WHERE COYOTES HOWL by Sandra Dallas is a new work of historical fiction set in Wallace, Wyoming during the early twentieth century. Main characters are Ellen Webster, the women whom she befriends, and a romantic interest, Charlie Bacon, who is a cowboy. Dallas refers frequently to the title and its poignancy as an indication to the loneliness and dangers in such a desolate area. Ellen goes to Wallace for a one year adventure as a school teacher; she falls in love and stays longer, but still struggles with the demanding environment, particularly for women. Dallas emphasizes how Ellen's friends (varied in age and background) experience prejudice, spousal abuse, and the devastating death of young children. As in many of Dallas' other novels, the women draw strength from each other which lessens their pain while allowing readers to more readily appreciate that support and concern. WHERE COYOTES HOWL received a starred review from Booklist. Definitely have a look at some of Dallas' earlier works, too, including The Diary of Mattie Spenser (a personal favorite of the author), The Persian Pickle Club, and more recently, Little Souls. Plus, numerous historical fiction novels have an emphasis on settling a frontier and/or overcoming hardships, including titles like Homestead by Melinda Moustakis, Christy by Catherine Marshall, and News of the World by the Paulette Jiles.

(3.5 stars)
It’s going to sound odd that I enjoyed Where Coyotes Howl, given it’s such a sad story. The extreme hardships experienced by settlers in early 20th century Wyoming are brought to life by the author. Unfortunately, the happy parts are few and far between, so it’s one tragic event after another.

Ellen is a young school teacher who comes to a very small town in Wyoming on a one-year contract to teach in their one-room schoolhouse. There she falls in love with one of the local cowboys, Charlie Bacon. They marry and the book follows their lives, along with several of the townspeople and ranchers in the area. The author has chosen to bookend their story with a prologue and an epilogue. Once you read the prologue, which takes place about 30 years later, you already know that nothing much good happened to this young couple, so there wasn’t a whole lot of suspense in the rest of the book.

I bounced between the audiobook and the ebook for this title, which was very convenient. The audiobook’s narrator, Stephanie Nemeth-Parker, did a great job with all the voices.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

It is 1916, and Ellen has moved to Wallace, Wyoming, to start a career as a schoolteacher. But, what she wasn’t expecting, was to fall in love with a handsome cowboy named Charlie Bacon. After marrying Charlie, Ellen finds her purpose in being a rancher’s wife and purpose in her friendships with the other women living in the prairie. But life isn’t easy for Charlie or Ellen. When tragedies and trials threaten their happiness, Charlie and Ellen must face and endure them together. Can they weather everything life is throwing at them? Or will they crumble?

I wasn’t exactly sure what to get into when I started reading Where Coyotes Howl. I only knew what I read in the blurb: It was a Western, and the author set it in the Wild West. This book was so much more than what was in the blurb. But, this book’s center was the love story between Charlie and Ellen. It was this love story that made the book.

There are trigger warnings in Where Coyotes Howl. They are:

Domestic Violence: There were several scenes in this book where one of Ellen’s good friends was beaten by her husband. Keeping with the time, Ellen’s husband wrote off the DV as something between that woman and her husband and refused to get involved. The DV was mainly off-page, but the author highlighted a few scenes. The most memorable one was when that woman’s husband burned her hands on the stove because she dared to crochet Ellen something.
Death: Death is a common theme throughout the book. People died all the time from various things. There were a few on-page deaths, but I will explain more about them in the other trigger warnings.
Child Death: There were quite a few scenes where children died, either from illness, accident, or murder.
Child Murder: There was one brutal scene to read where a woman went crazy and killed two out of her six children. It was graphic (because of where and how she did it) and heartbreaking.
Stillbirth: Ellen gets into a carriage accident when she is almost to term with her pregnancy and loses the baby. The author doesn’t get too much into detail, but enough is given to understand what happened.
Death during Childbirth: There is a scene where one of the characters dies during childbirth, along with the baby.
If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading this book.

Where Coyotes Howl is a medium-paced book set entirely in Wallace, Wyoming. There is a brief trip to Iowa at the beginning of the book but other than that; it stays in Wallace.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a good book when it surprises me and captures my attention. What I liked the most about this book was that it didn’t sugarcoat how awful the living conditions were back then (they were pretty awful). But it also showcased how good people were to each other.

The author beautifully wrote the main storyline centered around Ellen, Charlie, and their love story. Neither Ellen nor Charlie was perfect, but they were perfect together if that makes sense. There were times when I laughed and other times when I cried. I hated how it ended (but I will get to that later in the review).

The secondary characters and storylines in Where Coyotes Howl gave this book extra depth and fleshed-out characters.

The end of Where Coyotes Howl was not a happy ending. I was astonished because, typically, in these types of books, they are. I had to reread the last couple of chapters before it sunk in. But, as surprised as I was, I understood why the author ended the book as she did.

I would recommend Where Coyotes Howl to anyone over 16. There are nongraphic sexual situations (off-page), violence, and mild language. Also, see my trigger warnings.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Sandra Dallas for allowing me to read and review Where Coyotes Howl. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Ellen has accepted a teaching position in Wallace, Wyoming. She only intends to stay for a year. But, she meets and falls in love with Charlie Bacon. These two face death, hunger, and overwhelming tragedy. But, somehow their relationship grows stronger with every trial and tribulation.

When this story begins, you think it will be a love story and it is. However, it is so much more. This is a tale of love, endurance, family and strength. Life is hard but I cannot imagine living life on the prairie. These people were tough.

I loved Ellen and Charlie. These two had so many ups and downs, it tore my heart out. And don’t get me started on some of the friends. You will have to read this to find out.

The narrator, Stephanie Németh-Parker, is excellent. She made the characters come alive.

Need a story which will have you feeling every emotion you can imagine…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I spent a very emotional week thinking abou WHERE COYOTES HOWL by Sandra Dallas. For the first 40% of the book, I kept being reminded of Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder which was a book I read many times as a young girl. Where Coyotes Howl is a read which tore me apart reading about Ellen Webster, a young teacher who leaves her safe job to accept a teaching job in Wallace, Wyoming. Life is more than difficult in 1916 in a land that is harsh a good part of the time. Dallas has filled her book with a variety of characters. Ellen faces obstacle after obstacle throughout the book. She does not give up! Ellen made friends with Ruth McGinty who is the wife in the house where she boards. Ruth’s husband made me cringe! He was not a nice person. He abused his wife throughout the story. I found myself rooting for her cowboy husband, Charlie Bacon, who truly loved Ellen. They face many painful obstacles throughout the book. There are many touching moments and many strong women. The book is perfectly named. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

A beautifully written story of life in the community of Wallace, Wyoming in the early 1900's. The story centers around Ellen and Charlie. She comes to Wallace as the schoolteacher, little prepared for the differences between smalltown Iowa and barely settled Wyoming. He is the cowboy who will capture her heart. These two will face every challenge imaginable together while their love and dedication to each other remains strong.

Through Ellen and Charlie's experiences, Sandra Dallas will touch upon the high and low points in the settling of the American West. The backstories of the characters are true to the era. People moved west for so many different reasons, the hardships quickly divided the good and bad, the hard working and the grifters, the strong and the weak. In WHERE COYOTES HOWL, the women of Wallace come together to give support, both physical and emotional, to each other. This adds an added element to the center life story of Ellen and Charlie.

This is definitely a book that will stir up your emotions. Good or bad, there will be no indifferent.

This is a beautifully written story that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. It's full of emotions and you can feel every one of them. This book is a great read and I hated to see it end.
I received a complimentary copy from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

The writing painted an excellent picture of life on the prairie and all the trials that came with it. At times it was heartbreaking to read, but never depressing. It brought to light the importance of working together as a married couple and having good friends/neighbors to help each other through the hard times in life.

This book would be a great Book Club pick because there are so many great things to discuss!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This book centers on Charlie and Ellen Bacon who are living in Wyoming trying to establish a cattle ranch. Ellen was the school teacher in town and Charlie was a real cowboy. Their love is true but life for them is so very hard. They encounter brutal weather and terrible losses in their lives but they struggle to carry on. We meet their many friends and neighbors all of whom are also facing hardships and losses.

The story here is extremely sad and made me cry. Our forefathers who settled the west were of a very tough breed. How they persevered and kept going is truly amazing. Yes, an overly used word, but for these people, it fits. I was a bit hesitant to start reading the book because I knew it would be difficult to read. But I have read another book by this author that stays with me to this day. She lets readers know the hardships people faced to move on in their lives and grow.

This may seem like a short review but I think writing any more would be giving out spoilers. Suffice to say that this book will tug at your heartstrings and you too may shed some tears. Of course, there are three sides to this. One is those people who tried and tried only to lose but some did win and were successful and there are those who realized that it wasn’t something they could and went back to what they knew. How can one say which way is the right way. Read and learn and enjoy their journey.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a very emotional read for me. There are trigger warnings for miscarriage and also death. Set in early 20th century America we read of the joys and hardships of settling in Wyoming. There are unexpected friendships, hardships, and times of joy. This book is real, no holding back. I felt let down at the end but I enjoyed the reading.

I chose the author's latest because I loved her sensitive LITTLE SOULS, about the 1918 Flu Pandemic in Denver. I find WHERE COYOTES HOWL equally moving, a deft account of a prairie couple in Wyoming two years earlier. At the heart of this compelling tale is their extraordinary love that keeps them bonded through horrific weather, tragedies and travails. Highly recommended for lovers of the American West and stories of the brave settlers who made it their home

Where Coyotes Howl is a captivating and immersive tale, the well-developed characters, authentic period details, and picturesque setting all contribute to the novel's allure. I was engrossed in the story from beginning to end.

This is a Hard-Hitting Historical Fiction. I listened to the first ten chapters of this book from an e-audiobook, and I read the last part of this book by reading the e-kindle book. I found the narrator of this book to be easy to listen to. I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, and I got pulled into this story and those characters very fast. I found the middle of this book to be slow moving and some parts of this book were not need. I feel like some parts just kept going over the same things. I did really enjoy the ending of this book. I love a historical fiction have really hard-hitting parts, and this book as not in the middle and the ending. This book as some parts that is very hard to read and could trigger some readers. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (St. Martin's Press) or author (Sandra Dallas) via NetGalley, so I can give an honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

Set in small town of Wallace, Wyoming in the early 1900s, Where Coyotes Howl is superb work of historical fiction. Author Sandra Dallas writes of the realistic hardships and challenges that were faced in this time period. Her story is often achingly sorrowful with the harshness of weather, domestic abuse, and heartbreaking loss that her characters endured on the prairie and plains.

Ellen is a young schoolteacher who relocates from Iowa to teach and start a new life in Wyoming. She falls in love with cowboy Charlie, and the two face many obstacles in spite of their deep devotion to each other. The history presented in this book is important to know about. It leaves one with hope and appreciation of endurance, perseverance, and bravery, even during devastating circumstances and uncertain times.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the advance reader's copy of this book. My review is my own.

4 1/2 stars

Life on the Wyoming prairie couldn't have been an easy one. Where the Coyotes Howl depicts the hardships and the bright spots. Life was definitely difficult during those times but the people appreciated the good times they had all the more. It was the simple things in life that could bring joy when there was so much raw brutality in your everyday living.

This book follows a woman named Ellen who moves to Wallace, Wyoming to teach school. She comes from a big city so she gives up all those luxuries and conveniences when she moves west. She isn't there long before she meets a local cowboy, Charlie Bacon and their relationship develops rather quickly. Charlie and Ellen marry and move into a small house he has built for them. They both work hard each and every day because that's what's required to survive but they don't worry over it because they're just happy to be together. Their relationship is a love match and it's just such a powerful and sweet thing to see. The two of them suffer through a great deal of loss but it brings them closer together instead of tearing them apart. They love unconditionally.

Ellen learns how to be a rancher's wife through Charlie and her friends. It doesn't take long before she is picking up on things and it's like she's always been there. The other characters in the story truly enrich it as well. They all have a hand in helping to form Ellen into the woman she becomes. Her relationships with the other women are critical to her development and they help her to understand what Charlie needs from a wife in such a challenging land.

This book is written beautifully. The descriptiveness is spot on. I felt as if I could truly see the world that they are living in - - in all its harshness and beauty. It's emotionally exhausting at times because there is a great deal of loss and grief but I know that the times weren't easy and the author is trying to show that. The pioneer and cowboy spirit can withstand a lot but everyone has a breaking point. You had to wonder when theirs would come.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The narration in the audiobook was absolutely wonderful. Since I had both the ebook and audiobook, I bounced between the two but I really enjoyed the time I was able to spend listening to this book. It felt atmospheric and emotional. Very well done. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for early copies of both the e-book and audiobook. I voluntarily chose to review them both and the opinions contained within are my own.

WHERE THE COYOTES HOWL by Sandra Dallas was the first of Dallas' books I've read and it will not be the last. From the setting to the characters to the well-paced plot, I was immersed in another world to the point where I could smell the sagebrush, feel the dry heat and hot sun burning my skin. Dallas' 1916 Wyoming is vivid and brought to life by the friendships of the people who find themselves in the remote, tiny town of Wallace and the long love between rancher Charlie and wife Ellen. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel!

This novel was nothing like I had ever read in the past. It was sad, hopeful, and happy all at the same time. I think it's hard to write a book that can balance so many emotions like this one, but Sandra Dallas did that here.

The book follows Ellen, a schoolteacher in the late 19th century, as she starts anew in Wyoming. There, she meets the man who would become her husband, Charlie Bacon, as well as many new friends and interesting characters. Together, Ellen and Charlie give the reader an idea what life would have been like during this time in history in the middle of the prairie. They face heartache and harsh circumstances, all while never losing their love for one another.

I enjoyed all of the characters, the main and supporting ones. Each felt real and raw. I also appreciated how this book does not shy away from the sad parts of life, such as death and abuse. These hard topics were handled well and presented in the most believable ways. Additionally, I thought the author did a very good job of showing the reader how hard life would have been during this time and place. You gain a sense of appreciation for the time and place we live in today.

Where this story fell flat for me, however, was its slow pace. The majority of the time I was reading this, I was waiting for something exciting to happen. Then, something interesting would happen, but the next interesting thing wouldn't happen for quite a while. If the pace had been a little faster, I think that would have piqued my interest further.

Despite the novel's slow pace, I would recommend this book to readers. Not only will you learn how hard life could be during this specific time period, but you will gain a deeper appreciation for what you have and the people around you.

Sandra Dallas spins a devastating tale of a woman who moves to Wyoming and finds extraordinary love and heart-breaking loss in her latest book Where Coyotes Howl. Set in 1916, Dallas’s work is a smash of Historical Fiction and Western Romance. While I’d consider it quick and easy reading, the content itself is absolutely distressing. I can’t remember the last time I read a book filled with so much tragedy. What made it even harder was that it befalls characters I loved and wanted to have a happy end. I’m throwing in a warning that if you aren’t currently in the best of head spaces this may not be the book for you to grab. With that being said, while I shed my fair share of tears, I thought this was an excellent book. I enjoyed the many characters in the book, from our protagonists Ellen and Charlie, to secondary neighbors and friends all who played integral parts in each others lives. The vivid descriptions of beauty and desolation in Wallace Wyoming made you feel as if you, too, were there. I also took away an abundance of information (and newfound respect) for what I learned about life out west in the early 1900s.

At its core this is a love story about two people who love each other so much that they believe they can endure any obstacle or loss as long as they have each other. It’s about the willingness to compromise, learn and sacrifice without resentment and all out of love. A beautiful and tragic story, Where Coyotes Howl will move you, bring you moments of joy and yet leave you shattered. It should really come with a box of tissues. 4.5 stars

A detailed account of settling the west in Wyoming. It's the story of a small town told from the POV of a small family. It starts as Ellen, a newcomer to a developing town. They can't seem to keep a teacher for longer than a year. They either leave because they can't take the quiet, desolation, and weather or they get married and stay for the long haul. So Ellen arrives and makes a vow to stay through the year - she can do it, she won't give up.

From there, you get to know the town, the people and Ellen's life. It was a little slow to get going, at first, but then it became really easy to know which family was which in town and how they all tied together. It was nice to read how they all worked together but also didn't shy away from just how difficult it was to make it. There were lean year and hardship but the story was compelling and interesting. I found myself invested in the characters and I wanted them to succeed. Even though it broke my heart, the story moved me and I'm glad I read it! I really liked this one.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

When Ellen Webster arrived in Wallace Wyoming her first opinion was that she wouldn’t stay long but after she meets Charlie “fat back“ bacon the thought of staying forever feels like an option. She initially stays with the McGinty‘s Mr. McGinty is an abusive alcoholic who even spies on Ellen that is until Ellen is made aware of it and gets a little payback she also becomes great friends with sweet Mrs. McGinty a quiet demure woman who blames her self for her husbands abuse and although she gets letters from her daughter Mr. McGinty burns them in the oven… Of course that is until Alan gets involved. It takes a tough woman to make a life in Wyoming and Alan is tough so when Charlie ask her to marry him after a cute scene with the little negotiation Ellen says yes. There’s much more to the story and I am leaving a lot of but OMG if this isn’t the best historical western romance that I have ever read then I have never read a new historical romance. I love Sandra Dallas books but she has definitely way outdone herself with the novel Where The Coyotes Howl when I was finished with this book I wished I had 10 more books by Sandard Dallas. I didn’t even mention her best friend the ex prostitute and many other events that happen in the book that are told so expert Liam with such great talent U2 will wish you had 10 more books by the author. This as I’ve said before is my absolute all-time favorite western romance I love it so much! I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.