I sort of put off reading this book cuz of all the hype that was surrounding it, but I get it now. And honestly I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner. It has so many things that I love in a book. Historical timeline, strong women, the supernatural, feminism, and a really cool setting. I love how diverse and open-minded the cast of characters were especially considering the timeline, perhaps that was the most magical part of the book. I don't want to really give anything about the plot away because they're quite a few little interesting choices that the author made that really added so much to the story but I will say it was very well thought out and very well written. I do wish that the more climactic scene towards the end of the book would have been more detailed/gory, but that's personal preference. I also really really like how although the creature / beast was described and implied to be one thing it was also given the space within the story to be multidimensional and multifaceted and the fact that there was a character growth within the story is fascinating to me. The story that we start with is not the one that we end up with and I loved it.

Eee! This was so cool - such an interesting blend of genres. Going to be recommending this one for a while!

4.5

Thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for e-ARC.

Victor LaValle has a talent take ideas that have been done before and make them wholly original. In Lone Women, we start by following a black woman name Adelaide in the early 1900s, covering up the death of her parents and fleeing west for safety. It's hard not to immediately make assumptions of what has happened and what type of story this is, but rarely are LaValle's stories straight forward, at least at the start. In fact, I think the mystery of what all is going on is one of the best traits of this book. While Adelaide is the central character, the story expands as it goes on to include a wider perspective of the characters on the periphery of the story. It creates a series of compelling characters, perhaps with room for a bit more depth, but overall it contributed to my enjoyment of the book. The writing is engaging and the story immersive, so much so that it was hard not speed through this book as fast as I could.

For those curious about the "kind" of story this is, I recommend going in blind because the mystery is so much fun, and I recommend stopping here until you've read the book as spoilers follow. The story feels like a new take on Beowulf, with a focus on Grendel, aka the monster (similar to the poem Grendel by John Gardner). It forces the characters, and us the reader, to second guess our assumptions about the creature. That theme fits into the larger structure as well as LaValle, I think intentionally, sets up the story in a way that misleads the reader into making false assumptions about the characters and whats happening. While many of the mysteries remain open, I thoroughly enjoyed the story and what it had to say.

Adelaide is running from something. 1915, she carried a heavy, locked trunk and ran away from California to Montana. What’s in that trunk might be terrifying, but so is the land she’s rushing to claim.

My biggest problem with this book is that I came in thinking it was a horror story, which it was for the first part, but then switched to straight historical fiction with sci-fi elements. I was thrown off by the fact that I went from fearing this creature to having to accept it. This book examines how hard it was to be a woman during this time and how best it was to help each other. But then it juxtaposes a creature who kills people with a woman who is helping her trans child, and the parallel feels off.

Honestly, it was very well down for being about an alone woman having to survive with the help of other disadvantaged women. I only wish I didn’t remember that blurb when I started reading.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.

After reading "The Ballad of Black Tom" by the author, I've been wanting to try more by him.
The premise was intriguing and I was fully invested... until the end of part 1. I lost interest afterwards. I'm not the biggest horror reader so it might be on me. I'm planning on reading more by him so we'll see.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for honest feedback. An incredible blend of horror and historical fiction

FANTASTIC! And what a great ending!!!!
I can see this one becoming a movie. Great stuff. The trunk! Adelaide - such a strong woman. I loved it.

2.5
Adelaide is on her way to Montana. She heard any person that is able to cultivate a property will then become owners of that property. As a single black woman this is a unheard of chance. She is also running away. Her parents are dead, she puts them in their bed and burns down the house. Traveling with a trunk and a secret.
The town seems welcoming but there are still rules and classism.
I was hoping for something more in the trunk, with the being surviving bullets, the harsh Montana winter, and having claws that can tear through flesh. There may have been more metaphorical context, but I'm not trying to dissect a book in English class.
There are the realistic treats of a woman and her sons hunting and stealing what they want and trying to survive in a cruel climate and without resources except for those you create.
I thought so much more could have been done with surviving in a new area and the strength of Adelaide and the town people that help her.

This book was not at all what I expected and I feel like it fell short of the “horror” aspect I was anticipating. The mystery of what was in the trunk kept me intrigued, but the ending felt rushed and somewhat disjointed. I’m didn’t exactly dislike the book, but I didn’t love it either.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited for this latest release from Victor LaValle that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations. It exceeded them and more! A true gothic horror set in the sparse and desolate Wild West, this story was lovely in a devastatingly eerie way, and there are a few expertly handled twists that make the reader's heart stutter with each reveal. A book horror fans will read again and again.

This was an amazing book!! I really enjoyed reading it!! It was definitely worth reading. I got a copy on here and from book of the month!! Definitely worth the money

They came on their own to Montana. In Montana, a woman could get a homestead although in most places it was unthinkable for a woman to own land by herself. If she could stick it out for three years and improve the land, it was hers. Adelaide Henry is one such woman. She left her dead parents behind and came out West with a hundred dollars and a large steamer trunk. Once she gets there, she wonders how she ever thought she would be able to handle this.

But Adelaide has a secret in that big steamer trunk. Something that lives. Something that kills. Something that will protect her from the villains she meets. There is the woman she shared a cart with on the last leg of her journey and her four blind sons. They seem harmless but are in reality conmen who travel the land stealing and killing. There are men who come by sure that Adelaide would welcome male company and are determined to make her enjoy it. There are the townsfolk who are easily led by a group of vigilantes.

But Adelaide finds friends as well. Her closest neighbor, another lone woman with a young son. The only other black woman in the territory who makes and sells liquor. The Chinese woman who does the town's laundry while searching for the grave of her father so she can honor his bones in their country's traditions. These strong women welcome Adelaide into their midst and together this group is as dangerous as any men could ever be.

