A look into women's lives in the US wild west. The Three Widows of Wylder
Disclaimers: I received a copy of this book via Netgalley. And in my opinion, this is not a Romance but Women’s Fiction as there is no central romance. Don’t let either of these stop you.
What intrigued me to read this book was a blurb about Emma taking a stand to protect a horse. Though this isn’t where the book started, I became quickly immersed.
Clara wants a divorce from her husband, and who is not a nice man. Then Mary Rose appears, and her husband is no dream either. The two go on the run, and neither seems to care for anyone, including the horse. Here’s where we meet Emma, who, to me, is the real hero of the story.
The struggle of three women alone in the west trying to make it to safety is well written. Though you may not like each of the women in turn, this gives depth to the story. The world-building and dialog are excellent. Each woman is well-rounded as a character, and the resolutions to their stories are well done.
Women throughout history have struggled to make it in a man’s world, and Clara, Mary Rose, and Emma each find a way on different roads.
Highly Recommended

Set in the Western world,three different women running from something meet up on the road and travel together to find peace and redemption.They end up becoming some what of friends and finding what they are looking for.
Good different story, plenty of drama,mystery,angst.
Enjoy the story.
Voluntarily reviewed.

Three women on the run from the law. This was an easy enjoyable book to read. It kept me interested to see if they would get away with their crimes. Not disappointed with the story .

Three women, each with secrets and each with a different agenda, meet and end up traveling together across the West. Clara is running from a handing judge and trying to get to her brother's home in Wylder, Wyoming. Mary Rose, a vain and spoiled woman whose third husband has just died, joins Clara on her journey (even though she really wants to go to Colorado Springs to reunite with her mother). Then Emma turns up with her mule and two racehorses and rescues the women and joins them, on her way to Oregon. Emma has her own secrets, but keeps them to herself.

This was a really quick read, but totally kept my attention, even though Mary Rose really irritated me. The one who stood out to me was Emma, who was worthy of respect for her courage, determination, and skills. She is my favorite character. Women's rights during this period were basically non-existent. The women's stories didn't end the way I expected, so there were some surprises. I enjoyed the book. I understand this is part of a series of books about The Wylder West, but this is the first I've read and can easily be read without reading the other books first.

Thanks to The Wild Rose Press, Inc. through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I had not read any of the Wylder books before and was impressed with the author's development of the complicated characters and the situations they found themselves in. This was an intriguing, often surprising book which did not provide easy answers to the characters' dilemmas, but did provide satisfying ones. It made me want to read the other books in this series to discover whether they, too subvert and expand the Western genre as this one does.

Three woman each totally different, sharing only one thing in common. They were on the run from the law for different
reasons. Clara the eldest at 36 running away to her brother's farm after the killing of her husband, then there was Mary
Rose whom you wanted to shake till her teeth rattled - vacuous and empty headed but sharp when it came to her own survival again after the death of her third husband and still very young, and finally Emma the brave, different but also running away.

The setting of the rugged terrain of the Wild West was very relevant to the story. The hardships endured in reaching
Clara's brother's house which would afford them protection they thought was the key.

Each woman sought a life after reaching their safe place, two of them in marriage and one in a secure future. That it
all worked out in different ways and they all found redemption to live their lives is this story.

Nicely told, descriptive and rather a different setting.

this was another great entry in the wylder west series, it had what I wanted from the series and a western book. The characters were interesting and I enjoyed the story.

Drawn to Wylder for different reasons, three widows find love and redemption. Clara's wishful thinking lands her with a date with a noose. Her husband's death haunts her every move. Can she find solace with her brother in Wylder? Mary Rose is in dire straits, so she jumps at the chance to escape. She helps Clara by furnishing a wagon and a horse, but will she find what she's looking for out west? Emma knows her way around horses and guns but she's hiding a dark secret. As she teams up with Clara and Mary Rose, the three women survive to make it to Wylder. Once there, three women struggle to find their place in this rugged town. Romance blooms but will it wither on the vine when their pasts catch up with them?

The Three Widows of Wylder is a feast for historical western romance readers. I love a good old-fashioned historical west story and this one has triple the action, adventure, peril, mystery, and romance. I connected with all three heroines right away. Their strength, determination, and independence struck a chord with me. The descriptive narration is immersive with historical accuracy down to the last small detail. The plot moves with perfect pacing. The dialogue is so entertaining, I couldn't stop reading. There were a few twists I didn't anticipate which added to the overall enjoyment of the story. Julie Howard is a talented writer and she expands her prowess into the historical western romance genre with The Three Widows of Wylder. If you love historical westerns, pick up The Three Widows of Wylder. If you're a fan of historical western women's fiction, you've got to read The Three Widows of Wylder. A brilliant story from start to finish, The Three Widows of Wylder is your next must-read. Highly recommend!

My Rating: 5+ stars

Three women on the run.
After the death of her husband, Clara flees a hanging judge and seeks refuge with her brother in Wylder, Wyoming.
With secrets of her own and good reasons to flee, spoiled and vain Mary Rose joins Clara on the trek to Wyoming. Surely a suitable man exists somewhere.
Emma is a mystery. A crack shot and expert horsewoman, her harrowing past seeps out in a steady drip. She’s on the run from something, but what?
After the three women descend on Wylder, a budding romance leads to exposure of their pasts. As disaster looms, will any of them escape?

About the story: In a spin-off from the usual fare offered by the popular Wylder West series, published by the Wild Rose Press, author Julie Howard offers us three unique women characters. Each is driven by her own demons; each is determined to survive at all costs. No matter what it takes.
Our Review: Each time we read and review another creation by the talented Julie Howard, we come away certain this one is the best of the lot—and each one has been terrific. In ‘Three Widows’ each character has her own individual personality, driven by needs common to women of that time in history, with few resources and nowhere to turn—until she takes matters into her own hands. And we are better for having read it. Well done.

On a scale of 1-5, The Three Widows of Wylder deserves an 8.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews