends or doing other activities with the other people there.

The beginning was a bit jarring but I got over it fairly quickly and it, overall, didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. We start of following Travis as he searches for Maggie. We get a pretty in depth explanation of Travis's backstory and his gift for finding people. I was extremely intrigued and immediately invested in Travis. We're following Travis for the first 10% of the book so when we suddenly switch to following Theo, Calla, and Bee, I was a bit confused. The two plot lines do, eventually, converge, but there was a pretty significant gap before that happened. It very much felt like I had just started reading a second book in the middle of this first book and I didn't love how harsh that transition was. I think 10% is long enough for me to get invested in a character and their story so then, having that character basically ripped away, it did take me out of the reading experience for a bit. Luckily, the plot line inside Pastoral was also very interesting so I was able to get back into the book pretty quickly. I do think if either Travis's initial part was shorter and treated more as a prequel or if it was handled in a more dual-timeline type of way it wouldn't have been such a harsh difference and I think it would have made the narrative feel a bit more cohesive.

So when I requested this book from NetGalley, it was just categorized as 'General Fiction' but I think there are some very heavy mystery aspects that are expertly done. The book starts off really strongly with Travis on the search for Maggie and unraveling the mystery of where she went and if she's still alive. However, once we make the switch into Pastoral, those elements are dropped. We do get back to more mystery elements, but it takes us a while to get there. For quite a bit of the book (about from the 10% - 50% mark), we are just following the sort of day to day interactions of Theo, Calla, and Bee. But as the interpersonal tensions rise inside Pastoral, we start to see the cracks and want to explore them to see what the truth is behind the curtain. I think the setting of Pastoral and its cult-ish behavior immediately leads the reader to want to pull back the layers. Most readers with a basic knowledge of cults know communities like this don't just form overnight and they are really unsettling to read about when we've just been plopped into the middle of the situation. So I think it would be fair to say that most readers, by the time the characters start to feel unsettled, are 100% ready to start sneaking around and finding out what secrets we can find and that is where the mystery elements start coming back into play. And once we're full on into investigation mode, this story gets even better. I loved how intricate and complex the mystery became and I was completely blindsided by the reveals. I was guessing all sorts of crazy theories trying to tie all the threads together and when all was revealed, it was *chef's kiss* perfection.

Overall, this was a fantastic read and will probably go down as one of my favorite reads for 2021. I absolutely loved the setting of Pastoral and exploring the history of the place. I thought the multi-POV elements were used expertly and I loved the mystery elements that emerged in the last 1/2 of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC

Expected publication date is December 7, 2021

'A History of Wild Places' by Shea Ernshaw is a compelling and eerie story about an investigation into a missing woman and a seemingly idyllic community that may or may not be harbouring some dark and deadly secrets. The story starts off with Travis, a finder of lost things who sets out to locate a famous children’s author Maggie St. James who disappeared near Pastoral, a guarded community deep within the forest. The book then shifts to three members of Pastoral -Theo, Calla, and Bee who are confronted with the truths about Pastoral while grappling with their own mortality. Pastoral is not what it appears to be and the reckoning that comes with the truth is somehow intertwined in the disappearance of Maggie St. James and Travis.

I believe this story is about the monsters of fear and cowardice that lurk in the deep woods of our souls. Those monsters that feed off our pain so that they can control and manipulate us into believing the convenient lies that are more bearable than the truths of our own existence. There are so many points of reflection in this story that serve as a looking glass into the state of our world. Humanity, memory, and identity converge in a twisted yet relatable way, in this book that is ultimately about pain and healing.

The story was well paced and suspenseful making it difficult to put down. The writing was evocative and descriptive without being wordy or clunky. I think readers will find bits of themselves in each character who are trying to find their way back to themselves, amidst a flurry of tragedy, compassion, temptation, and morality. The major plot twists were existential and the chilling similarities to our world today, raise some very important questions.

It’s been a long time since I have read such a fascinating mystery and if you like darker tales about self-discovery and haunted woods, this should be the next story you devour, but please be warned, it will linger in your mind for a while after you have read it. It’s that good.

Thank you to the publisher for providing the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

This was an engrossing mystery that had me interested from the first chapter. Travis Wren is a people finder. All he needs to find them is a personal object from the missing person. He begins his search for Maggie, a children’s book author who goes missing in the the woodsy town of Pastoral. The people of Pastoral are self-sufficient people who live off the land. We meet Calla, Bee and Theo and hear some of the story from their POVs. While searching for Maggie, Travis also disappears. The book has several twists and turns and a surprisingly good ending. It is creepy in all the best ways.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have been a huge fan of Shea Ernshaws writing from day one and I truly think she is just a fantastic and magical author. With this being her first work of adult fiction to be published I was very optimistic that this was also going to be a great story, but I clearly didn’t prepare myself for how wonderful it ended up being!

