I enjoyed this book from the first pages, and it kept pulling me along relentlessly, right to the end. I loved the dynamic between the sisters, who were well portrayed and very different in personality. The magic realism was well done and intriguing, and I loved seeing the world through the sisters’ eyes. Their modern-day quest to find their mother was a journey of love and trust in each other, as they dove into the unknown. This is a unique story and I found it delightful to read a book where I couldn’t guess what would happen next.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc. I will be submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion on Goodreads immediately, and on Amazon and my Instagram account after publication.

This book was good. It kept me engaged for the most of it, but it definitely didn't fully go the way I expected it to go. This book is worth the read if you enjoy fantasy reads!

Zadie and Finn are sisters who couldn't be more different. One of the only things they have in common are their "gifts", -- Zadie is psychic, and Finn hears echoes of people's memories. Since their mother's disappearance 5 years ago, the girls have been separated --Zadie on her own, and Finn in a foster home. After Finn's graduation from high school, the girls are taking a vacation to the beach. When Finn proposes using the trip to find their mother, Zadie reluctantly agrees.

I enjoyed this book. I found all the magical/mystical storylines interesting, and thought it was an easy read.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I thought this book was just okay. I didn't hate but I also didn't love it. A lot of the themes were really interesting and I thought the concept was unique but it just fell a bit flat for me.

This is a solid 3 for me. The plot and prose are going to captivate a wide audience but it just fell flat for me. I found both Zadie & Finn insufferable and the longer their “just one week” trip dragged on the less I cared about what happened to their mom, Nora, when she disappeared 5ish years in the past.

Objectively, this was well written and had an interesting interweave of magic & modernity. I just couldn’t get wrapped up in it like I expected.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for letting me enjoy this early in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! From the very beginning, I was invested in the storyline and the main characters were incredibly lovable and so was their dynamic. I love a good story of sisterhood and family and this one delivered. The magical/supernatural aspects of everything made it even more interesting to me and I had a great time reading this. I did think the ending felt a little jumbled but overall, I got the story and it made enough sense to suspend disbelief. Great book!

I really enjoyed this novel! I may even say I enjoyed it more than the author’s previous popular novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance. Ruth Emmie Lang is a magical realism expert. I found this one fast paced, entertaining and lovely! I always enjoy her nature themes sprinkled with magic. Would recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an electronic ARC in return for my honest review.

The cover totally sucked me in so after reading the blurb/synopsis I knew I wanted to read this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I stepped out of my comfort zone in reading outside of my preferred genres and was thoroughly impressed. I liked the characters. Zadie and Finn felt realistic to me especially the back and forth arguing. I wasn't expecting the ending, but I really enjoyed how it was tied up.

The writing style was a little different than what I usually read. It felt all over the place at some parts. I'm not sure how to describe it.

Overall, I liked the book and will definitely read more from this author!

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

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me access to this ARC!

I went in with an idea of what this story was but it turned into much more. I was hooked at a few parts and could have done without a couple parts.

The story was enjoyable. I guess it snuck in some fantasy genre that I do not tend to read. I'll look into other works by the author in the future.

THE WILDERWOMEN by Ruth Emmie Lang

I don’t normally choose books in the fantasy category but, I do enjoy magical realism and these two genres tend to intermingle a lot. What drew me to request this ARC was the premise - two estranged half-sisters working together to find their missing mom.

I thought some of the “sixth sense” abilities the author gave the sisters and other characters were really unique and creative. Finn can see/re-live the memories of other people and Zadie can see into the future. One of the supporting characters had the ability to HEAR the stars as musical notes and some were able to communicate with trees - very cool!

I didn’t care for the slow pacing and meandering plot. The people the girls meet during their journey (very) conveniently help them figure out where their mom might be. That’s great and all, but not very realistic. Also, it seems the tagalong ex-boyfriend didn’t really serve a purpose to the girl’s journey.

Overall, this was enjoyable. There are themes of self-acceptance, appreciating one’s strengths and weaknesses, and learning/growing to love people. This would be well received by those who love YA novels.


