Well this did not go as planned. After reading this authors first book and loving it. I thought this would be a good read. However no that is not the case.

This book was lacking in spark for me. I needed something to keep me invested. I needed something more. Instead I felt so confused and misguided during this read. The flashbacks and glimpses along the story line was fitting for the story sure but as a reader I needed something to guide me. I get the characters were lost and struggling to find their way but I didn’t need to be as a reader. Give me some stability to carry to the next page.

I know there is going to be readers out there was adore this and the artful way it was written. But for this reader it just didn’t fulfill what I needed. I am taking nothing away.

This story is about 2 sisters lost in the world not only struggling to find themselves but also needing to fill a hole their mother left in them when she abandoned them. This is sort of a coming of age book. A moment for discovery.

More magic realism for more fictional reader and less for fantasy reader.

In short:
Did I like it ? No.
Would I recommend it? I don’t think so.
Would I read more by this author? I will be wary if I do.

I have nothing but positive things to say about the writer's previous book, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, and I was crossing my fingers that The Wilderwomen would be just as whimsical and charming. This one was enjoyable too, even though it didn't give me that same spark.

In this book, Nora Wilder walks out of her house and disappears from the lives of her daughters, Zadie and Finn. For five years, the girls lived separate lives - Zadie, post-break up and newly pregnant, and Finn, a high school graduate living with foster parents. The siblings venture on a road trip to use their "sixth senses" (one's a psychic and one hears echoes of people's memories) with the hope of locating their mother.

I loved the premise of the book and found the daughters' powers an inventive tool to move the story along. The book felt a little YA to me (not a bad thing, just unexpected), and the ending felt slightly rushed and not totally satisfying. But still, I liked tagging along on their journey, and the side characters were a highlight.

I often go into books blind, but in this case, I went into The Wilderwomen knowing that it was going to involve magical realism. That's often a tricky genre for me, because if too much suspension of disbelief is required of me, I sometimes struggle with the book. And I have to admit that I have no idea if this is being classified as a YA book, but it definitely read like YA, which is not one of my favorite genres, either. That is not the fault of the book, that is my fault for not researching better, as I hadn't seen the genre specifically noted anywhere before I read it and simply assumed it was just magical realism

So that being said, I found The Wilderwomen to be really engaging, an easy read, and one that I tore through pretty quickly. It definitely kept my interest and had my mind trying to come up with different explanations of what happened to Nora. However, it really did require a lot of suspension of disbelief, and not just with the magical realism parts, which is why I think I didn't love the book. Things happened a little too conveniently at times, and I understand that to a certain degree that's necessary to move the story along, but it did have me rolling my eyes at times. As for the magical realism, I was mostly able to accept it as part of the story without it causing my interest to wane.

And this is not a spoiler, but I will say that I found the big "reveal" to be a bit of a disappointment. It tied everything together and I suppose it explained the events that led up to that point, but I found it to be pretty anti-climactic and a bit of a letdown. I can't say what ending would've felt better to me, I just didn't feel like the payoff was really there in this case. It also felt that parts of the story that could have really packed an emotional punch were lacking that. When I read the synopsis, I expected it to move me in a way other books with slightly similar storylines did, but that was not the case with this one.

I do think that people who love YA and magical realism will probably adore this book. For me, I am giving it three stars, which means "I liked it".

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-galley in exchange for my honest review.