Victor LaValle has exploded onto the writing scene. He works the territory between horror and fairy tales and this novel does that successfully, giving the reader chills along with the history of the Montana territories and a view of the West they won't soon forget. Adelaide is strong when she arrives but by the novel's end she learns that strength is doubled and tripled when matched with other women's strength. She also learns that family is everything and that family is who you choose for it to be. This book is recommended for fantasy and horror readers.

that went so fast lmao I realized I just started it yesterday on my walk and am already finished the audiobook? cinematic and satisfying, I enjoyed myself immensely. i love folklore master/genresmith/black lesbian appreciator/definite bloodborne player Victor LaValle

"An Enthralling Journey Through the Pages"

Within the pages of this book, I discovered a profound appreciation for every word, savoring the sheer delight it brought. The story bursts to life with a captivating opening chapter, sustaining its momentum through a succession of short, fast-paced chapters. At its heart is Adelaide Henry, a central character embarking on a westward journey while harboring a significant secret. The narrative unfolds in the year 1915, immersing readers in its meticulously crafted backdrop and thought-provoking themes.

This atmospheric tale, populated by a diverse and intricately developed cast of characters, positions Adelaide at the forefront, resulting in a narrative that is undeniably engaging. Delving deeper into the storyline would only diminish the firsthand experience that awaits readers. Suffice it to say, this book offers a truly distinctive and enthralling journey. My admiration for it was so profound that I procured a hardcopy to adorn my personal library.

My heartfelt gratitude extends to Netgalley and the publishers for generously providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Victor LaValle does it again! This book was a page-turning, unsettling historical horror novel and I loved every moment of it. Like all of his novels, Lone Women takes the tropes you are expecting and adds a subtle twist to them. He's a master of characterization and has an inventive imagination. I highly recommend this book as well as all of his other novels. He is an auto-buy author for me, with good reason.

This book is as spare and bleak as the wintry Montana plains upon which the book is set. Adelaide Henry has reason to disappear to somewhere remote. In Montana in the early 20th century, women were not excluded from being able to "prove up" land. In other words, if women could successfully homestead for 3 years, they had the ability to own their own property, which was almost unheard of during this time period. Adelaide is dragging her past with her in a giant, heavy trunk.

She meets quite a few different sorts of folks as she begins to create a new life for herself. As happens in so many post-apocalyptic novels too, the most dangerous things on the plains are other people, more so than weather, starvation, or accident. And Adalaide meets some dangerous people. But people are also her salvation. She meets people with whom she forms bonds in adversity and begins to wonder if she could perhaps trust someone with the truth of her past after all.

The book goes quickly. I could maybe have used a bit more time on certain things. And although gore isn't the point of this book, there is suffering and death and some gore too. Victor LaValle said he wrote this book to write people of color and women back into the history where they had always been, but never seen.

Wow I really wish I hadn’t taken so long to read this. It was amazing. That wonderful line of just the right amount of horror and the continuous reading to find out what happens. So well written and I can’t wait for anything else by this author. Next time I will definitely be faster.

This is my first book by Victor LaValle. Hmmm. The premise of this story is very compelling. It’s a horror/historical fiction novel centering women homesteaders in 1915(ish) Montana. I knew nothing about this slice of US history, so it was interesting.

The novel gets off to a strong start, with our main character Adelaide traveling from California to Montana after a life-changing event happens. The thing is, Adelaide is traveling with an incredibly heavy, very mysterious trunk. Tbh, we all know what’s in that trunk. The reveals slowly unfold in the beginning half of the novel in a way I found enjoyable. It adheres to classic horror tropes, with chilling realizations and some gory scenes. I enjoy these things about the horror genre, so I was into it. The Mudges are another creepy aspect of the book, at least in the beginning.

The second half of the book is what lost me. The pacing completely changes, and we’re introduced to a slew of new characters that were somehow supposed to care about/be suspicious of? Sure, Mrs. Reed was vaguely introduced in the beginning half, but then she disappears until she’s suddenly a main villain character. Huh?! And the side-story about Sam and Grace was kind of random and underdeveloped. I feel like it was only included to get certain characters together in one room. Weird. All the other action, “reveals,” and plot “twists,” were so incoherent that I just stopped caring.

I am satisfied with the very, very end (aka like literally the last chapter that wraps everything up), but I found the character development and thematic explorations lacking. It just seemed odd that Adelaide had kept this big huge secret her whole life and then suddenly was just going around telling her besties? Also, I felt like Adelaide met Grace, Bertie, and Fiona, and they were all suddenly friends. While that’s totally possible, the writing didn’t convince me.

I relished each and every word within the pages of this book, finding immense enjoyment in its content. The story commences with an explosive opening chapter, maintaining its momentum with a series of quick, fast-paced short chapters. Our central character, Adelaide Henry, embarks on a westward journey burdened by a profound secret. Set in the year 1915, the narrative masterfully immerses the reader in its richly detailed setting and thought-provoking themes. This atmospheric tale, coupled with its intricate cast of characters, with Adelaide at the forefront, weaves together to create a truly compelling narrative.

I hesitate to divulge further details, as this is an experience best savoured firsthand. Suffice it to say that this book offers a truly unique and captivating reading experience.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the mixed of genres of this one - historical fiction, horror, mystery, suspense, and supernatural. I was hooked by the first page, and I couldn't put it down because I just wanted to know what was in the trunk. The writing was atmospheric and the ending was satisfying. It was a such a unique read.