A beautifully written story that I flew through. Super easy to read. It was a story that was magical, emotional, and I loved the sisterhood bond. I loved going to each stop with the Wilder sisters on their journey and got engrossed in their little slices of magic. All the people they met along the way was also such a joy.

I really enjoyed this lovely book. Just the right amount of magic, a beautiful story of sisterhood, and a re-found family. There were bits of heartbreak but just enough light to keep it from ever being too dreary. In particular I loved Zadie. As an eldest sister myself, she made complete sense to me. The prose was well-written and the ending satisfying. All around a great book and I look forward to reading more Lang in the future.

I really enjoyed Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance so I was excited to read this one. I struggle with magical realism sometimes because the real world aspects can sometimes jolt you out of the story, but this one worked really well. Zadie and Finn both have a six sense, and I really loved to see how the powers effected the lives of each sister, along with the trauma and difficulties from their mother leaving. Since Zadie was legally an adult, her life after their mother left was drastically different from her sisters, who was able to be put in a foster home with a loving family.
The sisters journey to find their mother and themselves was incredibly crafted. I loved the various people they met and seeing others with another sense and hoe each person copes with it.
This really was a lovely story about self identity, and self worth, family, forgiveness, and love. I would've given this book five stars BUT the ending was a little too neat for my liking, and Finn's choices at the end really bothered me.

Ruth Emmie Lang really grabbed me with her first novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances, and it became one of my favorite books I read last year. So, I was really interested in her latest novel and while she has a wonderful way of writing I just couldn't get into the story in this one. I still look forward to what she writes next.

I'm sad because I'm a big magical realism fan and this let me down. The characters and the mystery element fell flat for me. It was too slow to keep me engaged the whole time.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.

I kind of enjoyed this book but it wasn’t my favorite. I read it awhile ago and I, honestly, don’t remember very much. The pros were me were the writing style and the characters. I remember loving them so much. The cons were the plot and the ending.

This isn't really my type of book so I had a hard time connecting to the story and ended up not finishing the book.

The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wilderwomen is about a set of sisters, Finn and Zadie, who go in search of their missing mother, Nora Wilder.

The vibes of this book, the characters, the slight nod to magic/paranormal in the real world is amazing. I don’t feel I have much to say beyond that. Wilderwomen is one of those books that you enjoy reading, want to read again, and just overall is a great story you get absorbed in.

The theme of love and missing drives this book forward to an ending that brings happiness. This book presents the reader with unusual women who have gifts that make them so. For the girls, Zadie, who possesses the skill of being a psychic, and her sister, Finn, who can tap into memories, the disappearance of their mother Nora, eventually sends them on a journey to find their lost mother.

This is a strange tale, when years later Finn taps into a memory that she soon realizes is her mother's. Finn begins to slip away into those memories and Zadie realizes that Finn, just like Nora, will one day vanish seemingly into the wind. What can Zadie do to stop the progression and not lose Finn too?

The girls decide to set out on a mission to find their mother, whose fascination with birds, seems to drive her. The girls having been apart for the last five years come together in what seems to be a search that will yield little results. However, they are driven by dreams, by sensing their mother is out there, by the knowledge they need Nora to be able to go on.

This interesting tale is heavily involved in the fantasy realm and magical realism is heavily present on each and every page. I liked it, and had the compulsion to finish it even though at times felt bogged down with it. Definitely a story that was designed for those who believe the human spirit perhaps has the ability to go beyond the everyday.

Thank you to Ruth Emmie Lang, St Martins' Press and NetGalley for a copy of this tale.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

The Wilderwomen follows two sisters, Zadie and Finn who go on a cross-country quest to find their mom, Nora, who disappeared five years prior. In those five years, Zadie and Finn grew apart, since Zadie was 18 and Finn was placed in foster care. After Finn has a memory of their mom at her graduation party, she convinces Zadie to turn their trip to the Gulf Coast into an adventure bigger than either of them could have imagined taking. Zadie refuses to use her psychic powers, while Finn is all too eager to lean into her gift of experiencing other people's memories.

Lang's writing is whimsical and enchanting. Much like her debut novel, The WIlderwomen captures the reader on the first page and will hold onto them until the end. Since neither has spent much time with the other since their mom disappeared, their hesitancy is apparent. What's even more apparent is the love both Zadie and Finn have had for each other the entire time. The way that the story progresses, and the challenges that they both have to face demonstrates the growth Zadie and Finn experience in a way that felt authentic and true to many sibling relationships.

My one gripe is that the last third of the book seemed to move incredibly quickly. Zadie and Finn had seen so many setbacks and delays in reaching their final destination, that attaining what they set out to do seemed like it should've taken a little longer. I do have to say that the imagery of the book and the descriptions of Texas, Arizona, and Washington were stunning, and I could picture everything that Lang was describing. I now want to plan a trip following Zadie and Finn's path!

If you like magical realism, stories about sisters, stories about mothers and daughters, or even just a good old roadtrip with personal growth, I highly recommend picking up this book.

Magic found in the mundane and "echoes" of the past reaching across time drive two sisters, that were divided by the sudden loss of their mother, to find the truth of her disappearance in their lives.

Zadie has had to survive, mostly living with boyfriends and trying to suppress her ability to glimpse the future, since her mother "left" and never returned five years ago. Unable to care for her younger sister, Finn, their lives have been on separate roads since that day. In an effect to try to hold on to some form of family, Zadie hopes to spend a post-graduation vacation with Finn. But Finn had other ideas.

The story becomes an adventure for these two sisters as they set out to find not only Nora, their mother; but the truth about the bonds of family and what deals this them together. The sparks of magic that they carry within them shine a light on a world that they never knew - highlighting characters as unique as the stars amd just as diverse, making the story all that much more enriching.

While the author proves she can draw the reader in their this journey of growth and insight, I will tell you that I felt that not having as much vested interest or knowledge of Nora made it hard for me to be be swayed by the author's reasoning. This could be why I felt the ending of the journey was lackluster and underwhelming.

Overall, it was just the kind of story I enjoy reading during the summer with that family ties feel and adventure-quality.

** Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion **

I honestly had no idea this was YA while I read it. Only when I went to review did I see it was listed in the YA categories. To me, this novel is one part women's fiction, one part sisterhood, one part family drama, and one part Magical Realism. Zadie has a sixth sense that the author uses to advance the story, Rather, than having it be unbelievable and something to mock the character for. It is there and yes, one of the main components in the sister's division, but it is more insight, common sense, and memory.
This is a unique story I have not even come close to reading before and it is so much bigger than just the YA audience.

The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang

329 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: November 15, 2022

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Sci Fi, Fantasy, Psychic, Mother/Daughter and Sister Relationships

Nora Wilder walked away from her life. Her daughters, Zadie and Finn are now young women. Zadie was almost 18 when she left, and Finn was 12 so she went into foster care. After her high school graduation, Finn asked Zadie to go on an adventure to find their mother before she agrees to let her foster parents adopt her. Zadie can look into the future but has ignored her gift. Finn experiences echoes from other people’s past. They must use their skills together to piece together what happened to their mother.

The book has a steady pace, the characters are very developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. Zadie is the older protective sister while Finn is the younger adventurist sister. The sisters’ relationship is not as close as they would like because of circumstances beyond their control. Each sister grows up and together throughout the story. If you like psychic adventures or stories with the mother/daughter relationship, you will enjoy reading this book.

This was an intriguing book. Yes, there are people with little special gifts (sixes as some people in the trailer park call themselves) but to me, it was more about the journey of two sisters looking for their mother who disappeared several years ago. Zadie and Finn discovered secrets and I think it was cool to see how they both grew closer (after their trials on the trip). The ending however was just a bit odd, and not quite what I expected, even with all the hints about birds. Finn with her echoes of other's memories was both interesting and helpful for that journey, and the danger from those echoes added some nice spice.

So, overall it was a good book and I am glad I got the chance to read it.

This book had so much going that had me hooked.

Nora and her girls.
Finn and Zadia, sister relationships.
The powers of the sixth sense.
Strangers aren't always really that.
Revisiting past realtionships.
Family you never new you had.

I’ve been a fan of Ruth Emmie Lang since I read her debut novel, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, and her newest work does not disappoint. It’s a beautiful story of family, sisterhood, and the storms that bring us together and tear us a part. It’s beautifully complex, and I’ll be recommending it to all my book club friends.

I can't begin this review without first saying that Ruth Emmie Lang's debut, Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance, is one of my all-time favorite books. Like, if I could carry it around with me at all times like a blankey, I would...that's how much I love that book. I have given it as gifts, I have begged people to read it saying "read this and you will understand how I feel about books." It's because of this love that I had unbelievably high expectations of The Wilderwomen, bordering on unreasonably high expectations if I'm being totally honest. When I received the free review copy, I canceled all my plans (I had no plans, I never have plans) to sit down and read it.

In The Wilderwomen, the Wilder women have _abilities_: some embraced, some ignored, but none fully explained since Nora Wilder, mom of Sadie and Finn, disappeared from their lives years ago, leaving the girls untethered and confused about their uniqueness and their place in the world. When they decide to trace their mother's footsteps to try and find out what really happened to her, will they like what they uncover?

What makes Lang's writing so special to me is how she effortlessly weaves magic realism into her stories. It never feels forced or false, it just is. I always get so swept up in her prose that I find myself a little bit envious of her characters and their magic. I want to be magic.

But alas, I am not magic so I have to live vicariously through her rich and well-rounded out characters. Sisters Finn and Zadie are a delight. They are both headstrong, flawed, and trying to figure out how to reconnect with each other and find their mother and get much-need answers about their past in order to have a future. I was all-in for the journey and really enjoyed the characters met along the way also.

While this one didn't make it into my heart in quite the same way BEASTS did, I still loved it, I'll still re-read it and I still want to be magic. Thank you for that, Emmie.

**thank you to Net Galley & St. Martin's Press for the advanced review copy**

takes a hot minute to get familiar with the characters but once you do, its so good. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nora Wilder disappeared five years ago. Her daughters, Zadie and Finn, have special gifts where they can see the future and read people's memories, but they didn't see this coming. Now the daughters are setting out on an adventure to find their mom. Bouncing back and forth between Nora's pre-disappearance timeline and present-day, this story unfolds the relationships between mothers and daughters, the bonds of sisterhood, and the many gifts of the world. Will they reunite with their mom? Can they save themselves in the process? What will it all cost them?

This book is a wild, beautiful ride. I didn't have many expectations, and it took me a little time to buy into the magical realism part of the story. I still felt like I didn't fully get into it, but that didn't keep me from the suspense of the quest or the love between the sisters. I felt like there were some parts of the story that didn't go nearly as deep as I wanted. The writing is beautiful and Lang knows how to paint a vivid picture of nature. I could feel each setting as they arrived.

I liked how the magical realism/abilities were done and imagined. The story itself did not keep my attention like I thought it would. I was, however, satisfied with the ending.

My favorite character by far was Joel, but he was the least “interesting” but I liked the concept of finding and controlling the power within as portrayed with the two sister characters. This is a good road trip novel for when your reading tastes want an adventure.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the gifted ecopy. All views expressed are my own.