📚 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰- The Wilder Women (Publishes November 15th)⁣
𝘉𝘺 𝘙𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘨⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐️ (4/5)⁣⁣⁣⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐞 "𝐆𝐢𝐬𝐭": Zadie is psychic and Finn gets "echoes" (snippets of other people's memories). Five years ago, their mother left and never came home. Now, for the first time ever, Finn has picked up on one of her mother's "echoes" and is convinced that not only does her mother WANT to be found, it's up to her and Zadie to find her and bring her home. ⁣
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𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 💭: This one starts as a nice, slow burn. It 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 take a while to build up to the action. The dialogue is on the cheesy side at the beginning, but it's probably pretty accurate for sisters like Zadie and Finn who have lost touch in recent years.⁣
⁣
By the 45% mark, the story picks up and falls into a really nice groove. Though it took me a while to connect to the sisters, by the halfway point, I was right there on their journey with them, rooting them on and biting my nails when things got dicey. ⁣
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I ended up really enjoying this one!⁣
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Thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review!⁣
⁣
You can get this on November 15th or grab it as a Book of The Month choice for November! ⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐞 👍:⁣⁣⁣⁣
- Chapter names! Why do we never see chapter names anymore? I love them!⁣
- Joel was a really fun character who added some much-needed comic relief. I really enjoyed the banter between the three of them and thought the contrast of how Zadie treated Joel vs how Finn treated Joel was really well done.⁣
⁣⁣⁣- The eclectic characters they meet along the way. ⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐃𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 👎:⁣⁣⁣⁣
- I do wish the beginning would have had a better pace and hooked me a bit sooner!⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 📖: You like books involving magical realism; you love birds and karaoke ❤️⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: PG-13 (for mild language)⁣
⁣⁣⁣⁣
𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐎𝐧 𝐌𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐟 📖: ⁣⁣⁣⁣
Will keep in my library and recommend to those I think will enjoy it. 😊

Five years ago, Zadie and Finn's mom, Nora walked out of their lives without a trace. Now that Finn has graduated high school and her foster parents are offering adoption, she's decided that she has to find out what happened to her mom before she can move on. Zadie, still harboring a lot of anger and resentment about her mother's disappearance but also worried about losing her sister as well, grudgingly agrees to Finn's plan. Both girls have supernatural powers - Finn can see the past and Zadie the future - but as Finn uses her gift more and more frequently in the search for their mother, Zadie can see Finn is starting to lose herself in a way eerily reminiscent of their mother before she disappeared.

The magic of this world is varied and mysterious, encompassing everything from talking to trees, hearing the music of the stars, and cryptic flashes of the future. While Zadie and Finn are fairly well developed characters, they are somewhat upstaged by the secondary characters they meet along the way who have fascinating magics of their own that beg for more exploration. The storytelling structure, with flashbacks into the time leading up to Nora's disappearance and Finn's ability to read memory echoes, provides a lot of depth to the sister's experience while also building towards the resolution and explanation for why Nora left them. However, I found the core story less engaging than the smaller stories of the people Zadie and Finn met along the way and I would like to read more about the magic in the world Lang created.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read The Wilderwomen early in exchange for an honest review.

Five years ago, Zadie and Finn's lives changed forever when their mother disappeared. One thing they (Zadie more than Finn) try to keep hidden are their abilities. They both have a special gift...Finn can feel and see other peoples' memories, or echoes, and Zadie can look into the future. As time wears on, Finn and Zadie end up estranged, but Zadie is still invited to celebrate Finn's graduation. Then, at said party, Finn is taken by an echo that's stronger than anything she's ever experienced. And suddenly she realizes it is her mothers' memory. Convinced she's out in the world somewhere, wanting to be found, Finn decides to go find her. Zadie, against all her instincts, goes along for the ride. All they have to go on is Finn's gift, what's the worst that could happen?

What a beautiful, surprising, haunting and wholesome book this was. This one, and the charming characters, didn't take long to cast me under it's spell. I loved it from the beginning and Ms. Lang's writing really sold every aspect of the story. The storytelling was fluid and moving, the language was poetic and all the characters were perfectly quirky. The journey was such a lovely one to experience as it unfolded that I, a lot of the time, didn't want it to end. What a wonderful story about relationships, family dynamics and sisterhood it was. I cannot say enough good things about this one. If you like anything that has to do with a curious mystery, family dynamics and drama and a pretty big dash of magical realism - this is a must read!

Wow! This was one of my favorite reads of the year - and that says a lot, because I read a lot and its November! Loved the characters, loved the story. Complex characters and a sense of wanderlust and adventure, tied with the realism of the complexity of families kept me reading, and when I couldn't read, thinking of the characters. Love, love, love! What a beautiful story.

The Wilderwomen by Emmie Lang
Rating: 4 stars
Pub Date: 11/15

The Wilderwomen is one of those books that will stay with me for a long time. Its magical realism meets women’s fiction mixed with coming of age and a dash of mystery. I really enjoyed getting to follow along with Zadie and Finn on their adventure and I’m excited to have found a new auto-buy author in Ruth Emmie Lang.

The Wilder sisters have grown apart since their mother Nora’s disappearance five years ago. Finn had to go into foster care because she was only 13 when it happened and Zadie had only just turned 18 and was too young to care for anyone else. The girls have abilities that they keep hidden from the world (Zadie is psychic and Finn can feel people’s memories) but on the day of Finn’s high school graduation party, she feels a memory of her mother singing a song about birds and makes the decision to go and look for her. The girls head out on a road trip that will teach them as much about themselves as it does about why their mother disappeared.

This story hit me right in the feels. I loved the dynamic between the girls and their mother which made it difficult to watch their relationship unravel. The multiple POVs and flashbacks to the past show us that Nora had a big secret that she wasn't sharing, and whatever it was was the real reason she left. It’s clear that she truly loved her daughters which made her leaving that much more mysterious.

Because Finn grew up in a foster situation with loving parents and Zadie was forced to grow up very quickly on her own, there’s a lot of distance between the sisters and it was heartwarming to watch them come back to each other on their journey to find Nora.

Road trips are always a good time and I loved that feeling of adventure as the girls combed through their memories and followed the clues that Finn sniffed out. There are a lot of twists that I didn’t see coming and the story ebbs and flows with really exciting moments and quieter moments of introspection.

The idea that there is a group of people out there with a sixth sense, called Sixes, is an interesting and unique magic system that Lang created. The magic wasn’t overwhelming and while it was a big part of the story it wasn’t distracting at all. It was a means to help the girls find their mother, and I’d be interested to read more books with characters like this in the future.

Overall, just a really well-done, heartwarming, magical read full of complex characters and family drama. Read if you like coming-of-age stories, sisterly bonds, astrology, and effortless, lyrical writing. I haven’t read this author’s debut novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, yet but I definitely will now!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy. The Wilderwomen is out on 11/15.

Sisters Zadie and Finn are searching for their mother who disappeared five years ago. They have certain abilities that aid them in their search. They meet some interesting people in their search. The sisters discover things about their mom and themselves. This book is a clever take on a mother/daughter relationship. The past and present-day passages show that communication is key.

The writing is descriptive and engaging. You're almost there with the characters in certain passages. I am so glad I read this book. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of " The Wilder Women."

Read this book if you like: Sister bonds, a bit of magic, a journey to find someone

Five years ago, Nora Wilder suddenly disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she is literally psychic.

Years later Zadie’s estranged younger sister, Finn is with a foster family. She can’t see into the future. She remembers not only her own memories, but the echoes of memories other people have left behind. On the afternoon of her graduation party, Finn is seized by an “echo” more powerful than anything she’s experienced before: a woman singing a song she recognizes, a song about a bird.

Finn wakes up alone in an aviary with no idea of how she got there, she realizes who the memory belongs to: Nora. With a bit of convincing from Finn, Zadie agrees to set out and look for their mom. They go on journey meeting people along the way.

I really enjoyed this book. I did find it to be slow at times. Regardless I could not put it down. The characters were beautifully written. I enjoyed most of the characters minus finding the foster parents to be unlikeable. The scenery had a slightly dark gothic feel to me. The bit of magic is perfect. Their special abilities are unlike anything I have read. The people they met along the way were just as fascinating. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book! ❤️

I love books with complicated relationships within families. I had mixed feelings about Finn's foster parents. They weren't bad people and it was nice that she had people that cared about her, but I think it was unfair that they treated Zadie like she was nothing but a bad influence and I don't think that they should have been considered to be Finn's parents since they were only taking care of her for 5 years. I think I would feel differently if they considered Zadie to be a part of their family too. The story dragged a little at times but, other than that I really liked it.