This is her first book to be set in multiple perspectives and I honestly hope she can continue to write books in this way because it really did add so much to this book.

Ernshaw’s books have this whimsical and atmospheric quality to them that sucks you in from the first page and this was no different. Honestly her books are near impossible to put down when you start so definitely keep that in mind if you have a lot of plans because you will be canceling them.

I truly love this book and I am so excited to see all Shea Ernshaw has in store for us in the future.

It's taken me a few days to fully wrap my head around this book.

Let me first start off this review with one word.

WOW.

It's truly the only way to describe this book. The premise, the setting, the characters, the language, the story telling, just wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.

I knew I loved Shea Ernshaw after I read The Wicked Deep last year, but A History of Wild Places just takes it to another level. Shea - you are such an incredible storyteller! Incredible. Wow.

I'd love to tell you the synopsis of this, but you can find that on Goodreads.

What I will tell you are the three stages I went through reading this book:

1. Intrigued 🧐
2. Freaked the F out 😱
3. Mind Blown 🤯

This story pulls you in from the very beginning, you want to know more and more and more. Then all of sudden you're freaked out, checking over your shoulder for monsters unknown and you're like what the hell is happening?!? Then your mind is just completely blown just 🤯🤯🤯 cause you absolutely did. not. see. that. coming!

So please read this book.

Thank you so much to Atria Books, Shea Ernshaw and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A History of Wild Places is out on Dec. 7.

This book was a big departure from what I usually read and I really enjoyed it. She Earnshaw has a beautiful way of writing and it was atmospheric, dark, compelling. I spent an entire day reading this book when I planned to do other things, I couldn't put it down. I kept promising myself one more chapter.

The problem with that? The chapters were potato chip chapters, short and left you ready for the next one.

How do I describe this? We follow a man who was hired by a family to find a missing woman. He's not a professional but he's someone that people go to when they're out of options. And he has a special ability.

When he touches things that other people have touched, he sees glimpses of their lives. Things they've done, places they've gone. It's interesting and this ability of his plays a pretty heavy role in his backstory which was heartbreaking.

The characters are interesting but I was more interested in him than anyone else just by virtue of his personality. The book is split into three different points of view and they're all fairly distinct.

I wasn't expecting the twist that came in this book. And I actually, audibly, gasped, eyes went wide when I figured it out at the same time the characters did. I love that feeling. The pure actual shock? It's amazing.

As I said, the chapters are short for the most part. Except for maybe the last twenty percent of the story but even though those are the longer chapters, they feel like they're nothing at all because of how well paced it all is.

The book is expertly paced with beautiful prose. I have two issues. A lack of diversity and the way a disability is used.

The disability comes in the form of a blind woman. Due to the lack of vision, her hearing has improved. This is a thing that actually happens. I've read articles that say when someone looses their vision, the occipital lobes are repurposed for hearing. Cool little science stuff there.

However, it doesn't turn people into Daredevil and it doesn't give them super hearing. This character could hear literally everything, the sounds trees were making, worms underground, hearing things she really shouldn't have been able to.

Disabilities don't' give people super powers.

When it comes to diversity, everyone is white. I mean everyone. That's unbelievable and it always will be. Writers need to do better. I'm never going to let that go.

All in all, a solid four (4) stars.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a social worker, I loved the psychological aspects of this book. It was beautifully written and a great read!

An absolute masterpiece! This book is beautiful and atmospheric. The writing is almost lyrical. I will absolutely be buying a physical copy when released! Wow!

I went into this not knowing much about what to expect, and after a bit of a slow start I was quickly hooked and read the rest in a single sitting. I’d say this is best described as a literary mystery with some light horror/magical realism elements.
The book begins with Travis, an ex-detective who has a magical gift of being able to have visions of people when he touches items that belonged to them, so he is called by a friend to help track down Maggie, a missing childrens’ book author. We are then introduced to Theo, Calla, and Bee, residents of a commune, and we quickly learn that Travis and Maggie disappeared in the vicinity of the commune, and the trio start to investigate the disappearance. We feel right away that things aren’t right in this sinister cult and as soon as we started getting into the mystery I was addicted to the story and had to find out what happened next!
I am seeing this compared to the movie The Village and I think Shyamalan’s films in general are a good comparison to what happens in this book, complete with a bonkers reveal at the end.

I had no idea what this book was about. The title implied something else but after reading the first paragraphs, I was captivated. This is an engrossing plot with a unique setting that places the reader in Pastoral, a place you may or may not want to live in. I love the unraveling of the story. You will ask yourself whether things are true. The short chapters made it easier to read so I couldn't stop even when my eyes burned. I was walking in those woods with the characters. The suspense makes you gasp when the truth is unveiled. It's a gripping read.

I don't know where to start with how much I loved this book!

Travis Wren has an unusual and amazing ability. He’s able to find missing people even when the police thinks it’s impossible. Families won’t give up and will do anything to find the relatives, so he’s their only chance to see the one who vanished alive.

How does he find them? He only needs a personal object that belonged to that person.

Things start to get twisted when a children’s author goes missing. He’s a smart guy, so it’s easy for him to find where she was when she disappeared. But, then, he vanishes too.

This book was mind-blowing! The mystery surrounding the disappearance of Maggie hooked me in immediately. I was invested within the first chapters and was captivated by this dark setting.

The truth is that I had no idea the direction Ernshaw was taking and that made me really anxious. There are so many unreliable narrators and the story messes with you from start to finish.

I highly recommend reading A History of Wild Places!



📚Thank you @atriabooks for sending me the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I loved Ernshaw’s two YA novels, so when I heard she was publishing an adult novel, I was incredibly excited. I have to say, it did not disappoint.
The story starts off following Travis who is looking for a missing woman. Travis is grieving the death of his sister who recently committed suicide. He’s not in a super great place. So, when his long time friend asks him to take on one more case of trying to find a missing woman, it takes some convincing to get him to help. You see, Travis can see memories within objects. So, he follows the path that Maggie took and it leads him to Pastoral. Pastoral is a town in the middle of the woods that most people don’t even know exist. The people in this town live off the land and never leave their town. The story changes a bit from here. We follow Calla, Theo, and Bee who all live in Pastoral and have lived there for many years.
I have to say that the switch from Travis point of view to the alternating points of view of Calla, Theo, and Bee was a little jarring. I totally see why the author did this the way that she did. But I liked Travis and I was immediately invested in his story and following him while he searched for Maggie. Though, I think the changing of the points of view did a great job of creating suspense and mystery because it really left me wondering what happened to Travis after he found Pastoral. I liked Theo right away. He pushed the boundaries of what was “acceptable” for their community. And though he kept it a secret, his wife, Calla, knew that something was up with him. I didn’t really like Calla until she and Theo were finally on the same page. I liked her once the two of them were working together. Bee was my favorite. Bee is Calla’s sister and all three of them live together in the farmhouse that Bee and Calla grew up in. Bee is blind, her vision disappeared when she was younger. But because of that, her other senses are heightened. This fact is exaggerated to almost make it seem like Bee has magic. I think I liked Bee the most because she pushed boundaries and spoke her mind. She wasn’t a super likable character, always abrasive and doing what she needed to for help self with what she was going through.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I would definitely recommend it. I think if you enjoyed Ernshaw’s previous two books, you’ll like this one too. It’s a winding story that builds and builds before it spills all of its secrets. The setting of Pastoral was a fascinating one and the characters were a group that I easily found myself invested in. I will be looking forward to more adult works from this author.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

"Travis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Finding the community of Pastoral and unraveling the mystery of what happened there reveals secrets that Theo, his wife, Calla, and her sister, Bee, keep from one another."

I really wanted to know more about Travis and his 'ability'. An okay read but I was disappointed, the mystery was too much of a very long slow-burn for what eventually happened.

2.75☆

Absolutely amazing. Definitely a top favorite read from 2021 for me. It is best to go into this story blind. The setting and atmosphere were perfect. It was unsettling, slightly fairy-tale esque, and just a "what is going on" type of vibe that I just adore. The reveals totally caught me by surprise and I hope this gets picked up for a mini series!!

Shea Ernshaw's first foray into adult fiction does not disappoint!
This novel gives off The Village and The Devil All the Time vibes. There’s a missing macabre children’s book author, a man with a gift for finding people, a cult-like commune deep in the woods, a pox, multiple POVs and a very ominous tone throughout. I can honestly say I didn’t see any of the twists coming and I thoroughly enjoyed myself the entire time.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this novel.*

Wow this book was a mind trip. It's one of those type of novels that the less you know going in, the better the experience. It had been a bit since reading the synopsis and actually picking the book up to read and it wasn't what I was expecting. I don't want to give spoilers so I'm going to say a good mystery that keeps the reader guessing with a few plot twists, some maybe predictable but a one or two that were a surprise. Ernshaw had a way to draw you into the story. Her writing is submersive and makes you feel as if you are right there with the main characters. Pastoral is a wild place. This book would make an excellent pick for any book club.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for an e-galley copy..

