Moonshine Women serves up Prohibition-era grit with a shot of sisterhood. Each Strong woman brings her own flavor—Rebecca the stoic, Elsie the dreamer, and fiery Jace—while moonshine, grief, and danger simmer in the background. It’s part family drama, part outlaw survival, with plenty of grit and heart to keep you turning the pages.

This was a really interesting read. Not the normal women's historical fiction kind of book. I mean three women involved in running a moonshining business. These aren't our normal run of the mill girls, no. They were raised by their grief-stricken dad who loved to drink his moonshine in the hopes of not focusing on the love of his life, while his mother, a healer raised them in the Ozark mountains. Rebecca is out hunting and taking care of the farm animals, while Elsie is trying to do as little as possible--but daydreaming of a better life with a family of her own, and Shine (aka Jace) who makes moonshine with her daddy.

After tragedy strikes the family, the young women take charge. They need to make some money and head to Hot Springs, Arkansas to sell their moonshine--and Shine well she is after a Prohibition agent who needs to be dealt with.

Things for the family go from bad to worse. The short-term plan to make some money in Hot Springs turns into life changing events. Each woman grows and changes on her own but strengthens them as a whole.

There is a number of characters the author jumps around from one to another. I didn't think Rebecca's character really added too much to the story, where I thought Elise and Shine's could have been given more attention and dived a little deeper with. Or maybe given more depth to Rebecca--I don't want to spoil, but with the enormity of her relationship at the time was given very little. It would have been huge for everyone involved and it came across and just added in. I also would have liked to have gotten to know more about the grandmother-she was an interesting character.

Even though I have some criticisms, I really did enjoy the book. It's such a different story plot, but perfect for growing strong female characters! Shine was definitely my favorite character. I really appreciated the ending. I love knowing where the characters end up. I could even see a prequel book about the mother/grandmother. There seemed like there was more story to tell.

I am the child of a mother born in the Ozarks in the early 1900's, so I was really anxious to read this book. And I enjoyed it tremendously. Great characters in a very believable story. Simple country people who struggled to survive in a place and in an era when survival was pretty much all they managed to do. Looking back on the years of prohibition from this family's point of view shows the more human side of what this country got itself into by banning alcohol. People will always want what you tell them they cannot have after they have learned they can have it. These people learned they could make more money by fermenting corn into corn liquor than they could by selling corn for the dinner table. But there were always those who couldn't manage their alcoholic consumption, as there always will be, and everyone paid the price. There will also always be zealots, anxious to make a name for themselves, and in the process not just busting the stills in the backwoods, but burying the bodies and reputations of simple country people who simply wanted to make ends meet. A very enjoyable read with great characters and a lot of happy endings.

A fantastic historical atmosphere and the romance was so sweet and perfect. A satisfying arc to all the plots centre around the character development which was amazing.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5)

I’m always drawn to stories featuring strong female protagonists, and I was eager to dive into this one. While I enjoyed the premise, the execution didn’t fully resonate with me. The narrative often felt a bit disjointed, with frequent time jumps that made it difficult to stay fully immersed in the story. Just as I started to connect with the characters or setting, the timeline would shift ahead, pulling me out of the moment.

That said, I appreciated how everything came together in the end, tying the threads into a cohesive conclusion. The author’s intent and creativity definitely shine through, and I can see how readers who enjoy nonlinear storytelling might connect with it more deeply than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review.

Three sister live with their father and grandmother in the Ozarks, making moonshine during Prohibition. Characters felt flat.

I really enjoyed this book. The writing was great! I was able to fully immerse myself in the sorry and picture every character! Each individual character's storyline was easy to follow and so interesting!
And the ending was perfect!
I look forward to reading more from this author!

I really enjoyed this historical fiction book about a family of moonshiners living in the Ozarks in the early 20th century. I loved seeing the relationship between the 3 sisters with very different personalities. Even though the plot was a bit of a downer, with tragedy after tragedy befalling this poor family, they always stuck together to make it through. The author did a phenomenal job of creating an atmospheric setting and interesting characters that really drew me into the story and kept me emotionally invested in it. I am looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Very good read! Fast paced with nice array of characters. I wouldn’t say major twists, but definitely some OMG developments. I will look for other works by Michelle Collins Anderson.

The Moonshine Women started out slow for me, but about 30 pages in, it just clicked, and I couldn't put it down at that point. Andeerson does a great job of showing a completely different part of life - at least for me - a part that I have never really thought about, and if I did think about it, I didn't think about three women making moonshine in the middle of nowhere during Prohibition, and doing it really well. The characters of Shine, Rebecca, and Elsie are strong female characters who are not going to let a man or a government tell them what to do and how to do it. At first, Shine was my favorite character, but as the book developed, I loved Rebecca, and by the end, I also loved Elsie. Go read this book and find strength in these women and their story, and raise a glass of bourbon while you do it. Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

The Moonshine Women brings a fascinating story of three sisters from the Ozark Mountains and the regions’ rich folk tradition of moonshine whiskey.

Rebecca, the oldest sister, loves the farm life, surrounded by animals and nature. Elsie, the middle sister, craves beauty and a family atmosphere far from rural hardship. Shine, the youngest, is full of verve and the most inclined to carry on their father’s legacy.

The story begins in 1929 Missouri, with seventeen-year-old Shine introducing the moonshine tradition. Even before the Prohibition, their father made his own moonshine, as many respected farmers did. None of them would waste money on store-bought alcohol. The formulas for moonshine were handed down from generation to generation like cake recipes. When crops became nearly worthless and couldn’t feed the family, they turned them into something that could. And with human nature, what was forbidden quickly became lucrative - especially when Grandma Lidy Strong added her own secretive ingredients.