**ARC courtesy of @NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press

Rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️

This was a very fun book, and I loved it! The adventure, the sister's love, and the discovery made it an adventure that was well worth taking. Along with that, it is definitely a feel-good book, despite some of the heavier topics.

What a wonderful story of the Wilder sisters, Zaddie and Finn, who decide to use their own special powers to go find their mom who disappeared years ago.Whole searching for their mom the girls not only reconnect but discover a bit about themselves. Just like her previous story Ms Lang did a wonderful job with her character development, making me love them all.

Zadie and Finn are sisters with certain “abilities.” Zadie gets visions of the future and Finn can see echoes of peoples’ past memories. Even with these abilities, they did not expect their mom to walk out without so much as a word of explanation. Five years later, they decide to go looking. But what will they have to endure to find her?

This book was so incredible I’m not sure I have the words for it yet. It explores themes of family, love and loss, healing, and forgiveness. I slowed down while reading this to really draw it out and I still wanted more! The writing and voices were fantastic!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Five years ago, Finn and Zadie's mother left their house and never came back. The two sisters handled the trauma and view their mother in very different ways, and their lives have taken divergent paths. But the Wilder women are different from most women, each has special "abilities." Zadie has verbal premonitions that, unfortunately, are not always particularly clear in their meaning. Finn experiences "echoes," experiencing the actual memories of others as if she was that person, which naturally can be both terrifying and extraordinarily enlightening. When Finn realizes she may have clues and possible echoes of her mother, however, she convinces her sister to set off on a quest to find her, or find out what happened to her, and maybe find each other and themselves in the process.
I found this extremely original and enjoyable. The sister dynamic was well-drawn and believable, especially the differing views of their mother and how they've dealt with it over the years. The action is smoothly plotted and never drags, all the secondary characters are well-realized, and the special 'abilities" as presented appear perfectly plausible. Highly recommended.
My copy was a eARC given from NetGalley for an honest review.

Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared leaving behind her two daughters, Zadie and Finn. Even though she's a psychic, Zadie didn't foresee her mother's disappearance. When Finn seizes an echo of a memory of Nora, she believes their mother is still alive and convinces Zadie to accompany her on a journey into their mother's past. But as Finn starts losing herself in Nora's memories, Zadie must decide where to draw the line or risk losing them both.

Ruth Emmie Lang employs subtle magical realism in The Wilderwomen. Instead of X-Men-like powers, Zadie and Finn have slightly useless flashes of abilities. The plot focuses on the estranged sisters discovering their past, but I had difficulty staying engaged with the meandering story. Plus, the strange ending made the whole novel feel pointless to me.

I finished this book about a month ago, and the more time that's passed since I read it the more I like it! I struggled to connect with the characters while reading, and since the characters and their journey was very important to this book, I wasn't able to fully immerse myself in the story while I read. However, it's undeniably well-written and original, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy in a naturalistic setting. 3,5 stars for me, but potentially 5 stars for another reader.

This review has also been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph, and a TikTok review is located here: https://www.tiktok.com/@allyzinnia/video/7127343586798144814?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7101329330955257390

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy!

Haunting but more for the familial relationships than the plot. I enjoyed the supernatural abilities as well.

This was a heartfelt read that in many ways reminded me of Sarah Addison Allen's books. It follows two sisters with magical powers who are searching for their mom.

It's fast-paced, not too heavy, has some lighthearted fun moments, and will just make you happy once you've finished.

The mystery kept me intrigued, but there was something else about the way the novel was written that really captured my attention. The different gifts presented throughout were just lovely. 'Talking to trees' sounds kind of quirky, but even that was sweet and youthful, yet loving and wistful, all at the same time. This story felt unique and was a change of pace from my normal go-to reads. I was left wanting slightly more from the ending, but was overall satisfied with how things wrapped up.

Follow the Wilder women-Finn and Zadie as they go on a quest to find their mom. No maps or clues to help them, just the power of their "gifts". Here's the thing about this book-I have never read ANYTHING like it. Although it ended up not being my type of book, I have to give credit where it's due. It was easy enough to follow along and once I got about 55% in, I was finally invested enough to want to see how it would play out. If I had to create words to describe this book, I'd have to say it's a "slow burn mystery".