This book was initially very engaging and plot driven. I was curious about what had happened to Maggie and Travis and how that related to the commune, cult-city of Pastoral.

Maggie and Travis' back stories were interesting, suspenseful and got me to care about them as characters. Once the book transitioned to Theo, Calla and Bee in Pastoral the plot was drawn out and I got very bored. The theme of "these woods are scary" was repeatedly thrown at the reader to the point I wanted to tell the author "I get it." "We're supposed to be afraid of the woods".

Halfway through the book I contemplated DNFing it. I grew bored, impatient for the resolution and felt it was way too long. As a reader, the trope of not knowing what's going on, being confused or constant uncertainty is manageable for a short duration. 368 pages is too long to be left hanging on a limb. Finally about 65% of the way through the novel I became engaged again.

Shea Ernshaw's twist is the first of it's kind and I haven't read it before in any other novel. Her resolution and the epilogue were gratifying and tied up ends very nicely. I enjoyed the fact that the story continued past the heightened conflict scenes and reassured me as a reader. However this book needed more editing in the mid-section of the book. I would've preferred the book being edited down to 275-310 pages. 3.50 stars

A History of Wild Places was a great book to get lost in, I was completely immersed in this story. This is a book that gets better and better with each page. As the suspense slowly builds you are in a constant dark and uneasy mood waiting for something to happen, which you know is coming. I just loved that! That bleak and tragic “I don’t know if I want to know” feeling. The writing alone was just perfect, atmospheric and vivid and you really get transported into the story. Part mystery, fairy tale, fantasy and fiction, this would be the perfect book to read in a cabin in the woods. Again, I went in blind with no expectations or bias and it was a great experience not knowing what to expect or where the story was heading. Overall really impressed with this adult debut and loved all the mixed emotions I got.
4.5⭐️

4.5 stars for this twisty thriller!

Macabre children's author Maggie St. James, disappears without a trace after controversy over her writing. Gifted Travis Wren is on her trail ---- only to disappear himself.

At the center of both disappearances is Pastoral --- a community far off the grid and hidden from outsiders. The secrets of the community begin to take shape as the members start to work together to piece together clues that don't make sense and occurrences that may not be what they seem.

This book was gripping, haunting, and thoroughly captivating until the very end. Its only once the characters begin to trust one another that they recognize each of the strengths. The shocking truth is finally revealed, but only after several wild twists.

A HISTORY OF WILD PLACES has been on my list of highly anticipated 2021 releases. I'm so grateful to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read this one before my pre-order arrived!

I was drawn in by the concept: a missing children's book author being sought out by a man with paranormal abilities, both somehow drawn into a commune (I immediately read "cult") that has mysterious circumstances that keeps its members from leaving its borders. Heck yes, I was ready to go all-in for it.

Part I was everything I hoped it would be. I was invested in Travis' story as he journeyed into the woods to find Maggie. He was a character I could get behind: sad, lonely and broken with a good heart. He had a traumatic past and was on the run from himself. A good solid Taylor Swift song of a man.

As I moved into Part II, I was interested in learning about the community of Pastoral and, more so, what culty happenings it entailed. The journeys of Theo, Calla and Bee took over and I kept hoping to circle back to Travis. These three characters didn't have the same depth that he did and I found myself having difficulty connecting to each of them. They struck me as more surface-level and predictable and I wished I knew them better. I wanted so badly to get back the magic of Part I, but I never felt it was regained.

In the end, I wasn't completely sold on the final revelation that explained many of the aspects of Pastoral. It certainly was creative and I did not see it coming, but it didn't hit quite right for me. This said, I did enjoy the ending and how that all came back together.

I loved the atmosphere that SHEA ERNSHAW created for the entirety of the book and could imagine the claustrophobia of Pastoral's residents. The mystery of it all kept me turning the pages, but I think the story could have benefitted from a faster pacing through the middle and more fleshing out of the main characters. ​I also wanted more depth in the cult aspect of the story with an examination of how the cult-like thinking impacted each of the characters and how that will shape their futures.

This was a fun read and I know that many will enjoy it. It wasn't quite everything I was looking for, but it was quite a ride and kept me guessing!