Wow, what a phenomenal book! I loved every single second of reading Wilderwomen. I was sucked in right from the start and did not want to put it down!

Zadie and Finn are sisters each with a unique gift. They use their gifts on a trip to try to find out why their mom disappeared 5 years ago. I felt so many emotions as the two traveled. Between characters they met or experiences they had, I was able to create such vivid images and felt as if I was right there with them. This type of book is not my typical go to genre, but I would absolutely recommend it to someone who enjoys wholesome, family literature.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early release of this book.

I didn't really know what to expect from this one, but it was a pleasant surprise. I was instantly drawn into the story of these sisters, with special abilities, and their quest to find their missing mother.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read!

Zadie and Finn's mother, Nora, left them five years ago without so much as a goodbye. In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Finn convinces Zadie to go on a cross-country trip to find answers. Their mission, however long it takes, is to find their mother and learn why she left. In their journey, they reconnect with people from both their past and their mother's past, and are able to learn more about themselves in the process.

I absolutely adored this book, and finished it in a matter of hours. I fell head over heels for the lush, ambient scenery of the story, and found myself enamored with the characters. The author's characterization of the main three--Nora, Zadie, and Finn--as well as the more minor characters--Joel, the Sixes, Kathy, and others--is absolutely outstanding. Lang writes these characters like she has known them her entire life. Additionally, the magical realism of this story is something that fits perfectly within the narrative. I tend to shy away from these types of novels, as I feel the genre can get a bit cheesy, but this book did not disappoint in that regard.

I don't have any major criticisms of this book, but it could be that I am floating on a post-book high due to how much I loved it. However, I will say that if you are someone who does not like somewhat-sappy family-oriented novels, this one may not be for you. Additionally, be ready to suspend some disbelief, as is necessary with any magical realism book.

Overall, I rate this book 4.5 stars out of 5, but will be rounding up to 5 for Goodreads' sake. If you liked Malibu Rising, The Time Traveler's Wife, or The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, this one may be for you.

Thank you to both Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

The Wilderwomen is a journey through family ties and heartbreak with a veil of magical realism. Two sisters, Zadie and Finn, reconnect after five years of drifting apart to search for their missing mother. Their mission to find their mother, Nora, forces them to face their own demons and come to terms with their magical gifts.

While the story was engaging, there were times where the writing seemed to wander and left me a bit lost. That being said, The Wilderwomen is a great read about rediscovering familial love and connecting with our truest selves.

Rating: 4/5

I received an eARC of this book for my honest review

This book was not what I was expecting but was pleasantly surprised by it. I thought the plot was well made and did not have any flaws in it. A heartwarming story of two sisters out to find their mother who had left them years ago, to see these two strong women grow throughout the book and find themselves among the chaos of the world and just where do they fit in. With the magical realism in this book, you really get to be taken away on the adventure of their lives.
I thought the fun banter between both sister and other characters really made them easy to connect with. You get the fun, free spirit sister Finn and the serious/fearful sister Zadie. My favorite out of them would have to be Finn, I just loved her energy, but Zadie did grow on me more and more throughout the book and at the end I did shred a tear of joy for the girls but mostly for Zadie.
I thought all the characters that the sisters met throughout the book really helped bond the sisters together and helped them really find out more about themselves. I really enjoyed the time that the sisters got to meet the group of sixes and the time that they spent in the mountains.
For me this was a fast paced and easy read, one that left me wanting to call my mom afterwards to let her know that I loved her.
I would recommend this book to all my friends and bookish community who would like a quick and interesting read.