There are other captivating characters woven into the story. John Flanagan is a federal agent enforcing prohibition through the Volstead Act. His harsh childhood shaped his strict allegiance to the law. He is proud of what he has achieved in his life and determined to track down those he beliefs waste their money on alcohol.

After the death of their mother, the girls’ father drowns himself in grief and liquor. He never saw the moonshine business as wrong - it was legal before after all. But after his death, the sisters device creative ways to transport contraband across state lines. Shine has an additional motive: she wants to find. She wants to find the person responsible for their father’s death.

After setting in Hot Springs, Arkansas, Shine eventually encounters the notorious gangster she’s heard so much about - Al Capone himself. He’s come to Hot Springs, tired of Chicago’s alcohol scene, and brings with him his own beliefs about what women should and shouldn’t do. Working at the bar of the Southern Club, Shine faces Capone’s smirks and chauvinism, each encounter stoking a fire of her vengeance.

The character-driven story explores themes of sisterhood and reinvention. The characters are compelling, the threads of the plot come together seamlessly, and the prose is both beautiful and entertaining. The descriptions of the Ozarks and its traditions are vivid and immersive. The Moonshine Women delivers a memorable story full of heart, grit, and cultural richness.

The first half of the story had a faster pace than the second half. The first half had the character-development which I enjoyed and was more absorbed by rather than the second half which was more about events.

Review originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com

I loved this novel! What amazing, well-developed characters! It is hard to find a book that represents the strength of women - albeit different strengths- in one book. Set in the Ozarks during Prohibition, the Strong women are just that- strong, independent, and complementary. I went in to the end a little disappointed that I would not find out the endings for a few of the characters, but was so happy that all the ends were tied up!

This would be a good fit in my upper level classes. So happy I was given the opportunity to preview and review this ARC. Thank you to Net Galley and Kensington Publishing!

This is a great historical fiction reminiscent of Kristin Hannah. Taking place in the Ozarks during prohibition, we learn the story of the Strong women; Lidy, the matriarch, Rebecca, the eldest sister who enjoys animals and farming, Elsie, the social butterfly who looks forward to living big and leaving the family farm, and Shine, the youngest who is an adventurous spirit.

The writing is absolutely brilliant and I was able to feel immersed in their world. I loved the grit and determination the Strong sisters exemplified and was rooting for them every step of the way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review The Moonshine Women. What a great book!

Immersive, gripping, poignant.

Gorgeously written one of those novels I wanted to both devour and savour simultaneously. A must read historical fiction for 2026.

The Moonshine Women follows the Strong Sisters, their grandmother and their father in prohibition era Ozarks, where they - to subsist - end up in the blackmarket moonshine business. All the characters are beautifully crafted and as a reader you are completely immersed in their world, their challenges and yearn to share the revenge that especially Shine (the youngest) is desperately seeking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Kensington publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"The most important stories are the ones we tell to - and about - ourselves. And her story could no longer be one of weakness and wishing, of deference and denial. If she desired a different ending, she would have to act...she would do what she needed to do.

She would save her own damn self."

_________________________

I am so grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an e-ARC of this outstanding new book in exchange for my honest opinions.

The Moonshine Women explores the lives of the aptly named Strong sisters: three siblings eking out a hardscrabble existence in the rural Ozarks region of Missouri. Eldest sister Rebecca is hardworking and stoic, happy to tend the land and be surrounded by nature. Middle sister Elsie is beautiful and kind but yearns for a life beyond the confines of the family farm. Youngest sister Jace, better known as "Shine", is a redheaded spitfire who has an untamed spirit and love of adventure.

When their mother dies tragically, the Strong sisters find themselves struggling to hold their family together. Along with their father and grandmother, the broken family must find a way to subsist in the difficult years after the end of the Great War. With crop prices plummeting and an uncertain future, the Strongs turn to the only certain way to earn a living: using their unsold corn and barley crops to craft barrels of homemade moonshine to sell on the black market.

The descriptive prose in this novel is so striking. Author Michelle Collins Anderson not only brings the characters to life but puts the reader in their world, with vivid depictions of the pine forest of the Missouri Ozarks and the big city doings of lawless Hot Springs, Arkansas. Weaving together real historic events and prominent figures of the 1920s with the saga of the Sisters Strong, she tells a tale that is full of adventure, heartache, vengeance and redemption. I was rooting for the sisters from start to finish and felt fully invested in their stories and immersed in every aspect of their lives.

A remarkable work of historical fiction with a memorable cast of strong women, shady men and a host of larger than life characters pulled from the pages of history, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone who loves a great story. 4.5 stars

This story is centered around a family living in the Ozark mountains who happen to make their living by selling moonshine. The family of sisters have a strong bond which is a good thing because they are challenged by prohibition officers, death, injuries and some romance thrown in for good measure.

This was an enjoyable read with a bit of history thrown in and I highly recommend this book.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC.

The Moonshine Women is one of those beautifully written novels that totally immerses you in a different time and place. In this case, it’s Prohibition-era Missouri. Think deep woods, women with grit and heart, and a story full of hardship and love. The Strong sisters are the kind of characters you don’t forget. I loved how each of them brought something unique to the story, but together they were this unstoppable force. After tragedy hits, watching them step up and take over the moonshine business is sisterhood at its realest. Michelle Collins Anderson’s writing is vivid and poetic, and I loved the character’s hunger for more than what life handed them.