I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I read Ruth Emmie Lang's BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES earlier this year and it hit such a special place in my heart. Magical Realism is difficult to get right and Lang just knocks it out of the park. I finished BEASTS wanting more magical realism and a strong desire to watch Big Fish (one of my favorites when I was younger and I watched it on repeat). All to say - THE WILDERWOMEN was precisely what I hoped and dreamed it would be. It feels remarkably similar to the vibes of her previous novel.

The core of this book is two sisters, separated when their mom left five years ago, whose relationship has deteriorated plan a beach vacation but instead end up on a road trip up the west coast searching for their lost mother. Both sisters have powers (later referred to as a "sixth sense") and their trip brings them to others who share their own unique abilities. Here is where I dive back into the Big Fish comparison where we have a larger story (searching for their mother), re-building a relationship between the sisters, and these self-contained side stories of the people they meet.

The writing is beautiful. The characters are so well done and a dual POV allows us to dive into their own hurts and hopes, Lang is top-tier at writing side characters they were all so distinct and fleshed out. It made me want to hug my mom and my sister and also maybe go camping (WHAT!) and talk to strangers (WHO EVEN AM I?).

I recommended this already to many friends and my sister but would also make a great gift to friends and loved ones and people you just have no idea what to buy them. It isn't really a happy book but it makes you feel so warm.

THE WILDERWOMEN by Ruth Emmie Lang is an intriguing and magical story of sisters and family that kept me engaged from beginning to end. It blends family drama with mystery and a bit of magical realism. Sisters Zadie and Finn Wilder became separated when their mother, Nora, vanished without a trace five years prior. Zadie is now twenty-three and has just left her boyfriend. Finn is seventeen and living with her loving foster parents. Zadie and Finn each have special “gifts”. Zadie can see the future and Finn can sense other people’s memories in addition to her own. When Finn experiences a strong memory that turns out to belong to their mother, she is sure that her mother is still out there somewhere, hoping to be found. Finn talks a reluctant Zadie into going together to search for her. The sisters use the echoes of Nora’s memories to guide their travels as they try to retrace Nora’s footsteps leading up to her disappearance. As their journey progresses, secrets from the past are gradually revealed and the sisters begin an emotional reconnection that is heartwarming and poignant. I enjoyed this unique and moving story and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

The Wilderwomen is a story about two young women embarking on a journey to find their mother who abandoned them 5 years prior with no plan or clues aside from their "sixth senses". I really loved the magic/paranormal aspects of this story and the way it is told from both Zadie and Finn's points of view. This was my first book by this author and her writing is delightfully descriptive and atmospheric. The aesthetic of this book was a bit gray and moody which was so nice for a fall read. I enjoyed how the ending wrapped everything up nicely (and happily) but felt that it ended a bit abruptly. Maybe that's just a testament to the story and me not wanting it to end. As mentioned above I haven't read Ruth Emmie Lang's other book, but thinking I'll try to move it up on my TBR now.

Lastly, I'm not sure this book is marketed as a Young Adult read, but I believe it fits that genre.

You may like this one if you're in the mood for:
- a family mystery
- female protagonists
- paranormal abilities
- an atmospheric read

Sisters Finn and Zadie haven’t seen their mother since she disappeared one night and left them behind five years ago. The sisters have a bit of magic. Finn can see memories, she calls them echoes, and Zadie gets psychic visions that are difficult to interpret. Can they use their gifts to find out what happened to their mom once and for all?

This book traverses the girls’ lives with their mother and without. We watch their bond, through the difficulty of losing their mother, of living apart, and in their attempt to find her. Zadie was a tough character to like. She was singularly focused on retaining her sister, and she didn’t much care if that got in the way of things. But I adored Finn. She has a way with people, they are drawn to her, and she can make friends everywhere.

I liked how seamlessly the girls’ gift worked with the storyline. I especially loved the campground and all the people that lived there. I would love to see more of those characters. The Wilderwomen is richly descriptive, and I felt I was everywhere the sisters were. This is such a lovely story. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along.